My Favorite Things PhD2

What is your favorite type of movie? I enjoy romantic comedies, clean comedies and inspirational movies.  I really like watching a movie and feeling uplifted at the end or having a smile on my face because it was a fun movie.  Most action movies do not inspire or excite me.  The level of violence in a lot of movies really turns me off.  I do not watch movies about war.  I know that war is real and that it is historical and the stories and events surrounding wartime can be really inspiring and beautiful.  I really just can't get over the violence and hate that surrounds war.  I literally get sick with a headache and a sore pit in my stomach when I think about men fighting.  Mankind shouldn't hate so deeply.  I understand the need for change and that sometimes war is the only or last avenue to pursue, but I don't enjoy learning about the details of war.  Soldiers who witness things first-hand are scarred for life because of the events.  I get nightmares just thinking about the horrors they witness and I don't care to use my free time to watch war movies.

What are your favorite movies?  From the titles of this week's and last week's posts, one would be inclined to guess that The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies.  That would be only partly true because I only like the first 2/3 of The Sound of Music.  I like the movie up to the point where the VonTrapp family is playing cat and mouse with the Nazis.  Suddenly this fun, happy musical is a war movie, and I don't feel safe or happy with it anymore.  Sure, they get away, but have you ever thought about what happens after the movie ends?  That family is stuck trying to cross a mountain with no supplies.  Since the movie is roughly based on real events, I know that the family survives, but I would rather have seen the movie end where they are truly safe, not heading into a treacherous escape into a new country.

Movies that are my favorites (in no particular order) include It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World, Oscar, An Affair to Remember, Sleepless in Seattle, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It's a Wonderful Life (yes, that one takes place during a war, but it doesn't take place on the war field), My Neighbor Totoro, Radio, Sneakers, Ponyo, Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version), No Reservations, Singin' in the Rain.

What is your favorite theater play? I don't really have a favorite play, but the plays that I enjoy most are comedies. I don't think that I have gone to many dramatic plays (I saw Jane Eyre it was a musical- I didn't enjoy it much).  Daniel and I went to a play on our first date.  We saw Kiss and Tell. If I ever have to opportunity to see that again, I'd love to go.  It was witty and a lot of fun to watch.

I use to work at Desert Star Theatre as a waitress and in the box office, so I saw a lot of comedic plays while I was a teen. 

Who is your favorite actor?  I am not a big fan of movie stars.  While I enjoy movies, I don't get hung up over any actor.  I don't read People magazine or follow the awards shows.  In fact, I feel sorry for a lot of the movie stars because fans won't leave them alone.  I certainly wouldn't want the amount of attention that a lot of the stars get, so I try to leave them alone.

I do have several favorite actors though.  My favorite actor is Tom Hanks.  He has played many different rolls and I am amazed at how well he takes on the characteristics and mannerisms of each unique character.  I just find it amazing that the actor who played Forest Gump is the same actor who played Cast Away.  Philadelphia is another movie that made me appreciate his ability to portray his roles so convincingly.  

I am a sucker for Jimmy Stewart.  I think that he was a handsome, down to earth man.  I have read a biography of Jimmy Stewart and I enjoyed reading about how the cinema world worked when he first started making movies.  (Is it hypocritical to loath fan magazines, but to read a biography?)  I love watching James Stewart in the movie called Mr. Kruegers Christmas.  He was a delightful old man in that movie.  

Who is your favorite actress?  This one is a tough one because I don't really have a favorite.  I really liked Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia because she really put on a great show.  I'm not sure why, but there isn't a female actress right now or really ever who I gravitate toward.  I use to really like Meg Ryan because of her role in Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, but I haven't enjoyed much from her since then.