Favorite films (7)

[soleiltropiques]

Quite a bit of time ago, I created a list of my favorite films. Summaries are (mostly) from IMDB.

This first post lists my favorite films which fall under the category of 'fun fluff', in alphabetical order.

NB: Please note that when no nationality(ies) is specified, the film is from the U.S.

Some comments/warnings regarding problematic content are in bold. (In other words, there may be additional such content which I have not marked, but I focused on warning about things the film and its description did not deal with well. An example of this would be 'Gone with the Wind', which is horribly racist as a film and which IMO requires a warning.)

Please note that some of these films are in my list because they were influential, not because I objectively think they were great. In some other cases, they are still in my lists (with warnings) to remind myself that I need to rethink some of my earlier opinions. :)

Fluffy fun/Films that are fun to watch (but not exactly the greatest ever made!)

• Alien vs. Predator (2010): (Really not the greatest film ever made by any means, but is still rather neat and creepy!) (Online summary: Hunter. Survivor. Prey. Which will you be?) (NB: I would rate this R)
• Angel Eyes (2001): with Jennifer Lopez, Jim Caviezel (i.e. Jesus!). A mysterious man is drawn to a feisty female police officer and a unusual relationship ensues, as not everything is as it seems. (NB: Rated R)
• Australia (2008): with Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman. Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand. (NB: Rated PG-13) (Beware of the 'white savior' trope in this film.)
• Batman Forever (1995): with Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones. Batman must battle Two-Face and The Riddler with help of an amourous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Beyond Borders (2003): with Angelina Jolie, Clive Owen. Beyond Borders is an epic tale of the turbulent romance between two star-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the world's most dangerous hot spots. Sarah Jordan is an American living in London in 1984. She is married to Henry Bauford son of a wealthy British industrialist, when she encounters Nick Callahan, a renegade doctor, whose impassioned plea for help to support his relief efforts in war-torn Africa moves her deeply. As a result, Sarah embarks upon a journey of discovery that leads to danger, heartbreak and romance in the far corners of the world. (NB: Rated R) (Comment: This one doesn’t completely work and is really problematic in the way it treats African people as props.)
• Beverly Hills Cop (1984): with Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold. A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills. (Be warned: some of the humor in this is actually really offensive and there one scene in particular is really homophobic, but some bits are still very very funny.) (NB: Rated R)
• Big (1988): with Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins. When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight. (NB: Rated PG/PG-13) (Comment: It is surprising that I've seen so few comments on the fact that an adult woman essentially sleeps with a 13-year old boy in this film, though. She does think he is an adult at the time, since he is in an adult body, but it's still creepy.)
• Black Panther (2018): T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Blade (part I - III, 1998 -2004): with Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson. A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires. (NB: Rated R)
• Braveheart (1995): with Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau. William Wallace, a commoner, unites the 13th Century Scots in their battle to overthrow English rule. (This is NOT historically accurate by any means. So I would suggest taking this as fiction, but it is en enjoyable watch.) (NB: Rated R) (Warning: This film is massively homophobic.)
• Bring It On (2000): with Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku. A champion high school cheerleading squad discovers its previous captain stole all their best routines from an inner-city school and must scramble to compete at this year's championships. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) (and the first sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014): with Chris Evans. After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals. (Not the greatest film ever made, but fun.) (Note that I am not recommending the second sequel, 'Captain America: Civil War' (2016), which was pretty bad IMO.) (NB: Both rated PG-13)
• Coach Carter (2005): with Samuel L. Jackson. Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Contact (1997): with Jodie Foster, Matthew McConnaughey. Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine. (NB: Rated PG)
• Core, The (2003): with Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank. The only way to save Earth from catastrophe is to drill down to the core and set it spinning again. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Coyote Ugly (1999): with Piper Perabo. Aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford, after getting a job at a women-run NYC bar that teases its male patrons, comes out of her shell. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Crazy Rick Asians (2018): This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family. (Rated PG-13) (Please note that this film, while it is a HUGE step forward in terms of racial diversity in Hollywood, has nonetheless (validly IMO) been criticized in how it treats certain Asian peoples.)
• Cutting Edge, The (1992): with Moira Kelly, DB. Sweeney. At the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary, we see Doug Dorsey battered in a vicious hockey game against West Germany. We then see Kate Moseley doing her program and falling when a lift goes bad. Both have fought all their life to get to the Olympics and suddenly the dream has been shattered. The movie then follows Kate, a temperamental but talented figure skater, through many partners until finally her coach resorts to recruiting a hockey player. Through the difficult training of 15 hours of skating a day they finally prepare for Nationals and the Olympics. A romance is budding and their final show could bend or break them as they try to achieve their dreams of an Olympic Gold medal. (NB: Rated PG)
• Dances with Wolves (1990): with Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell. Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military. (NB: Rated PG-13/R) (This is yet another film which shows a white viewpoint when dealing with a non white issue/subject, yet I supposed it is at least a white viewpoint which is more sympathetic to indigenous peoples in North America. Still, beware of the 'white savior' trope.)
• Dangerous Minds (1995): with Michelle Pfeiffer. An ex-marine teacher struggles to connect with her students in an inner city schools. (NB: Rated R.) (NB: More of the 'white savior' trope.)
• Dirty Dancing (1987): with Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey. Spending the summer in a holiday camp with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor Johnny Castle. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Doctor Strange (2016): While on a journey of physical and spiritual healing, a brilliant neurosurgeon is drawn into the world of the mystic arts. (NB: Rated PG-13) (Not the best film ever made and the whitewashing in this film is really something.)
• Fantastic Four (2005): with Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffud, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis. A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom. (Note that I am NOT recommending the sequel, 'Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' (2007).) (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Far Off Place, A (1993): with Reese Witherspoon, Ethan Embry. The witty Nonni and the stuck-up city-boy Harry are the only ones to survive a massacre of a gang of poachers among the gamekeeper's family on his lonesome farm in the savanna. Now the ruthless murderers are after them as the only witnesses. Without a means of transportation, the only way to escape is to walk through 2000 kilometers of Kalahari desert with the help of the African bushman Xhabbo. On the months-long journey ahead they not only become good friends against their differences, but also realize that every one of them has strength and skills that are required to survive. (NB: Rated PG)
• Fast and the Furious, The (2001): with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. An undercover cop infiltrates an underworld subculture of Los Angeles street racers looking to bust a hijacking ring, and soon begins to question his loyalties when his new street racing friends become the prime suspects. (NB: Rated PG-13) (I personally have to wonder about the ethics of glorifying speeding and unsafe driving, which this film does IMO, which are behaviors which kill people in real life.)
• Finding Forrester (2000): with Sean Connery, Anna Paquin, Rob Brown. An afro-american teen writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• First Knight (1995): with Richard Gere, Sean Connery, Julia Ormond. Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, who is due to be married to King Arthur. Meanwhile, a violent warlord tries to seize power from Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. (This is a non fantastic version of the Arthurian legends.) (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Footloose (1984): with Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow. A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace. (NB: Rated PG)
• Freedom Writers (2007): with Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey. A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school. (NB: Rated PG-13) (Beware of the 'white savior' trope in this film.)
• Ghost (1990): with Patrick Swayze, Whoopi Goldberg, and Demi Moore. After being killed during a botched mugging, a man's love for his partner enables him to remain on earth as a ghost. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• G.I. Jane (1997): with Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft. A female Senator succeeds in enrolling a woman into Navy SEALS training where everyone expects her to fail. (NB: Rated R)
• Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985): with Sarah Jessica Parker, Lee Montgomery, Helen Hunt. Janey is new in town, and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general, and "Dance TV" in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, Janey and Lynne are determined to audition. The only problem is that Janey's father doesn't approve of that kind of thing. (NB: Rated PG)
• Gladiator (2000): with Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix. A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery. (NB: Rated R)
• Glory Road (2006): with Josh Lucas. In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship. (NB: Rated PG) (Beware of the 'white savior' trope in this film.)
• Going My Way (1944): with Bing Crosby. Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy, but his level gaze and twinkling eyes make it clear that he knows he made the right choice. After joining a parish, O'Malley's worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of kids looking for direction and handle the business details of the church-building fund, winning over his aging, conventional superior, Father Fitzgibbon. (NB: Rated G)
• Gone in 60 seconds (2000): with Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie. A retired master car thief must come back to the industry and steal 50 cars with his crew in one night to save his brother's life. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Gridiron Gang (2006): with Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock). Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Heartbreakers (2001): with Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Gene Hackman. A mother and daughter con team seduce and scam wealthy men. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Holiday, The (1999): with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Jude Law. Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Honey (2003): with Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer. Honey is a sexy, tough music video choreographer who shakes up her life after her mentor gives her an ultimatum: sleep with him or be blacklisted within their industry. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Hope Floats (1998): with Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands. Birdee Calvert must choose between her morals and her heart after her husband divorces her and a charming young man, who her daughter disapproves of, comes back into her life. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007): with Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Saoirse Ronan. A mother falls for a younger man while her daughter falls in love for the first time. Mother Nature messes with their fates. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Indiana Jones series (i.e. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)): Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis. (NB: I would rate these PG-13 except for the second film, which I would rate R)
• Italian Job, The (2003): with Mark Wahlberg (aka. the violent racist), Charlize Theron. After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Just Like Heaven (2005): with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. A lonely landscape architect (Ruffalo) falls for the spirit of beautiful woman (Witherspoon) who used to live in his new apartment. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Kate and Leopold (2001): with Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman. Kate and her actor brother live in N.Y. in the 21st Century. Her ex-boyfriend, Stuart, lives above her apartment. Stuart finds a space near the Brooklyn Bridge where there is a gap in time. He goes back to the 19th Century and takes pictures of the place. Leopold -- a man living in the 1870s -- is puzzled by Stuart's tiny camera, follows him back through the gap, and they both end up in the present day. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Knight’s Tale, A (2001): with Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany. After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Lake House, The (2006): with Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock. A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Love Story (1970): with Ryan O’Neal, Ali MacGraw. Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. (This really will not be to everyone’s taste and, I will certainly admit, is not the greatest movie ever made. It is enjoyable however, as well as interesting to see since it almost single-handedly saved Paramount when it came out, and since it was such a huge huge hit which really entered into pop culture history here in the west.) (NB: Rated PG)
• Lucky One, The (2012): with Zac Efron. A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war. (NB: Rated PG-13) (This film really seemed to me to downplay the impact of domestic violence.)
• Karate Kid, The (1984) and the sequel The Karate Kid, part II (1986): with Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita. A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting. (Note that I am not recommending the second sequel, 'Karate Kid Part III' (1989), which was not that good.) (NB: Rated PG)
• Kingdom of Heaven (2005): with Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson. Balian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people. (NB: Rated R.)
• Last Samurai, The (2003): with Tom Cruise. An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle. (NB: Rated R.)
• Lean On Me (1989): with Morgan Freeman. The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school that he is determined to improve. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Legally Blonde (2001): with Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair. When a blonde sorority queen is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to follow him to law school to get him back and, once there, learns she has more legal savvy than she ever imagined. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Lost Valentine, The (2011): with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Betty White. Lucas Thomas's grandmother Caroline returns every Valentine's Day to the station where, at their then first wedding anniversary, she waved off to the pacific war theatre in 1944 naval pilot Neil, officially still missing in action. Lucas, a former baseball star and reputable physiotherapist about to publish, tells the story to a station manager, who assigns the item to Susan Allison. She gets involved and befriends Caroline, but resists her crush on Lucas on account of an already soulless engagement with international reporter Andrew Hawthorne. (Rated PG-13)
• Magic Mike (2012): with Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer. A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money. (NB: Rated R)
• Maid in Manhattan (2002): with Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, and Natasha Richardson. A senatorial candidate falls for a hotel maid, thinking she is a socialite when he sees her trying on a wealthy woman's dress. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Man in the Moon, The (1991): with Reese Witherspoon. After handsome 17-year-old Court Foster moves back into the long-vacant Foster ranch, 14-year-old Dani Trant falls in love for the first time, while her older sister Maureen discovers true love. (Set during the 1950s.) (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Maverick (1994): with Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, James Garner. (This is a western.) Bret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief. (NB: Rated PG)
• Meet Joe Black (1998): with Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. A media mogul acts as a guide to Death, who takes the form of a young man to learn about life on Earth and in the process, fall in love with his guide's daughter. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Message in a Bottle (1999): with Robin Wright, Kevin Costner, Paul Newman. A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Mistress of Spices (2006, UK, USA): with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Dylan McDermott. In India, Tilo has the ability of foreseeing the future. When their parents are killed by bandits, she is kidnapped but escapes and is raised by the First Mother in a sort of traditional cult of spices. She becomes the Mistress of Spices and is sent to the Spice Bazaar in San Francisco, with the mission of following three basic rules: help her clients to accomplish their desires with the spices, but never hers; never leave the store; and never be touched in the skin. When she meets the handsome American architect Doug, she feels a great attraction and desire for him, breaking the first rule and being punished by the spices. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Mona Lisa Smile (2003): with Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal. A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 50's Wellesley girls to question their traditional societal roles. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Mountain Between Us (The) (2017): with Kate Winslet and Idris Elba. Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002): with Nia Vardalos, John Corbett. A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity. (NB: Rated PG)
• Mystic Pizza (1988): with Julia Roberts. Three teenage girls come of age while working at a pizza parlor in Mystic Connecticut. (NB: Rated R)
• Notebook (The) (2004): with Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner, Gena Rowlands. A poor yet passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman, giving her a sense of freedom, but they are soon separated because of their social differences. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Notting Hill (1999): with Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant. The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when he meets the most famous film star in the world. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Ocean’s Eleven (2001): with George Clooney, Brad Pitt. Danny Ocean and his eleven accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• One Fine Day (1999): with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer. Melanie Parker, an architect and mother of Sammy meets Jack Taylor, a newspaper columnist and father of Maggie. (NB: Rated PG)
• One Special Night (1999): with Julie Andrews, James Garner. Builder Robert is visiting his ailing wife in a nursing home and is having problems getting a taxi home due to an intense snow storm. One of the doctors, Katherine offers him a lift home however their car gets stuck and they have to spend the night in an empty cabin nearby. They talk and bond, but afterwards seem to have difficulty beginning a relationship. (NB: Rated PG)
• Overboard (1987): with Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell. A cruel but beautiful heiress screws over a hired carpenter, who later is the first one to find her when she gets amnesia. Looking for a little revenge he convinces her that she's his wife. (NB: Rated PG) (This film is really problematic and portrays non consensual sex, as well as a woman being kidnapped because she is too 'bitchy', as 'true love'.)
• Pacifier, The (2005): with Vin Diesel. Disgraced Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father -- a government scientist whose top-secret experiment remains in the kids' house. (NB: Rated PG)
• Patriot, The (1997): with Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger. Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son. (NB: Rated R.)
• Patriot Games (1992) and the sequel Clear and Present Danger (1994): with Harrison Ford. When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge. (NB: Rated R.)
• Pay It Forward (2000): with Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey (aka. another abuser). A young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• People Like Us (2012): with Chris Pine, Michelle Pfeiffer, Elizabeth Banks. While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Phenomenon (1996): with John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick. An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis. (NB: Rated PG)
• Practical Magic (1998): with Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman. Sally and Gillian Owens have always known they were different. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death, the sisters grew up in a household that was anything but typical--their aunts fed them chocolate cake for breakfast and taught them the uses of practical magic. But the invocation of the Owens' sorcery also carries a price--some call it a curse: the men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death. Now adult women with very different personalities, the quiet Sally and the fiery Gillian must use all of their powers to fight the family curse and a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the Owens women. (Basically, this is fun fluff.) (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Pretty Woman (1990): with Richard Gere, Julia Roberts. A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love. (NB: Rated R)
• Prince and Me, The (2004): with Julia Stiles, Luke Mably. At a Wisconsin university, local farmer's daughter Paige Morgan is intrigued by odd Danish exchange student Edvard 'Eddie', who is ignorant of many aspects of daily life, such as all domestic chores (no wonder, he's the incognito heir to the royal throne of Denmark, his roommate Soren a court minder) but well versed in other matters, such as Shakespeare. They then become friends. (NB: Rated PG)
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2011): with Jake Gyllenhaal. A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time. (NB: Rated PG-13) (NB: Note that this is another film which is guilty of whitewashing.)
• Princess Diaries, The (2001): with Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway. Mia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her 15th year. There is also a sequel, “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” which is also fun. (NB: Rated G)
• Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, The (2005): with Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern. In order to support her ten children, Evelyn Ryan (Moore) enters a commercial jingle-writing contest. Based on a true story. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• P.S. I Love You (2007): with Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Harry Conick Jr., Kathy Bates. A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Pursuit of Happyness, The (2006): with Will Smith. A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Return to Me (2000): with David Duchovny, Minnie Driver. A man who falls in love with the woman who received his wife's heart must decide which woman it is who holds his heart. (NB: Rated PG)
• Robin Hood, Men in Tights (1993): directed by Mel Brooks. A spoof of Robin Hood in general, and 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' in particular. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Save the Last Dance (2001): with Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington. A white midwestern girl moves to Chicago, where her new boyfriend is a black teen from the South Side with a rough, semi-criminal past. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• School Ties (1992): with Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris O’Donnell. A Jewish boy goes to an elite prep school in the 1950's and hides his religion until a jealous bigot forces it out in the open. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Shakespeare in Love (1998): with Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes. A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays. (NB: Rated R)
• Shall We Dance (2004): with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez. A romantic comedy where a bored, overworked estate lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• She’s the Man (2006): with Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum. When her brother decides to ditch for a couple weeks in London, Viola heads over to his elite boarding school, disguises herself as him, and proceeds to fall for one of her soccer teammates. Little does she realize she's not the only one with romantic troubles, as she, as he, gets in the middle of a series of intermingled love affairs. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Simply Irresistible (1999): with Sarah Michelle Gellar. A department store executive tries to resist falling in love with a young woman, who he believes has possessed magical powers after inheriting a restaurant. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Sin City (2005): with Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy. Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller's popular comics, focusing around a muscular brute who's looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, a man fed up with Sin City's corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake, a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little cash. (NB: Rated R)
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The (2005): with Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively. Four best girlfriends hatch a plan to stay connected with one another as their lives start off in different directions: they pass around a pair of secondhand jeans that fits each of their bodies perfectly. (NB: Rated PG)
• Sleepless in Seattle (1993): with Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan. A recently-widowed man's son calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner. (NB: Rated PG)
• Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): with Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron. In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Something to Talk About (1995): with Julia Roberts, Dennis Quaid, Kyra Sedgwick. Grace Bichon, who is managing her father's riding-stable, discovers that her husband Eddie deceives her with another woman. After confronting him in the middle of the night on the streets of their small home town, she decides to stay at her sister Emma Rae's house for a while, to make up her mind. Breaking out of her everyday life, she starts to question the authority of everyone, especially her father's, thus causing a stir in her parent's marriage, too. (NB: Rated R)
• Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The (2010): with Nicholas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Monica Bellucci, Alfred Molina. Balthazar Blake, master sorcerer and apprentice of Merlin, must find and train Merlin's descendant to destroy Morgana le Fey, the darkest sorceress of all time. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Spaceballs (1987): directed by Mel Brooks. Planet Spaceball's President Skroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal Planet Druidia's abundant supply of air to replenish their own, and only Lone Starr can stop them. (NB: Rated PG)
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Peter Parker balances his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter-ego Spider-Man, and finds himself on the trail of a new menace prowling the skies of New York City. (Rated PG-13)
• Star Wars (Episodes IV - VI, 1977 -1983): with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford. Luke Skywalker, a spirited farm boy, joins rebel forces to save Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader, and the galaxy from the Empire's planet-destroying Death Star. (NB: I would rate these PG-13)
• Step Up (2006): with Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum. Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with an up and coming dancer, Nora. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Sum of All Fears, The (2002): with Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman. CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Superman (1978) and the sequel Superman II (1980): with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman. An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest super-hero. (Note that I am not recommending the two sequels, 'Superman III' (1983) and 'Superman IV: The Quest for Peace' (1987) which were quite awful.) (NB: Rated PG)
• Superman Returns (2006): with Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey (aka. another abuser), Kate Bosworth. After a long visit to the lost remains of the planet Krypton, the Man of Steel returns to Earth to become the people's savior once again and reclaim the love of Lois Lane. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• S.W.A.T. (2003): with Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, Samuel L. Jackson. An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody and only the LAPD's Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Take the Lead (2006): The real story of a dance teacher who believed in the talent of a group of problem kids. (NB: Rated PG-13) (NB: Beware of another incarnation of the 'white savior' trope.)
• Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005): with Halle Berry. A drama set in the 1920s, where free-spirited Janie Crawford's search for happiness leads her through several different marriages, challenging the morals of her small town. Based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston. (NB: I would rate this PG-13)
• 13 Going On 30 (2004): with Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. A 13 year old girl plays a game on her 13th birthday and wakes up the next day as a 30 year old woman. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Thor (2011) (also the two sequels, Thor: The Dark World, 2014 and Thor: Ragnarok 2017): Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins. The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders. (Not exactly the greatest film ever made, but quite fun.) (NB: All are rated PG-13)
• Thorn Birds, The (1983): (This is a TV miniseries.) with Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Simmons, Christopher Plummer. This mini series covers 60 years in the lives of the Cleary family, brought from New Zealand to Australia to run their aunt Mary Carson's ranch. The story centers on their daughter, Meggie, and her love for the family's priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart. Meggie tries to forget Ralph by marrying dashing stockman Luke O'Neill, but she and Ralph are soon reunited, with tragic consequences for them both. (Warning: I will heartily and openly admit that this is complete trash. My brother still does an absolutely ROTFLMAO funny imitation of the priest in this, BTW. It is fun to watch though, as long as you don’t expect too much!) (NB: I would rate this PG.) (I would point to the following discussion of why the book this film/miniseries is based on, as well as the series itself, is racist.)
• Titan A.E. (2000): (This is an animated film.) A young man learns that he has to find a hidden Earth ship before an enemy alien species does in order to secure the survival of humanity. (NB: Rated PG)
• Titanic (1997): with Kate Winslet, onardo Dicaprio, Kathy Bates, Billy Zane. A boy and a girl from differing social backgrounds meet during the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Top Gun (1986): with Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis. The macho students of an elite US Flying school for advanced fighter pilots compete to be best in the class, and one romances the teacher. (NB: Rated PG)
• Tourist, The (2010, US, France): with Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany. Elise sits next to an American tourist, Frank, on a train going to Venice. She has chosen him as a decoy, making believe that he is her lover who is wanted by police. Not only will they need to evade the police, but also the mobster whose money her lover stole.
• 28 days (2000): with Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen. A big-city newspaper columnist is forced to enter a drug and alcohol rehab center after ruining her sister's wedding and crashing a stolen limousine. (Again, not the greatest ever made, but enjoyable.) (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Twilight (2008): with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Sarah Clarke. A teenage girl risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire. (I also recommend the sequels, New Moon (2009), Eclipse (2010), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I (2011)). (The final sequel, 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -Part II' (2012) was pretty disappointing, honestly.) (NB: Rated PG-13) (Note that these films include an essentially older man stalking a young girl, disguised as teenage romance.)
• Up Close & Personal (1996): with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford. An ambitious young woman, determined to build a career in TV journalism, gets good advice from her first boss, and they fall in love. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Vampires Suck (2010): (NB: This is a parody, of the Twilight films in particular.) A spoof of vampire-themed movies, where teenager Becca finds herself torn between two boys. As she and her friends wrestle with a number of different dramas, everything comes to a head at their prom. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Vow, The (2012): with Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams. A car accident puts Paige in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo works to win her heart again.
• Walk the Line (2005): with Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin. A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Walk to Remember, A (2002): with Mandy Moore. The story of two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, who are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is made to do community service. (NB: Rated PG)
• Wedding Planner, The (2001): with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughay. Mary Fiore is the wedding planner. She's ambitious, hard-working, extremely organized, and she knows exactly what to do and say to make any wedding a spectacular event. But when Mary falls (literally) for a handsome doctor her busy yet uncomplicated life is turned upside down - he's the groom in the biggest wedding of her career! (NB: Rated PG-13)
• What Women Want (2000): with Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt. After an accident, a chauvenistic executive gains the ability to hear what women are really thinking. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Wimbledon (2004, UK, France, US): with Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst. A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Wing Commander (1999): with Freddy Prinze Jr, Saffron Burrows. Blair, a fighter pilot, joins an interstellar war to fight the evil Kilrathi who are trying to destroy the universe. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Witness (1985): with Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis. A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial. (NB: Rated R.)
• Wonder Woman (2017): When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Working Girl (1988): with Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford, Melanie Griffith. When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss's job. (NB: Rated R)
• XXX (2002): with Vin Diesel. Xander Cage is an extreme sports athelete recruited by the government on a special mission. (NB: Rated PG-13)
• Young Catherine (1991): with Julia Ormond, Christopher Plummer, Vanessa Redgrave. A German princess is chosen to marry the heir to the Russian Throne, but faces plots and intrigues against her. (NB: Rated PG-13)