Best Movies Ever...According to Me, At Least

I had specific plans one Friday evening that consisted of sweats, ice cream, and Love & Basketball. My plans were soon foiled by my realization that L&B, one of my absolute favorite movies, was completely gone from my DVR.

I was irrationally upset that I wouldn’t get to watch it that night. I mean, I’ve seen it well over twenty times, so it wasn’t the end of the world. But I wanted to watch Q and Monica’s four quarters, dangit!

You might be wondering why I don’t own it on DVD. Well, I did, but Chance happened to it. Movies aren’t exactly safe around my brother.

When Chance was about eight, he held a garage sale while my mom was at work one Saturday and sold almost all our Disney movies. She was livid.

He’s not sure what happened to my DVD of Love & Basketball, but we have surmised that he borrowed it and it went missing during one of his many moves—we counted one time, and that boy has lived in something like nine different places in the last three years.

So anyway, I had no way of watching it that night, because I wasn’t about to put a bra back on and go buy it.

I’ve been wanting to watch it ever since…and still haven’t gone out and bought it. So this seems like a good time to talk about my three favorite movies.

1. Love & Basketball:

This movie has it all for me—romance, sports, great music, hilarity, and Omar Epps. Can I get an amen? (Also, Omar Epps looks just like the Steelers’ head coach, Mike Tomlin, amirite?)

But back to the movie. If you’ve never seen it—well, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it like yesterday. It’s about a guy and a girl, Q and Monica, who grow up together. They’re both basketball players and want to play professionally when they grow up. Monica swears she’s going to be the first girl in the NBA.

The movie is set up in quarters, just like the game of basketball. Clever, huh? The first quarter is when they’re about eleven and getting to know each other. The second quarter takes place when they’re in high school. In the third quarter, they’re in college and dating. And the fourth quarter is after college.

I’ve loved this movie since it came out twelve years ago and still watch it every time I catch it on TV, no matter at what point I catch it. I quote the entire movie, find myself singing “I Want to Be Your Man” for days after I watch it, and will never tire of it. Okay, maybe it’s time for me to buy it. I reallyreallyreally wanna watch it now.

2. Mulan:

Now let’s get down to business. See what I did there? This isn’t just my favorite Disney movie or my favorite animated movie. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies in any category. I do own this one and watch it every couple of months at least. L&B does have some great music, but can anything really top “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”? I didn’t think so. I love this movie so much that I named one of my stuffed animals Mushu, after the hilarious unable-to-breathe-fire-but-I’m-not-a-lizard-thank-you-very-much guardian dragon sent to protect Mulan whens she joins the Chinese army.

But seriously, what’s not to love? You’ve got a strong female character, you learn a bit of history, and there’s a hot cartoon character. Sounds weird, I know, but Shang is an animated hottie.

 

3. White Christmas:

 

Once again, this isn’t just my favorite Christmas movie. On more than one occasion I have watched this movie in the summer. It’s just that good. More great music (well, it is a musical), humor and romance, and Bing Crosby’s voice.

 

This movie makes me think of my mom, because it has become a Christmas tradition for us to watch it on Christmas Eve. We settle in with our snack of choice and a Pepsi and quote and sing the entire movie. In addition to our new-ish family tradition of everyone coming to my house for Thanksgiving, this is one of my favorite traditions. Christmas just isn't Christmas without White Christmas with Mom.

 

I'm feeling a movie night soon...