Alright…I’m doing this post for two reasons:
- I’m a day late on the “Build A Better Blog” challenge that I’ve agreed to do with Modern Single Momma and the second task is to build a “list post”. I like lists. I enjoy lists. I feel like I can accomplish this task with relative ease.
- I decided to totally steal this idea from a Facebook application and, because I can be inherently lazy, have decided to make this a monthly post idea.
Basically, “My Top 5″ will simply be me answering a question (suggestions are always welcomed). Here is my first list:
The 5 movies that I grew up on:
Star Wars — C’mon…this one is a given, isn’t it? I mean, I even posted a quick little video showcasing just how proud I was of getting The Ankle Biter to watch it with me. I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time in the balcony of a theatre waaaaay back in 1977-ish. I was one of those kids who had all of the toys: the Mos Eisley cantina, the Death Star, every single little character. I was insane for everything Star Wars. To say that George Lucas slightly shaped my childhood would be like saying I slightly love women. 
Raiders of the Lost Ark — Okay…I’ll be the first to admit that I might have a slight man-crush on Harrison Ford. The guy is far-and-away my favorite actor and I’ve seen just about everything he’s ever done. When I first saw Raiders (and no…I don’t care what any marketing firm says…there’s no “Indiana Jones and…” in the title of MY movie), I was absolutely blown away. I mean, just when you thought there wouldn’t be a cooler action hero than Han Solo…along comes Indiana Jones. This movie broke the mold and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it. Hell…I even purchased a copy of the album as a teenager just so I could listen to the theme song over and over again.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial — OMG…I can’t imagine my life without ever having known the pure joy and bliss of Reece’s Pieces. If for no other reason, this movie provided me with a glimpse of the amazing world known as candy-coated peanut butter pieces. Oh…and the movie was all amazing and stuff, too. I mean, a friendly alien living in your closet? How frickin’ cool would THAT be?? The movie really built upon the fantasies that many kids already had with the whole Star Wars phenomena…are aliens real?…that when this friendly glowing-finger dude made the bicycle fly, they were ready to live the fantasy in droves. I was one of those kids.
The Terminator — Without a shadow of a doubt…the original is still the best. While T2 had the flash, the original had the substance. I remember watching this movie and being absolutely amazed at the special effects during the final climatic chase/fight scenes (not to mention getting a glimpse of Linda Hamilton’s breasts). This movie, when released, was the epitome of COOL. I can’t tell you how many times I watched it growing up. Actually, I haven’t seen it in awhile. I need to remedy that.
Back To The Future — This one was tough…because there are virtually three or four more movies I could have easily included in this list. But at the end of the day, I remember this trilogy the most. Marty McFly was a fantastic character…likable but with his fair share of flaws. Sure, the 2nd and 3rd movies were cheesy…but who cares? I remember sitting in my friends basement and just contemplating the possibilities of time travel. What would you do? What if you changed something? How would your life change? For a young teenager, these questions really made for incredible conversations. The original, with a kick-ass soundtrack to boot, still remains one of my favorite movies of all time.
What about you? You can obviously see how much of a popcorn-movie-nerd I am…what movies did YOU grow up on?
April 8th, 2009 at 2:24 am
Heyyy, you’re 10 years older than me and we grew up on the same movies! Something’s not right here….
April 8th, 2009 at 2:33 am
I was sheltered in the 70′s…and I’m still a HUGE kid at heart.
At least that’s my excuse. Heh.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:48 am
You are 14 years older than man but I love all the movies you listed!
April 8th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Okay…now I’m just feeling REALLY old (lol).
April 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Dirty Dancing, of course!!!
April 8th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
NOBODY puts Baby in a corner!
April 8th, 2009 at 11:45 am
DIrty Dancing for sure. And The Breakfast Club.
April 8th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Yep to ALL FIVE!!! (We are the same age, right?)
And yes, definitely the movies with the Brat Pack: Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, St Elmo’s Fire, Weird Science (Danny Elfman/Oingo Boingo is BRILLIANT), all of those… so great.
OH!! And Grease. Man, brings back memories.
April 8th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I absolutely LOVE the Breakfast Club. But really…I was never a “Brat Pack” fan. Although having said that, I’ve seen ALL of those movies at least once (lol).
And yeah…Grease is definitely the word.
April 8th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Great pics. I’ll never forget Olivia Newton Jean in black leather jeans in Grease.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Well, I don’t think I can pick five better film than the ones you selected.
Maybe I would swap Aliens for E.T, though.
April 8th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
I know it’s weird, but I was never a fan of the Alien franchise. Good call, though.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
I agree with your pics and also T’s. I would have to include Airplane, The Blues Brothers, and Animal House. I’m sure I could come up with more after more thought.
How’s St. Louis?
April 10th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Airplane…yeah…great movie.
St. Louis has been very VERY wet. I caught a Cardinals game on Wednesday night and was able to go on the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour yesterday…both of which were awesome.
I’m heading back this morning…so there will definitely be updates later this afternoon.
April 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Seems like we’re saying cool movies are ageless. Or just cool people are ageless
April 11th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I’d like to think it’s perhaps a combination of both.
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:31 pm
[...] Jane Fonda was hot, this is one to see. I’m certain Ted Turner has watched it more than once. 45. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Separated from his spaceship, an adorable alien must return home with the help of a small [...]