Movies & Shows that Made Me

The Movies and Shows that Made Me

A lot of folks have asked for my "must watch" list of Movies and TV Shows that I have seen more times than I can count and that have made a real impact in my life through laughter, tears, and creating some of the best memories EVER. 

These are my "must watch" movies and TV shows that I think everyone should absorb at some point in their life. 

Action Movies

Pulp Fiction - "Royale with cheese."

Die Hard & Die Hard with a Vengeance - "Yippe Kay Yay M-Fer!"

Terminator 2  - "Come with me if you want to live."

The 300 - "This is SPARTA!"

Goldeneye - "For England James? No, for me."

Casino Royale - "The second one is always. -BANG- Yes. It is."

Top Gun - "Do you feel the need? The need for speed?"

John Wick - Just watch them all

Kill Bill Vol. 1 - "Did you really think it would be that easy? You know, for a minute, yeah - I kinda did."

Red Dawn (Original) - "Wolverines!"

Saving Private Ryan - "Earn this."

Comedy Movies

Dumb & Dumber - "Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?"

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - "Excellent [Air Guitar Noise]"

Office Space - "Sounds like somone's got a case of the Mundays"

Ghostbusters -  "When someone asks if you're a god, you say YES."

Spaceballs - "I knew it. I'm surround by A-holes."

Monty Python and The Search for the Holy Grail - "Tis but a scratch."

Airplane - "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley"

Anchorman - "You stay classy San Diego"

Stepbrothers - "Did we just become best friends? YEP!"

Animal House - "Toga!"

The Other Guys - "I'm a peacock Captain. You gotta let me fly!"

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - "Where's Eddie? He normally eats these things."

Friday - "How you gonna get fired... on your day off?"

Galaxy Quest - "Never Give Up, Never Surrender."

The Hangover - "In the face!"

Happy Gilmore - "You're gonna die clown!"

Zombieland - "Rule number 1: Cardio"

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - "You're not dying. You just can't think of anything better to do."

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective - "Alllllllrighty then. [Snap] Phhphhppttt"

Blues Brothers - "We're on a mission from God."

Cannonball Run I - "Because you're small. S. M. All. Small."

Dazed and Confused - "Alright, alright, alright..."

Groundhog Day - "I'm A god, not THE God. I don't think."

Old School - "Gentlemen - the Godfather himself."

Super Troopers - "Alright, Meow."

Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - "Shake. And Bake"

What About Bob - "I'm Sailing!"

Drama Movies

The Godfather I & II - "He made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

12 Angry Men [1957 Original]

Boiler Room - "Act as if"

Tombstone - "I'm your hucklebearer."

The Departed - "There's some guys you can hit and some guys you can't hit."

Falling Down - "Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this?"

Forrest Gump - "Life is like a box of chocolates."

Ocean's 11 - "It's good to be working with proper villains again."

The Karate Kid - "Wax on. Wax off"

The Princess Bride - "Inconceivable"

The Breakfast Club - "Mess with the bull, you get the horns"

War Games - "Would you like to play a game?"

The Usual Suspects - "The greatest trick the Devil ever did..."

Rounders - "Don't splash the pot."

Armageddon - "Chewie? Have you even seen Star Wars? If anyone is Han Solo, I'm Han Solo."

A Few Good Men - "You can't HANDLE the truth."

When Harry Met Sally - "I'll have what she's having."

The Sandlot - "You're killing me Smalls!"

Stand by Me - "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?"

Rocky IV - "Yo Adrian!"

Family & Kid Movies

Toy Story (I, 2, and 3) - "You are a TOY!"

Up - "Mr. Frederickson, can I please come inside?! .... NO."

Ratatouille

Shrek & Shrek 2 - "Do you think he's compensating for something?"

Tangled - "Frying pan, who knew right?"

The Lion King  - "I am not a PIG!"

The Incredibles - "When everyone's super... no one will be."

Aladdin - "Watch out for the camels - they spit!"

Holiday Movies

It's a Wonderful Life - "Every time a bell rings, an Angel gets its wings."

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - "Those aren't pillows!" (for Thanksgiving)

A Christmas Story - Just turn on TBS on December 25th and let it play in the background. Eventually you'll see all of it.

Die Hard - It's not Christmas until... [Censored for Spoiler Alert]

Miracle on 34th Street (1990's Remake) 

Elf - "Santa's Coming?!"

Rocky IV - "Yo Adrian!"

Gremlins - "There are three rules..."

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - "Where's Eddie? He normally eats these things

Scary/Horror Movies

The Exorcist

The Blair Witch Project

Gremlins - "There are three rules..."

Predator

Army of Darkness - "This is my BOOM stick!"

It (1990s TV version) - "We all float down here."

SciFi/Fantasy Movies

Marvel Cinema Universe - Just watch the movies and TV Shows in the order they were released
The best are
Thor: Ragnarok
Captain America: Civil War
Iron Man
Avengers: Infinity Wars
Spider-man: Homecoming

Star Wars - See other sections for details

Ready Player One - An absolute MUST watch!

The Matrix - "You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

The Martian - "I'm going to science the s--- out of this."

Interstellar - "We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars, now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt." 

Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - "Khhhhaaaaannnnnn!"

Transformers: The Movie (1986) - "Oh S-- what are we gonna do now?"

Batman (1989) - "What are you?! I'm Batman."

The Dark Knight - "And.. here... we... go..."

Terminator 2 - "Come with me if you want to live."

The Fifth Element - "Mulitpass."

Highlander - "There can be only one."

Lord of the Rings Trilogy - "And I'm coming with you, Mr. Frodo."

X-Men - "Does that metal run through your entire body?"

TV Shows

Freaks and Geeks - "She's a cheerleader, and you've seen Star Wars 27 times."

Breaking Bad - "I'm the one who knocks."

The Simpsons - So many predictions of the future and a pop culture ICON of my generation.

24 - "This is the longest day of my life" (Season 1 remains the best)

Chuck - For anyone who ever worked for the Geek Squad at Best Buy like me

Seinfeld - "If relationship George walks through this door, he will KILL independent George."

The Office (British and American Versions) - "Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica. MICHAEL!"

Star Trek The Next Generation

Stranger Things

Veep

X-Men (1990's Animated)

The Mandalorian

The Clone Wars (Season 1-7) & The Bad Batch

The Star Wars Universe

Ranking the Movies - Best to Worst

How to Watch

Generally speaking - watch in order in which they were released. I have included the TV Shows which extends the time it takes to soak it all in, but they are well worth watching. 

Correct/Best Order to Watch the Saga:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
Rogue One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
The Clone Wars - The Animated Movie
The Clone Wars - Seasons 1-7
The Bad Batch
Rebels
Mandalorian - Seasons 1-2
Book of Boba Fett
The Force Awakens*
The Last Jedi*
The Rise of Skywalker*
Star Wars Holiday Special - 1979**

*Frankly, one could skip watching the Sequel Trilogy of Episodes 7-9 and I would argue that one's appreciation for Star Wars would be better for it. If one feels compelled to really see everything, then save these for last so a distaste on the overall saga doesn't grow.

**This is very difficult to watch for two reasons. The first is that you can only watch bootleg copies recorded from the single airing in 1979 with the TV commercials, but they can be found on Ebay and other places. The second reason is that it maybe the single worst piece of cinematography (movie or TV) ever made in the history of cinema. I am not exaggerating in the least about how terrible this is. If one enjoys watching terrible things because of how bad they are, this is fits perfectly. If one feels compelled to see "everything" Star Wars, then put this on the list, but trust me that one's expectations cannot be too low.