My Favorite Movies

I believe that movies say a lot about who we are as people. They shape how we see the world, what we value, and how we dream. My favorite movies are not only ones I have on repeat, but those that have stuck with me since my first watch. Here is a look at the movies that make me who I am and the story behind them. 

My Top Ten Favorite Movies

1. Tangled
   1. Released in 2010 with a runtime of 100 minutes, Disney produced the story of Rapunzel. Voiced by actors Mandy Moore (Rapunzel), Zachary Levi (Fynn Rider), and Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel), the film received 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story of Rapunzel follows the story of a young princess with magical hair that is kidnapped by an enchantress named Mother Gothel. Rapunzel is locked away in a tower for 18 years and dreams about seeing the floating lights that she sees every year on her birthday, however Mother Gothel refuses to let her leave. Then Rapunzel meets a runaway thief called Flynn Rider and they make a deal. Flynn will take Rapunzel to see the lights and once they’re done and she’s safely back in her tower, Rapunzel will give the stolen crown back to Flynn. 
2. Pitch Perfect
   1. Released in 2012 with a run time of 112 minutes. XX wrote a story starring Anna Kendrick (Becca), Rebel Wilson (Fat Amy), Brittany Snow (Chloe), and Skylar Astin (Jesse). The story follows Becca, a college freshman, who wants to become a music producer and sees college as a waste of time. After a weird interaction in the communal showers, Becca finds herself joining the Baren Bellas, the all female a capella group on campus. Their goal is to get back to nationals while fighting not only their rival a capella group but themselves because of fear of changing. 
3. The Fault in Our Stars
   1. The movie adaptation of the book with the same title written by John Green. Released in 2014 with a runtime of 126 minutes. Shailene Woodley (Hazel Grace) and Ansel Elgort (Augustus) show us the epic love story between two teens diagnosed with cancer. The story introduces us to our main character, Hazel who has lung cancer. She meets August at a cancer support group and falls in love. They navigate their wishes, dreams, and the reality of terminal cancer together. 
4. The Edge of Seventeen
   1. Released in 2016 with a run time of 104 minutes. Hailee Steinfeld (Nadine) and Woody Harrelson (Mr. Bruner) shows us the story of the struggling to fit in with Nadine. The story introduces us to Nadine, a misfit when compared to her star-athlete other brother. Her best friend and brother start dating and this seems like the end of the world for Nadine. However, the unexpected friendship with another teen gives her hope and a high expectation for the future that awaits. 
5. Mean Girls
   1. A classic released in 2004 with a runtime of 98 minutes. With actresses Lindsay Lohan (Cady), Rachel McAdams (Regina), and Tina Fey (Ms. Norbury). This follows the life of Cady Heron, a homeschooled girl who experiences public high school for the first time during her junior year. Here she meets her new best friends Janis and Damien who convince her to spy on the plastics of the school. Cady follows along and finds herself to be more like them than she thought. 

6. 10 Things I Hate About You
   1. Another classic released in 1999 with a run time of 97 minutes. Starring Julia Stiles (Kat) and Heath Ledger (Patrick). This is the story of an unexpected love between the bad boy Patrick and the studious, uninterested in boys Kat. After Patrick makes a deal with the new kid who wants to date Kat’s sister, we see all of the things that Patrick does to win Kat over, eventually actually falling for her. 
7. Spiderman No Way Home
   1. Bringing all of our favorite Spiderman’s together, released in 2021 with a runtime of 148 minutes. Starring Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire all as Spiderman. This follows Tom Holland’s Spiderman after his true identity is released. This puts everyone he loves in danger, even stopping his girlfriend and best friend from getting into their dream school. This leads to Holland’s spiderman asking Dr. Strange for help reversing this. The spell fails and everyone who knows Spiderman from any universe comes to Holland’s universe. The three spidermen meet and decide that they want to help those supervillains from everyone’s own universe. 
8. KPop Demon Hunters
   1. Released in 2025 with a runtime of 96 minutes. Voice actresses of Arden Cho (Rumi), May Hong (Mira), and Ji-young Yoo (Zoey). From the outside, it looks like a children’s movie, but with a deeper look there are hints at very mature themes. This follows a K-pop group called Huntrix, who double as demon hunters. However, their lead singer, Rumi, is part demon. Fighting her own demons of wanting to be normal and battling the new all male (demon) K-pop group, The Saja Boys, you get to see Rumi come to terms and fix what has been broken.  
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
   1. Released in 2009 with a runtime of 88 minutes and voice actors George Clooney (Mr. Fox) and Bill Murray (Bagger). The story follows Mr. Fox after 12 years of living underground. He finally decides that he is fed up with this and wants a bigger home for his family. He raids the neighboring farms to collect the money needed to pay off the debt from his new house expenses and this leads to a human versus animal battle. 
10. How To Train Your Dragon
    1. A childhood classic, with the original animated version released in 2010 with a run time of 98 minutes. This version has voice actors Jay Baruchel (Hiccup) and America Ferrera (Astrid). The 2025 version has a runtime of 125 minutes and actors Mason Thames (Hiccup) and Nico Parker (Astrid). Both versions follow the story of Hiccup tries to impress his dad by killing a dragon. However he hits down a Nightfury and only injures it. He later finds this dragon and befriends him, naming him Toothless because of his retractable teeth. Together they learn how dragons and humans can co-exist and how to save the other dragons that the other Vikings from Hiccup’s isle are attacking. 

Why I love These Movies

Personally, I think that all of these movies show you a different form of love. There is unexpected love, there is love that conquers all, there is love that ends happily, there is love that ends in heart break, and they show you the length that love will make someone go. While they all don’t have happy endings, they make you feel like you are there with them, you are able to connect with the characters, and it shows you how love should be. Yes, there’s drama and all of the other things under the sun, but they show you something that people strive for, and I think they have built me as a person. That’s why I will always love these movies.

• entertainment
• love
• movies
• Tangled