"I Want to Watch That Again"

This summer, I have often found myself wanting to watch a movie that has recently been released for home viewing, but I have yet to go to the trouble of actually selecting one and viewing it. I watched The Breakfast Club with Emily, but nothing that has recently become available really makes me want to devote 90-120 minutes of my time. So, each time I get that urge, it eventually passes and I just check Twitter instead.

The other night, Dylan wandered into my little cave at the end of the basement and told me he wanted to go for a walk. I said that was fine and that he should go for it. He started up the stairs, and then came back down and said, "Actually, I want to walk to Hastings, but since I cannot remember how to get there, I might not do that." I asked if he wanted me to walk to Hastings, and that seemed like a good idea to him. Long story short, Dylan, Emily, and I walked to Hastings. As tends to happen on such trips, I found myself thumbing through the discount/clearance rack, this one featuring DVDs.  There were some interesting titles, and I starting thinking what movies that have been out for a while that I would like to sit down and view again. Movies that I remember for one reason or another, but that have not found their way into my basic cable viewing schedule. So, here is my list of my top 5 films that I would really like to watch again. Note that this is not a list of my top 5 movies of all time, or my top 5 most influential films; it is a list of 5 films I want to watch again for some reason. Some you might question, and that is cool. Some you might think about and say, "Oh yeah! I want to watch that again too!" That is even cooler. More cool? Whatever.

American History X.
This movie came  out in 1998 and starred Edward Norton before Fight Club.  I started to type a synopsis of the film, but I decided it might be more efficient to simply embed the trailer for you. (I apologize in advance for having to insert links only for some of the films. I will try to fix that later.)

I want to watch this movie again because I remember that I had a visceral reaction to it when I first watched in fifteen or so years ago. Unfortunately, the racial issues and societal conflicts that the film presents are still relevant today. Furthermore, the movie tells a story of an individual's personal growth and change, as well as the tragic consequences of that individual's choices. It is shocking, offensive at times, moving, and meaningful. I was forced by the film to develop feelings, positive and negative, for the characters. I began to care what happened to them. Artistically, I liked the director's use of flashbacks and black and white. The techniques were used to move the plot forward and intensify the emotion of the movie as Norton's character battles to make it through a world he once saw only in terms of black and white.

The Boys Next Door
John Hudson demanded we watch this movie when we were in high school. It was released in 1985 and stars a young Charlie Sheen. Sheen actually received second billing in the film. I can still picture particular scenes from the movie, and certain lines stand out.  This flick was the first time I heard of chemical that can be added to a swimming pool to turn the water purple if one wee to urinate in it. Kind of like Grownups, except that after whizzing in the pool, Adam Sandler and Kevin James go on a killing spree.
The Boys Next Door Trailer

I would like to watch this movie again because I would like to see if the impression it made on my mind was because it was actually a good movie that told its story in such a way that I could not forget it, if I was just a 16 year-old kid who was shocked by a movie that was brutal and startling, or if it was a combination of both that keep the images from the movie loaded in that part of my brain reserved for teenage memories. In my memory, The Boys Next Door has a dark and perverted Of Mice and Men quality to it. Two young men, traveling because they just cannot seem to find a place to fit in, and one of them tends to create trouble for them both, especially when the other is on the verge of finding something good he can grab on to. I have not seen this movie on any video store shelf, and I once searched for it on Netflix and could not locate it. There is another film by the same name, but this one has been hiding from me.

Summer School
Mark Harmon in the 80s, before NCIS and Kirstie Alley before Jenny Craig. Harmon played a teacher who was excited for summer, ready to race out the door and enjoy his vacation, only to be roped into teaching summer school.

I have no idea why I want to watch this movie again. It was ridiculous the first time I saw it, probably around 1989 when it came out on VHS and we rented it.  Harmon is a likable character, although he portrays the stereotypically horrible teacher at the beginning of the film, only to discover that all kids can learn, although some learn a little differently. That's new and fresh. Maybe this is not one I really want to see, but if I had put 187 starring Samuel L. Jackson on this list, some of you might start questioning my sanity. Besides, we all need fluff sometimes, and it is summertime, right?

MASH
The movie. I have already watched two episodes of the TV series today. No Alan Alda, but it did give birth to the series and starred Donald Sutherland. It came out the year before I was born, but it is a classic.
Theatrical Trailer for MASH

I have seen the film, but it has been a long time. I actually am no sure when I saw it; it was probably during college. I know the film, while set in Korea during the Korean War, was actually more connected to the conflict in Vietnam that was taking place when the film was produced. I think I do not just want to watch it again; I NEED to watch it again.  I remember certain aspects of the film, such as the football game against a rival unit in which the docs drug their opponents, as well as when the doctors convince a colleague to reconsider suicide by actually setting up the attempt for him. However, I know life experience and an expanded knowledge base will allow me grasp much more of the movie than I did the first time.

All the Right Moves
Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson, and Craig T. Nelson, and high school football in Pennsylvania.
All the Right Moves Theatrical Trailer

The movie came out when I was in middle school, and I went to my Aunt Ginny's to watch it on HBO. This was one of Cruise's early movies, and he was just cutting his teeth as a star. Craig T. Nelson was a complete jerk as the football coach, a completely different character than he portrayed as Hayden Fox, head coach of the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles, on the TV series Coach. I was an 8th grader, I think, when I saw the movie, and I was pretty easily impressed, so I want to watch this movie again. I remember that it had some great football sequences, that one of the team captains had to deal with the fact that his girlfriend was pregnant, that some of the content was a little more than an 8th grader at the time was used to seeing, and that Lea Thompson, for some reason, wore long underwear under her band uniform.

So there you have it: five films I want to watch again. I won't lie; I am not going to watch Summer School again unless it comes on USA Network sometime. The others have a chance of making their way into my rotation at some point. Oh, and just to provide you with a few more ideas, here are a few others that came to mind as I was writing today. Enjoy.
Falling Down
This Is Spinal Tap
Apocalypse Now
The Wall
Unforgiven
Collateral Damage
Wall Street
Nightmare on Elm Street (just the 1st one)
Reservoire Dogs