Normally I do so well with my history lessons for the boys, but yesterday on Columbus Day I didn’t. It was so bad that I didn’t even hit up any sales which is a shame because Mason is in dire need of some new sheets. It’s totally his turn for new sheets. I’m a bad momma. In the bad way.
Instead of trying to remember just WHO was here prior to Columbus (no dig intended, it’s just kind of a fun thing we do around the dinner table) we decided it was time to watch some of the movies on our List.
The List (capital T, capital L) is comprised of movies we wish our children to see even though they missed it the first time around and were probably too young to watch it until now. Mallory’s been through this List and is properly indoctrinated.
It’s onto the boys now except where Morgan is concerned because he still rolls his eyes and giggles at anything involving sex in a movie. Either that or I hear him try to work it into conversation with his friends and it is SO. WRONG. He just doesn’t have the verbal skills just yet.
For instance, when it comes to bullying, there are a few movies which are primo. Top notch. They must watch them.
My Bodyguard with a very young Matt Dillon, Joan Cusack, Jennifer Beals (you’ll miss her – you have to actually search for her as she’s not credited) and the wonderful Chris Makepeace. Also, if you don’t just L.O.V.E. Ruth Gordon for her sassy ways then I don’t think I want to know you. Yes, I did just take that tone with you. It’s Ruth Gordon, for crying out loud! (Sorry. I think I channeled her just now and that was her tone. Not mine. I apologize.)
Angus is another favorite and it is not at all for that Van Der Beek kid. The movie teaches a lot about bullies and acceptance and our similarities and also has great lessons about relationships, but even I want to kick the Beek’s ass by the end. However, it is tender and sweet and it is on The List. How can you go wrong with George C. Scott, Kathy Bates, and Rita Moreno? You can’t, I tell you. You can’t.
Three O’ Clock High. I have to stop talking about this movie. Seriously. But I do love it so very much. Why don’t I own it then?
There are so many others, but we did get them to watch (AND LOVE! That’s the important part! They must love the movies we have put on The List) The Hunt For Red October this past weekend and Mason may even try to read a Tom Clancy book now.
No. That’s too much to ask for, but I’m hoping that he’ll see that I’ve written that and say, “Mom! I didn’t agree to it!” and I’ll be all “Yes, I know, Mason, but you should try. You should TRY. See all the comments that say you should TRY?” (Comment, people. This is your cue. Don’t fail me now.)
I’m hoping that we continue to add to The List which also has movies like Stand By Me on it, but we need some more.
Can I get a little help here? Movies, please? Movies that are classic and should be seen by everyone especially those that are…ummm… classic. Seriously, I have no other criteria.
Oh, and just to show how I lamely tied in some kind of holiday learning with the movie thing, I have to mention that the next to last line in the movie uttered by Sean Connery was a quote from Christopher Columbus. It was feeble of me, but it works.
“And the sea will grant each man new hope as sleep brings dreams of home.”
It works. Chew on that while you think about movies for me. Please? Don’t make me remind you that I’m depressed.
I love Stand By Me. That movie never gets old, and I have never met someone who doesn’t at least LIKE it. GREAT MOVIE!
I love Three O’Clock high!!! I can’t believe there is someone out there who has seen it besides me.
….does undercover brother count?
Howzabout “Dead Poet’s Society”? One of my favorites.
Or “Some Like it Hot”? It delves into the whole cross-dressing thing. Now THAT’S and education!
Rudy! Everyone must see Rudy!
The breakfast club….you could talk about the sterotypes we give people
Okay, since you mentioned Ruth Gordon, Harold and Maude is the absolute best! But perhaps you don’t want to encourage your teenage sons to pursue eighty-year old women – your call.
And then, of course, there’s Overboard, The Beastmaster, Better Off Dead, Night of the Hunter, The Outsiders, The Princess Bride, Arsenic and Old Lace, West Side Story… this list has something for everyone!
A few of many movies that I think people my age or younger should see (but probably haven’t or won’t!):
The Grass Harp
Pretty in Pink
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
Connie and Carla
My Favorite Wife
Harold and Maude
Bride and Prejudice
Stuart Saves His Family
The Triplets of Belleville
Regarding Henry
Movies I made my daughters watch and love!!!! Someday I hope they make their children watch them and tell them I made them!!
1. Of Mice And Men
2. A River Runs Through It (which they should love as it is the story of two brothers.)
3. Driving Miss Daisy
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Imitation of Life (remember I have three daughters!!)
5. Crash
Sorry – I forgot!
Mason – Just read the book!!!
Chariots of Fire
Gone With The Wind
The Day The Earth Stood Still- great way of talking about being afraid of things you don’t understand…
Secondhand Lions-best movie ever!! Teaching LOTS!
Those are my best shots at CLASSICS..there are a lot I just loved, but these should stand the test of time..(or have)
Great subject!
hugs,
Jean
Mocha it so not a good day for my thinking cap. My education videos right now consist of disney movies, star wars, and veggie tales. At least I tell myself they are educational because I discuss the themes with Z, not because sometimes I want to keep him busy while I do something. *cough*
Columbus day makes me think of more Native American issues, so I would recommend. Willa Cather, or Leslie Marmon Silko, but then again those probably aren’t so preteen appropriate.
Since you are depressed I thought I would share your humor scope with you. Being that you are surround by corn, this is oddly appropriate. Aries (March 21 – April 19)
This week you will feel like corn. Just not like having any.
Suddenly I feel like screaming Cornholio!
Love ya!
That’s a good list of films. The Bodyguard is fantastic as I remember it and I even found Angus to be a pretty decent film despite having no expectations for it whatsoever. Never heard of Three O Clock High, though.
Hunt For Red October… okay, not about bullying in the schoolyard sense of it all, but a DAMN FINE film. Same with Stand By Me.
Other greats? Shawshank Redemption which, ironically enough, is a Stephen King novella that is part of the same collection that contains Stand By Me (known in the collection as “The Body”). The original name of Shawshank is Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption. Great movies and great stories. Stephen King and no gore. Who’d'a thunk?
No one has mentioned Forest Gump or the Green Mile. Two fabulous movies IMHO.
I love almost all of the movies mentioned and will relist some of my favorites.
Hunt For Red October-You can’t beat Sean Connery
Forrest Gump-Tom Hanks is great.
Regarding Henry-Again with Harrison Ford, but the whole story line is good.
Secondhand Lions-I have enjoyed that movie and watched it over and over again.
You asked for movies. Here’s my short list:
-The Mummy (Yes, it’s fluff, but it has my all time favorite line in it. “…But I’m proud of what I am!” “And what are you?” “I….am a librarian!”)
-The Breakfast Club
-Whale Rider
-Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (but then maybe that’s a Southern thing)
-Princess Bride (“As you wish!”)
-Sneakers (great movie, great cast, a little dated now technology-wise)
-Ghostbusters (do I really need to say why?)
-Real Genius (One of my mother’s all time favorite’s, topped only by…)
-Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (“When Cameron was in Egypt land….”)
-Arsenic and Old Lace
-North by Northwest
-The Philadelphia Story (Can you tell I like Cary Grant?)
-Harvey (my mother forced me to watch this one against my will…I mean what teenager wants to what a movie about a six-foot rabbit that may, or may not, be real? But she was determined and I watched…and of course I loved. Mom’s are annoying when they’re right like that)
-Rear Window
-Shop Around the Corner
-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Can you tell I like James Stewart?)
-The Maltese Falcon
-Casablanca (Can you tell I like Humphrey Bogart?)
-The Great Escape
-The Dirty Dozen (might not be suitable for the younger kids, I know it scared the beejesus out of me as a kid)
-The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (one of my all time favorites and it has a great soundtrack)
And because it’s October:
-Dracula (with Bela Lugosi)
-Frankenstein (with Boris Karloff..and after they finish watching those they can watch Mel Brooks “Young Frankenstein”)
And, although Jean knows I love her, please don’t subject your kids to “Gone With the Wind!” Good lord, I hate that movie. I can only watch about 10 minutes before I want to smack Scarlet just to shut her up. The most ridiculous, annoying picture of Southern “womanhood” ever. Grrrrrr.
Everyone’s covered a lot of GREAT movies, but I’d add School Ties to the list. Incase anyone doesn’t know it, it’s about a Jewish boy that goes to a prep school in the 50′s and has to hide his religion until he is “outed” by a jealous peer. Great cast.
The Stratton Story with Jimmy Stewart. It’s based on a true story about a White Sox baseball player that loses his leg. My dad made me watch it. Fell in love with Jimmy and the movie. I own it now.
Mr. Holland’s Opus should be on this list as well.
What’s the one with Robin Williams as the homeless guy and Brendan Frasier takes care of him??? It’s set at Harvard?? OMLord it’s not coming to me. LOL
Mason read the books. BOOKS are your FRIENDS!!!!! Can I get an amen sistah!!
The Sandlot! That is the bestest movie for kids OR adults.
It’s almost time for Hallows!
Monster Squad (Wolfman’s got ‘nards!)
Both of Tim Burton’s animated flicks, I love “Nightmare Before Christmas” and the message at the end to be true to one’s own nature. Plus, how can you go wrong with Danny Elfman’s music?
I have Angus. On VHS. The same VHS that has a copy of Empire Records on it. Both were recorded off of TBS sometime in 1998.
Either way, Angus is amazing and that part with his grandfather..??? Sob.
Quick word to Mason: I met a guy once who was stationed on a Navy sub and he said that Tom Clancy got every detail just right. Plus, if you like submarine stories, “Das Boot” (German for “The Boat”) is very good, too.
Quick word to Kelly: Your blog friends have come up with some great movies. One I haven’t seen listed yet is “King of the Hill” (not the cartoon series — a film by Steven Soderbergh) which features a smart kid in the depression making his way in the world. It was on Ebert’s top 10 list one year despite little success at the box office. Truly a hidden gem.
PORKY’S !!! That’s got to be a classic for any teenage boy!
But if you want to go with something more “PG” I highly recommend “Breaking Away”. I recently saw a rerun of “Law & Order”, I forget if it was C.I. or S.V.U., and the villans were Dennis Christopher and Paul Dooley (the father and son in Breaking Away), they were very creepy.
Friendly Persuasion – what do you do when your personal beliefs conflict with society’s? (Mr RW loves this one; he’s a Quaker, you know…)
Sergeant York – same dilemma, same actor (Gary Cooper), different story
Pat and Mike – the essential Tracy/Hepburn movie
The African Queen – classic Bogart (AND it has Hepburn, too – a bonus!)
To Sir, With Love – Kelly, this is a timeless movie; could be done today and not lose anything.
Chevy Chase’s “Vacation”, the original one. If you’ve ever taken a road trip in a station wagon cross-country, you’ll relate.
(I finally “unlurk.”) My kids–now grown–would never forgive me for not letting you know about the animated films “The Secret of NIMH” and “The Last Unicorn.” The mother love depicted in NIMH is so right on. The story AND music of Unicorn are so special.
Mason: Listen to Mom. Tom Clancy’s books are marvelous! The action will have you holding a flashlight under the sheet because you JUST GOTTA find out what happens next!
I’m an old movie buff, with little sophistication, so here are my choices (my 15 yr old actually liked them too)
“Bringing Up Baby”
“An Affair to Remember”
“The Quiet Man”
“The Philadelphia Story”
“Arsenic & Old Lace”
“The Bandwagon”
“Damn Yankees”
Hey Mocha!
You RULE!
Thanks for visiting my site so I could find YOURS
Rachael
Stand by me is on my list to watch. There’s another one that is similar to that one that I have shown before, Stand & Deliver I think.
Yes, tell Mason he does need to experience the classics. My dad did that with my brother and I. Alfred Hitchcok, John Wayne…(McLintock is still on of my favorites). It won’t hurt a thing…LOL
Airplane
9 to 5
Grease
Dead Poet’s Society
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Gandhi
Adventures in Babysitting
Chariots of Fire
Beverly Hills Cop
Spinal Tap
Mr. Mom
Goonies
Back to the Future
Driving Miss Daisy
Can’t Buy Me Love
Karate Kid
Mask
Revenge of the Nerds
Savannah Smiles
Mississippi Burning
What is it with Columbus day and sheet sales? I don’t get it.
Hunt for Red October? Ok. Stop. I just LOVE Sean Connery in this movie. Ohmigawd.
My recommended movie? Akeelah and the Bee. I know you’ve seen this movie, right? Right???
Here I go. These are my favorites…
Gladiator
Saving Private Ryan
Shrek
The Pianist
Apollo 13
Moonstruck
Philadelphia
Field of Dreams
Places in the Heart
Gone With the Wind
Fargo
To Kill A Mockingbird
E.T.
Simon Birch
October Sky
Pay It Forward
Last of the Mohicans
Shawshank Redemption
Shindler’s List
The Green Mile
Sling Blade
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Star Wars Trilogy (first)
and many more that aren’t of much importance but I just like or love them and it’s too late to mention them now as I really need to go to bed. Please excuse all spelling errors, my brain is fried.
You guuuuuuuuys! You’re so NICE. These are so good that I’m going to have to print the comments out because there are so many. Most of them I actually have seen before but forgot that they should be on The List, so thank you for reminding me!
I had forgotten about most of the Hitchcock films that I liked and I’m glad that was mentioned.
Y’all are so nice. I would lick each and every one of you if I could. Seriously. You know I would.
Hi Mocha,
Sophie’s Choice, a must see.
Aloha,
Missy
PS: Mason: you should give Tom Clancy a shot.