{"id":1904,"date":"2011-04-27T12:45:48","date_gmt":"2011-04-27T16:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=1904"},"modified":"2011-04-27T12:45:48","modified_gmt":"2011-04-27T16:45:48","slug":"the-place-where-magic-happens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/my-travels\/the-place-where-magic-happens\/","title":{"rendered":"The place where magic happens."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wisteria<\/a>
Before the Desperate Housewives, the Munsters lived here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve been to Wisteria Lane, and the Bates Motel and Amity and Skull Island \u2026 well actually, I’ve been on the Universal Studios back lot tour.<\/p>\n

It was a lot of fun \u2013 and it got me thinking about my favourite films.<\/p>\n

Just like my favourite books, my favourite films all have the most amazing characters. They could be good guys or bad guys, heroes or heroines but I care about what happens to them. I love good story-telling, and a happy ending doesn’t hurt either.<\/p>\n

I had trouble coming up with a top ten \u2013 but here it is\u2026<\/p>\n

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\"Mrs<\/a>
Mrs Bates at the window<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To Kill A Mockingbird<\/strong> \u2013 Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. I love Gregory Peck’s films (Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn came very close to making the list). \u00a0He is just amazing in this film which is a very good interpretation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee. I am always moved to tears when I watch the powerful final courtroom scene.<\/p>\n

Sabrina<\/strong> \u2013 Audrey Hepburn as Sabrina Fairchild. It’s Cinderella \u2013 and it’s wonderful. Watching Linus fall for the sweet Sabrina is a joy. But then, almost any Audrey Hepburn film is a joy. Am I allowed to include Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Nun’s Story and My Fair Lady as a side list?<\/p>\n

An Affair to Remember<\/strong> \u2013 Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. I challenge anyone not to reach for the tissues as Nickie finds out why Terry never met him on top of the Empire State Building\u2026 oh my!<\/p>\n

Star Wars<\/strong> \u2013 Harrison Ford as Han Solo. On this first of the series, Han is THE perfect hero. He’s a bit of a bad boy \u2013 but you always know that in the end he’s going to join the rebellion because deep down he’s honourable. Underneath those rough edges he’s funny \u2013 and not at all hard on the eyes.<\/p>\n

Pirates of the Caribbean<\/strong> \u2013 Johnny Depp as Captain Jack. OK \u2013 this is not the best film ever made. The plot has its weaknesses \u2013 but I was SO in love with Captain Jack that nothing else mattered.<\/p>\n

\"Approaching<\/a>
Approaching skull island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Con Air<\/strong> \u2013John Malcovich as Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom. John Malcovich does THE best bad guys \u2013 and Grissom is the best of the best. The film is not hurt by Nic Cage with his shirt off. There’s also a great John Cusack role, and Steve Buscemi does another great villain. It rocks!<\/p>\n

The African Queen<\/strong> \u2013 Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn as Charlie and Rose. It’s hardly a traditional romance. A gin-swilling riverboat owner falls for a strait-laced missionary spinster. The characters are so wonderful drawn and so beautifully played that I put this above Casablanca when it comes to a romantic Bogart role.<\/p>\n

Lord of the Rings<\/strong> \u2013 an epic piece of film making in every way. It’s visually quite staggering. Of course, Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn is pretty much a classic hero \u2013 especially in the last film. I also give a nod to David Wenham as Faramir.<\/p>\n

\"Where<\/a>
Where is that pesky shark?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pulp Fiction<\/strong> \u2013 for the story.\u00a0 While there are some great characters and fabulous acting, what I love is the intricacy and pace of the storytelling. The individual stories are wound around each other into such a breathtaking whole story. When it comes to this sort of film, Tartantino is the man!<\/p>\n

The Princess Bride<\/strong> \u2013 because it is the greatest fun. The film teases us about our love of fairy tales \u2013 but at the same time reminds us just why we love them. It’s funny and romantic and clever. I fell in love with Mandy Patinkin as the swordsman bent on avenging his father’s murder. This film never fails to cheer me up on a dull rainy day.<\/p>\n

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There’s a lot of inspiration for a romance writer in these films\u2026\u00a0 Making this list, I realized something else about my favourite films – there usually needs to be a box of tissues nearby when I watch them.<\/p>\n

What are your favourites?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been to Wisteria Lane, and the Bates Motel and Amity and Skull Island \u2026 well actually, I’ve been on the Universal Studios back lot tour. It was a lot of fun…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-travels","category-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}