Okay... here we go! In NO particular order:
Superman: The Movie, 1978, PG
This is the movie that made me want to make movies. A lot of my friends can tell you, I’m as big a Superman fan as you’re ever likely to meet. But Superman isn’t the reason I like this movie. This movie is one of the reasons I like Superman. The script is funny and smart thanks largely to the late Tom Mankiewicz. Director Richard Donner’s mantra on this film was “Verisimilitude,” ensuring that the movie maintains it’s own honesty. It is one of the best casted movies I’ve ever seen. The notion of taking an unknown Christopher Reeve and surrounding him with classic actors in supporting roles is an inspired idea. So much so that Christopher Nolan used the same approach on his Batman films by taking a relatively unknown Christian Bale and surrounding him with the likes of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson. The technical prowess with which the film was made is still astonishing to me. This is a 30+ year old movie, and it holds up better than many of the films made at the time.
Ghostbusters, 1984, PG
No movie has ever made me laugh as hard and as frequently as Ghostbusters. The writing is funny and the acting pushes it even further. The effects hold up pretty well, too. But the bottom line is, this movie is the most quotable movie of all time. It’s full of so many memorable moments. Show me someone who can't quote one line from Ghostbusters, and I'll show you someone who has never seen Ghostbusters!
The Empire Strikes Back, 1980, PG
Empire is often considered the best of all the Star Wars movies and deservedly so. This movie is very well rounded. It has humor, action, romance, drama, and it all culminates in one of the greatest spoilers in movie history. Perhaps Empire’s greatest acheivment is simply its success as a sequel. I mean, they made a satisfying follow up to 1977’s Star Wars. In and of itself, that is pretty miraculous. If you have this movie on DVD, I strongly recommend checking out the insightful commentary by the late director Irvin Kershner.
Rocky, 1976, PG
The first time I saw this movie, I hated it. I grew up on sports movies where everything goes silent, you hear the quarterbacks breath, he hurls the ball in slow motion, the clock ticks down to zero, his teammate leaps up into the air, barely nabs the ball with his fingertips, and brings it in—still in slow motion—for a touchdown! They did it! They won the championship! Nobody thought they could do it, but they believed in themselves and they did it! Yeeeeeah… that’s not the kind of movie Rocky is. It wasn’t until the repeated viewings that I realized Rocky doesn’t want to win. In fact, he knows he can’t win. He just wants to give the champ, Apollo Creed, a run for his money. He wants to go the distance. And when you view the film with that in mind, you see it for what it really is: a triumph. From Bill Conti’s simple score, to the fantastic performances of Sylvester Stallone, Burgess Meredith, Talia Shire, and Burt Young, this is the most inspirational movie I’ve ever seen.
The Little Mermaid, 1989, G
This was the first movie I ever saw in theaters. I don't remember a whole lot of the experience... just bits and pieces. (For instance, when the screen goes dark except for the whites of Ursula's evil eyes. Hello, nightmares.) Anyway, as I grew up, this is the movie that made me want to seriously pursue animation as a career. The characters are brought to life with such pathos, you can't help but get sucked right in. The soundtrack is incredible and the whole "Part of Your World" sequence full of so much emotion, I've only seen it topped once in animation. And even THAT wasn't until recently. Three guesses as to what topped it... Go ahead... guess!
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