Top 7 Movies

    Back in 2016, I was active on Twitter, following people who interested me and would lift me up emotionally.  I would follow the hashtags and on some occasions, even try to contribute something to them.  One that stuck with me ever since then was "Top 7 Movies."  Everyone who watches movies usually has favorites, but narrowing it down to such a small number seems hard.  I remember Tegan and Sara posted theirs, though I also recall I hadn't seen any of theirs.  I posted what were mine at the time, but as films kept getting released and I rewatched older movies I hadn't in some time, the list kept changing.  At one point, I scrapped the idea and thought it impossible.  However, at this point in 2019, I have gotten a new list of my Top 7 movies which I would like to share now.  These don't really have an order to them, but I know these are the movies that this year have given me the most.  I am going to list them chronologically.
1964-Godzilla vs. Mothra: The fourth Godzilla film, directed by Ishiro Honda and released in both Japan and the United States in the same year.  This is, in my opinion, the perfect Japanese giant monster film.  Godzilla's rampages are structured well, the military goes from fruitless plan to fruitless plan and it's the first time Godzilla and Mothra met.  I personally prefer the US version with the added scene of the Frontier Missile Cruisers.
1973-Godspell: A musical based on the Book of Matthew, written by Stephen Schwartz, who would later write Wicked.  It takes the familiar Biblical stories about Jesus and brings them to life in 1970s New York City, showing everyday people being called from their boring lives and entering the exciting live of being Disciples.  It makes God's story modern without losing anything and adds an aesthetic that reminds me of some of my favorite Classic Rock experiences.  It's a way to show there's nothing wrong with listening to The Concert for Bangladesh, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd or any of the chart toppers of the day, just remember God gave them their skill and calls you to help people in need.
1994-Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla: In High School, a lot of classes asked me what my favorite movie was and I would answer this one.  The main reason was that it's a very unique entry in the Godzilla series, where he fights a doppelganger of himself from space.  The UN force typically tasked with fighting Godzilla helps him fight SpaceGodzilla, and Mothra's Fairies appear throughout the film.  Megumi Odaka is also in rare form as Miki Saegusa, asking for those who want to attack Godzilla to understand he has feelings like humans do.
2013-Frozen: It took me a year to actually see this movie and so much time has passed I'm not sure what took me so long, probably budget.  This film introduced me to the great acting and singing of Idina Menzel, who I would see live in 2015, and is a great story about overcoming fear and family sticking together through hardship.  I can see a lot of myself and the people around me in the main characters and it's great how Disney can still make great family entertainment decades after you were first introduced to them.  Also, "Let It Go" is one of my favorite songs.
2014-Like A Country Song: This is the only one of the seven that I think was never released in theaters.  It's an independent Christian film, but unlike so many that have right-wing values beating your face in and stereotyping non-Christians, this is a heartfelt story about a broken family finding healing.  It stars Joel Smallbone as a young man who wants to be a country singer, but he acts selfishly and has a drinking problem.  His father, played by Billy Ray Cyrus, who he thought was dead since he was a kid, comes back to town for work, finding support with a men's group led by GregAlan Williams (who played Detective Garner on the TV show Baywatch, I know this because I watch Allison Pregler on YouTube).  When they meet, it starts a rough road to reconciliation that ultimately makes Joel's character a better man.
2017-Wonder Woman: I was introduced to DC characters first, so the DCEU has always been a bit more of a priority since it became a cinematic universe.  This one took Superhero movies to the next level and hasn't been matched yet.  Gal Gadot became one of my favorite actresses here, bringing Wonder Woman to life and I love the No Man's Land sequence.  This year, I also watched the film during Lent, and the scene where Wonder Woman meets Ares is very fitting for that time.  It also calls on us to do more than what is easy.
2019-Godzilla; King of the Monsters: The 2014 Godzilla movie was one of the best licensed movies I ever saw, and was a long awaited redemption from Devlin and Emmerich's 1998 "couldn't care less" abomination.  Naturally, a sequel was to follow, but the film wasn't going to be released for five years because they had hoped Gareth Edwards was to return to direct.  He chose not to, so Legendary picked Michael Dougherty, a younger director who happened to be a major Godzilla fan.  Toho was willing to put Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah in the film, as well, making this a major release.  The battles between Godzilla and his arch-nemesis King Ghidorah are intense and amazing.  Mothra plays a great part, being Godzilla's closest monster ally in the film, the film even hinting the two are a couple.  Millie Bobbie Brown is great for her age, and Ziyi Zhang's Dr. Ilene Chen joins Miki Saegusa and Kayoko Ann Patterson among my favorite women in Godzilla films.  Ken Watanabe gets one of the best scenes that keeps resonating with me, his character sacrifices himself by setting off a nuclear warhead to revive and strengthen Godzilla so he can save the planet from Ghidorah.  At the end of this film, you will know Godzilla truly is King of the Monsters.