We’re back! Still looking for that one thing to watch this summer? We here at Movie Issues HQ came up with another great list of summer-themed movies to help keep your mind off the heat. This is Part Two, mixing in some romantic, action, fun horror and all around great comedies. Hope some of your favorites are on here.
National Lampoon’s Vacation
The ultimate summer movie where everything is planned packed and about to all goes hilariously wrong. In the driver’s seat is Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) who’s eager to share the open road and the wonders of family togetherness. Numerous mishaps with crude kin (Randy Quaid), encounters with a temptress (Christie Brinkley), one sad security guard (John Candy) and 2460 miles later it’s a wonder the Griswolds are together.
There’s never been a family vacation like it. And that helps explain why National Lampoon’s Vacation remains so popular and so very funny.
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a classic coming-of-age story set against the 1960s backdrop of hot rods, drive-ins and rock n’ roll from director George Lucas and The Godfather producer Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers in their breakout roles, this nostalgic look back follows a group of teenagers as they cruise the streets on their last summer night before college.
American Graffiti was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also features the howling sounds of Wolfman Jack and an unforgettable soundtrack with songs by Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and The Beach Boys.
I recently had the chance to sit down and watch this after many years of hearing of how good it is. Well people were right. It is a fantastic film that still has many elements and themes that can still be relevant to today’s youth. I highly recommend it.
Kings of Summer
Right in a nice, bittersweet spot between sentimental and zany, this movie wonderfully captures a fantasy of youth and free time. 15-year-old Joe (Nick Robinson) determines to occupy a ramshackle collection of building materials (let’s call the resulting mess a cabin) set in the middle of the woods; his buddy Patrick (Gabriel Basso) comes along for the ride during the summer break. Both guys are sick of their parents and just want to be left alone, but in comes a third wheel: Biaggio (Moises Arias), a strange and hilarious kid who just keeps hanging around long enough to be allowed in.
Kings of Summer is a very peculiar cocktail of film styles that all seems to work wonderfully together. Thanks to the support of comedy wizards like Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Mary Lynn Rajskub, the movie finds a winning beat.
Please check our original review for more details on one of the best movies of 2012.
Point Break
FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover to infiltrate a band of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. These four bank robbers (who wear rubber masks and call themselves “Ex-Presidents”) have executed a series of successful robberies, embarrassing and stumping the FBI. Utah, and his partner Pappas (Gary Busey) hatch a plan to catch the quartet of criminals.
Many may have forgotten this was one of Kathryn Bigelow’s first flicks. She of course has gone on to win best director Oscar for The Hurt Locker and nominated for Zero Dark Thirty. It’s a fun action flick and some solid performances by Patrick Swayze and Lori Petty. Decent action, fun lines and some great sky diving scenes and surfing.
Dirty Dancing
During the summer of 1963, innocent 17-year-old Baby (Jenifer Grey) vacations with her parents at a Catskills resort. One evening she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny (Patrick Swayze), the hotel dance instructor, as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny’s pupil in dance and love.
Dirty Dancing is nearly 30 years old, and still no one can put Baby in the corner. Released in 1987 this quintessential love story has entertained girls (and boys) for years. It was a cultural phenomenon in 1987. Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. I still know girls who get misty-eyed over this flick.
Meatballs
This 1979 comedy stars Bill Murray in his breakout movie, written by Harold Ramis, and directed by Ivan Reitman. Murray plays a horny camp counselor named Tripper Harrison, just barely more mature than the kids he’s looking after. Camp North Star isn’t the type of destination kids dream about during the school year: it’s a place where kids do their time until their parents let them return home. But Tripper makes it a fun place (in his own way) for the kids to learn about the opposite sex and get a feeling for the competition.
If you’re a fan of camp movies or Bill Murray, then you need to do yourself a favor and see this. The movie’s pop culture references are a bit dated, but it doesn’t hold the film back. An all-around good-feeling movie.
Almost famous
Almost Famous is loosely based on real life director Cameron Crowe’s summer following around Cream for Rolling Stone. His alter ego William Miller’s (Patrick Fugit) progressive mom (Frances McDormand, just superb) has outlawed rock music. Fortunately, his sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) has slipped him LPs that will “set his mind free. A simple visit with Led Zeppelin-styled “Stillwater” turns into a three-week, life-altering odyssey into the heyday of American rock. Notable encounters include groupie extraordinaire Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) and Stillwater’s enigmatic lead guitarist (Billy Crudup).
Some could say that Jerry Maguire is Crowe’s best work, I personally disagree: it’s Almost Famous. This semi-autobiographical coming of age movie features wonderful direction and writing. This movie will speak to anyone who has ever felt lost and found themselves in a way that other films may not. An amazing soundtrack rounds out a personal favorite enjoyable at any age.
Brokeback Mountain
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain is a sweeping epic exploring the lives of two young men, a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy. This duo meet in the summer of 1963 and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection. The complications, joys and heartbreak they experience provide a testament to the endurance and power of love.
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal deliver emotionally-charged, moving performances. Featuring some of the best cinematography in any film, Brokeback Mountain proves love is all you need.
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead
Christina Applegate is one of five siblings left at home with a deranged babysitter when their mother goes on an Australian vacation. But when the sitter suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack, the kids have to ditch the corpse and fend for themselves. This funny teen farce co-stars Joanna Cassidy, John Getz, Keith Coogan and David Duchovny.
This one of those movies from the early 90s I watched over and over as a kid, and one I will always enjoy. It’s funny and has some great moments for both kids and parents.
Endless Summer
They call it The Endless Summer: the ultimate surfing adventure, crossing the glob in search of the perfect wave. From the uncharted waters of West Africa to the shark-filled seas of Australia, the tropical paradise of Tahiti and beyond, these California surfers accomplish in a few months what most people never do in a lifetime. They live their dream.
This 1966 documentary is the definitive surf movie. Bruce Brown’s film is beautifully shot, a thrilling portrait of youthful freedom on the world’s shores. Brown followed two surfers around the globe in their quest for the perfect wave, finding it eventually on a remote beach far from home. Director Bruce Brown creates a film so powerful it has become a timeless masterpiece that continues to capture the imagination of every new generation
In the Heat of the Night
While traveling in the Deep South, Virgil Tibbs, a black Philadelphia homicide detective, becomes unwittingly embroiled in the murder investigation of a prominent businessman when he is first accused of the crime and then asked to solve it. Finding the killer proves to be difficult, especially when his efforts are constantly thwarted by the bigoted town sheriff (Rod Steiger). But neither man can solve this case alone. Putting aside differences and prejudices, the duo join forces in a desperate race against time to discover the truth.
Norman Jewison’s Oscar-winning In the Heat of the Night represents Hollywood at its wiliest, one of the best for its time. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger prove the decade’s most formidable antagonists.
Indian Summer
This is a heartwarming comedy about eight friends who reunite at their summer camp after 20 years! No sooner do the visitors arrive they return to the best summer of their lives: Practical jokes, midnight kitchen raids, boat races, campfire stories and secret romances pick up right where they left off.
It’s a charming ensemble comedy in tradition of The Big Chill, St. Elmo s Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Dazed and Confused
America, 1976, the last day of school. Bongs blaze, bell-bottoms ring, and rock and roll rules. Among the best teen films ever made, director Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused eavesdrops on a group of seniors-to-be and incoming freshmen.
This film was a number of future stars’ launching pad, including Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck and Renee Zellweger. The movie also features endlessly quotable dialogue and a blasting, great soundtrack. Sidestepping nostalgia, Dazed and Confused is less about “the best years of our lives”, and more about the boredom, angst, and excitement of teenagers waiting for something to happen.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Four friends celebrating a high-school graduation are involved in a hit-and-run accident when their car hits and apparently kills a pedestrian on an isolated roadway. They dispose of the body and vow to keep the incident a secret, but a year later somebody starts sending them letters bearing the warning: “I know what you did last summer.” Soon a mysterious hook-wielding figure appears looking for revenge. This huge 1997 hit featured Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze, Jr.
The previous year’s huge hit Scream seemed to start a resurgence in the horror/slasher film genre. This is not one of the best, but it’s not too bad. It suffers mostly from being slightly compared to Scream. I Know What You Did Last Summer has some decent kills and some fun light humor. It’s a definitely must for any sleep-over horror movie marathons this summer.
Sleepaway Camp
We’ll continue the horror trend with the 1983 cult classic slasher film Sleepaway Camp. It’s your basic camp horror flick where someone is killing off teen campers at a summer camp.
This movie came out at the heyday of the slasher film, and is frequently listed as one of the most shocking endings in horror flicks. This movie has it’s place in horror history. Its fun and campy-scary, but none of that really matters. It’s all about the ending, a groundbreaker for the time. I won’t spoil it here, but you need to see it.
Die Hard with a Vengeance
Time for some summer action! This time around, Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is in New York City to face Jeremy Irons, brother of the Germanic terrorist-thief Alan Rickman played in the original film. But this bad guy has his sights set higher: the Federal Reserve’s cache of gold. McClane’s tasks are just a set of fool’s errands all over New York at the height of a summer heat wave. Eventually, McClane attracts an unintentional partner, a Harlem dry cleaner (Samuel L. Jackson) with a chip on his shoulder.
Die Hard with a Vengeance features some great action sequences, some damn funny lines by Jackson and a great time for fans of the Die Hard series.