Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James Le Gros, Anthony Kiedis, Bojesse Christopher, Chris Pedersen

"I know Johnny. I know you want me so bad it's like acid in your mouth. But, not this time." - Bodhi

Why watch this? Non-stop action with criminal surfer dudes.

Dad's Review: If this is on, I’m watching it. There are so many great moments. An undercover cop, Johnny Reno, infiltrates a group of thrill junkie surfers, led by zen guru, Bohdi. Reno’s goal to find out who has been robbing local banks. It is great film-making as the plots and subplots wraps themselves up and back again. The action sequences are dangerous and thrilling.

Starring: Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Armand Assante, Robert Webber, Sam Wanamaker, Barbara Barrie, Mary Kay Place, Harry Dean Stanton, Albert Brooks

"See, I did join the army, but I joined a different army. I joined the one with the condos and the private rooms." - Judy Benjamin

Why watch this? A great comedic role for the dainty, vulnerable Hawn.

Dad's Review: This film signifies the height of Goldie Hawn’s career. She plays a spoiled rich brat roped into the army after her husband dies. She quickly finds out the Army is not what the lying recruiter told her. Unfortunately, she can't get out, either.

Prophecy (1979), Director: John Frankenheimer, rated PG (has violence, scary scenes, gore)

Starring: Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire, Armand Assante, Richard Dysart, Victoria Racimo, Charles H. Gray

"The size of a dragon...And something about eyes, cat's eyes. And the old man, the Indian. Didn't he describe that creature as being a part of everything in God's creation?" - Dr. Robert Verne

Why watch this? To see if you are brave enough to endure the PROPHECY!

Dad's Review: This film is special to me because my best friend, David, narrated the entire plot to me late one night when sleeping over. I was terrified and could not wait to see it. He was right, as this film was really scary, especially the night scenes, where the monster is lurking in the forest, just out of sight. It may seem campy now, but I still can't watch it at night alone.

Starring: Tom Selleck, Laura San Giacomo, Alan Rickman, Chris Haywood, Roger Ward, Ron Haddrick, Tony Bonner, Jerome Ehlers, Ben Mendelsohn

"Major. We already run the misfits outta our country. We sent 'em back to England." – Matthew Quigley

Why watch this? Selleck fits this role like a pair of comfortable boots.

Dad's Review: Set in Australia, Quigley is a man to not be pushed around or betrayed. When he runs afoul to a wealthy land owner, he’s beat up and left for dead in the harsh outback, along with a slightly crazy saloon girl. I feel this is the best of Selleck’s Western films. It’s fun, beautifully shot, and "nice and dusty".

Starring: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron O'Neal, William Smith, Powers Boothe

"I don't know. Two toughest kids on the block, I guess. Sooner or later, they're gonna fight." – Col. Andy Tanner, when asked who started the war

Why watch this? World War III, and it's on American soil. It could happen.

Dad's Review: Not that I really want to think this could happen, but I was immediately drawn to the premise of this film. The USA is attacked by Russian and Cuban forces, as World War III kicks off. The film follows a small group of teenagers who hide out in the mountains, then begin to wage guerilla warfare. The story and characters are fully developed as is the heart-rendering climax.

Starring: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw, Nicol Williamson, Denholm Elliott, Ronnie Barker, Kenneth Haigh, Ian Holm, Richard Harris

"I've hardly lost a battle, and I don't know what I've won. 'The day is ours, Robin,' you used to say, and then it was tomorrow. But where did the day go?" - Robin Hood

Why watch this? It's a bittersweet story of what happened to Robin Hood and maid Marian.

Dad's Review: This is such a remarkable film. Robin Hood has returned from the Crusades, now a man in his 50's. He finds Marian a nun in a convent. We learn the fates of all the wonderful characters in Sherwood Forest. My how they have aged. The ending is right out of Romeo and Juliet. For those of us in the "autumn" of our lives, this story reminds that life is short, and we are now making the "good old days".

Starring: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, John Spencer, David Morse, John C. McGinley, Tony Todd

"I was trained by the best. British intelligence. But in retrospect I would rather have been a poet. Or a farmer." - John Mason

Why watch this? This is as good an action flick as ever. Plus it has Sean Connery.

Dad's Review: Nick Cage starred in a number of mid-90's action flicks. This Michael Bay offering is one of the best for three reasons. 1 – Ed Harris as the disgruntled Army colonel causing all the ruckus. 2 – A superb plot about holding hostages at the abandoned Alcatraz prison. And 3 – Sir Sean Connery – who steals the film as usual. Lots of explosions and car chases. It's a thrilling ride until the explosive end.

Starring: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Zack Norman

"What did you do, wake up this morning and say, "Today, I'm going to ruin a man's life"?
" - Jack Colton

Why watch this? It's a fun film that plays like a trashy romance novel.

Dad's Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark spurred on this adventure copy cat film. It is little more light and romantic, but almost as exciting. Our heroine (Turner) ends up in the jungles of Central America looking for her missing sister. There she meets roust-a-bout, Jack T. Colton (Douglas), who is always looking for a quick fortune. They decide to secure a lost jewel to use for a trade. It's wonderful film for date night.

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Richard Dawson, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura

"Americans love television...They love game shows, they love wrestling, they love sports and violence. So what do we do? We give 'em what they want! We're number one, Ben, that's all that counts, believe me." - Killian

Why watch this? This is a thrilling, dystopian film you will not forget.

Dad's Review: Arnold was quite the box-office terminator in the 90’s. This futuristic film, adapted from a Stephen King novel, is one of the best. The titular game show pits political captives against brutal gladiators. As each captive dies, the bets, and ratings, get higher. This is quite a thriller. Arnold is great, as is Richard Dawson as the corrupt game show host. 

Starring: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Shane Obedzinski, Victor DiMattia, Denis Leary, Karen Allen, James Earl Jones

"Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong." - The Babe

Why watch this? To remember the days before organized youth sports.

Dad's Review: A great film, similar to Stand By Me, about growing up in a simpler age, before electronics and a thousand TV channels. Our "gang" loves to play baseball at the local field. The problem occurs when a fly ball lands in the backyard of "The Beast". This film has a sweet innocence, and a lesson about overcoming your fears. 

Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, B. J. Novak, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell

"I love my life, I think it's a miracle. And I loved my dad. He was a wonderful man. But rare is the day when I don't think about that eight-year-old boy delivering newspapers in the snow and old Elias Disney with that strap in his fist." – Walt Disney

Why watch this? Emma Thompson's steely performance is truly remarkable.

Dad's Review: This wonderful film really caught me by surprise. Hanks and Thompson are masterful as Walt Disney and Mary Poppins' author P. L. Travers. The film follows the persistent Mr. Disney and his wooing of an unimpressed Ms. Travers in order to transform her book into a Disney musical. There are also poignant flashbacks to Travers' painful childhood, and the relationship with her alcoholic father. Hanks' portrayal of Walt Disney is just too good.

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ron Glass

"Malcolm... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done." – The Operative

Why watch this? It's a great space Western, and Nathan Fillion is a great captain.

Dad's Review: This film is actually the climax to a one-season Fox sci-fi series called Firefly. I highly recommend you watch the series before this film. It will enrich the experience. Here our space smugglers have to finally deal with the psychic powers of River, a girl with unknown capabilities. This takes them on a mission, with the brutal reavers hot on their trail. This is top notch sci-fi enjoyment.

Starring: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Ellen Corby, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr.

"Joey, there's no living with... with a killing. There's no going back from one. Right or wrong, it's a brand. A brand sticks. There's no going back." - Shane

Why watch this? An epic tale of the loner who tries to help a family in need.

Dad's Review: This is the quintessential Western story: A stranger joins settlers in need of help. He has a hidden, violence-filled past, but is trying to put that behind him. When a greedy landowner brings in thugs to run the settlers off the land, Shane has a choice to make. I love the little boy in this film because he reminds me, well, of me.

Starring: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, Arthur Shields, Chief John Big Tree

"Captain of the troop one day: every man's face turned towards you; lieutenants jump when I growl! Now, tomorrow, I'll be glad if a blacksmith asks me to shoe a horse." – Capt. Nathan Brittles

Why watch this? Wayne's performance, as a retiring cavalry captain, is Oscar-worthy.

Dad's Review: This the second of three cavalry films by director John Ford, and this is by far the best. A soon-to-retire outpost commander receives one last mission: handle the latest Indian uprising. It’s a wonderful, beautifully shot, action-filled Western.  We admire Wayne's performance as an officer who has experience enough to use peace to solve the issue at hand. 

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Trukel, Anne Jackson, Tony Burton

"I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in!" - Jack Torrance

Why watch this? The setting at the empty grand hotel, the gigantic snow-covered maze, all creates one hell of an eerie atmosphere.

Dad's Review: It took me a while to figure this one out. Jack, a writer, agrees to stay a deserted hotel in Colorado for the winter. He takes along his wife and son. What I realized is that the film, like Jack's sanity, becomes more and more deranged with each passing minute. The visions and apparitions are real in Jack's (and the audience's) mind. The bigger question: is there something manipulating him... something evil. Is he crazy or is he possessed?

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, Chris Tucker

"You know, I used to think that you were the best thing that ever happened to me, but now I think that you might maybe be the worst thing. And I'm sorry that I ever met you." - Tiffany

Why watch this? I love it when two screwed-up people find happiness in each other.

Dad's Review: Every recent film with Cooper and Lawrence really helps me realize how damn good these young actors are. This superb anti-rom-com is disturbing, warm, funny and eventually triumphant. De Niro is so good as the obsessive-compulsive Eagles fan whose superstitions rule the household. For everyone whose family is not picture perfect, like mine, you will love this trip down Dysfunction Lane. 

Starring: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Brent Briscoe, Jack Walsh, Chelcie Ross, Gary Cole

"I remember my father telling me what he thought that it took for a man to be happy. Simple things, really. A wife he loves, a decent job, friends and neighbors who like and respect him. And for a while there, without hardly even realizing it, I had all that. I was a happy man." – Hank Mitchell

Why watch this? It's hard to keep a secret... especially one involving lots of money.

Dad's Review: The perfect film about the consequences of one really dumb decision. Three men stumbles upon a bag of money. Who can't used a bag of money, but they have keep it a secret... which, of course, proves impossible. The cold, relentless winter setting fits the atmosphere as friends, even brothers, become people you can no longer trust.   

Starring: Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Powers Boothe, Alexis Bledel, Rutger Hauer, Michael Clarke Duncan

"I'm not going to waste one minute wondering how I've gotten this lucky. She smells like angels ought to smell, the perfect woman...a Goddess. Goldie. She says her name is Goldie." – Marv

Why watch this? This film is really a work of art, albeit stylized violence.

Dad's Review: Equally as unique as Frank Miller’s graphic novel, this homage-to-noir film is visually stunning using black and white infused with stark colors for effect. There is lots of brutal violence, so be warned. It is also jam-packed with top-notch actors who bring to life several quasi-related segments. My favorite character is Mickey Rourke’s portrayal of the stone-faced Marv.  

Starring: Harrison Ford, Anne Heche, David Schwimmer, Jaxqueline Obradors, Temuera Morrison, Danny Trejo

"You know how a woman gets a man excited? She shows up. That's it. We're guys, we're easy. Of course for that you can't charge six bucks an issue, now can you?" – Quinn Harris

Why watch this? It's wonderful to watch the reliable Ford and surprising Anne Heche. 

Dad's Review: Ford and Heche are such an unlikely couple both on and off the screen. However, they pull it off, and their chemistry is the soul of this film. It centers two very different people stranded on an island fraught with dangers, including modern day pirates! He’s trying to forget a past relationship, while she’s a fast-moving executive unsure of her current fiancé. This well-done film will have you giggling and ooh-ing at the island scenery.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Trevor Morgan, Donnie Wahlberg

"I don't wanna be scared anymore." - Cole Sear

Why watch this? This is one chilling, spooky film.

Dad's Review: Director M. Night Shyamalan burst on the movie scene with this creepy story of a man and boy who can see ghosts, well, dead people. It's a wonderful film set within an eerie atmosphere. We are graced by a wonderful performance from the young Haley J. Osment. Also, if you are watching for the first time, you will NOT guess the plot twist that is coming. And don’t say that you did!

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee

"The Horseman comes, and tonight he comes for you." - Lady Van Tassel

Why watch this? This is a masterful gothic tale of betrayal, and head-lopping murder.

Dad's Review: This well-done, very creepy re-envisioning of the Headless Horseman story works on every level. Tim Burton utilizes his main man, the ever quirky Johnny Depp, to bring this gothic fairy tale to decapitating life. I am a Burton fan, yet I didn’t expect this film would be so damn scary. It is. Once again, this flick proves that any horror story told mostly at night on the foggy English moors is a solid choice.   

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Tania Saulnier, Xantha Radley

"It tried to get in my mouth. What kinda thing wants you to eat it?" - Jack MacReady

Why watch this? It crude, gory, slimy, violent, and completely awesome if you like this kind of horror film.

Dad's Review: A swarm of hive-mind creatures land on earth and begin infesting and infecting everyone in a small town. It’s up to the sheriff and his ex-girlfriend to figure out what is happening to her husband and, well, everyone acting like zombies. This film also does not take itself too seriously. There are some really funny lines, most coming from a distraught Jack MacReady (the character's name is a homage to 1982's The Thing, another gruesome, alien flick).   

Starring: Jennifer Jones, William Eythe, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb, Gladys Cooper

"There was something about her that precluded laughter. Her exaltation was so genuine that the observer almost had the impression that he saw what the child saw." - Dr. Dozous

Why watch this? There are some miracles out there in the world. This is one of them.

Dad's Review: My brother-in-law and I stumbled upon this film one lazy day just flipping channels. Wow. This story of a young girl's faith, and pain, and persecution is remarkable, as she becomes known as the Lady of Lourdes. Jennifer Jones leads a superb cast in this religiously inspired story.

Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, Eleanor Parker, Angela Cartwright, Ben Wright

"I can't seem to stop singing wherever I am. And what's worse, I can't seem to stop saying things - anything and everything I think and feel." - Maria

Why watch this? It is deservedly the standard by which all family musicals are measured.

Dad's Review: Set in Austria in the late 1930's, this delightful Disney musical follows a precocious nun, Maria, who just doesn't fit in at the abbey. Her Mother Abbess sends her to take care of a family of seven, lorded over by their stern father, Naval Captain Georg Von Trapp. There are musical numbers galore, and it almost goes without saying that the Austrian mountain scenery is incredible. However, it's Julie Andrews, and her innocent, fun-loving personality, who wins our hearts.    

Starring: Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, Edward G. Robinson

"I was there, I can prove it! When I was a kid, you could buy meat anywhere! Eggs they had, real butter! Not this... crap!" - Sol

Why watch this? This is a thought-provoking film about a possible dystopian future.

Dad's Review: A story of our future, where pollution, climate change and famine have contributed to the formulation of a police state to keep people in order. Det. Thorn (Heston) is tasked with investigation of a murder of a high-ranking official, but he discovers much more than that – the source of the green wafers fed to the masses. This is classic sci-fi!  

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