me and the movies

There are some movies I feel obligated to watch when they are on. If I am flipping through channels and one of them comes up, I stay on it and watch it through. I can't help it, even though I can quote the dialogue along with the characters.

Shattered Glass
The Departed
Gone with the Wind
The Princess Bride
Sex and the City
A Christmas Story
Bride and Prejudice
Atonement
X-Files: I Want to Believe (Derek gets particularly pissed at this one for some reason!)
An American in Paris
Sense and Sensibility
Howard's End

It's insane how many times I've seen all these movies. They are all so different that I can't explain the appeal in just a few words. Some remind me of my father, some remind me of good times, some just drew me in.

I can't explain "The Departed" other than it satisfies some bloodthirst that must reside in me. "Shattered Glass" is just great story-telling and acting. "Howard's End" and "Atonement" are just beautiful movies to watch. "Bride and Prejudice" reminds me of home and cracks me up big time.

"The Princess Bride" is just downright wonderful and deserves its own paragraph. I saw that in high school (actually IN high school: some class showed it to raise funds for something or other) and thought it was a great romance. Only when I left school and saw it again did I realize its genius. Last year, I read the book and almost died laughing.

"Sex and the City" scares even me. I was watching it again yesterday and realized I was saying the lines out loud. It's one of those movies I keep on in the background when I am doing something else. So is "Sense and Sensibility" (even though I own the DVD, it's always like the first time when I see that movie) and "X-Files: I Want to Believe".

I guess I also find comfort in familiar things. Like some books I read over and over. Or repeating funnny things Derek said when he was a baby or John wrote to me when we were apart. It's just nice to go back to something I really love.