Movies Everyone Should Watch in a Lifetime and Why
To my fellow movie lovers, this article series will discuss the movies my two best friends and I love most. I will be giving small bits of information about the movies to pique interest, without spoiling the plots. The movies will be recommended in no particular order, because I could never make a set order of favorites.
Let’s start with “A Simple Favor” which stars Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Henry Golding. This movie is a drama/mystery, although hints of comedy are sprinkled throughout depending on one’s sense of humor. There are an extreme number of plot twists and an unexpected ending to the movie, but no matter how many times I watch it, it doesn’t get old. This movie is rated R and is recommended to not be viewed without adult consent. My favorite scene of this movie is when Kendrick’s character, Stephanie, first goes to the home of Lively’s character, Emily. They drink martinis and get to know each other better, however, the more they spend time together, the more personal information they leak to one another. Secrets are revealed, and eventually, Emily goes missing. If you are wondering what happens to Emily and those around her, I highly recommend watching this movie.
Next is “The Notebook”, a movie that destroyed my soul. The emotions that this movie will give you are a roller coaster ride. The movie starts out with an older man reading a book to a dementia patient. The book he is reading is about a couple who, at the tender age of 17, fall in love one summer. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams play the young couple in the story, Allie and Noah, who fall deeply in love. Viewers follow the couple over the course of a few years and go through highs and lows with them. The scenes with Allie and Noah are sometimes intertwined with the older people as the man continues to read the story to the patient, and the two discuss what is happening. The ending of the movie will leave you in tears, and there are many more movies based on Nicholas Sparks novels similar to this one, that you can cry to after finishing this movie.
If “The Notebook” is not your type of movie, perhaps try “The Breakfast Club”, which is an 80s classic that takes place in a high school library for one Saturday detention. The entire movie is about how five teens from completely different cliques at school spend their day together, and learn they may not be so different after all. This movie is a comedy/coming of age film, which has remained beloved by many generations. My favorite scene is towards the end, where they are all high on marijuana, and they start spilling their secrets to one another. This is a must watch, and can be viewed with the family.
“10 Things I Hate About You” is definitely in my top ten favorite movies. It stars Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger, in this 90s Rom-Com. Ledger’s character, Patrick, is paid to take out Stiles’s character, Kat, who is a one-of-a-kind girl —a role model for many teenage girls. She is fiesty and doesn’t live by anyone else’s expectations, and teaches young girls to stand up for themselves and never settle. There are lots of comedic moments, and even two budding romances between Patrick and Kat, and Bianca and Cameron. Cameron wants to go out with Bianca, however Bianca isn’t allowed to date until Kat starts dating. So, Cameron and his friend trick a popular boy named Joey (who also wants to take out Bianca) to pay Patrick for dating Kat. The events that follow contain laughter and the excitement of high school romances.
“One Day” starring Anne Hathaway, received extremely mixed reviews when it came out. Personally, it is one of my favorites movies. It follows the story of Emma and Dexter, who first officially meet July 15th, 1988. The movie follows the friends over the course of 18 years, checking in on every July 15th, seeing how they grow together and conversely, grow apart. The movie has a shocking moment close to the end, which is both devastating and jaw dropping, because the movie then comes full circle. In order to enjoy this movie, one must be invested in the story and must pay attention to the details, otherwise it may become confusing.
Stay tuned to next month for another addition of “Movies Everyone Should Watch in a Lifetime and Why”, where I offer a larger variety of movie suggestions for people who may not love romance or ROM-COMs.