So Brad vengeance-tagged me with the Ten Movies meme that’s been making the rounds. In the interest of not following the rules precisely, I herein list a number of movies that is not ten, in no particular order, and understood to be a non-exhaustive list. That way I won’t get any grief for forgetting LoTR or Narnia or whatever else I forgot.

Comedies
• So I Married an Axe Murderer — this one has achieved cult status in my mind, and I can quote an unhealthy number of lyrics from it. One of the home groups we led all got to know this move very well, watching it often together.
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail — well, what can I say? A genuine cult favorite, and probably funnier in the retelling than if I were to sit down and watch it again… not that that would stop me. Or that we all know all the dialogue….
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? — just plain brilliant, those Cohen brothers… and set to a great soundtrack to boot.
• A Good Year — just a fun little romantic comedy with a great premise. Departs from the book, but it’s forgivable.
• Moon Over Parador — as quirky as they come.
• Oscar — zany, quirky, and one of Stallone’s better pics, not to type. “Fennuccis, sit!”
• I.Q. — Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins, Walter Matthau… you can’t go wrong… fun little romantic comedy. “Albert Einstein went ‘wa-hoo’?” “When was the last time you went ‘wa-hoo’?”

Epic
• The Godfather (I, II, III) — III was done just for the money, which the studio needed. I understand why it draws things together as it does, but frankly, I think the series is actually stronger without it.
• Lawrence of Arabia — classic, through and through. I’ve mentioned some of the images from the movie here before, but… well, it’s outstanding.
• Louis L’Amour’s The Sacketts — I admit it, I like a good western… and an epic one at that.
• Band of Brothers — I’m not much of a war buff, but this miniseries was so well done.
• Jeremiah Johnson — I mentioned I like westerns… and this one fits in here because it demonstrates that “epic” isn’t always about the film’s running time, but can also be about the length of time it covers.

It’s the Timing
• Dead Poets Society — this came out during the period in which one of my college prof’s who also became a friend was being dismissed basically for not renouncing his charismatic ways.
• The Mission — I wrote about this earlier in the week, so I won’t repeat myself.
• Chocolat — we rediscovered this with friends as we were in the midst of the church-exodus and detox phases…. gave it whole new meaning. Brilliant.
• The Man From Snowy River — yeah, yeah, sappy, formulaic… but my wife and I saw it on one of our first dates.
• The Princess Bride — somewhat like the above, but very clever, abundantly quotable, and loads of fun.

Drama, Romance
• Under the Tuscan Sun — I don’t know, I just thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
• Finding Forrester — just a very satisfying movie… and Sean Connery.

Action & Suspense
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark — the original is the best, though I haven’t yet seen the new one… I saw this one in the front row of the balcony in Winnipeg’s last truly grand theatre, The Metropolitan.
• The Thomas Crown Affair — My wife and I have watched the remake I don’t know how many times. Fabulous soundtrack.
• The Magnificent Seven — A classic western.
• The Hunt for Red October — the best Tom Clancy film adaptation, by far.

I’ve lost track of who’s been tagged for this one and who hasn’t, so I’m just going to do a general “if-you-haven’t-already”, it’s time to join in now. Robbymac? Grace? Anyone? Any thoughts on my picks?