As I've written these movie lists, I've become increasingly aware that my daughter, at age four, isn't really interested in movies. She'd much rather read, play iPad games, or play with her Thomas the Train set. The few times I've suggested watching a movie, she's turned me down. So while she's seen The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and all three Toy Story movies, she refused the Winnie the Pooh and Sleeping Beauty movies I've suggested. With Christmas here, I've gotten her to check out Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas, but movies just aren't her favorite. I guess I'm not really upset that she'd rather read.
I won't be heartbroken if she misses a lot of these, as long as she watches The Star Wars movies, The Back to the Future movies, and E.T. when she gets older. We have another daughter on the way, and maybe in four more years we can revisit these lists.
There are a lot of eighties movies in my lists. Maybe that's because when I think of movies I loved as a kid, I think of movies that I watched as a kid, and I want to share the things I love with the people I love. But you have to admit that a lot of these movies are just damned good.
So here is my final list. It's fairly long, and I try here to cover all the movies I might like her to see in her pre-teen and high school years. There are a ton of good movies that I'd recommend for late high school or post-high school, such as Alien and The Shawshank Redemption, but I feel no need to cover those here, 'cause those ain't for kids.
- Indiana Jones - Classics. Of course, I'm mainly talking about Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, but if she likes those I may consider Temple of Doom or Crystal Skull.
- Forrest Gump - A great movie and a bit of a history lesson.
- Super 8 - My favorite movie of 2011.
- The Karate Kid - Completely an eighties movie, which is probably a big part of why it's in this list. But it's such pop culture that I feel it to be a necessity.
- The Time Machine - A classic book made into a classic movie. When I was a kid, the Morlocks terrified me.
- Tremors - Hokey campy horror. Beware the graboids!
- Apollo 13 - A tale of disaster averted. Consider it historic fiction.
- True Lies - One of the best action/comedy movies ever, and tied with T2 for Arnold's best film.
- Clue - The script and performance is top-notch. I can imagine this one being as good in a theater setting as it was on the big screen. Who'd have thought that a movie based on a board game could be this good?
- The Abyss - One of my favorite movies of all time.
- Toy Soldiers - Seriously underrated. Stars Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, and Lou Gosset Jr.
- Better Off Dead - One of the best comedies of the eighties.
- One Crazy Summer - A companion to Better Off Dead. They're practically the same movie.
- Real Genius - I'll put this one right next to Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer.
- The Poseidon Adventure - One of the best disaster movies ever.
- Jurassic Park - The special effects look a bit dated, but the movie is still fantastic.
- Signs - My favorite M.Night movie - such a fantastic mix of suspense and comedy.
- Stand By Me - Although it may have more impact for those who grew up in the time period depicted, it's still a phenomenal movie.
- The Fugitive - Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. I must have seen this one a dozen times.
- Airplane - Classic stupid comedy.
- The Breakfast Club - Is there a more iconic eighties movie?
- UHF - Weird Al's movie. I remember loving it as a kid.
- Vertigo - Classic Hitchcock. Still holds up very well.
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - It's easy to forget how good Robert Redford and Paul Newman were in this movie until you watch it again.
- Harry Potter - There have been other Harry Potter movies in my previous lists, but the later ones are not for younger kids. As always, the books are far better and should take precedence over the movies.
- Twister - Linda and I have always enjoyed disaster movies, and this is a good one.
- Grease - Purely for the pop culture value.