Movies mean a lot to me because many of my favorite ones are tied to memories of watching them with my dad. Growing up, my dad and I watched a lot of movies together, sometimes classics he loved, sometimes goofy films I begged him to put on (sometimes stealing the remote to get my way). A lot of the films on this list are ones we watched together at some point, if not ones he showed me for the first time. His birthday was actually on the 10th of this month, so thinking about these movies made me realize how much those nights sitting on the couch watching movies together shaped my love for Film and Media. Here are some of my favorites from throughout the years.
The Princess Bride Directed by Rob Reiner
This movie is probably one of the most endlessly rewatchable films ever made. Every time I watch it, there’s some new joke or moment that I find. It’s one of those movies that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still manages to tell a genuinely heartfelt story at the same time. I watched this one with my dad when I was younger, and it instantly became one of those movies we could quote back and forth to each other.
The story follows Westley and Princess Buttercup, but the characters surrounding them are really what make the movie special. Characters like Inigo Montoya and Fezzik are so memorable that they almost steal the entire movie. The dialogue is hilarious, the pacing is perfect, and the movie constantly jumps between romance, adventure, and comedy without ever feeling messy.
I love how the movie is framed as a story being read by a grandfather to his grandson. It gives the film this nostalgic, fairy-tale feeling that makes everything feel more personal. The sword fights, the ridiculous villains, and the iconic one-liners all come together in a way that makes the movie feel timeless. It’s one of those movies that feels just as fun now as it probably did when it first came out.
I continue to quote this movie almost every day to my friends (even if they don’t get it).
Borat Directed by Larry Charles Starring Sacha Baron Cohen
This movie is completely chaotic in the best possible way. I remember the first time I watched it, and I 100% didn’t know what I was getting into. The humor is ridiculous, uncomfortable, and sometimes completely absurd, but that’s exactly what makes it work.
What makes this movie interesting to me from a media perspective is that it blends scripted comedy with real interactions. Sacha Baron Cohen stays in character as Borat for the entire film while interacting with real people who have no idea they’re part of a comedy movie. That leads to some of the most awkward and hilarious moments I’ve ever seen in a film.
Underneath all the ridiculous jokes and wild scenes, the movie is actually a pretty sharp satire about culture, stereotypes, and how people react to someone who seems completely out of place. Watching it again and again later, I realized there’s actually a lot more going on than just the shock humor.
It’s definitely not a movie for everyone, but it’s one that I laugh at a lot. It’s the kind of film where half the fun is anticipating how insane the next scene is going to be.
Interstellar Directed by Christopher Nolan
This movie is probably one of the most visually and emotionally overwhelming films I’ve ever watched. I remember watching it with my dad and just being completely blown away by the scale of everything. The space visuals, the planets, the black hole, everything feels massive and detailed in a way that very few sci-fi movies manage to capture.
One thing I really appreciate about this film is how it mixes real science with emotional storytelling. The movie explores concepts like time dilation, black holes, and relativity while still focusing heavily on the relationship between Cooper and his daughter, Murph. That combination makes the story feel both huge and deeply personal at the same time.
Another interesting moment in Interstellar is the cornfield scene near the beginning of the film, where Cooper and Murph chase a drone through rows of corn. Instead of relying completely on CGI, Christopher Nolan actually had large cornfields planted so the scene could be filmed on a real location, which helps the world feel more grounded and believable. Later in the film, the massive black hole Gargantua was created with the help of theoretical physicist Kip Thorne to make the visuals scientifically accurate. Rendering the black hole required extremely complex simulations of how gravity bends light around it, which meant some frames took many hours for computers to generate.
The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer is also incredible. The organ-heavy score makes every moment feel bigger and more dramatic, especially during the space sequences. There are scenes in this movie where the visuals and the music come together so perfectly that they almost feel hypnotic.
What makes the movie really stick with me, though, is its theme about time and connection. The idea that love and human relationships can transcend distance and even time itself gives the whole story a surprisingly emotional core. It’s the kind of movie that makes you think for hours after it ends.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones Directed by George Lucas
I know this movie gets a lot of criticism, but honestly, I’ve always loved it. As someone who grew up watching Star Wars with my dad, this film has a lot of nostalgia attached to it for me. It’s a huge expansion of the galaxy and sets up a lot of the political and emotional tension that leads into the later movies.
The film follows Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they investigate an assassination attempt while the galaxy slowly moves toward the Clone Wars. I love the world-building in this movie. We get to see places like Kamino and Geonosis, which both have completely different visual styles and atmospheres.
From a media arts perspective, this movie is really interesting because it was one of the early big-budget films that relied heavily on digital cinematography and CGI environments. It helped push forward the use of digital filmmaking technology in Hollywood, which changed how a lot of modern films are made.
Even though some parts of the movie are a little awkward, the action sequences and the expansion of the Star Wars universe make it really fun to watch. It’s one of those movies that reminds me of being younger and watching sci-fi movies with my dad, which is probably why I’ll always have a soft spot for it.
Blade Runner (1982) Directed by Ridley Scott
This is easily one of the most visually influential science fiction movies ever made. The first time I watched it with my dad, I was honestly surprised by how slow and atmospheric it was compared to other sci-fi movies. But the more I watched it, the more I appreciated how detailed and carefully constructed the world is.
The movie follows Rick Deckard, a blade runner whose job is to hunt down rogue replicants, artificial humans who look exactly like real people. What makes the movie so interesting is that it constantly blurs the line between what it means to be human and what it means to simply exist.
The visual style of this film is incredible. The neon lights, the constant rain, the crowded futuristic city, it basically defined the entire cyberpunk aesthetic that so many movies, video games, and shows still copy today.
I also love how philosophical the movie gets. Instead of just focusing on action, the story asks bigger questions about memory, identity, and mortality. The famous final scene with Roy Batty’s monologue is one of the most powerful endings in film history.
Watching this one with my dad felt like watching a piece of film history. It’s one of those movies that shows how science fiction can be both visually stunning and deeply thoughtful at the same time.
Looking back at this list, I realize that a lot of my favorite movies aren’t just movies I enjoy, but they’re also movies tied to memories. Watching films with my dad is a big reason why I became so interested in media and filmmaking in the first place. Whether it was a ridiculous comedy like Borat, a massive sci-fi movie like Interstellar, or a classic adventure like The Princess Bride, those moments made movies feel more than just entertainment.
You always hear how your parents grew up in the golden age of film and movies, but nothing quite gets the point across like watching those movies with your parents and hearing them nerd out about where they were with their friends watching these movies that you get to watch at home with them.
