Thursday Thirteen #10

13 Movies I Have Watched Repeatedly (my obligatory Movie T13) These aren't all of my favorites, just the ones I can think of off the top of my head that are my go to movies when I'm in the mood to see a movie but aren't sure which to watch, and am willing to watch something I've already seen. 1. Local Hero (1983). A big shot corporate buyout guy is sent to buy a small town in Scotland. It's a really low key comedy where a guy who has everything, a porsche, etc., realizes the folly of his ways. It's low key, British type humor. This is definitely one of my top 5 all-time movies. 2. Chariots Of Fire (1981). Lovely Wife and I went to see this on one of our first dates. But the movie, even after all these years is amazing. It seems like the pace of the movie is slow, it's so quiet and gentle, but still keeps me glued to the screen. It's the true story of the 1924 Paris Olympics, told from the point of view of one of the minor participants. If I could only see one movie ever again, it would most likely be this one. 3. Stargate (1994). I am by no means a huge fan of sci-fi, but this movie was right down my alley. I had wanted to see it in the theater, but ended up not seeing it until it came out on video. It's the first movie I ever sat and watched for the first time, and then turned right around and watched it over again right away. It's a cross between 'gotta follow the clues' type mystery movies, plus regular sci-fi. Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is all alone among his peers in believing that ancient Egypt, and possibly the whole human race, was started by aliens. He finds out the hard way he was right. Excellent filming and a story that just pulls you in. 4. A Christmas Carol (1999). Either ya like Dickens, or ya don't. I do. I love his books. This movie version with Patrick Stewart as E. Scrooge, and made by TNT is one of my all time favorites as well. It's really gritty and totally true to the Dickens book, to the point of many lines being verbatim from the book. I usually end up watching this 2 or 3 times in the run-up to Christmas every year, and usually once or twice in the summer to boot. If you have netflix, try out this version. I absolutely love it. 5. Contact (1997). I said I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, but here's yet another one on my list. I thought the movie was way, way better than the book, but the movie was different enough for me to really like it. Carl Sagan, who wrote the book, had, as a part of the antagonism to advancing science, characters who were supposedly Christians, but they were all hopelessly two dimensional and petty in the book. In the movie, they still are, but aren't as big a part of the movie as the book. The story: a life long stargazer, Jodie Foster, whose folly of using radio telecsope time to listen for alien messages, is rewarded by hearing and recognizing the earth's first alien contact, via an audio/video message. The message leads the entire world on a rush to build a contraption whose design is sent by the aliens. It ends up being a movie about faith, of all things. I couldn't help but love it and watch it again from time to time. 6. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981). No explanation should be required. It was fresh, new, and unique and I've always loved it. 7. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989). After the sorry affair of Temple Of Doom, the bar was raised back up high with Sean Connery as Indiana's father. 8. Peter Pan (1953). This Disney animated movie is by far my favorite Disney movie. It still seems dreamy and magical to me. 9. Star Wars (1977). Glenn B. and I rode our bikes to the closest theater to see this in 1977. Although I liked the next two almost as much, you can't beat the originality and surprise of this first one. 10. It's A Wonderful Life (1946). What can I say, I'm a sucker for stories in which ordinary people examine their lives and decide to make a change. 11. Cast Away (2000). A modern day Robinson Crusoe without the slavery. Just one man and his wits on a deserted island. As kid I used to fantasize about what it would be like to be the last person on the planet. This was a pretty close theme to that. 12. Phenomenon (1996). John Ravolting as a man who somehow gains amazing mental abilities and his impact on his community. A surprise movie. I remember walking out of the theater in deep thought about my life. The movie seemed to move in one direction that I thought I knew what was coming, then it flipped around to something SO surprising to me. But I love that 'live your life to the fullest' theme it has. 13. The Passion Of The Christ (2004). Ok, this is stretching it, because I've only seen it twice. But that first time, in the theater, I cried like a baby. Covers the final 12 hours of Jesus's life, and the resurrection three days later. I tell you, no other movie has touched me so profoundly. 'Nuff said. Plus, I'm due another watch of this one. Yeah, there's more sci-fi in there than I would have thought, but that's ok. I could have made this list way bigger. Lucky for you this was a Thursday Thirteen. You can see I like action, adventure, following clues, and meaningful introspection. Oh, yeah, and laser beams and explosions too. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. 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