Wicked Wednesday: Five Movies

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Edith/Maddie here, writing from north of Boston and hoping to catch up on some movies this month.

Wow. I just learned there are five movies named …” Five” – isn’t that amazing? According to my buddy Wikipedia, here’s the list:

Have you seen any of them? I haven’t. But it’s summertime, and when the mercury pegs up and it’s too hot to sit outside, lots of us head into the darkened comfort of an air-conditioned movie theater.

Wickeds, what are your five favorite flicks? Include if you first saw them in a theater or some other way.

Edith/Maddie: I’ll start with mine, all of which I first saw in a theater. Bridges of Madison County, The Taste of Things, Dr. Zhivago, Casablanca,” and Sleepless in Seattle. Yes, they are all love stories, most of which include heartbreak along the way.

Liz: Ooh, good question – I haven’t seen these but I did see Harlan Coben’s limited series The Five – which was awesome! My five favorite movies – I’m woefully behind on movies, but here are some standbys: The Shawshank Redemption, Seven, The Breakfast Club, The Shining, The Secret Window.

Jessie: While I have many additional favorites, I loved Sleepless in Seattle, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Breakfast Club! Let me add You’ve Got Mail, and Pride and Prejudice (the Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth version) to round out five choices.

Sherry: Sigh Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. Is it warm in here? My five favorite movies? That’s a hard one, but I’ll give it a whirl. One of my favorite movies, since my girlfriend’s parents took us to the drive-in to see it, is Shenandoah with Jimmy Stewart and Doug McClure (who was a crush at the time). Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire — the clothes are fabulous! Billy Elliott because of Billy’s defiance of the life he was expected to live. The Heat because it makes me laugh. Love Actually and last but not least Red with Bruce Willis. (And a nod to African Queen another favorite.)

Julie: I’m adding to my list! I don’t think I’ve heard of The Heat, Sherry. And I also love Red. Liz, Seven? You have a dark side, my friend. I have a long list of favorites, but let me pick five for today. Bandwagon with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charise is my favorite movie ever. It’s always on any list. Now, which other movies? When Harry Met Sally, All the President’s Men (or Three Days of the Condor or The Sting–anything peak Redford), Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Jaws.

Barb: This is impossible. Okay (deep breath), leaving aside the movies I re-watch every Christmas season as I address cards and wrap presents, I would say, Stranger Than Fiction, Parenthood,When Harry Met Sally, Some Like It Hot, Crazy, Stupid Love.

Readers: Favorite movies? (You don’t have to list five if you don’t want to.)

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Published by Edith Maxwell

Agatha Award -winning author Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Beyond the Page) and short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Dot and Amelia Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries (all from Kensington Publishing). She lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and cat Martin, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook.

58 Thoughts

  1. Sherry, I share your Doug McClure crush and OWN the DVD of Shenandoah. And Julie, same with Robert Redford.

    My 5 favorite movies? Great question. Let me think… Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (see above mentioned crush), Quigley Down Under (love the soundtrack!), Footloose, A Star is Born (the newest one with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper), and Sneakers (another Redford flick).

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    3. I wouldn’t put in on my favorite 5 list but I did quite enjoy Sneakers myself too. I don’t know that I loved the whole movie but the latest version of A Star is Born made me wish Lady Gaga sang this type of material all the time, it might just make me like her music because I loved the songs. And while I like “Shallow”, my favorite is probably “I’ll Always Remember Us This Way”.

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    4. I’m very jealous that you have the DVD of Shenandoah! And I also love the Lady Gaga Start is Born. The music was amazing and the movie heart wrenching!

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  2. Also a huge fan of RED (and even RED 2) and almost anything with either Mary Louise Parker and/or Helen Mirren. Casablanca has to be in my list of 5. I’d also probably add my guilty pleasure for hot weather, Ice Station Zebra. “We’re on a first-name basis here. My first name is ‘Captain.'” Fried Green Tomatoes and Longtime Companion (two more MLP movies – she has a heartbreaking death scene in the first and is about the only character who doesn’t die in the second – and during the last scene of Longtime Companion I always end up sobbing as everybody is alive again). Is that five? If not, throw The Maltese Falcon or Sabrina (the original version with Bogart and Audrey Hepburn).

    I’m way past five, but I’d have to add Becket, The Lion in Winter, A Man for All Seasons and The Trojan Women (a woefully ignored masterpiece with Katharine Hepburn, Genevieve Bujold, Vanessa Redgrave, and Irene Pappas).

    If I don’t stop now, I’m probably going to end up adding almost every film ever made with the possible exceptions of Plan 9 from Outer Space and Battlefield Earth (arguably the two worst movies ever made).

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    2. Lee, I love the Fried Green Tomatoes movie though I watched it originally because of Mary Stuart Masterson. And the original Sabrina is a stone cold bit of awesome!

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  3. Geez, I am old school. My fave movies are pretty old:
    AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (Gene Kelly & Cyd Charisse)
    TO CATCH A THIEF (Grace Kelly and Cary Grant)
    THE STING (Redford & Newman, can’t do wrong with that duo)
    RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Indiana Jones’ first one is the best)
    MRS. DOUBTFIRE (Robin Williams is a comic genius)

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    2. I like Mrs. Doubtfire but my favorite Robin Williams role was his Oscar-winning supporting role in Good Will Hunting. For his comedy stuff, I prefer his standup work.

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      2. For his dramatic role, I prefer DEAD POETS SOCIETY. I have no doubt Robin’s standup comedy routines would be awesome. I just have not seen m(any).

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  4. I love this post and all the responses! I am making a list – for when chilly nights come early and the popcorn is warm.

    My five favs:
    “An Affair to Remember”, with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr – oh, that moment when he sees the painting and the wheelchair

    “Funny Face”, with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn – and those fabulous shots of Paris and the fashion

    “To Catch a Thief”, more Cary Grant with Grace Kelly. Great banter and kissing fading into fireworks

    “Love Actually”, with all that star power and human vulnerability plus a happy ending..ahhh…

    “Exodus”, with Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. Horribly inaccurate, but still stirs my soul, and a soundtrack that is forever in my head.

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  5. One of my best favorite movies is Dirty Dancing. Love the music and often find myself singing along in the many times I watch it. Love this movie the best because it was the last movie I saw with our teenage daughter before she went to her heavenly home. I can still see her look of awe that her old momma actually knew the words to the songs in this new movie and my laughter because of her reaction. It always brings back wonderful memories. Isn’t that what makes a great movie to someone – the memories they bring back? It can be who you saw it with, where you were at when you saw it or the movie touching you, but it’s the memories that keep you going back to watch it again.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  6. I saw Star Wars in sixth grade and had never seen anything like it. I still love that movie.

    A Good Year with Russell Crowe,

    Enchanted April with Joan Plowright

    Pride and Prejudice (with Kiera Knightly and Rosamund Pike)

    Alien (the first one)

    Carol Willis
    carolwillisauthor.com

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    1. People may not believe it, but I love that version of Pride & Prejudice a lot. However, the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet version of Sense & Sensibility would probably be my favorite British class system movie.

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  8. Lilo & stitch, Rio, Inside out, Quiet place & Sweet home alabama. Saw them all on dvd.

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  9. The minute I make this list, I’ll think of more, but: All the President’s Men, The Sting, Quigley Down Under, Iron Man 1, Avengers 1, Big Jake, 12 Angry Men, Inherit the Wind El Dorado…wait, that’s more than five. LOL

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  10. The top of my list is “Field of Dreams.” Saw it in the theater when Nancy and I were dating. I’ve seen it many times since, and I always cry at the end.
    After that, “Star Trek: First Contact,” “The Blues Brothers,” and “The Iron Giant” are among my faves.

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  12. FIVE…a favorite number in so many ways. I love all the movies you all listed, but if I have to pick 5 movies after a lifetime of being a movie buff, I will pick these: The Birds, Rear Window, Murder on the Orient Express, The Bat and It’s a Wonderful Life…especially since Frank Capra lived in my town. Tere are so very many more 🙂 JOY! Luis at ole dot travel

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    1. I watched The Birds for the first time when I was babysitting. I’m a huge Rod Taylor fan. Years ago we stay in Bodega Bay and ate in the diner where it was filmed.

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  13. I have never seen any of those “Five” movies.

    Regarding The Wicked Authors picks – I’ve only seen Sleepless in Seattle from Edith’s list.
    I have a question about the choice of the Colin Firth Pride & Prejudice (wasn’t that a PBS miniseries or am I thinking of some other adaptation? If it was a miniseries on TV, does it still count as a movie?

    I’ve seen 4 out of 5 on Jessie’s list (more on that later).

    I’ve seen 3 on Liz’s list.

    I’ve seen 3 on Sherry’s list. By the way, did you know it’s based on a comic book miniseries written by Warren Ellis. It is the movie is WAY different than the original story which I liked better than the movie, which I still liked but it was not RED to me.

    I’ve seen 3 movies on Julie’s list and I was stoked to see that you included Captain America: The Winter Soldier on your list because to me it is the single best MCU movie because it wasn’t just a comic book movie but a movie modeled after the best kind of 1970’s political thriller type of movie as well. It was also made so that it is Honest Trailer-proof.

    As for my favorite 5 movies…that’s difficult because it can change daily.

    But my all-time favorite is The Silence of the Lambs. (Saw it in the theater first)

    The rest I won’t say that they are in any particular number order but I do tend to stop whatever I’m doing if I come across them on TV so I can watch them.

    The Last Starfighter – The first movie to make extensive use of CGI. And what 13-year-old boy didn’t dream of flying off into outer space with the beautiful Catherine Mary Stewart to do battle with Xur and the Kodan Armada? And though it took 29 years, I have actually met Catherine and got a photo plus my DVD copy of the movie signed. 😀 (Saw the movie in the theater first)

    The Shawshank Redemption – For a movie that was such a miserable failure at the box office, it is one of the best reviewed movies ever. It is pretty much perfectly done in every way. The cast is large and incredible and the story is superb. The hell with all of Stephen King’s horror writing, this is his best work to me. (Saw on home video first)

    This one is a bit of a cheat because I’m saying the original Star Wars Trilogy: “Star Wars”, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi”. This trilogy was first seen (all three movies) at the drive-in theater that used to be in my town. Hell, I still have cassette tapes that I used to record the third movie from the radio broadcast to go with the movie. This series launched my geek fandom (first kid on my street to have the original 12 action figures with a signed photo of Darth Vader. LOL) and likely introduced me to the concept of world building. Disney may be F-ing things up now but that original trilogy is untouchable in my mind.

    I think I’m going to leave off with these four titles because I have so many other options for the last choice that it would take too long to decide.

    I hope all the responders here today don’t mind if I weigh in on their choices as well.

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  14. I love so many, but I’ll list Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Murder My Sweet, The Maltese Falcon, Shane, Red River. That’s six, so I’ll stop!

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  15. I cannot believe no one has mentioned one of my all-time favorites, The Princess Bride. Makes me laugh every time I think about it. I do agree with Reds, Shawshank Redemption, the original Star Wars, and Sleepless in Seattle watching them, along with all of The Men in Black movies whenever they are aired. What a fun topic for a hot summer day! Thanks Edith.

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  16. Boy, am I old–but here goes. Favorite five: Rear Window; Vertigo; Singin’ in the Rain; The Bishop’s Wife, Roadhouse.

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  17. The Quiet Man, The Russians Are Coming- The Russians Are Coming, 1776, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness Scrooge with Albert Finney

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  18. When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Pretty Woman, The Devil Wears Prada, A League of Their Own

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  21. Well, this is going to reveal quite a bit about me.

    Beauty and the Beast
    Monsters, Inc.
    Up
    Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
    Scream (I’m going with the entire franchise here)

    Four kids movies (three of them animated) and a horror franchise. I’m a walking contradiction, aren’t I?

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  23. Sherry, you’ve seen SHENANDOAH! Oh the wedding scene. Be still my heart. Then there’s WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, THE BOOKCLUB, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, and BOOK, BELL, AND CANDLE.

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  24. You’ve Got Mail, While You Were Sleeping, The Gazebo (an old Glen Ford movie), Shop Around the Corner (Jimmy Stewart), and anything with Robert Redford in it!

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  25. Having grown up in the small way south Texas town of Harlingen, Texas which is in the magic Rio Grande Valley and 30 minutes from Matamoros, Mexico., my father was district manager of 4 theatres there and in Mercedes, Texas up the way. So, movies are in my life. I love so many and so many of the really old ones. I had seen “Casablanca” on TV but was able to see it at a movie theatre in the 1980s. I saw “West Side Story” in 1959–17 times in a row (I got in free) until my father forbade me going as he said my schoolwork was suffering. I was in 7th grade. “Pretty Woman,” “The Replacements,” “Youve Got Mail,” are among some favorites that I saw in the movie theatre. But I have to say that my absolute favorites I have only seen on TV–“The Thin Man” (the whole series) and “The Maltese Falcon.” I can watch them over and over. Okay, I have listed more than 5. Many of the ones that you all listed above are favorites. But don’t forget “Dirty Dancing,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Serendipity,” “Maverick: Top Gun,” “Practical Magic, “and anything with Ryan Gosling in it. I will stop now as I have broken the Five rule…. And I like silent movies. Go figure.

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