I love movies and am not opposed to watching a movie repeatedly, for whatever reason. My younger brother and I had two films from the late ’80s and early ’90s that were guilty pleasures. They were not good movies, really but, somehow reeled us in like hot dogs at 2 a.m. Those movies were RoadHouse and Point Break.  We’d watch them and feel ill about for days. 

Lord of the Rings (The Trilogy)

I never saw them during their original theater run. My twins were born in 2000, and life became a blur around that time. This past Christmas, I convinced my family to rewatch it. The difference was we finally had a big screen TV that could frame its pure majesty. This is my all-time favorite film(s). Nothing is close. Each scene is pure “gold,” my precious! The battle scenes are incredible. I cannot wait for Amazon’s prequel. Let us remember there are the novels which are an inspiration all their own. You can find little nuggets of wisdom in all my books inspired by Tolkien and Jackson’s masterpieces.

Watch it and explain how Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis were not nominated for Oscars. Gollum is the most well-defined villain in movie history IMHO.

Lawrence of Arabia

Seriously, I never thought the desert could be so mesmerizing. I can find this movie at any time and just get drawn in like quicksand. Yeah, Peter O’Toole can overreach at times but, it is excellent historical theater. Omar Shariff is an incredible actor (hint: watch Dr. Zhivago: a tragic Russian Revolution love story).

M*A*S*H

The movie is a pure dark comedy. The horrors of war mixed with cynical humor. It is brilliant at conveying the madness of it all. The original version of the theme song, Suicide is Painless, fully captures the loss of innocence and sadness of war.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

My wife cringes when she sees me watching it, especially since it is long and God knows the lawn needs mowing. She swears I have seen it a million times. Worth watching for the best movie theme of all time. Eli Wallach is a scene-stealer: “If you want to shoot, shoot, don’t talk.” This is an epic western where each character is imperfect.

There Will Be Blood

This movie is a bit of an acquired taste, but, heck it is all about Daniel Day-Lewis and his quest to find every drop of oil in early 20th century California. The movie unfurls slowly but will resonate with its commentary on the interplay between religion, greed, and faith.

There are many other great movies that I love. (Yes, I like Star Wars, but the Anakin/Padme thing ruined it for me). These are just some that trigger me to stay up to 4 a.m. Donnie Darko almost made my list. I just haven’t understood it enough yet.