What's your favourite film?

Ghostbusters (1984).

This is a classic "lightning in a bottle" film that could never be replicated ever again (despite all the attempts to do so). My history with it is complicated.

I saw it on opening day in Regina. Early show. A bunch of friends sat in an audience howling with laughter … and we were the quiet ones. At one point I actually had trouble breathing because of it. When the movie was over, on the way out a friend asked, "Wanna watch it again?" All but one of us turned around and bought tickets for the late showing. That's twice on opening night.

Then it got weird.

Someone would call up and say "Dianne, I owe you a movie. Let's see Ghostbusters." Or they'd call up and say "Dianne, you owe me a movie. Ghostbusters." In the first month I saw Ghostbusters 17 times (paying for it only five times). By the end of the first month I'd seen if often enough I could recite huge bleeding chunks of the script from memory.

And since then it's become sort of my "comfort food" of movies. If I'm feeling crappy, I'll put it on and recite the script along with it. I judge people by what they think of the film. (Joking! Or am I?

<musical sting>

Any Given Sunday.

At the moment, Baby Driver. I watch it at least once a year if not more.

Office Space. That film had a huge impact on how I chose to live in this world and my relationship with work.

I learned that I didn't want to be treated as something disposable and had no problem leaving jobs in some really awful work environments. I even took multiple years off work to travel and live in different countries.

I even greatly appreciate the main characters desire to do nothing even with a million dollars. It made me appreciate being around the people I wanted to be around and that money didn't have to be the focus of my life or any meaningful relationships with other people.

I've always made an effort to keep my life as simple as possible and Office Space is one of many reasons why I chose to do so. I always get to urge to watch it at least once a year.

One I rarely hear anything about, Wristcutters: A Love Story. Can kinda come off as dark/edgy, given it's a story that literally revolves around suicide, but it's actually a cute little love story. Kinda a quick, sappy ending, but it works, especially given the resources they had for filming.

Too many. I like to have favourites, not just one. So (I've probably missed stuff), I'm gonna list general favourites, going mostly by what I've rewatched and plan to rewatch more. My favourites could change over time and if I included stuff that was my favourite once but I've never had the urge to rewatch, this list would be much longer (I wish I could have simple answers to things).

Pre School nostalgia:

• The Neverending Story
• The Princess Bride
• Drop Dead Fred

'90s nostalgia:

• RoboCop ('80s movie but I first watched it in the '90s)
• The Crow
• Tank Girl
• Barb-Wire
• The Island of Dr. Moreau

Other:

• Hellraiser franchise (none are perfect, many are awful, some are pretty great; there's just something I love about all of it)
• Candyman franchise (better quality films over all; between this and Hellraiser, Clive Barker is just my kind of horror)
• Studio Ghibli movies (all of these movies are worth watching more than once eventually)
• DC Comics animated movies (DC adaptations over all have been my main source for finding things to watch over the last few years)

Up and comer:

• I Kill Giants (looking through my personal rainy day collection, this is the most recent 'new' movie that I've absolutely loved and might watch again some time. Time will tell if this will be on my list in the future.

The godfather

Its a huge range depending on my mood.

Currently. Shawshank Redemption.

At the moment, 'TMNT Mutant Mayhem". It was tied with "Spider Man: Beyond the Multiverse", but MM has more humor and co-stars Jackie Chan. All the art direction is brilliant. I watch it with my 15yo regularly. And the soundtrack is fun.

It's kinda difficult for me. But the two I've watched the most are Spaceballs add Fight Club

However, I think Rocky Horror may be a tad higher in terms of how much I enjoy watching it, but I tend to only watch it when I'm going to be only watching it, not doing other stuff too.

Then there's Christmas Vacation, and the first three evil dead movies that I also only watch when I'm watching, but usually only get watched at Christmas and Halloween respectively.

Being John Malkovitch is high on my list as well.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a wide range of things. But some stuff is comfort viewing, and in my mind that's a favorite, not necessarily something I appreciate as much for its art and craft as the watching itself. If I'm in the mood for the middle ground, I reach for Kubrick. He always managed to do artistic films that are also imminently watchable on a more casual level if you want to just sink in and be a viewer.

Take something like Brokeback Mountain. Incredible film, beautiful cinematography, astounding performances, phenomenal writing, just an all around masterpiece. But it isn't something you (or rather I) are going to sit down with some popcorn and a drink and watch just for fun. It's a movie that takes a bit more work to really absorb. I love that movie, but it can't be a favorite because there's really only one way to watch it, and if you aren't in that frame of mind, why bother?

But something like Rocky Horror, you can enjoy a dozen ways, or just hit play and let it take you on a journey ;)

You'll watch it and have a good time no matter what frame of mind you're in as a viewer.

There's also a reason why comedies and lighter films are easier to rewatch frequently. For dramas to work you have to take the emotional ride. This builds in a time factor. You watch one too often and you lose that emotional punch. Something like Steel Magnolias as an example. My sister watches the hell out of it, meaning I've seen it hundreds of times. So the ending and all the power it carries kinda gets lost, and then you just want to take a whack at Weezer. That's the part that starts to stand out instead of Sally Fields' performance, which is a master class of the craft of acting.

So, my favorites end up being either lighter, or trippy, or horror because they're infinitely enjoyable.

I have a few favourites, depending on genre.

• The Hunt For Red October
• Clue
• DARK (series)