Welcome back to the midweek movie marathon where this week I want to talk about my favorite movies for the summer. I love a good summertime movie and there are plenty to choose from. From great dramas to sweet romantic comedies and scary horror movies, there are tons of films to get you in the summer mood.
In my list I’ll be showing you my conventional (and unconventional) picks for great movies.
To kick this list off we have to do my favorite movie: “Jaws.”
“Jaws” is about a small town called Amity Island off the coast of Massachusetts that is plagued by a man-eating shark just before the big Fourth of July weekend. Jaws has everything you could ever want in a movie and it only makes sense that it is a classic. It has drama, it has horror, it has the plot of a century, it even defined a generation! Overall, “Jaws” is just amazing for movie critics and casual viewers alike.
Next is a classic staple of childhood: “Teen Beach Movie.” “Teen Beach Movie” is not as acclaimed as “Jaws,” of course, but it is just plain, silly fun. It is about this teenage couple who get transported into “wet side story” a beach-biker musical and have to figure out how to get out. It is like a parody of multiple musicals, most obviously “West Side Story.” It has some really good dances and songs as well as just being a fun good time. It reminds me of childhood and just overall happiness.
Following “Teen Beach Movie” is “Surf’s Up.” A 2008 movie about a bunch of surfing penguins competing in a huge international surf competition. It sounds dumb but the jokes are hilarious, and as you get older you can really appreciate different aspects of it. It again falls under the category of silly little fun movies and is also surprisingly well written.
Next I have “Before Sunrise,” which is a romcom that has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It is directed by Richard Linklater and is very thoughtfully written. There isn’t much action but instead is an incredibly dialogue heavy film. There are long dialogue scenes without cuts that are perfectly acted and still engaging. The story is lovely and is about these two people who meet on a train to Vienna and they spend one day together before they go their separate ways. It is sweet and made a perfect trilogy.
I’m taking a hard turn from “Before Sunrise” to “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.” The first Terminator was undeniably perfect, but the second one? One of the best sequels ever made. They expanded on the original and added a new element, a terminator that could morph into any person and had a liquid metal exterior. Not only is it a challenging new enemy for John Connor and the Terminator but it was also a huge deal in the world of special effects makeup. None of the T-1000 was CGI, it was created by a team of talented special effects designers who painstakingly made molds and sculpted all forms of the T-1000. If you want to see pure achievement in special effects you have to watch “Terminator 2.”
My final movie of choice will be “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” This movie is so strange. And not in a way that is obvious. It is just weird. Ripley is unnerving and the story is enticing. The basic plot is that Tom Ripley is a con-artist who manages to make friends and impersonate rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf. The whole story devolves from there. For the sake of not spoiling the plot, all I’ll say is that it is like an undercover thriller movie where you don’t expect it to be as horrifying as it is. It is really good though and I love the color grading and cinematography.
So, for whatever summer mood you may be feeling, hopefully these movies will brighten up your summer’s day.
