Movies I Will Watch Again and Again
I love movies almost as much as I love books. Over the years, there have been multiple movies that I’ve watched multiple times. They’re not all what critics would call cinematic masterpieces, but these films have meant a lot to me and still do.
My first movie at the theater
I still remember the first movie I saw in a movie theater: Ernest Goes to Camp. My aunt Diana took me to see it with my three cousins. It was a wonderful experience that spurred my love for movies and spending time with my aunt. She often took my siblings and me to the movies over the summer when she had days off from her nursing job at the hospital.
As a child, I watched Ernest Goes to Camp often once it was out on VHS. It’s common for children to want to watch the same movie or show or read the same book over and over again. Knowing what to expect can be comforting. Now, Ernest Goes to Camp isn’t exactly what I’d call a good movie by today’s standards, but it was nostalgic for me before I knew the word and its meaning.
44 Random theatrical movies worth rewatching
These theatrical movies I’ve watched multiple times (and would willingly watch again). My list is in alphabetical order, and only includes movies that were released at a theater. No made-for-television movies are included.
- 10 Things I Hate About You
- Adventures in Babysitting
- Apollo 13
- Bad Boys (the whole franchise)
- Camp Nowhere
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- Catch Me if You Can
- Christmas Vacation
- Die Hard (the whole franchise)
- Don’t Tell Mom, the Babysitter’s Dead
- Edge of Seventeen
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun
- Gone with the Wind
- Grace of my Heart
- Heathers
- Hocus Pocus
- Home Alone 1 and 2
- Independence Day
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Little Women (1994)
- Mermaids
- Mr. Holland’s Opus
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- My Girl 1 and 2
- Now and Then
- Parenthood
- Practical Magic
- Reality Bites
- Scream (the whole franchise)
- Signs
- Stand By Me
- Steel Magnolias
- The ‘Burbs
- The Blair Witch Project
- The Hunger Games 1-4
- The Lost Boys
- The Net
- The Pursuit of Happyness
- The Saint
- The Sixth Sense
- Toy Soldiers
- Twister
What makes a movie rewatchable?
For me, a movie is rewatchable if the characters are relatable or make me feel something, whether it’s happiness, sadness, or anything in between. The best movies have a good mix of drama and humor. Sometimes, the movies put me in the best frame of mind for the holidays. Whatever the reason, each movie lover will have their own list of movies that they’d watch at any opportunity.
What are your go-to movies?
Let me know in the comments.
Thank you for reading
-Brandi Easterling Collins
3 Comments
Mike Bogue
Brandi, I enjoyed your look at some of your favorite go-to movies. In my case, I am a baby-boomer, and for the most part, movies made Way Back When generally have the most appeal to me in terms of rewatching. At an early age I become a huge fan of sci-fi films. So, that said, here are some of my go-to’s:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version)
The War of the Worlds (1953 version)
Any Godzilla movie (from 1954 through 2023, including both the Toho and Legendary series)
Horror of Dracula (1958)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
King Kong (1933 version)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Them! (1954)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson 2001-2003)
Forbidden Planet (1956; precursor to Star Trek)
Well, guess I’ll stop there. Believe it or not, yes, I like many 21st century movies. But I rarely rewatch any of them.
caniscareyou
Thanks for reading and commenting, Mike! I also enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Mike Bogue
Hey, Brandi. Hope your writing is going well. You mentioned the first movie you saw in a theater. In my caese, I think it was “Barabbas,” a fictional account of the murderer who was set free rather than Christ. This was probably in 1962, and I was probably five. The main thing I recall is that there is a stoning in the movie, and you do see blood. I recall that seemed brutal, and startling–I didn’t understand why the crowd was doing this terrible thing to another person.
As for first movie I saw on TV, I think it was “Invaders from Mars.” For the time, the movie had one unsettling and imaginative image — the Martian Intelligence is contained in a transparent globe, boasting a huge head and a small body with vestigal legs and small arms ending in tentacle fingers. As a five-year-old, I found that pretty scary stuff!