This week I thought I’d talk about something a lot of us love and miss, sports. Since all the large sports organizations are shut down currently and we are unable to watch anything but highlights and 30 for 30’s we forget about the amazing sports films that have came out. Sports movies for me have a different emotional feel they are exciting, sad, and hopeful all wrapped into one and you didn’t have to play sports in high school to appreciate them. I want to share my top 5 sports movies that I’ve probably watched dozens of times each.

5.) The Sandlot (1993)

This movie was just a childhood delight for us millennial and many of us can relate to it having a special place in our hearts. It isn’t the most emotional or inspiring movie to be honest but it just has that hall of fame factor that makes it able to be in this countdown.

4.) The Longest Yard (2005)

Although this was a remake many people just call this the original thing. Adam Sandler did an amazing job as acting like a prison yard quarterback while being supported by some outstanding actors. This movie has it all it’s emotional, intense, and absolutely hilarious. I do not think this movie has gotten enough recognition since it’s came out but if you’re looking for a good laugh an a good Adam Sandler movie give it a watch.

3.) Coach Carter (2005)

Coach Carter takes a more emotional side of sports movies. It tells the story of racial divide and how sports can seem like an out for low income students and families. Coach Carter proves through the ups and the downs that he can turn a group of students who don’t even believe in themselves that they can do anything when they set their mind to it and have a little discipline.

2.) Remember the Titans (2000)

Remember the Titans is a little different because not only does it tell the story of a talented football story, it expresses the intensity of racism in schooling when segregation ended and a compelling tale on how this coach decided to handle it. Denzel does a wonderful job at acting as the hard earning but caring coach that is set out to single handedly win football games and put an end to racial divide.

Moneyball (2011)

I enjoyed Moneyball so much because it is so much different than a traditional sports movie. It tells the story of a general manager faced with the ongoing battle of having to compete with big budget baseball teams and having trouble winning, but with a little help he finds a way. This movie is emotional and informational in a way but Brad Pitt makes you hope that the Oakland A’s succeed anyway they can.

I wanted to take this blog post and write about something other than the movies themselves. I want to bring up the directors, the real magic behind the scenes who’ve make our favorite movies since we were children. It takes a special talent to put a movie together having to work with huge movie stars and staying in line with budgets but not only do some pull it off they go down in history for it. I’d like to share my top 5 favorite directors that have made some of my favorite films through my lifetime. I am only going to do 5 but there are so many other talented directors out there that deserved to be recognized and a lot of rising directors who have a great future ahead such as Jordan Peele.

5.) Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is a classic director who likes his rated R films with no filter. Some of my favorite films have came from his talent like taxi driver, the Departed, and Goodfellas, all movies that you should absolutely watch if you haven’t yet. His mob boss style films have impacted Hollywood and he is going down in history for it.

4.) Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott has proved his position in Hollywood with all kinds of movies. He may be most famous for his first big movie Alien (1979) but since then he had created some of the best films Hollywood has had to offer including Blade Runner, Gladiator, and The Martian.

3.) James Cameron

James Cameron has had an incredible career as a director and as just a person alone. His movie Avatar (2009) was about a decade ahead of it’s time and was able to be produced people of the technology he and his team made to allow the CGI for the film to be used. He also created one of the most watched movies of all time the Titanic (1997) which has been watched by about every living person.

2.) Steven Spielberg

Spielberg is hands down the most influential director of all time with some of the most watch movies that have had the greatest impacts on Hollywood and the world as a whole. E.T, Jaws, Jurassic Park and all these massively popular movies that almost changed the way people though about the world. Steven Spielberg pretty much created the fear of sharks for people even if they have never even seem the ocean before.

1.) Quentin Tarantino

If you’ve been reading my blog post for awhile now I’m sure you could have guessed Tarantino would be my favorite director. I say this because I strongly believe he has never made a bad movie and his genre fits my liking perfectly, rated R and full of bloody violent action with one hell of a story line. He is not family friendly but you could put on one of his movies and watch it 12 times in a row and love it more each time you watch it. I also enjoy the fact that he makes long movies and how much time and effort go into his movies creating the bond between him and his actors.

This week I wanted to appreciate and rank some of my top favorite indie movies. For those who don’t know what that means it simply means it simply means the movie was produced outside of a major film studio. Typically a lot of these movies are not that good, they have low budgets typically which results in the movie not always making it to theaters but there are some good ones.

5.) The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

This movie is a straight up rollercoaster of emotions and honestly a very good movie. It was very popular when it first came out but I believe many people have forgotten about it. It is a challenging movie to try to explain but well worth the watch especially while being bored under quarantine.

4.) The Gift (2015)

The gift is a very solid thriller movie telling the story of a disturbing man meeting up with someone he went to high school with and things start taking serious turns. From the beginning to the end the movie is a complete plot twist and well worth the watch.

3.) Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Dallas Buyers Club was an instant classic movie that told the story of Ron Woodroof and how his life was effected by the AIDS epidemic in the mid 1980s. He creates a business that allows the sale of off-market drugs in attempt to help AIDS victims which at the time was mostly gay men. It tales his tale from start to end and how much the experience had changed his life and attitude.

2.) Enemy (2013)

Enemy is a Canadian film which stars Jake Gyllenhaal who plays a two people. These two people end up meeting each other and realize they’re exactly alike, at least physically. The movie answers the question of what would happen if you switched lives with someone who looked exactly like you.

1.) Get Out (2017)

This movie was all the rage when it first came out, it showed us the real talent that Jordan Peele possesses as a director. He took a movie and made it into a thiller/horror movie that explained racism in a different kind of way while at the same time being a fantastic movie. If you haven’t seen it yet put it on the list.

This week I am going to flip the script and talk about TV shows, because, why not? TV shows have their own cinematic art to them and can be “better” than watching a movie and have a much more emotional attachment to them. Just like movies I have watched dozens and dozens of shows through all their seasons and I can personally say I am a bigger fan of scripted drama shoes rather than sitcoms, documentaries, and whatever reality TV is. I’m going to bring up the five best binge-worthy shows in my opinion to turn on since wherever you are you’re probably stuck inside. I may bring up obvious popular shows that half of everyone has seen but you’re bound to have not watched at least one of these next five shows.

5.) The Mandalorian

If you haven’t already seen it chances are you’re not a Star Wars fan right off the bat. Even if you aren’t a big fan it is still a very interesting show. I put it at five on the list because it received huge social media craze and only has one season to really binge but, if you’re really bored, you can watched every Star Wars movie in chronological order (I,II,III,Solo,RogueOne,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX) and the Mandalorian takes place sometime after the Death Star blowing up in Return of the Jedi. This is also quite an investment but I promise well worth it.

4.) The Ozark

The Ozark is perhaps one of the best binge-worthy shows right now simply because it is so good and just came out with a new season this month making it widely popular again. If you haven’t seen it it stars Jason Bateman as a drug money launderer for a Mexican cartel and does just about anything to keep his family from dying in this spiraling seasons. Also, it doesn’t start out slow either if you’re worried about that.

3.) Sons of Anarchy

This is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I have gone back and rewatched it before and it still remained a binge-worthy show. 7 seasons of biker gang violence and complete script flips if you’re into that kind of thing. This is one of those shows that has you straight rooting for the bad guys and growing emotionally attached to murderous bikers.

2.) The Man in the High Castle

Amazon came out with this original and it tells the tale of a fictional world where Japan and Germany won WW2 and now occupy The United States. I will admit it starts out slow and it is way more interesting if you are a history buff but there are 4 available seasons to be able to watch so there is plenty of time to get invested.

1.) Dexter

Dexter is another one of my favorite shows and I only started watching it because of the memes that were created from a character in the first seasons saying “surprise muthaf*cka” and I ended up getting hooked and watched all 8 seasons. The show is just crazy, it tells a story of a guy who works for the police department in forensics that is messed up in the head to the point where he just has to kill people, so he decides to only kill bad people. It’s the ultimate dilemma and somehow you’re always rooting for this crazy guy to live on and murder another day. It takes the best parts of a crime show and a drama so the acting is good and the story line stays interesting. Plus, there’s 8 whole seasons to watch and each episode is like an hour long, by the time you’re finished you’ll be so invested you won’t know what to do next.

This week I want to make a list of my top 5 favorite horror films to watch while you’re stuck alone together in quarantine. I know I made last week’s about sharks so next week I’ll talk about kitten movies or something. I’ll admit it’s hard to find a good horror film, I’ve always enjoyed movies with a good story and good acting and horror films usually rely on scary music and jump scares. Although that’s not always the case there are a handful of horror films out there that are worth watching.

5.) A Quiet Place (2018)

This is a very unique movie because the entire concept of the movie is not being able to speak. So ninety percent of the movie is almost completely silent. Hearing sound causes the creepy monsters that have some kind of insane hearing aids and kill people almost instantly. Not to mention the acting is amazing considering the emotion you have to pour out without even speaking.

4.) Get Out (2017)

Get Out is another unique “horror” movie although it is more of a thriller. It takes a new route in explaining racism while providing a creative story line that keeps you on your toes. Jordan Peele does a good job at actor selection and writing and I enjoy the films he directs. The film is basically about a couple going to visit the girlfriend’s family and the strangest things start happening as soon as they hit the road to get there.

3.) The Conjuring (2013)

This is probably one of the most famous horror films in the modern era and for good reason, it’s really good. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play as demonologists for a family facing a strong demonic presence in a new home and the movie builds up quick and doesn’t have many cold moments. It’s almost like an action packed scary movie there’s always something going on.

2.) Us (2019)

I had to choose another Jordan Peele movie because he is very good at directing these types of films. Us is another creative horror film that is completely action packed and funny at the same time. Us is one of the most unique movies I’ve scene and has a nice scary twist to it to keep you watching. I can’t really explain the movie without giving away anything so all I have to say is just watch it.

1.) Sinister (2012)

This possibly my favorite horror film. The story line is one of a kind and the movie holds a surprise ending that leaves people in awe. It will be hard to explain the movie without revealing things but basically a writer moves his family to a house where the previous family who lived there where hung and one child was missing. There is a sequel which is not as good but decent for a follow up horror film.

For this blog post I will be directing my attention to the top 5 best shark movies, even though they are some of the cheesiest films you can watch. I was going to talk about quarantine movies but I think we need a change of pace from the virus going around. So feet your feet out of the water while your reading this and let me know if I miss any good movies.

5.) Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Deep Blue Sea is quite the cheesy movie but it is indeed a classic with a cast including Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J, you gotta watch a movie LL Cool J is in. Basically they have an underground lab studying shark stuff and things go horribly wrong. Not exactly sure wear you can stream it right now but if you find it give it a watch.

4.) The Shallows (2016)

I’ll admit, Blake Lively pretty much makes this whole movie. But, Jaume did a good job directing a suspenseful movies that wasn’t full of too many gruesome scenes and seems like a situation somebody could actually be in. The reviews are good on it as well but unfortunately there’s no streaming services with it on right now so you may have to rent it.

3.) Open Water (2003)

I put Open Water at the three spot because it is not like traditional shark movies, I wanted to put it higher on the list but this movie isn’t for everybody. It is much more realistic in terms of how somebody could be placed in a situation involving the worry of a shark attack. A couple gets left out in the middle of the ocean during a scuba diving trip and have to tread water and hope for rescue.

2.) The Meg (2018)

Granted it is cheesy, very cheesy, but it combines a decent action movie into the suspense of a shark movie. Jason Statham was the perfect lead actor for this movie by providing a great action movie feel. The movie is about a research center learning about the bottom of the ocean and release a giant megalodon that terrorizes people.

1.) Jaws (1975)

Jaws is without a doubt the most popular shark movie of all time, which was followed up by 3 more Jaws movies that were not as good. This movie changed the way people viewed swimming in a pool in 1975. It created an irrational fear of sharks throughout the world and created an entire genre of movies to follow it. But if you haven’t seen this movie, you’re lying.

There are plenty of movies that people quote and relate to that have had iconic scenes that get passed down through generations, but as time goes on fewer and fewer people know the true origination of these famous quotes. So, in this blog I will talk about movies that are iconic and referenced regularly that you’ve probably never seen. This may reflect my generation more so than older generations but you may be surprised by how many of these movies you’ve seen your whole life but have never actually watched.

5.) Casa Blanca (1942)

“Here’s looking at you, kid.” This classic line from classic movie has been referenced indefinitely. The story is of a club owner who discovers his old girlfriend and new husband are on the run and he helps them get out of trouble, to put it short. It’s a great movie especially for being filmed in 1942, yes it is in black and white but just get over that. Watching this movie may make all kinds of connections to other movies and references make sense.

4.) Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

People who especially like musicals have probably seen this movie as it is one of the best original musicals to this date. But many people have heard or seen the iconic scene of Gene Kelly swinging around a light post with his umbrella singin’ in the rain, literally. But, many have not actually sat and watched the full movie. As a person who particularly does not enjoy musicals I can get behind Singin’ in the Rain.

3.) Jerry Maguire (1996)

“You had me at hello.” You have without a doubt heard this line before, but have you actually ever seen the movie of where it came from? Back when Tom Cruise actually played in good movies. Jerry Maguire is one of Tom Cruise’s bests. But many of Cruise’s best dramas have been flooded out by all of his cheesy action movies, which I’ll admit are still pretty good mostly. The plot is a little weird that being a sports agent who gets fired and begins the journey of starting his own firm, but the movie really gets it’s praise from the life Tom Cruise truly puts in the movie.

2.) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

Now, I know, the movie was made in 1939 and my generation was born in the 90s so I don’t expect a lot of people to go back in time and watch these black and white movies, but people forget these movies are about original as they get and even though it’s based off a book it’s a movie you can appreciate for that. “Elementary, my dear Watson”. You live under a rock if you’ve never heard that line, but chances are you’ve never watched the movie where it originated from. The stories of intelligent and witty Holmes never get old to me I especially enjoy the newer movies as well where Robert Downey Jr. plays as Holmes.

1.) Apollo 13 (1995)

“Houston, we have a problem” has got to be one of the most used movie quotes of all time and of course it originated from a real situation but the movie does an incredible way of telling the story of the men in the Apollo 13 mission to the moon that did not go as planned. The story is incredible and the acting is incredible as it stars Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon. I watched this movie a lot I particularly like space movies for some reason so some other good ones to watch would be Interstellar, The Martian, First Man, and the new brad Pitt film Ad Astra.

Despite most peoples belief crying isn’t always a bad thing, in fact, it can be healthy in some ways. If you’re like me and only bought yourself presents on valentines day you could go for a good old fashion emotional movie. This won’t be a discussion about rom-coms necessarily but an overview of some movies that will make even heartless people tear up. I will stick with movies from this century.

5.) Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

This was a big movie for people of my generation and even though I am not a big follower of PG movies this movie is a tear jerker. Obviously if I told you why is was so sad it would ruin the movie if you have not seen it already for some reason. It is a story of a boy and a girl who become friends and discover a fantasy world together, up until it gets emotion it is a beautiful movie.

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4.) Remember the Titans (2000)

There are plenty of good sports movies but plenty more bad sports movies, Remember the Titans may be one of the best. This movie is full of emotions from excitement, heartache, and happiness. Although most have seen this morning and know the emotional journey and tragic ending, the movie somehow remains to hold a very positive outlook through the hold movie.

3.) The Notebook (2004)

You had to figure this movie would be on the list. In reality it should probably be number 1 but that’s too mainstream and the movie only gets but so sad. It is a story of a guy who falls in love with a rich chick and are split apart because of how different they are on the economic scale. Half of everyone has seen this movie and/or read the book. I have only watched the movie and beside from being an emotional movie it is a rather good movie with quality acting and is worth the watch.

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2.) I am Legend (2007)

I had this movie in my sequel blog as well. The movie tells a story of a man that believes he is the last person on Earth for a rather long time. Despite all his efforts to find another person alive he is let down time and time again. He even begins to mannequins. There is a significantly sad part of the movie that I will not spoil for those who have not watched it. Like I said in the previous blog of this movie, if you haven’t watched it you should watch it.

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1.) Marley and Me (2008)

I am cheating in a way by putting a dog movie as my top emotional movie, but I will still cry every time I watch this movie. I watched it in theaters when I was younger and nobody watched out of that theater in a stable emotion state. I hugged my dog for like a week straight. You can probably guess how the movie ends but the movie is an emotional rollercoaster throughout the whole film. Plus lets be honest, animals can make us more emotional than people.

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Some of the most beloved movies in history have been completely ruined by a sequel or by trilogy which can end up making the original movie look bad. There are plenty of movies that should not have had sequels, or at least a better one, but for this discussion I will be talking about some movies that did deserve a quality follow up. The ranked movies are put together by how good the actual movie was and how well a second movie could be or could have been. Many movies tease about a sequel but that is another discussion.

5.) District 9 (2009)

District 9 was nearly in my last conversation about underrated movies as it didn’t receive much of a following as I thought it would have. Nevertheless, it was a great movie. The story was good, the acting was good, and the cinematography was good. The plot of the movie did have some wholes in it that were never fully explained and the ending almost ruined the movie but I believed it was built up to have a sequel. Well, 11 years later and there’s no sequel so I’m not holding my breath. If you haven’t seen it watch it, maybe if enough people watch it it will spark a flame into a second movie. Peter Jackson is fully capable of delivering a sequel worth watching and hopefully with more action than the first.

4.) Pulp Fiction (1994)

First off if you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction stop reading this and go watch it. If you have watched it you would understand why I put it in this list. It’s unclear whether or not Tarantino intended to make a sequel when he was filming the first movie but it was discussed later in an interview with him and it turns out it may not have happened simply because they waited too long, the stars in the movie are all old now. Still, whether the same stars in the first movie or a new cast was created for a sequel to Pulp Fiction I have no doubt Tarantino would let his fans down.

3.) Good Will Hunting (1997)

Goodwill Hunting is a story of a troubled young man who is a genius and specifically a genius in mathematics. Unfortunately, if a sequel was ever to be created it would be missing a main character Robin Williams who played as Matt Damon’s therapist. Maybe somehow they could incorporate that into the sequel. Even if the movie was made 23 years ago, it deserves a follow up and the ending was almost a build up to a sequel, some could say.

2.) I Am Legend (2007)

A story of a man who has lost his family along with the entire population of New York City and believes he is the last person alive on Earth. The sequel to this could go either way, explaining his life leading up to the point of where he is in the movie, or by continuing the story of where the movie ended. The ending of the movie is arguably a direct set up to a sequel and I completely expected one to come after watching it 13 years ago. Even a spinoff of the movie would do the fans some justice, the storyline is just too good to not milk a few more movies off of it.

1.) Django Unchained (2012)

Of course I have Tarantino on here twice. He seems to have so many good stories on his mind that he doesn’t like to get caught up in just one for too long. But if you’ve seen the movie you know that Django could easily have another 3 hour long film from where the first one left off. Not to say that the movie was a cliffhanger and lead up to another movie because, honestly, I do not expect to see a follow up film even though I have heard of rumors that it is “In the works”. Nevertheless, I would love to see it happen and have Tarantino finally make a sequel to one of his movies, apart from Kill Bill which is still technically “One Movie”.

Some movies just do not get the credit they deserve. Even though everyone has some favorite movies that are admittedly pretty bad in the grand scheme of things there are plenty of films that deserve a little more recognition. I’m going to go over the top five movies, in my opinion, that are underrated in the 21st century. You’ll be amazed by some of the actors that star in some of these movies. But, still, even with some of the top actors in Hollywood these films just couldn’t get the appreciation they deserve.

5.) Shutter Island (2010)

Although by this point many people have seen this movie, it still is overlooked. It is beyond the fact that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, and arguably one of his best performances, it is a film that plays with your mind and keeps you on your toes throughout the entire movie. Although Leo was award-less on this movie it truly brings out his acting capabilities while providing a thrilling movie.

4.) I, Tonya (2017)

Although Margot Robbie got recognition for this movie at the Oscars, which was well deserved, the movie itself was overlooked. I am a fan of biographical dramas, it takes a documentary and makes it much more enjoyable to watch. Luckily for me biographical dramas have taken off in the last fifteen years and many, like this one, are unwatched. The movie tells the story of Tonya Harding and eventually her attack on a fellow competitor which would eventually end her career as a figure skater. Although the movie comes off a little bias and receives criticism for glorifying Tonya Harding’s life, it is still a great watch.

3.) Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Now, I know, many people are not going to agree with me on this. I’ll admit it was a very expensive movie for the outcome, but it was overlooked in theaters and hid away once it hit the shelves. This movie was creative, colorful and exciting. The movie is based around a giant city that is inhabited thousands of planets holding millions of species. Luc Besson created an entire sci-fi world that is exiting around every turn simply because you truly don’t know what you will see next. While the story is pretty amazing the cinematography and visual effects fully backup the movie. For what the movie lacks in acting it makes up for it in other categories.

2.) Hanna (2011)

I was probably one of the select few who watched this movie in theaters and once it had left theaters it never made its way back around the screen. Hanna stars Saoirse Ronan and Eric Bana, both are arguably underrated, and tells a story of a father who trains his daughter to be an assassin who are both being hunted down by a CIA operative because Erik (Eric Bana) knows a top secret. Although the movie contains a few plot holes it is an action packed film that contains enough twists to keep viewers guessing.

1.) The Hateful Eight (2015)

I understand why movies such as The Hateful Eight aren’t appreciated as much as they should be and thats because it is over three hours long, many people aren’t willing to make that commitment. I will be the first to say some of the top movies of all time are long movies and many, like The Hateful Eight, are completely worth the commitment. Although it is slow at first soon it makes the Tarantino impression we’ve all grow to love. It contains some of the best acting of this century along with a twisty and intense story that keeps you guessing all the way to the end. If you haven’t seen the film, take the time to see it. If Tarantino made an 8 hour long film I would take a day off and dedicate myself to it.