Best Picture Winners: Chariots of Fire

So I watched this a few weeks ago and I was planning on posting a review on it since it is a Best Picture Winner and i'm doing a lot of my posts on those. Anyway, I really enjoyed this film a lot. It was really special and I was really inspired by it.

The determination that they both had, but especially Eric. The speech that he told those people about running the race and faith was just so relevant for me since that same week I had a lesson on that in the girls small group that I am in.

Eric Liddell: You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.

Really that determination and that spirit comes from within. If you run the race just because you enjoy it and you feel joy when you do it, then I believe that is the mark of a true champion. That's definitely what Eric Liddell did. That's why he won.

I just enjoyed the movie on so many levels. The theme. The message of hope. The inspiration. It made me happy and it definitely deserved to win Best Picture. :)

Best Picture Winners: The Artist

So I finally got around to watching The Artist. I had been wanting to watch it for a long time, but I just didn't get around to it. Then it became available to stream on netflix so I watched it tonight. It was very cute, but you definitely have to be the right mood to watch a silent film. I liked that there was some sound in it though and the story was very cute. I liked the vintage style of it and that they made a film like this in modern day.

Also Bernice Bejo looks a lot like Bethany Joy Lenz, it's weird they both can fit in vintage era movies or shows. :)

It was sweet how she was trying to help him and she believed in him when he felt like no one else did. I really enjoyed it. It was well acted for being a silent film, it didn't need to have words to have the emotions and everything shown.

I'm not doing a very good job of reviewing this, but I thought it was a great movie and it's another Best Picture winner that I have seen now! :D

Roots

So I have finished watching my first miniseries and I picked the one that is considered the best by most people, Roots. It was great to learn about the history of that family and see firsthand what the blacks went through during the times depicted in the miniseries.

I have always been interested in the history of blacks throughout the 19th century and even before, since this starts in the 1700s. Anyway the acting was always supberd (John Amos was exceptional as Toby) and everyone else did their part too. I cried when Fiddler died, he really added to it with his fiddle playing and the lessons he taught Kunta. :)

I liked seeing all the different actors/actresses that played the lead parts throughout the miniseries and how different they were compared to other roles they did. Ed Asner was great as the Captain of the slave ship. Robert Reed was great as well and Chuck Connors.

I'm glad that Alex Haley told the story of his family's roots and history, we have seen many types of movies that have depicted the Civil War and Slavery and the horrors of what the black people went through, but the reason I like miniseries is because they tend to go deeper and since they have multiple parts it has more detail and is more authentic.

Definitely one of the best, i'm glad that I chose to see this one first. :) 

American Flyers

I've decided to take a break from the Favorite Movie Scenes for a while and make a post about a movie I saw a few days ago. It's not a Best Picture or anything (although i'm working on seeing more of those) this was just a feel good 80s movie called American Flyers starring Kevin Costner. I knew that it was about a bike race before I watched it, but after seeing it, I have to say that it was definitely one of those movies that you can see anytime. It's one of those feel good, determined to show you are worthy type movies.

Kevin Costner plays Marcus, a Sports Physician who persaudes his unstable brother David to come and train with him for the annual bike race that he has competed in for many years. Well they have issues with their parents and their dad died from a cerebral tumor. David thinks he has it, but it turns out it's actually Marcus and he doesn't tell him until on Day 2 of the race Marcus starts bleeding and showing signs of the tumor. David doesn't want to finish the race, but Marcus convinces him to do it and David ends up winning. It was a great story and it brought the brothers together again and helped David discover that he was good at something.

I really enjoyed the music in the film too. I always love 80s films for that reason, because they always have epic soundtracks. Plus the scenery was also gorgeous since a lot of it was filmed in Colorado. So if you're looking for a feel good film that is just fun, but also has drama and humor, this is for you.

Favorite Movie Scenes: Breakfast at Tiffany's (Taxi scene)

Okay, so I know it's been over a month so I posted and i'm sorry about that. School has really kept me busy and I planned to keep up this week every week, but I have gotten behind. Anyway, since I am posting I might as well talk about my next favorite scene :)

So every since I first saw Breakfast at Tiffany's (and I had to see it a few times before I really understood the whole thing) the scene in the taxi has been one of my favorites. I just love how Paul is the only one who really sees Holly for who she is, he loves her and he's trying to convince her of that. She doesn't want to be put in a cage or belong to anyone and he is just there like don't you get it? She doesn't want to be tied to one person, but she does want to marry that millionare. She's afraid to really open herself up and Paul telling her that he loves her scares her. I love how after he throws the ring in to her she starts crying and puts it on and then goes and finds the cat and they kiss and embrace at the end with Moon River playing in the background. It was really a turning point for her because she realized by being with him and telling a lot of her problems to him that he is her happiness, he is who she wants to be with. It's just one of those great scenes in romantic comedies that really makes the whole thing worthwhile because here, you've been rooting for these characters from the beginning of the film and then once the guy or the girl just lets it out and says how they feel you can't wait for that final kiss or embrace that gives the story a happy ending. :)

I just think it's such a real scene and Audrey acted it so well, she was great in the role, despite her thinking that she was overcast for it. It will always be considered a great scene for me and one that I will always think of when I think of Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Paul Varjak: You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.

[takes out the ring and throws it in Holly's lap]

Paul Varjak: Here. I've been carrying this thing around for months. I don't want it anymore.

Favorite Movie Scenes: The Sound of Music (Gazebo Scene)

So here is my next favorite movie scene post. In this one I combined two scenes, but I guess it's all kind of one scene if you think about it, since the scene with her on the bench when the Captain finds her leads into the gazebo scene.

Anyway, along with The Sound of Music being my favorite movie of all time, this scene is also my favorite and I have a lot of favorite scenes/songs in this film. This one stands out the most for me though. Just seeing Maria being pensive and wondering what she is going to do now that she has found out that the Captain is going to marry the Baroness. Then he finds her sitting there and again confronts her about why she came back, with her saying "I had an obligation to fulfill and I came back to fulfill it." then he asks if that's all and she says "I missed the children" "Only the children?" "Is it right I should have missed them?" which means he hoped that she missed him because he is in love with her too. 

Anyway, he says nothing was the same when she was away and it would be all wrong again if she left and he hoped she would change her mind. I just love the lead up to it. How simple it is, with their feelings clearly there, but it isn't until he says that he and the Baroness called off their engagement that she realizes what he said and then the "You can't marry someone when you're in love with someone else, can you?" She's almost shocked that he said that and that he feels the same way. I mean here is this woman, who has never been in love before, this is all new to her and she brought his family together again and I just think it's all so beautiful. That scene is definitely one of the best movie love scenes. :)

I think it was amazing acted by both of them and they really brought out the emotions in the characters, especially Julie Andrews in her portrayal of Maria. :) The chemistry was there and then singing "Something Good" yeah, there is not enough words for me to describe this scene and beauty and simplicity of it. 

Since I can't seem to find a video of this scene on youtube, I will post a Maria & Georg Tribute video that I found instead. 

Here is the story of their love for you all to enjoy ♥

Favorite Movie Scenes: Rocky 3 (Beach Scene)

So I was inspired by a friend to make posts of my favorite scenes in movies. I'm not going to post them all at once, but I thought I would do one like each week or something and just make a post about that scene and why I consider it a favorite. I don't know how many I will do exactly, but it's just a fun way to talk about scenes that I think deserve awards if they had awards for that particular category. :)

The one that I want to start off with is the "beach scene" in Rocky 3. That scene to me is just the epitome of what a movie scene should be. It has everything, passion, emotion, love... I also just love how Adrian, someone who is extremely shy, confronts Rocky about his what he's feeling. She knows that something is wrong because he's not giving it his all, he's just not "into" what he's doing anymore.

I just think that Talia Shire alone should have gotten an award for that scene because of she just comes out of her shell in that scene and it really shows how much she loves him. Rocky is afraid of losing what he's got and she wants to get the truth out of him (which she does) that he is afraid. She tells him Mickey was a good trainer and that he did want he had to, Rocky is a good fighter and even if he doesn't win, he'll lose with no excuses and no fear. Basically with no regrets. :) I just think it's so amazing and I think Rocky 3 is the best one of the whole Rocky Saga. I may be reaching there for some people, but I think the story is so real and just perfect. 

So for those that like the third movie as much as I do (although I don't know if that's possible lol) here is the scene in all it's glory.