List of favorite movies

My top movie of all time. The plot and theme of this movie offers profound insight into the concept of time and space. I am a history buff so movies that delve into the theme of the passage of time and events provide a lot of thought provoking ideas about the history of this planet. I particularly liked the scene of the time traveler who saw the changes of fashion style across the street at a clothing store from his house as he traveled into the future. He gets to see a glimpse of the future of this planet and determines to reshape man's destiny after what he sees what happens to the planet.

Charles Dickens' tale of rags to riches and back to rags. A medley of odd yet very familiar type of characters. I consider this novel to be one of Dickens' best because he mixes comedy along with drama in telling the story and created some of more memorable characters in English literary history. The miniseries did not follow the novel exactly, but it did feature many of the important events from the novel. Won seven TV Emmy awards in the miniseries categories in 2009.

This is among my favorite James Stewart movies. It is based during the Christmas season in a department store where two coworkers become competitive with each other and are also penpals without knowing it. Virtually the entire story takes place at the store and the main focus is on the relationship between Jimmy and Margaret. It doesn't have the strong Christmas season link that is seen in "It's a Wonderful Life", but I preferred this movie because I thought the romance was better developed.

This movie is the sound remake of the silent version made in 1927. James Stewart may have been miscast as the French street cleaner, but I thought he fit the character very well in outlook and demeanor. The story is based on the plot where the street cleaner rescues a prostitute who is being abused by her sister. He helps her from being arrested by pretending to be married with her. She tends to his apartment and they slowly start to fall in love with each other. The prostitute gets a second chance at a decent life with the street cleaner. He later is drafted into World War I army, but they pledge to take time to "connect" with each other at 11 AM every day while he is away. A very fine performance by Simone Simon as the prostitute.

A Japanese TV miniseries about a sports equipment executive who comes across a new female neighbor next to his apartment who happens to be a coworker in his company. He is initially put off by her, but comes across a videotape that she made speaking about her life threatening illness. He sees her in a different light and becomes attracted to her. As they become more friendly with each other, they place a wager on which one of them will fall in love first. The loser has to pay for a special trip for the winner to see the Aurora Borealis. They eventually fall in love with each other and plan to see the Aurora together, however, the lady has a relapse of her illness which threatens their future with each other. The miniseries is not just drama, there is plenty of laughs involving situations with other coworkers. The miniseries has a scene where the primary male star cries profusely which you don't see often in a movie. The story is told as a flashback to how the couple met in the three months prior to the Christmas season. It is 9 hours long and even at that length, it was very entertaining. The series is based on the Wham! song "Last Christmas" which is sung by the main male star of the series.

This movie is among my favorites with Spencer Tracy. He plays a street sign artist who comes across a sheltered farm woman who is being pushed into a marriage with a local man. He is commissioned to paint a barn where the farm woman is residing. He shows her some womanly things like makeup and cosmetics which he provides for female models for his signs. After he finishes his job and prepares to leave, the farm woman steals a ride in his truck to get away from the farm. Her relatives hunt her down and take her back. However, the sign painter uses her face to paint a new cosmetic company sign out in the city streets even though another woman was hired for it. The farm woman later makes her escape from her impending marriage and looks for the sign painter in the city. The movie has a video sequence where the farm woman is walking in the city streets and the street signs come to life as she looks at them. Very unique use of animation.

A very nice movie about a mentally challenged man who tries to deal with his shortcomings in his everyday life. Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his performance in the title role. His simple outlook on life is reflected on how he deals with others that he meets in his life. The plot also nicely interweaves world events from the 1960s time period along with music from that time period. A very nice movie about looking at things from the simpler side of life.

A very nice animated cartoon about a robot who manages a planetary landfilll area. He encounters a female robot who stops off at the refuse planet and hitches a ride on her space ship to follow her. He comes across other robots and humans and experiences things that he has never seen before. He later tries to rescue the female robot from the scrap heap after falling in love with her. A very cute and heartwarming story.

This is a five part adaptation (30 minutes each episode) of Frances Hodgson Burnett's story about a young girl, Sara Crewe, who is sent to a boarding school for girls in England by her father who later dies which then leaves her destitute. The novel is more popular with the young female audience, but I found the story development to be a very genuine portrayal of dealing with the death of a close family member and to endure life without any other help. Sara is transformed from a pampered young girl to a servant or skivvy, but doesn't lose all hope in her life. The ending does have a happy conclusion, but even if it didn't, her outlook on life would not have been tarnished. This adaptation stayed closer to the novel than the Shirley Temple version and the other later version.

This movie is a remake of "My Favorite Wife" and a variation of "Too Many Husbands" from earlier years. There are many good aspects of those two films, but I particularly enjoy this version because of the great supporting cast who helps to keep the overall flow of the story hilarious all the way to the end. I first saw this movie when I was young and it still is very funny even after multiple viewings. Irene Dunne in the original version is a great actress, but no one can imitate Doris Day's facial and vocal expression of exasperation which she does so uniquely. She was quoted as saying that she wanted to make films that would have the viewer feeling good after watching them. This is among my favorites of her movies.

John Wayne is remembered for mostly Western themed movies and this one stands out for me because of the stunning visual background of Monument Valley in the Southwest USA for most of this film. Director John Ford did an excellent job blending the cast and plot actions through this scenery. The main plot deals with an ex-Confederate war veteran whose relatives are killed by Native Americans and who then goes on a five year trek to find the survivors from the massacre. John Wayne's character swings from determination to hate in his journey. The movie has a few humorous moments from the supporting cast. Two bits of trivia from the film - John Wayne's son, Patrick, has a small part playing a Union cavalry soldier and Natalie Wood's younger sister, Lana, plays Natalie's character as a younger child. A very beautifully filmed movie.

Cary Grant became famous portraying debonair male characters in many films especially comedies, but this one is my favorite of his where he takes a much different character role in a dramatic setting. The story is told in flashbacks that focuses on the impending divorce between Cary and Irene Dunne. The couple's marriage is given a boost by the adoption of a young female baby and how the young girl helped to provide a strong family bond for the three of them. Near the end of the story, tragedy strikes which breaks the family apart. Irene plays phonograph records throughout the movie that recalls the past family life of hers. Cary got a Best Actor nomination for the movie, but did not win.

I saw this movie when I was very young and remember it in the black and white video presentation. The film is a depiction of Helen Keller's early life in Alabama in the 1880s. She contracted an illness before the age of 2 which left her blind and deaf. Having lost two of her major senses, she became detached from the rest of the family and was essentially "given up hope" to become a normal person in society. The family hired Anne Sullivan to help her overcome her disabilities. Anne has to use an unconventional approach to get Helen to become a more disciplined and intelligent member of the family. Ms. Sullivan's interactions with Helen might border on child abuse, but the alternatives on dealing with her condition are even more frightening. The movie has a subplot dealing with Ms. Sullivan's own past and her own visual problems. Patty Duke, who plays Helen, won a Supporting Oscar for her role and Anne Bancroft won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Anne Sullivan. An emotional story about having to overcome a major setback in early childhood and to be given the chance to avoid being relegated to an asylum. Ms. Keller's story is a truly inspirational one given the later accomplishments in her life.

I saw this miniseries on CBS when it first aired back in 1970. Each of Henry VIII's six wives are given one episode to relate their story so the series does not feel rushed like a movie. Keith Michell did a great portrayal of the portly monarch whose marriages were manipulated by political alliance and progeny reasons. The miniseries does not have many outdoor scenes, so it feels more like a stage play in its presentation. The Tudor court and the many characters who come into Henry's life are well depicted in this series. Keith Michell won an Emmy for his role. Henry VIII created the Anglican church of England because of his desperation of avoiding to not having a male heir. Had his elder brother, Arthur, not died, history would have been rewritten and we would have had the first modern King Arthur as well.

William Powell was best known for playing Nick Charles in the "Thin Man" movies, but this film has perhaps his best role, in my opinion. The movie is based during the Great Depression of the 1930s and from that time period, they were able to make this outstanding "screwball comedy" that received several Oscar nominations. The plot of the movie deals with a man who previously was wealthy and is now living in a city dump. A wealthy family is playing a game that requires finding things out in the city that is being participated by two rival sisters. One of the objects is to find a bum and William Powell's character becomes the object of one of the sister's pursuit, played by Carole Lombard. He later is offered a job to do butler work at the rich family's home. The movie has nearly non-stop wise cracks from beginning to end. Everyone in this movie gets to throw out zingers and the hilarity never ends. The superb screenwriting also got an Oscar nomination, but did not win.

Tyrone Power was famous for his roles as the dashing leading man in many of his movies. In this movie, his scenes with Gene Tierney provided glamour and sex appeal for the two leading roles. The film is based on a book by W. Somerset Maugham (who is portayed in the film by Herbert Marshall). The main plot involves a World War I veteran who leaves his prior life in the US to search for self identity and life's meaning. With the post-World War II era release of this movie, the theme of the protaganist and his search for self meaning makes the movie even more relevant given the numbers of millions of lives lost in the global war. Tyrone's character spurns the livelihood of his past girlfriend and later tries to help a former acquaintance (played by Anne Baxter) who experienced a family tragedy. After his former girlfriend attempts to get herself back into this life, he sees the shallowness of their relationship and is finally free of her at the end. The movie received a nomination for Best Picture and Anne Baxter won a Best Supporting Actress award.