Movies, Movies, Movies

I love movies. As long as I catch it from the beginning, I can be pulled into almost any movie. I typically avoid really old period pieces (Troy, Gladiator, etc) and Sci-Fi (Matrix, Star Wars, etc). Any movie that makes me cry is a winner. Basic formula that gets my tear ducts working is any combination of a little romance, a little suspense, star crossed lovers, and of course, the breakup and reconciliation of a friendship or romance

This weekend, VH1 played on my favorites about 89 times and my remote control seemed to tune to it repeatedly. Since it was one of my favorites, I started reminiscing about my other favorites and decided to share. I could on and on, but I'll just mention my absolute favorites.

Top 3 Movies

Dirty Dancing - The story of a summer love, between a bad boy, dance instructor and a good girl. How could you not love Johnny and Baby? Their connection was so quick and unexpected, that the romantic in me could watch this movie a million times. I think I'm up to about 1000. My favorite lines are:

Penny to Baby - "Go back to your playpen, Baby. "

Johnny to Everyone - "I'm gonna do my kind of dancin' with a great partner, who's not only a terrific dancer; somebody who's taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them; somebody who's taught me about the kind of person I wanna be. "

And of course, Diva in Demand and I agree of this wonderful line, spoken from Baby to Johnny - "Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you."

The Five Heartbeats - story of an African American singing group, from their rise to fame in the 60's to their downfall in the late 70's. I laugh, cry and sing every time I watch this movie. It's got it all for me - friendship, love, music, action, scandal, overcoming addiction, etc. It was so well written and acted. The set design for each time period was dead on - vehicles, clothing, hair, etc. Beware - never watch it with me. I know about 90% of the dialogue. Favorite lines:

Eddie to the group: "Ya'll sure you wanna sang with ole Eddie King Jr?"
(tears in my eyes every time)

Random man to himself, in restaurant - "Every night, I gotta fight to prove my love!"
(that line cracks me up every time)

Donald "Duck" to audience at Awards Ceremony - "I was at a party once and a critic said, 'Donald Matthews will be a great writer when he suffers more.' And I though to myself, what does that mean - suffers more? Well, I'm on my way to becoming a great writer and I have two people to thank - my fiancee Tonya and my brother JT. My brother...who's been the same selfish m****f***a since we were kids!"

Space Camp - This movie is about 5 kids and an instructor at Space Camp, who accidentally get thrust into space. Ya'll I loved this movie so much that for months, I begged my parents to send to the real NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. During the summer of 1988, I actually went to The Space Academy and I loved it. This movie holds a special place in my heart and is definitely my favorite cheesy 80's movie. Favorite lines:

Katheryn to Kevin - "My mom always says that being boss and being bossy aren't the same. "

Tish to the group - "Whip me, beat me, take away my charge cards... NASA is talking!"

Kevin to Katheryn - "What's the worst thing that can happen? We'll all die, right?"

If you've never seen these, check 'em out. Here's the rest of my top 10:

4. Beaches
5. Purple Rain
6. Grease
7. Harlem Nights
8. Lady Sings the Blues
9. Shawshank Redemption
10. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

What are your favorite movies and favorite lines from them?