I’ve done TV, YouTube, cartoons. But what about some full-length feature film stuff? What do I recommend to pop in the Blu-Ray player on Friday night and watch with a big bowl of popcorn and a warm blanket?

Here are my favorite movies I watch over and over (and you should, too).

Star Wars

Like I said on Monday, I’m a huge nerd and Star Wars is my raison d’être. I can turn just about anything into a Star Wars reference or comparison (see: my guest post on The Midnight Goose). So, of course, when recommending movies, Star Wars is the first thing out of my geeky little mouth. I highly recommend setting aside a day or a weekend to marathon the movies (in Machete Order).

What’s not to love about Star Wars? Honestly. Just looking at episodes 4-6 alone, it has action and adventure, a badass female protagonist, funny little aliens, robots, romance, Harrison Ford in his prime, and overthrowing a corrupt government. The story arc through episodes 4, 5, and 6 is so good, J.J. Abrams revisited it in episode 7!

I mean, okay, we don’t talk about episodes 1-3 and it’s probably best to look at episode 8 as a good piece of fan fiction, but those aren’t the core of Star Wars! Star Wars is episodes 4-6, and they were some of the best cinema of the century.

Harry Potter

Many Years Later Edit: I can no longer in good conscience recommend Harry Potter to anyone. JKR’s opinions of transgender people, particularly transwomen, do not align with my values as a nonbinary person or a decent human being in general. Despite owning the whole series, I’m no longer comfortable watching them and would not feel comfortable recommending the series to others. I’ll miss seeing David Tennant all grimed up as BCJ, but supporting my trans sisters, brothers, and gender-nonspecified siblings is more important.

Another series rather than single movie. And another geeky one, at that! Whoo! Geeks run the world.

I admit, I didn’t like Harry Potter growing up. It became really popular around the same time I discovered and began practicing Wicca (witchcraft) and the number of, “Oh, you just want to be like Harry Potter!” comments I got made me never want to touch the franchise, ever. Pup actually convinced me to watch them when we first started dating, because he wanted me to come to the midnight showing of Deathly Hallows with him and his sister. So, we marathoned the whole series (minus Deathly Hallows pt. 1 & 2) over a weekend.

I went through a while where I was obsessed with Harry Potter as I eventually became with Star Wars (yes, I watched Harry Potter before I watched Star Wars). I bought the Blu-Ray box set and rewatched the series constantly. I started reading the books and just devoured 1-3, but got stuck on book 4 and never finished the series (worst. nerd. ever.). Depression. Whatchagonnado?

Ironically, despite not being able to finish book four, “Goblet of Fire” is my favorite of the movies (from what I’ve read from other fans, it may be my favorite movie because I haven’t yet read the corresponding book). I chalk that up mostly to David Tennant’s brief but incredible appearances as Barty Crouch Jr.

This is another series where I recommend setting aside a weekend and binging on the whole series. It’s nice to get the full story rather than just a piece here or there. Plus, I think marathoning a whole series is a fun way to wind down after a stressful week.

Deadpool 2

Deadpool is technically a geek movie, because it’s a comic book movie, but it’s the least geeky geek movie in existence.

You may notice, I specify Deadpool 2, and not Deadpool in general. That’s intentional.

Look, the first Deadpool movie was really good, but left a bit to be desired in terms of the character. One the things that makes Deadpool one of my favorite Marvel characters is that he is canonically pansexual and actually a really good person who values things like consent. The first movie, while it didn’t necessarily go against those character qualities, didn’t really hit the mark on them, either.

Deadpool 2 really played into his pansexuality a lot more, having him flirt with Colossus and Cable. It had a lot more of the comic book Deadpool feel than the first one. It played more to the character’s personality, rather than just, “He’s gotta get his girl back and he’s gonna kill whoever he needs to in order to do it.”

Not that it wasn’t without it’s flaws *cough*killing the female love interest to progress character growth*cough* but I think the mid-credits scene (which is canon) kind of makes up for it a little bit. Not to mention seeing Negasonic with an actual on-screen girlfriend, stated as being her girlfriend!

It’s also just a lot of raucous, violent good fun! AND JUGGERNAUT!

Zootopia

I wanted to add a little something more family-friendly in here (since Star Wars and Harry Potter can both get dark, and please don’t show your young children Deadpool). I loved Zootopia when it came out and thought it would be a good addition to this list.

On its surface, Zootopia is a cute movie about animals learning to get along and make friends. At its core, it’s a commentary on accepting people who are different than we are and not letting past misconceptions color present perceptions. Look, we all know Zootopia is a commentary on race relations, okay.

And, yes, it’s not a perfect commentary. As many people on the internet have pointed out, predator animals in Zootopia had historically posed a serious generalized, across-the-board threat to the survival of prey animals (all predator animals ate prey animals at one point, after all). Whereas racial minorities have never posed a general threat to the safety and well-being of white people. There has never been a point in history where we could say “all (insert non-white race here) are violent.” There has never been a point in history where we could even say “most” in that situation. Violence is common in humans regardless of race. The same can’t be said for the predator/prey relationship in Zootopia; prey animals have a historical and biological reason to be wary of predators.

And that’s a fair commentary, but it misses the point that this movie is intended for kids. Kids aren’t going to take such an analytical approach to the movie. They’re going to see it and say, “Even though they’re different, and they thought these animals were scary and dangerous, they’re really not and they all need to get along.”

I could also argue that a lot (a lot) of white kids are raised in an ignorant society which does teach them to be afraid of people of color. So, they can relate to that fear in the prey animals and see that their own fears (taught to them by a racist society) are also unfounded.

…

*ahem* Anyway, it’s a really cute movie and I highly recommend it. Yep.

The Devil Wears Prada

Pulling up the end of the list is The Devil Wears Prada. This is one of those movies that I watch in the background, but admittedly it can’t hold my attention on it’s own. It has solid moments of comedy, and Meryl Streep is a goddess, but overall it’s pretty middle-of-the-road for me.

So, why am I putting it on this list?

Even just watching it in the background while I clean or work on crafts has a strange effect on me. Something about this movie just motivates me to work harder. When I watch it, even in the peripheral, it’s like I channel Anne Hathaway’s determination and drive. I feel like a total badass who can show my bitch boss (my bitchy boss happens to be Life) that I will not be pushed around. I’m awesome; screw you.

It also reminds me of going to see it in theater with my then-best-friend. The theater was almost empty, so we stretched out across the seats to lie down. The people behind us put their feet up on our seat backs, so they were like dangling over our faces. It was hilarious at the time. I like things that remind me of times when I laughed so hard I cried.

So, there you have it. My picks for movies you should check out. I got a little intense there, for a minute, but that happens. Look, if a movie incites such an intense response, it’s worth checking out, okay?

I love you all.

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