Meme: Top 5 favorite movies

Che-cheh must have noticed the lack of inspiration lately in my blogs, and decided to do something about it. She's tagged me for a simple meme - listing my Top 5 Favorite Movies.

I'll have to put this disclaimers:

My deprived childhood (yeah, I was a child laborer, and was forced to peddle DVDs and sell lottery tickets - NOT) meant that I didn't quite watch a lot of movies. But that's the easy to understand part. The hard to understand part is that in my adulthood (which is still hotly disputed - some people think my IQ is that of an 8 year old boy), I still don't watch many movies. That's because I sometimes boycott cinemas, sometimes the cinema boycott me, and I sometimes buy the DVD but never watch the movie. Please don't question the reason(s) for my miserable living conditions. It's depressing enough to live it, don't make me answer for it too.

Having said that, I do have many favorite movies, and when asked to mention my top movies, depending on the mood, I'll list out different ones. So for this meme, I'm feeling a little inspired, calm, and content. Based on this mood, here's my list of favorite movies ...

Phantom Lover (Cantonese, Leslie Cheung & Jacqueline Wu)


Based loosely on the Romeo and Juliet, this movie is a favorite for sentimental reasons - the soundtrack. It reintroduced me to Leslie Cheung, and got me to rediscover this icon of Hong Kong entertainment industry. The acting's not too bad, and the plot's a little predictable. It's all about Leslie Cheung and his singing.

And the way they do the flashbacks in black and white ... and then the scenes in the present in color. It's interesting to me because it's the first time I've seen that done in a movie.

Disclaimer though, I'm interested in Leslie Cheung's acting and singing. Not Leslie Cheung himself hor.

Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)


This damn movie touched me. Made me cry in the cinema. Made me believe an unbelievable story line. And I don't understand why. Even today. I'm still trying to understand why I'm so touched, but I think it's the story, as unbelievable as it is. Tom Hanks can just sell you the most unlikely story, can't he?

I remember playing the theme from this movie on the piano and imagining a feather slowly making its way to me (just like in the opening scene). And I'll always remember the running scene, where Forrest was running against a stunning background - that of a beautiful snow capped mountain reflected on a lake - with the commentary that goes - "and where you can't tell where heaven ends and earth begins" - or something to that effect. *tsk*

Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Don't tell me you don't know about this?)


We all know about this. I enjoy the movie because of its epic production and the well done story telling. It's nowhere as good as the book, but it's a pretty good rendition of it. Plus, the acting's not bad at all.

The Rock (Nic Cage, Sean Connery)


How can you beat this for pure action? The storyline sucks. The plot is implausible. You know the good guy, who's a geek, will kick ass in the end. You know the old man, a prisoner, will be free as well. So ... why watch this one then?

You watch it because you want shootouts! You want explosions! You want bombs! You want fight scenes! It doesn't hurt that you get Sean Connery in it. He's the reason why I look forward to aging. Who knows? Maybe I'll look better when I'm older. Hope springs eternal !!!

Storm Riders (Cantonese, Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Shu Qi)


Ok, Chinese comic book buffs - you can come out from hiding !!! This is the movie adaptation of the chinese comic of the same title. I've had fantasies of being one of the two heroes in this wuxia movie - Cloud or Wind. Hehe ... given a choice, I'd like to be Cloud - more moody lah - like my alter ego.

The acting is no good. The action is not too bad. The special effects are good by HK standards. The best part about this movie is when the Sword Saint (played by Anthony Wong), appeared - the audience actually laughed - but he's supposed to be a serious character ... so farnie !!! But his fight scene with Sony Chiba's Lord Conqueror is actually pretty good - the one where all the people in the hall freezes.

OK ...

So now, you've heard my Top Top Favorite Favorite Movies. In the spirit of propagating mindless, entertaining memes, I'm tagging the following blog-pals.

But ...

(There's got to be a but somewhere, no?)

Because this meme is so easy ... I'm tagging with a twist :

Angeliu - I'd like to to know your Top 5 Movies with Spooning Scene. You like spooning so much, I'm sure you have your own list of spooning scenes you like ... Top 5 Spooning Scene in Movie is also acceptable. =)

Applegal - Can you share your Top 5 Court room scene in movies. You law student mah ... sure got something one ...

JL - Let's see what's your Top 5 Lame movie scene or Top 5 Lame movie ... got ah? Neh ... those lame scenes ...? Got ah ? Ok ...

Kenny Ng - This rock brader ... I wanna know what's the rock brader's Top 5 Rock Movie ?

Winn - You like to layang layang, hor? Can let us know what's your Top 5 Layang Layang movie ?