Great Movies to Watch

I didn’t have any plans to write an entry for my blog today but after hearing a fellow employee share her emotional experience when she lost a loved one to a bombing incident, it inspired me to write this piece.

A famous quote states “art imitates life” and so I realized there are a lot of movies that showcase our real struggles and experiences in life. Some movies make us laugh, some movies make us cry and some movies make us do both.

Here is a list of movies that have elicited different feelings for me and I feel that one should see these movies at least once in their lifetime.

Movies starring Robin Williams – for some reason there is a lot on my list from Robin Williams

1. What Dreams May Come – This movie takes love and loss to greater heights and I mean that both literally and figuratively. In this movie, you will see how a husband loved his wife dearly that he went to the depths of hell just to find her. This movie is also a feast for the eyes because of the really vivid and colorful effects.

2. Bicentennial Man – This story presents the irony of all ironies – how a machine/robot had human-like feelings and how he wanted to be human even to the point of dying like one. The dialogue is also both witty and most of them very meaningful.

3. Patch Adams – Based on the life of a real doctor, this inspirational story shows how one person and his unconventional ways can make such a difference in the world. This movie is full of laughs and also full of good lessons. If I am not mistaken, I think Dr. Adams is still alive and has even visited the Philippines some time ago.

4. August Rush – Although not really starred by Robin Williams himself, he is part of the characters that make this movie so dynamic. A sure hit for music lovers of all genres, this story revolves around an orphan boy’s search for his biological parents and how he did it through music. This movie is literally “music to the ears.”

Other Movies

1. A Beautiful Mind – If you’re like me who sees past the movies and dialogues, watches a movie and gets “sucked into it”, then you would not want to miss this movie! Not all of us are born brilliant, but when you watch this movie, it shows you life in the eyes of a brilliant person (I think the more appropriate word is genius) and who wouldn’t want to be a genius even for a short time, right?

2. The Champ – I remember this movie as one of the very first “betamax tapes” my father brought from abroad. A story of how a has-been boxer goes back to the ring, fights for his title and actually wins it for the last time. The most unique part of this story is how it is portrayed in the eyes of his son who sees him as the real “Champ”. This movie makes me cry every time I watch it.

3. The Notebook – For sure a lot of hopeless-romantics will have this movie on their list because it depicts such a great act of undying love. If loss is hard for us to accept as it is, losing someone through memory is even harder because you see the person and talk to them yet they do not recognize you and they never will. How the movie ends too really gives justice to the story and seals the movie perfectly.

4. The Guardian – It is true that some movies dramatize life too much and probably make “living heroes” of all kinds of people, probably even criminals and crooks at times. Some may even think that this movie too is one of those because in the end, the movie instills a subtle idea that the hero in the story still lives and is helping those who get trouble at sea. I love the “living hero” idea in this movie and believe that we all could use heroes every now and then especially during desperate times so if believing makes us feel better, then let us all believe!

5. Gattaca – Although this story was released way ahead of its time, it does pose a lot of questions in our minds about the importance of DNA and how far it will influence our lives. The story of underdogs achieving great things is always a hit among a lot of us because of the sense of “hope” it gives us. In this story, Ethan Hawke is the “genetic underdog”, destined to a life of failure, who, assumes the identity of someone genetically superior and surpasses all his supposed “limitations”. Although in reality he had to hide his true self which is not a good example, it still reflects a sad niche of reality that sometimes you have to hide your true self to get to where you need to be.

I am sure I have more on my list but this is all for now, will add to it later. Go and see these movies and hope you enjoy them too!!! Happy viewing~ :-)

@7am, 11/08/12 Thursday