You know that moment.

You’re flipping through channels, looking for something to watch, and suddenly you land on a movie you’ve already seen approximately 9,000 times.

You know every scene. You know how it ends. You probably own it somewhere. There is absolutely no reason you need to watch it again.

And yet…

The remote goes down.

I have a LOT of those movies.

This isn’t a list of what I think are objectively the greatest movies ever made. Some of them probably belong in that conversation. Some of them absolutely do not. 😂

These are just the movies that, for whatever reason, have attached themselves to me. Some remind me of people I love. Some take me straight back to being a kid. Some made me fall in love with entire genres.

And some feature sparkly vampires.

We contain multitudes.

The Departed

This entire cast was on top of their fucking game from the second this movie started.

Leonardo DiCaprio was so convincing as Billy Costigan that I was paranoid right along with him. You’re constantly waiting for somebody to figure out who he really is, and the tension never lets up.

Then there’s Mark Wahlberg.

You spend so much of the movie thinking Dignam just absolutely hates Billy—and then we get THAT ending.

But before we even get there, there’s the elevator.

The first time I watched The Departed, I thought we were basically done. Billy made it. We’re getting out of here.

Elevator doors open.

NOPE.

I did not expect that shit at all.

And somehow, even though I know exactly what’s coming now, this movie still manages to shock me every single time I watch it.

The Departed is almost the best movie ever made.

Almost.

I need to leave myself a little room here. 😂

Steel Magnolias

I don’t think there’s a single character or moment in Steel Magnolias I could point to and say, “That’s my favorite.”

The entire movie is my favorite.

Every woman in that movie represents somebody. There’s someone in there for all of us.

And those women worked so brilliantly together that you would swear they’d actually grown up together in that town. You feel every bit of their friendship, their irritation with each other, their love and eventually their grief.

And nobody who has watched Steel Magnolias is ever forgetting Sally Field in that cemetery.

Ever.

But this one has something else attached to it for me.

My grandmother and I used to watch Steel Magnolias together.

God rest her soul.

So now when I stop and watch it again, I’m not only watching a movie I love. I’m watching something that carries a piece of her with it.

That makes this one a little more special.

Twilight — Yes, All of Them

Listen.

I know.

Sparkly vampires are stupid.

Some of the things in these movies are questionable.

I DON’T CARE. 😂

I saw the Twilight movies in theaters. I waited for each one to come out. And there is something about that entire world that just sucks you back in every damn time.

They’re one of those cult-classic things where you can acknowledge the ridiculousness while simultaneously being completely invested in it.

If I find one of the Twilight movies playing, apparently we’re going back to Forks.

Those are the rules.

Freddy, Jason and Michael

I can’t pick a Freddy movie.

If Freddy Krueger is on my television, I’m watching.

It’s Freddy fucking Krueger.

My life would be fully complete if I could meet Robert Englund for one minute. I could die happy.

And I can actually remember the first time I saw Freddy.

It was 1989. I was at a drive-in with my mom, brother and sister. I don’t even remember what movie we had actually gone there to see.

What I DO remember is watching A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 through the back window of that van.

I was hooked.

Jason Voorhees does the same thing to me. So does Michael Myers.

Those characters are bigger than individual movies at this point. They’re classic horror figures that have stuck with generations of people.

Including me.

If one of them shows up while I’m channel surfing, congratulations.

We have plans now.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

Do I actually need to explain this one?

Patrick Swayze.

Wesley Snipes.

John Leguizamo.

In drag.

COME ON.

But underneath how much fun that movie is, those three queens gave a lot of women courage to be themselves.

So I would personally like to thank those men for shaving their legs and making that movie.

The Goonies and The Lost Boys

Who doesn’t love The Goonies or The Lost Boys?

The ’80s nostalgia alone is enough to keep me there.

But they’re also just really damn good stories.

With The Goonies, you feel like you’re on that adventure with them. You’re going through the booby traps, running from the bad guys and searching for the treasure right alongside those kids.

The Lost Boys takes you somewhere completely different.

You’re following Michael down this increasingly dark path, and you know things are getting worse while you’re still completely willing to follow him.

Two completely different movies.

Both completely impossible for me to turn off.

A League of Their Own

I’ll watch A League of Their Own every single time.

There’s real history underneath that movie.

Yes, characters were created and stories were fictionalized, but women really did step onto those baseball fields while men were away during World War II. That part matters.

It’s women’s history.

And I think it’s important that we remember it.

Also, there’s no crying in baseball.

I’m sorry. There are certain things you’re legally required to say when discussing this movie.

Sleeping with the Enemy

This movie is creepy as hell.

And what makes it even scarier is that the basic reality behind Laura’s situation isn’t bullshit.

Women actually live through abusive relationships like that. They are controlled. They’re terrified. They have to figure out how to survive and sometimes how to escape.

That makes Sleeping with the Enemy hit differently.

And then there’s Julia Roberts.

There’s just something about that woman and her acting that makes me want to watch her. I also loved the chemistry she had with Kevin Anderson as Ben. They felt so natural together that you could almost believe they were an actual couple.

It’s scary, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s a survival story.

I’m staying.

Gattaca

Here’s the funny thing about Gattaca.

Is it really THAT futuristic anymore?

Because the idea of using genetics and testing to decide what somebody should be allowed to do with their life doesn’t feel nearly as impossibly far away as it once did.

That’s part of what makes the movie so fascinating to revisit.

And Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law were perfect for that world.

It’s strange. It’s fun. It’s unsettling.

And it has aged in a way that makes me go, Ummm…guys?

Interview with the Vampire

I obviously love vampires.

But Interview with the Vampire gives me something more than that.

It’s the interview itself.

We’re sitting there learning Louis’s story with him—how he became what he is, everything he lived through and all that complicated animosity between him and Lestat.

It’s gripping.

And knowing that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were very different personalities off-camera makes the Louis/Lestat dynamic even more interesting to me. Pitt has described himself and Cruise as essentially polar opposites, with competitiveness between them, although accounts from the time complicate the idea that they simply hated each other. 

Whatever was happening, it worked.

Forrest Gump

Who the hell changes the channel when Forrest Gump is on?

Seriously.

It’s one of the best movies in cinematic history, and Tom Hanks’s performance wasn’t just phenomenal.

It was masterful.

He made Forrest feel completely real.

And because I apparently enjoy starting fights:

Justice for Forrest.

Jenny was still a whore.

Moving on. 😂

Fried Green Tomatoes

I will always love this movie.

It’s about family, friendship, loyalty, love and doing what you believe is right.

And yes, Ruth and Idgie.

The movie doesn’t make their relationship as explicit as the book, but that love is still there in the performances. Mary Stuart Masterson has talked about scenes between Idgie and Ruth that were more intense before being cut, and how much of their relationship had to come through what the actors brought emotionally.

If you know, you know.

And I know.

A Home of Our Own

This one hits home for me in a completely different way.

I grew up kind of poor.

We had a home. We had what we needed. But I knew what it felt like to wear the same clothes and the same shoes over and over while friends were getting new shoes, new clothes and new toys.

So there was something about watching this family work together to build a life and create something of their own that I understood.

And Kathy Bates?

Icon.

I can watch that woman in absolutely anything.

Pearl Harbor

Yes, I know much of the central story was fictionalized.

But I’ve always been a huge history person, and the history surrounding Pearl Harbor fascinated me.

Then the movie gave me the love, sacrifice, friendships and family wrapped around it.

I adored it.

Actually, I can prove how much it affected me.

I was 19 when Pearl Harbor came out. After I’d watched the damn thing about twenty times, I went down and tried to join the Navy.

I couldn’t get in because of a medical issue.

But that’s how much that movie affected 19-year-old me.

It didn’t just make me want to watch it again.

It made me want to DO something.

The Sixth Sense

This was the first movie that actually got me.

I saw The Sixth Sense in the theater and DID NOT SEE IT COMING.

And afterward you’re sitting there thinking:

THE SIGNS WERE EVERYWHERE.

They practically handed us the answer.

We just didn’t get it.

That’s what made the twist so brilliant. And once you know, watching the movie again becomes an entirely different experience because now you’re looking at all the things you missed.

It got me once.

I’ve apparently been making it up to myself ever since.

Catch Me If You Can

Okay, this movie is especially funny now.

Because the whole movie is about Frank Abagnale pulling things over on everybody…

And it turns out Frank Abagnale may have pulled something over on all of us, too.

Questions about his story aren’t new: even around the film’s 2002 release, reporting noted that many of his most spectacular claims were unverifiable, while Abagnale himself acknowledged that the book dramatized and exaggerated parts of the story. 

Honestly?

That almost makes it better.

Because regardless of how much of Frank’s story was bullshit, the MOVIE is fun.

It’s catchy.

And Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance makes the whole damn thing.

Thelma & Louise

This movie will always work.

Why?

Because women will always be ride or die for our girls.

End of discussion.

You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were the cutest little movie couple of the ’90s.

That’s it.

That’s the section.

They were the OG Hallmark couple.

Put either movie on and I’m staying.

The Hunger Games

Do I really need to explain why The Hunger Games still works?

Look around.

Those movies resonate more now than ever.

The Chronicles of Narnia

I loved the books.

Then I got to see Narnia come alive.

And especially with that first movie, they made that world feel so REAL. Those child actors were remarkable. You felt everything with them—especially little Lucy.

And yes, I love all three movies.

Also, Regina Spektor’s “The Call” from Prince Caspian apparently took up permanent residence inside my brain years ago and has declined to leave. 

So there’s that.

Legend

And finally, Legend.

This was one of the first fantasy movies I ever watched, and I absolutely fell in love with it.

I wanted to be Lily.

I believed in those unicorns.

Oona was absolutely gorgeous.

And Tim Curry’s Darkness?

I didn’t even KNOW that was Tim Curry for the longest time. I had to get older and become more interested in what happens behind the scenes before I realized who was underneath all of that.

And that’s another thing: this movie was made before CGI became the answer to everything. The world and creatures were created with enormous sets, practical work and elaborate prosthetic makeup—including Curry’s incredible transformation into Darkness. 

As a kid?

You couldn’t have convinced me that shit wasn’t real.

Tom Cruise was young, charismatic, innocent and brave as Jack. Mia Sara was everything I wanted Lily to be. There were fairies and goblins and magic and unicorns.

Looking back, I honestly think Legend might be where my love of unicorns, fantasy and fairies really began.

Hell, I still think Oona is so beautiful I’d tattoo her on my leg.

Some movies you enjoy.

Some movies you love.

And some movies quietly become little pieces of who you are.

Those are the movies that make me put the remote down.

And considering I will absolutely remember another fifteen movies approximately five minutes after publishing this…

Part Two is pretty much inevitable. 😂