My Top 10 Films to Watch in the Summertime
The summer is a great time to watch films, especially action films and films set at the beach. At least for me, I really like films that have the beach as a backdrop because it’s hot and it’s nice and relaxing to see/hear waves in anything LOL. That being said, not all of these are set at the beach; some of them are just summer films from my childhood and teens that nostalgically remind me of summertime.
Blue Crush - Oh man, how I wanted to learn how to surf after seeing this one! It’s loosely based on an article about Hana surfer girls in Hawaii, but the story centers on 3 girls whose dream it is to become pro surfers. The story is a bit predictable, but the shots of surfing are awesome, the music is great for summer, and I really respect the hard training that Kate Bosworth did in order to prepare for her role in this film.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl - The first of the Pirates films, this one is the best and my personal favorite. It’s a story of Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Captain Jack Sparrow and their adventures basically. It’s an awesome story about pirates, hidden treasure, curses, and the ocean. Oh, and rum. It’s really fun, easy and entertaining to watch, and the period costumes are awesome.
Independence Day - This is pretty much a classic, must-watch film for the 4th of July, but even though that’s come and gone, it’s great for summer. It’s an awesome action flick about aliens and there’s a ton of familiar faces. Take, Will Smith, for instance, who plays a really typical war hero type in this film and all the catchy one-liners. It’s just a great time. I’m not a huge fan of this film, but I think it’s mostly because my boyfriend puts it on literally every time it’s on TV so I’m just burnt out LOL.
The Beach - This is an awesome film that stars Leonardo DiCaprio and many others. The story surrounds this isolated beach commune of sorts which people keep trying to find. Leo’s character ends up actually finding this sort of utopia haven from mainland society, but discovers it’s not as heavenly as it appears. It’s actually a really interesting sort of made-for-adults Lord of the Flies, in my opinion, and a really fascinating look at human nature.
10 Things I Hate About You - As much as I really love this movie as it defined my early teens by a long shot (this, Breakfast Club, Brick, and Donnie Darko), it kind of hurts my heart watching young Heath Ledger. That aside, this predictable chick flick is funny, charming and actually has a lot of hilarious dialogue that makes it stand out among other cheesy chick flicks and summer comedies. It’s definitely worth a watch and it has lots of famous faces.
Jurassic Park - Childhood. Mine was defined by tons of bad actions and sci-fi films like this one, but honestly, I don’t really think this was that bad. It’s just dated now, so keep that in mind. It’s Spielberg’s finest, in my opinion, and the story is brilliant. If you like sci-fi films, you’ll love it and the cheesy one-liners are tons of fun!
Finding Nemo - Not really a childhood film so much as just one that I really love. Despite being a kid’s film, this one is really funny and enjoyable for anyone to watch. The comedy is brilliant and the story is really cute.
Grease - I’ll be honest. I really hate this film now, but with good reason. I watched this film literally every single day when I was about 5-6 years old. Every. Single. Day. That’s no joke. So, I’m just burnt out on musicals in general. That being said, this musical/film is absolutely iconic and was one of the very first “high school” type films ever to come out with lots of pop culture references to rockabilly, 1950′s fashion, and greasers. Definitely worth a watch if you like 1950′s American fashion and culture.
The Sandlot - Another childhood film, this one centers on kids who play baseball everyday during the summer and their adventures. It’s a coming of age story and still pretty relevant despite taking places in the 50′s-60′s time period. The comedy is still funny and entertaining and deals with a lot of real life adolescent issues.
Breakfast Club … or any John Hughes film - John Hughes defined teen angst with the best of them. Actually, he probably defined teen angst, in general. This coming of age film, in particular – the Breakfast Club – is about a group of kids who seem very different at first, but learn to relate to one another during a stint in Saturday detention. This is a great one, but all of them are. Other great JH films include Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink (most notably).
Those are my picks for must-watch summer films so definitely check some of these out if you haven’t seen them or let me know which is your favorite of the list or favorite summer film in general! I’d love to hear from you
☼ Tianna
Image Credit: Google Images and http://1001moviequotes.com
MORE FUN SUMMER POSTS!
