We all have those movies. Our writer Paul Costello dubs them Chicken Soup for the Soul Movies. What a great phrase. So to celebrate that, we at I’m With Geek talk about the movies that we love to watch to cheer us up!
This, apparently, was the first film I ever watched. I must have seen it a million times since. It was my go to movie when I was younger and still is. Even the countless amounts of time it is shown on television won’t stop me from watching Hook.
Ok so now I am older and studying film, I can appreciate that there is a lot wrong with the movie but it still cheers me up. There is something so magical about it that I can ignore the plot holes and Robin Williams in tights. It’s a special movie that will take me right back to being a child again, curled up on the sofa with my dad and quoting the movie. While there are times that make me bawl my eyes out (a lot of times,) there are more moments that just fill me with utter glee. It’s as though I am watching the movie with my seven year old self propped up next to me, giggling at moments of pure joy or gasping at the scary times. And I enjoy it now as much as I did then. The minute Hook is mentioned I can’t stop thinking about the quotes, the memories and Dustin Hoffman looking exactly like Hook. You will always catch me screaming “me me me, mine mine mine” or “and the children were screaming with such enthusiasm it’s like the caws of The Lost Boys have imprinted themselves on me.
Many have criticised Speilberg for focusing more on the theme park display of Hook than the story. To that I say *whistle and raspberry.* There is so much good here that it’s hard to weigh it down with its faults. You just have to enjoy the ride.
If you ever want to feel like a child again, watch the food fight scene. If you ever want to remember that your job isn’t everything, watch the reunion scene. If you want to feel like you are in Neverland, then Peter Pan rediscover a home he’d long forgotten.
If you want to find your marbles again, hold on to happy thoughts and find home again, then Hook is the movie for you.
Bangerang, Hook, Bangerang
There a few movies in your life that you know you return to again and again and they hold a special place in your heart and no matter how many you watch them, they never seem to grow old and you find yourself returning to them again and again. Whilst it is obvious that everyone has a favourite a movie, it takes something special to know that no matter what frame of mind you are in, there is always one certain movie that you can always sit back with and will always enjoy.
The film in question for me is Back to the Future. I have lost count of the number of times I have watched it, and the limited edition Blu-Ray box set that was released a couple of years ago is one of my prized positions, I am still annoyed that they didn’t release the set in the proposed DeLorean packaging like they originally promised, but time heals all wounds!
I cannot completely explain what I love about Back to the Future, it just seems to have a hold on me. To me it is a true example of the power of escapism found in film. No matter how I am feeling, I know my mood will always be brought up when I put Back to the Future on. It manages to bring together so many different elements in the perfect mix of science fiction, humour, and the intrigue of what our parents would have been like when they were younger. Yes some of the effects may not be up to the standard of the likes we are used to today, but that just adds to its charm and appeal. It has managed to last nearly 30 years as an icon of cinema, and has inspired generations to lust over the possibility of owning a hoverboard; only one more year to wait now!
Back to the Future will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope that over the years it will continue to impress future film goers who will embrace it as much as I have.
Everyone needs a film to cheer themselves up when they’re down. Whether you've had a bad day a work, an argument or just pondered the state the the world, you need a fail proof pick me up. For food I have pizza, for a drink I have hot chocolate with Baileys (ummm) and from my DVD collection I have Despicable Me 2.
What makes this film so special? Despicable Me 2 has a secret weapon that makes me go giddy as a school girl. This ingredient is of course those lovable creatures, the Minions. How can I accurately describe Minions? Imagine a rather large yellow tic-tac that had either one or two eyes. Now add arms and legs with a pair of work dungarees. Add to the lively and mischievous creature a language that sounds like Spanish and gibberish rolled into one and you have The Minions.
I could genuinely watch those guys all day. Dave, Phil, Kevin, Bob all of them. Their just so happy. If they’re not cleaning Gru’s house in a French maids apron then they’re dressing in drag to buy little Agnes a toy Unicorn. When I watch the film I imagine what it would be like to have my own army of Minions. No longer do I dream of setting my flying monkeys on people I now think of letting my army of yellow amigos do my bidding. I would happily take all of them, even those crazy purple ones and I would spread the joy of Minion through out the world.
As Minion mania is not solely understood by me those clever clogs at Illumination Studios have announced not just a Despicable Me 3 but a spin off The Minions Movie. Until then Despicable Me 2 will come off my shelf when I need to be reminded that a world that could think up Minions can’t be all bad.
And if you need proof of my love for Minions then just look at my favourite nightdress.
It's hard to nail down just one film that makes you feel better or cheers you up. There are a multitude of them out there, and each one of them can make you feel any number of ways, depending on what mood you're currently in. For example, if you're feeling a bit denigrated, a bit undervalued and/or righteous, it's a pretty sound shot to stick on Jerry Maguire. If you want to watch something that feels like a have to just hang out with some cool or interesting characters, maybe try The Breakfast Club or Rio Bravo. Or if you've had a less than stellar week and all you want is to spend you're night in with a pizza and movie that's fun and awesome, then you should already be loading up Big Trouble in Little China.
Then there are the times you need something perhaps a bit more personally connected, something that seems to be aimed more directly at you. Being a film lover, it's talking about films that takes up most of my time and sometimes having discussions on what makes a good movie can be rather divisive, depending on who you're talking to and what the subject is. So, when I want something that makes me feel better, I want something that reminds me of the connective effect that movies have for people.
As such, when I want to feel better, I watch Be Kind Rewind.
Maybe not amongst the first choices for some, but I so genuinely love Gondry's bittersweet, nostalgic ode to community, movies and VHS. It's funny, warm, affectionate, and with an interesting notion towards cultural ownership of film. Everyone in Be Kind Rewind is drawn together by a love of film, so they discuss and re-enact all of their favourites. That scene in the diner where they all talk about The Lion King? I love that. And, as sad as it may ultimately be, I will always feel better by the end.
An odd choice, I know, but this was pretty much my childhood. I've probably watched Coach Bombay turn an awful team into a title-winning team over a hundred times, but it's never stopped making me happy. And I still remember the first time I saw it.If you grew up in the 90's, you probably have some fond memories of one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, The Mighty Ducks. What was it about these movies that made them so great though? The chemistry between the actors was incredible. Their humour and banter is great. Each character has his own personality and I can not imagine any one putting on a performance like Emilio Estevez for
Gordon Bombay. In my opinion, it's the greatest hockey film of all time.
Black Dynamite is the most spot-on, hilarious parody film of recent years. Cheerfully taking the conventions of 70s blaxploitation cinema and turning them up to the extreme, Black Dynamite knows exactly what buttons to press, with the humour feeling organic and bred from a passion for the genre. Black Dynamite's greatest triumph is taking a genre so specific to one sub-group of society, and making it open and accessible to all. The humour is perfectly joyous to, from intentionally OTT dialogue, to hammy acting, to the one character who reads out the stage directions. The script is ludicrous and exciting, and explosions come courtesy of stock footage gleefully employed.
Importantly, Black Dynamite is smart. Rather than take the Scary Movie approach of throwing everything at the screen and seeing what sticks, Black Dynamite has clearly crafted its humour with passion and enthusiasm, which makes for an all the more excellent viewing experience.
Black Dynamite is my go-to film when I'm feeling blue because of all I've said above. It appeals to my tacky B-movie passion with a knowing wink, and the humour doesn't diminish even after 40 viewings. Even the trailer is incredibly joyous, with a rhyming narration from supporting character Bullhorn in the style of blaxploitation trailers, is just the right side of ludicrous, so if I'm too stretched for time to watch the whole film, I just stick that on and my mood instantly lifts
My chicken soup for the soul, a film that makes me feel better and lifts my spirits no matter what, is Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. The songs are all cheerful and meaningful, and Tiana has such a difficult life yet never complains; she just gets on with it. She works hard all the time to achieve her dream and will stop at nothing to achieve it.
I often get upset over job prospects, partly because I was originally applying for anything that paid, not something I actually wanted to do. Tiana always reminded me though, that even these jobs are worthwhile if it means you can eventually do what you aspire to. Since applying for jobs I now desire after gaining experience, her songs and her attitude tells me that no matter hard life gets, and no matter how bad things seem, working hard will get you where you want to be in the end. Granted, she marries a Prince at the end and becomes a Princess, but really, they saved each other and she was rewarded for all her hard work. She even opened up her restaurant and worked there, even there really wasn’t a reason for her to work anymore.
Tiana reminds me to work hard, Naveen is always there to show me how to have a good time and take a break from the hard work once in a while, Louis teaches that nothing is impossible and Ray is a reminder to treat those you love like it is your last day with them.
'When We’re Human' seems like a silly song at the beginning, but really, it makes you think about how much you take for granted because we’ve always had it and we really need to appreciate our lives more. Almost There is the reminder to work hard for your dreams no matter what or you’ll never achieve the life you want, and 'Dig a Little Deeper' makes you look deep inside yourself to see if what you’re doing is really what makes you happy. It helped me decide to apply for jobs I wanted, not the jobs I was told to do.
The first time I watched this film, I didn’t particularly like. The more I watch it the more it grows on me and now it’s a favourite of mine because it fills me with ambition and hope, while reminding me to also relax as I am a lot like Tiana and will obsess over my dream until I’m pulling my hair out with stress. The film has many good messages and I can’t help but be happy when I watch this, except for that one scene at the end where I always shed a tear. This film always makes me feel better about myself and life, and so is my chicken soup for the soul.
There are tons of movies that could cheer me up when I’m in a bad mood. A vast selection would be from my childhood, namely Disney movies, because they always seem to leave me with a happy heart (aside from things like The Lion King *coughs* ripped my heart out.) However Finding Nemo will always come out on top.
It’s true, it starts with a pretty dark and dismal start, definitely not one to make you feel happier. And then Nemo gets taken away, Dory nearly dies by being stung by jellyfish, then she gets left behind. It’s not the most positive and happy story-line. Yet it never fails to make me happy. There are so many funny moments, despite the darker tinges. You can’t help singing along with Dory’s “just keep swimming” song or imitating “I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy. Come on, Squishy Come on, little Squishy.”
The characters are extremely lovable. Merlin, despite being grumpy times, is really just a worried father who wants to find his son, and is willing to swim oceans to find him. Dory is the most lovable character of the film. She comes out with hilarious lines to lighten the mood, like “give it up old man, you can’t fight evolution, I was built for speed!” or “Hey look here, "es-ca-pe!" It’s funny, it's spelled just like the word escape...”
Plus, despite its rather sad start, the film does have a happy ending. Nemo is returned, the tank fish (somewhat) escape the dentist, and Dory finds herself a family. It’s a fun film filled with easy humour, puns, amazing animation, a great storyline and, come one, talking fish are awesome. Finding Nemo is the original talking animated fish film (forget about Shark Tale, A Turtle’s Tale and A Fish Tale, Finding Nemo is where it’s at) and never fails to bring a smile to my face when I’m having a bad day.
This is a tough one - I have to pick a film that makes me happy when I’m sad, unhappy or feeling blah. There are quite a few films that pick me up when I am down (at the time of this writing, I currently have strep throat and feel wretched). That being said, if I had to pick one, it would be Enchanted. I’ve seen it at least seven times. Starring Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams, Idina Menzel and Susan Sarandon, the film revolves around Giselle (Adams), who, through a magical spell, ends up in New York City and how she deals, and must deal, with real life.
Why does it boost my mood and make me feel better? Disney basically made fun of itself, which was much needed, from the songs right to the script. The script was excellent, quick witted, funny, and sharp, and suited the film brilliantly. The cast seemed to be hand selected for their roles, from Amy played Giselle with a pure innocence, yet well roundedness, to Patrick playing a brilliant role of the grumpy widowed lawyer and Susan being the perfect baddy.
The entire film doesn’t take itself seriously, which is nice in this day and age. Funny, smart and sweet, that’s why I’ve picked Enchanted as my uplifting movie.