Stuff I Love: 10 Films
Mar. 1st, 2026 04:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impala_chickFor the stuff I love challenge #1: my favorite live action and animated films! I'm sure I'm forgetting some (because I do love watching movies), but these are the ones that came to mind when I first saw this challenge. The links are to the trailers on Youtube.
Challengers (2024): The way Tashi is the driver of the plot, even though she doesn't get to play tennis in the Challenger, is so well-done. Never for a moment do you forget that she's at the center of Patrick and Art's world in a way that they don't even realize until possibly the end. The editing is so tight and the soundtrack is incredible. All three of them have incredible chemistry with each other. Every side of the triangle touches! This is like the peak love triangle movie to me, but it's also the peak film about unashamedly being ambitious and having desires and being a 30-something chasing something you thought you couldn't have.
God's Own Country (2017): The way this film explores anger and masculinity and trying to avoid feeling things too intensely and falling in love despite your best efforts - it's all so nuanced and beautiful. I instantly related to Johnny, although I wasn't having quite as much casual sex at the time :P Love grows despite Johnny trying to avoid it at all costs, and then love is patient and kind and lets him grow too.
The Conjuring I (2013): I love the scares, the way the anxiety builds over time, the creepy ass sheet, and the way it's loosely based on a true story. I think this film really paved the way for good demon stories. Besides, it's really a love story about Ed and Lorraine Warren and how devoted they are to each other. The ending is such a fantastic payoff after all of the dread. This is the film that launched a franchise and I think that's wonderful. I'd keep watching them forever if I could.
Babygirl (2025): This film had me on the edge of my seat breathless the whole time. Every rewatch, it just seems to get better. I'm not even a Kidman fan but the way she wrestles with shame about her desires the whole film is captivating. Plus it's sexy as hell and satisfies my id. Even powerful women can like subbing in the bedroom and that's ok!! Sexy, even!! I really love how she still gets to keep her position of power in the company at the end, because this would have been a completely different film if she'd been punished too harshly for embracing her sexuality.
Romeo + Juliet (1996): I was captivated by the book/play when I read it in high school, then we watched this film in 9th or 10th grade and I was BLOWN AWAY. The visuals! The music! When he meets her through a fish tank in that insane bathroom - I never thought about fish tanks the same again. The way the words are old but they don't feel old at all! Plus the tragic romance of it all. This is a true classic to me and launched a Leo DiCaprio obsession that lasted for quite a while.
The Other Guys (2010): I am a peacock, you gotta let me fly! This movie is insanely quote-able and still hilarious every time I watch it. It has something important to say about investigating financial crimes and protecting pensions, and after the recession I don't think anyone else made learning about financial crimes this entertaining or understandable.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022): If I loved this movie less, I might be able to talk about it more? Even a rewatch is difficult because it makes me so sad. Even the trailer is making me tear up. This is how a multi-verse film should feel. It's so visually appealing and incredible! And it all comes back to family. Living an ordinary, loving life, can be beautiful too, and I'm thankful that this film embraces that.
The Road to El Dorado (2000): My first OT3, so very formative indeed :D Also hilarious and visually beautiful. I love the way Miguel and Tulio stumble onto something much bigger than they imagined, and they have to learn something about themselves and another culture in the process. Plus, Chel being clever and plotting from the sidelines for most of the film really propels the whole plot forward - she gets to be nuanced without being unlikeable.
Mulan (1998): That scene at the end when Mulan presents her medal from The Emperor to her father - the medal that symbolizes everything she has done up until that moment to bring her family honor - and he throws it on the ground, and he says the greatest gift and honor, is having you for a daughter!!! That scene is permanently etched in my mind. It is tragic because she didn't have to change everything about herself to be accepted by her family, but it's also triumphant because she did have to grow through that journey to be accepting of herself. Acting like a man brought her satisfaction and allowed her to choose her own destiny. Mulan can be viewed as trans of course, but I love the interpretation that she can be whatever gender she feels like. There's no 'right' way to be a woman.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2004): Spirit, who could not be broken!! This soundtrack is so uplifting, and I love how the horses can't talk to the humans but the story is told from the horse's POV. It's a story about the 'wild west,' and American imperialism, and in the end the good guys win. That scene with the train falling down the mountain!! What an insanely apt metaphor for American corporate greed, and how it destroys everything in its path.
Honorable Mentions to Titanic, Shrek 2, She's the Man, and 22 Jump Street. I still love rewatching these, and they hold up.
Challengers (2024): The way Tashi is the driver of the plot, even though she doesn't get to play tennis in the Challenger, is so well-done. Never for a moment do you forget that she's at the center of Patrick and Art's world in a way that they don't even realize until possibly the end. The editing is so tight and the soundtrack is incredible. All three of them have incredible chemistry with each other. Every side of the triangle touches! This is like the peak love triangle movie to me, but it's also the peak film about unashamedly being ambitious and having desires and being a 30-something chasing something you thought you couldn't have.
God's Own Country (2017): The way this film explores anger and masculinity and trying to avoid feeling things too intensely and falling in love despite your best efforts - it's all so nuanced and beautiful. I instantly related to Johnny, although I wasn't having quite as much casual sex at the time :P Love grows despite Johnny trying to avoid it at all costs, and then love is patient and kind and lets him grow too.
The Conjuring I (2013): I love the scares, the way the anxiety builds over time, the creepy ass sheet, and the way it's loosely based on a true story. I think this film really paved the way for good demon stories. Besides, it's really a love story about Ed and Lorraine Warren and how devoted they are to each other. The ending is such a fantastic payoff after all of the dread. This is the film that launched a franchise and I think that's wonderful. I'd keep watching them forever if I could.
Babygirl (2025): This film had me on the edge of my seat breathless the whole time. Every rewatch, it just seems to get better. I'm not even a Kidman fan but the way she wrestles with shame about her desires the whole film is captivating. Plus it's sexy as hell and satisfies my id. Even powerful women can like subbing in the bedroom and that's ok!! Sexy, even!! I really love how she still gets to keep her position of power in the company at the end, because this would have been a completely different film if she'd been punished too harshly for embracing her sexuality.
Romeo + Juliet (1996): I was captivated by the book/play when I read it in high school, then we watched this film in 9th or 10th grade and I was BLOWN AWAY. The visuals! The music! When he meets her through a fish tank in that insane bathroom - I never thought about fish tanks the same again. The way the words are old but they don't feel old at all! Plus the tragic romance of it all. This is a true classic to me and launched a Leo DiCaprio obsession that lasted for quite a while.
The Other Guys (2010): I am a peacock, you gotta let me fly! This movie is insanely quote-able and still hilarious every time I watch it. It has something important to say about investigating financial crimes and protecting pensions, and after the recession I don't think anyone else made learning about financial crimes this entertaining or understandable.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022): If I loved this movie less, I might be able to talk about it more? Even a rewatch is difficult because it makes me so sad. Even the trailer is making me tear up. This is how a multi-verse film should feel. It's so visually appealing and incredible! And it all comes back to family. Living an ordinary, loving life, can be beautiful too, and I'm thankful that this film embraces that.
The Road to El Dorado (2000): My first OT3, so very formative indeed :D Also hilarious and visually beautiful. I love the way Miguel and Tulio stumble onto something much bigger than they imagined, and they have to learn something about themselves and another culture in the process. Plus, Chel being clever and plotting from the sidelines for most of the film really propels the whole plot forward - she gets to be nuanced without being unlikeable.
Mulan (1998): That scene at the end when Mulan presents her medal from The Emperor to her father - the medal that symbolizes everything she has done up until that moment to bring her family honor - and he throws it on the ground, and he says the greatest gift and honor, is having you for a daughter!!! That scene is permanently etched in my mind. It is tragic because she didn't have to change everything about herself to be accepted by her family, but it's also triumphant because she did have to grow through that journey to be accepting of herself. Acting like a man brought her satisfaction and allowed her to choose her own destiny. Mulan can be viewed as trans of course, but I love the interpretation that she can be whatever gender she feels like. There's no 'right' way to be a woman.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2004): Spirit, who could not be broken!! This soundtrack is so uplifting, and I love how the horses can't talk to the humans but the story is told from the horse's POV. It's a story about the 'wild west,' and American imperialism, and in the end the good guys win. That scene with the train falling down the mountain!! What an insanely apt metaphor for American corporate greed, and how it destroys everything in its path.
Honorable Mentions to Titanic, Shrek 2, She's the Man, and 22 Jump Street. I still love rewatching these, and they hold up.
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Date: 2026-03-02 02:31 am (UTC)