While rifling through the books at my good pal's bookshop the other day, I stumbled across a copy of the lyrically titled You Gotta See This, by Cindy Pearlman.

In it, Hollywood celebs reveal their favourite films of all time.

I was tipsy and I paid $5 for it. The result is this here blog of excerpts.

Money well spent if you ask me.

Here are some highlights.

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George Clooney - Dr Strangelove (1964) and Fail-Safe (1964). "They're just brilliant films that say a lot about the world. They talk about issues of nuclear proliferation."

David Duchovny - Chinatown (1974) - "I remember the first time I saw it, and I just sat there in the theatre, completely absorbed. I couldn't decide what was better - the screenplay, the acting or the direction.

Nicole Kidman - Terms of Endearment (1983) - "Why do I love it? Because you do laugh one minute and cry the next. It's hard to balance that type of role, but Shirley (MacLaine) does it beautifully."

Reese Witherspoon - Splendor in the Grass (1961) - "I just love Natalie Wood, and I think this is one of her best performances in a movie that breaks my heart each and every time I see it."

Owen Wilson - Punch Drunk Love (2002) - "I thought it was a great romantic story that didn't make you cringe."
 
Uma Thurman - Pillow Talk (1959) - "It's a light, breezy romp of a film that's so much fun to watch."

Zooey Deschanel - The Philadelphia Story (1940) - "What a cast. Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn ... it's just the perfect combination. And then you have the film's script, which again is the perfect combination of light moments and more poignant ones."

Charlize Theron - I Could Go On Singing (1963) - "Why do I like it so much? It's a movie about a girl who steals the boy. Oh, it just kills me. So good! So good!"

Lindsay Lohan - Kitten with a Whip (1964) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963) - "I love everything about Ann-Margret. She was just so much fun and she was wild. She was incredible. Sexy. Amazing."

Julianne Moore - Rosemary's Baby (1968) - "It's the best movie made about paranoia, and there's nothing I love better than a scary movie. And Mia (Farrow). She's so young and vulnerable. Has anyone ever done young and vulnerable better?"

Rachel McAdams - Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971) - "It's so weird and such a creepy movie. Veruca is my favourite little-girl character. She's awesomely horrible to the maximum. I mean, she so inspired me in terms of playing those mean girls in Mean Girls."

Woody Harrelson - Cool Hand Luke (1967) - "That's a great movie about a guy against the system. He will not give up. I love movies like that, because they're inspire me to be a better man."

Matt Damon - The Godfather: Part II (1974) - "I watch this film at least once a year. Oh God, I like everything about it. The acting is so good that I sit there and wonder if I could ever do anything that great." 

Jim Carrey - Network (1976) - "Every actor in Network has an arc that you want to follow ... it was illuminating."

Morgan Freeman - Moulin Rouge! (2001) - "Forget saying that it's to die for - it's to cry for. I've never seen anything done quite that well."

James Franco -  Rushmore (1998) - "I just think it's one of the smartest comedies I've ever seen.  The filmmakers put so much detail into building that world."

Johnny Depp - The Wizard of Oz (1939) - "I wanted to go to Oz ... I wanted to have a tornado sweep me up and take me away from the life I was living as a teenager."

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You Gotta See This retails for $26.95 and is published by Penguin Australia.


Why do I find this celeb stuff so fascinating? I'll never know.


"We are all wiser for having learned this"