My Favorite Movie Scenes, or Happy Mother's Day!!!

I'm doing something a little different this Mother's Day and sharing some of my favorite movie scenes. Why? Because my mother introduced me to movies. She shared her love of film with me at an early age, and as a result, I'm familiar with silent movies, classic black-and-whites from the 30s and 40s, technicolor favorites, and 90s thrillers. When I was in high school, she watched "The Wizard of Oz" set to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with my siblings and me, and in college, she and I stayed up late once watching "The Deer Hunter." We quote movies, re-watch our favorites, and analyze them all to death.

When I was really young, she'd let me watch movies that were far too mature for my age, but when a scene was about to get steamy or spicy, she'd quickly say, "Close your eyes and cover your ears!" And I did! I saw "Poltergeist" when I was 5, "It" when I was 9, and "The Piano" when I was 12. Alien abductions, horror, romantic dramas -- you name it, I watched it. My dad hated it. He was very particular about ratings, and when my mom brought home an R-rated movie, he'd rub his face and say, "Gad, Cathy."

Looking back, I think my dad was partly right, and I think my mom was partly right. I see the benefit of the rating system, but I also appreciate that my mom let us learn about life through film. I think my siblings and I all have a good sense of humor because of it, and we don't get scared easily. And we did watch Disney's Sunday night movie on ABC most weekends, so it wasn't all bad. :)

Here, then, are some of my favorite live action movie scenes. (You can see some of my favorite animated movie scenes at The Best of Disney.)

• A Few Good Men: "You can't handle the truth!" (explicit)
• Training Day: Alonzo's Stolen Money (explicit)
• Steel Magnolias: "I wanna know why!"
• Sleepless In Seattle: An Affair to Remember
• Little Women: Beth's Monologue
• Gone With the Wind: Scarlett Meets Rhett
• It's a Wonderful Life: Violet Stops Traffic
• Baby Boom: Country Baby
• Big Business: The Reunion
• Pretty In Pink: Steff and Duckie Fight

Thing I'm thankful for: cinema, of course!