#75 – I Remember Mama
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – Mama, played by Irene Dunne, is a great matriarch and role model for her children. She is a hard working devoted mother who shows her family what it means to be a good mother. She is loving, respectful, and loyal. The entire Larson family seemed to care for each other in a way that is not shown in many movies today. If you want to see a good family movie, I highly recommend this one.
Summary – Mama didn’t leave the Old Country and move into the Larkin Street house to become rich. She left because all her siblings and in-laws were already setting down roots in the USA. Family was where Mama always fit best. Right in the heart of things.
#74 – Into the Woods
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – I have not seen this but it sounds like a collaboration of several stories. It is a play that is recorded on DVD. I think that it would be good and hopefully I can watch it sometime.
Summary -A childless baker and his wife cannot have a child until they follow the bidding of the witch next door to get a cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold. Good thing, then that they’ve got neighbors named Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Cinderella to help them before (and after) Happily Ever After.
#73 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – Bueller, Bueller, Bueller… he sure is one interesting kid. You follow him around while he does everything but what he should be doing. It is a comedy and highly entertaining.
Summary – Teenaged Ferris Bueller, Matthew Broderick, is a legend in his own time thanks to his uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last grand duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, “borrows” a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day bacchanal through the streets of Chicago. Dogging Ferris’ trail at every turn is high-school principal Rooney, Jeffrey Jones, determined to catch Bueller in the act of class-cutting.
#72 – Groundhog Day
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – I think this movie is funny and entertaining. I think that Phil Connors is clever and it is fun to see what he will do next. It is not boring that is for sure.
Summary – TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities. But on his way out of town, Phil is caught in a giant blizzard, which he failed to predict, and finds himself stuck in small-town hell. Just when things couldn’t get worse, they get worse; Phil wakes the next morning to find it’s Groundhog Day all over again…and again…and again.
#71 – Stand Strong
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This movie is fabulous it is gripping and grabbed my attention. I felt a connection with the people in this movie and felt for them. It is inspiring and helps to put life into perspective a little bit more. A great movie!
Summary – If you lose it all will you rise or fall? Matt Webster measures his success by his possessions. Through a series of financial and family crises, Matt and his family are stripped of all they own and are humbled enough to learn what success is really all about.
#70 – The Longest Day (1962)
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – A classic war drama. There is a reason this won Academy awards. An all-star cast that covers a lot of ground and is a moving, huge production. It’s even much less gory than today’s war movies. I appreciate the fact that the men in the movie were actually all alive during World War II so it feels more personal than current war movies.
Summary – Seen through the eyes of Allied generals, foot soldiers, strategists and paratroopers, The Longest Day recounts the largest and greatest military mission of all time. In a battle that would change the course of history, 5,000 ships unloaded over 3 million men on the beaches of France, and the Allies gained a valuable foothold on enemy territory, at an incalculable cost.
#69 – Aladdin
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This is one of my favorite Disney movies. I love the storyline, music, and characters. It is definitely entertaining and will have you glue to the TV until the very end. I would highly recommend this to people of all ages!
Summary – In the heart of an enchanted city, a commoner named Aladdin and his mischievous monkey Abu battle to save the free-spirited Princess Jasmine from the schemes of the evil sorcerer Jafar. Aladdin’s whole life changes with one rub of a magic lamp as a fun-loving, shape-shifting Genie appears and grants him three wishes, setting him on an incredible journey of discovery.
#68 – The Fugitive
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This is more of a man movie, my dad loves it, but we all like it! There is a lot of suspense and you don’t know how it is going to end. It keeps you on your toes, however, it is quite long.
Summary – Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones race through this breathless manhunt movie inspired by one classic TV series and which in turn inspired yet another. Ford is prison escapee Dr. Richard Kimble, a Chicago surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife and determined to prove his innocence by leading his pursuers to the one-armed man who committed the crime.
#67 – 2001 A Space Odyssey
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This a science fiction film which is not my kind of movie at all. That does not mean that is not a good movie. I think there is a reason why it made it onto our list.
Summary – 2001: A Space Odyssey is Stanley Kubrick’s dazzling, Academy Award-winning achievement, a compelling drama of man vs. machine, a stunning meld of music and motion. Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) first visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted realms of space, perhaps even into immortality. “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” Let an awesome journey unlike any other begin.
#66 – To Catch a Thief
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – The chase down the mountain at the beginning is so iconic. If you want to understand what the big deal about Grace Kelly is, just watch this movie. The new DVD and Blu-ray versions are actually very well done and the special features make it worth owning.
Summary – Cary Grant plays John Robie, reformed jewel thief who was once known as “The Cat,” in this suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller. Robie is suspected of a new rash of gem thefts in the luxury hotels of the French Riviera, and he must set out to clear himself. Meeting pampered heiress Frances (Grace Kelly), he sees a chance to bait the mysterious thief with her mother’s (Jessie Royce Landis) fabulous jewels. His plan backfires, however, but France, who believes him guilty, proves her love by helping him escape.
#65 – The Searchers (1956)
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – The first John Ford/John Wayne movie. A little rough around the edges, still some great acting. Many different themes going in and out make it a little hard for some to follow, but for those who stick with it, you will be well-rewarded.
Summary – Wayne plays an ex-Confederate soldier seeking his niece, captured by Comanches who massacred his family. He won’t surrender to hunger, thirst, the elements or loneliness. And in his five-year search, he encounters something unexpected: his own humanity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr7KzwRV2qM&feature=player_embedded
#64 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This older film is one of my brother’s favorite movies. I haven’t seen this movie myself but it looks like a movie that I personally would not enjoy which is why I haven’t seen it.
Summary – A small town idealist, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) answers the call to duty when he’s unexpectedly named to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Determined to do some good, he sponsors a bill to create a national boy’s camp, unaware it threatens to undermine a graft scheme sponsored by his home state’s crooked political machine. Framed and threatened with expulsion, Jefferson takes to the Senate floor, where he attempts to prove his innocence in one of the most rousing climactic scenes in screen history.
#63 – Shrek
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review: My children love this movie and watch it and all the Shrek movies over and over. It is not quite as wholesome as Disney movies but my children like the DreamWorks movies a lot more. It does have a little crude humor, like toots and several bad words like I really wish they wouldn’t put in there. Words like “jack ass,” “crap” and “shut up” that I won’t even say myself. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend for younger children. I would say you should be over 6 and the parent should at least explain that those words aren’t good to say. It makes fun of several other franchises, but it’s all in good humor. It is well done, has a great cast and plot.
Summary – Relive every moment of Shrek’s (Mike Myers) daring quest to rescue feisty Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) with the help of his loveable loudmouthed Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and win back the deed to his beloved swamp from scheming Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow).
#62 – The Color Purple
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This a touching film that was very well done. Whoopi Goldberg did an excellent job as usual!
Summary – Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple spans the years 1909 to 1949, relating the life of Celie, Whoopi Goldberg, a Southern black woman virtually sold into a life of servitude to her brutal husband, sharecropper Albert. Celie pours out her innermost thoughts in letter form to her sister Nettie, but Albert has been hiding the letters Nettie writes back, allowing Celie to assume that Nettie is dead. Finally, Celie finds a champion in the don’t-take-no-guff Sofia, Oprah Winfrey, the wife of Glover’s son from a previous marriage. Alas, Sofia is “humbled” when she is beaten into submission by angry whites. Later, Celie is able to forge a strong friendship with Albert’s mistress Shug. Emboldened by this, Celie begins rifling through her husband’s belongings and finds Nettie’s letters. Able at last to stand up to her husband, Celie leaves him to search for a new life on her own
#61 – Holiday
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – Another movie with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. They were quite the pair. They were in four movies together and although this one isn’t as well known, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching.
Summary – Johnny Case (Cary Grant), a freethinking financier, has finally found the girl of his dreams – Julia Seton (Doris Nolan), the spoiled daughter of a socially prominent millionaire – and she’s agreed to marry him. But when Johnny plans a holiday for the two to enjoy life while they are still young, his fiancée has other plans & that is for Johnny to work in her father’s bank! And so, as he tries to decide whether to follow his head or his heart, Johnny can rely on at least one Seton in his corner. She’s Linda Seton (Katharine Hepburn), the down-to-earth younger sister of his soon-to-be-wife, and she likes Johnny the way he is.
#60 – October Sky
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This is a wonderful film and is touching. It is a great storyline and very interesting. I enjoyed the story and could relate to it.
Summary – Working in the coal mines is an inescapable way of life in this small town. When high schooler Homer Hickman, Jr. (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Sputnik satellite in the night sky, he dares to break free of the mines and reach for the stars. With the support of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three friends, Homer sets out on an inspiring quest to build his own rocket. Overcoming poor education, a tough father (Chris Cooper) and a series of misfires, Homer turns his dreams into reality in this incredible true story of hope, determination and triumph.
#59 – The Grapes of Wrath
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This is a wonderful story about the depression. It helps to put the very difficult time of history into perspective. It is an eye opening movie. This is one of the greatest movies that has ever been made.
Summary – Following a prison term he served for manslaughter, Tom Joad returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by weather and the greed of the banking industry. With little work potential on the horizon of the Oklahoma dust bowls, the entire family packs up and heads for the promised land – California. But the arduous trip and harsh living conditions they encounter offer little hope, and family unity proves as daunting a challenge as any other they face.
#58 – Jaws
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This a classic Spielberg film. It is such a unique story and draws you into the plot making you wonder what is going to come next.
Summary – The peaceful community of Amity island is being terrorized. There is something in the sea that is attacking swimmers. They can no longer enjoy the sea and the sun as they used to, and the spreading fear is affecting the numbers of tourists that are normally attracted to this island. After many attempts the great white shark won’t go away and sheriff Brody, with friends Hooper and Quint decide to go after the shark and kill it.
#57 – Sabrina -1954
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This is one of my favorite movies of all-time. I love the re-make too, but if I had to choose which one to watch, it would most likely be this one! Audrey does such a good job and it’s such a great story about unexpected love.
Summary – Bogie and Holden are the mega-rich Larrabee brothers of Long Island. Bogie’s all work, Holden’s all playboy. But when Sabrina, daughter of the family’s chauffeur, returns from Paris all grown up and glamorous, the stage is set for some family fireworks as the brothers fall under the spell of Hepburn’s delightful charms.
#56 – North by Northwest
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – The scenes at Mount Rushmore are so interesting. The scene where he is supposed to meet someone out in the middle of nowhere and gets chased by an airplane is unforgettable. Great acting and a great plot full of twists. I highly recommend it.
Cary Grant is the screen’s supreme man-on-the-run in his fourth and final teaming with Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock. He plays a Manhattan adman plunged into a realm of spy (James Mason) and counterspy (Eva Marie Saint) and variously abducted, framed for murder, chased, and in a signature set-piece, crop-dusted. He also hangs for dear life from the facial features of Mount Rushmore’s Presidents.
#55 – Something the Lord Made
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – Something the Lord Made is a sweet movie and an inspiring story. This movie was well done and thought through. I enjoyed the plot and helped gave a bigger perspective on life.
Summary -Something the Lord Made tells the emotional true story of two men who defied the rules of their time to launch a medical revolution, set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South. Working in the 1940s Baltimore on an unprecedented technique for performing heart surgery on “blue babies,” Dr. Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and lab technician Vivien Thomas (Mos Def, The Italian Job) form an impressive team. But even as they race against time to save a dying baby, the two occupy very different places in society. Blalock is the wealthy white Head of Surgery at John Hopkins Hospital; Thomas is black and poor, a skilled carpenter. As Blalock and Thomas invent a new field of medicine, saving thousands of lives in the process, social pressures threaten to undermine their collaboration and tear their friendship apart.
#54 – Tangled
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – Our whole family likes this movie. You can watch it over and over and not get tired of it. Very clever and well-done.
Summary -When the kingdom’s most wanted – and most charming – bandit Flynn Rider hides in a mysterious tower, the last thing he expects to find is Rapunzel, a spirited teen with an unlikely superpower – 70 feet of magical golden hair! Together, the unlikely duo set off on a fantastic journey filled with surprising heroes, laughter and suspense.
#53 – Toy Story
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – Not my favorite Toy Story movie either. The boy next door is just mean and it’s kind of slow.
Summary – In this 3D computer animated feature, a pull-string cowboy doll is the leader of the toys until the latest, greatest action figure enters the picture. When the toy rivals are separated from their owner, they ultimately learn to put aside their differences and work as a team to get back home to the boy they love.
#52 – My Fair Lady
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – This has to be my favorite by far. Audrey does a wonderful job as the lady. This classic musical is wonderful and the music is brilliant as is the cast.
Summary – In this beloved adaptation of the Broadway stage hit, Hepburn plays a sassy, working class London street vendor, whom an arrogant professor (Rex Harrison) attempts to turn her into a sophisticated lady through proper schooling. But, when the humble flower girl blossoms into the toast of London’s elite, her teacher may have a lesson or two to learn himself.
#51 – Kiki’s Delivery Service
Grade: A-
Mommy Bear’s Family Movie Review – A well-done movie that you won’t mind watching over and over while your children do the same. It has a good message and an enjoyable storyline.
Summary – Kiki is an enterprising young girl who must follow tradition to become a full-fledged witch. Venturing out with only her black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies off for the adventure of a lifetime. Landing in a far-off city, she sets up a high-flying delivery service and begins a wonderful experience of independence and responsibility as she finds her place in the world.
Rolf Dammstrom says
great list! love that harry potter is on it. My kids have loved harry potter since they were little.
Karen Hand says
I must say that I thought there would be more animated movies in the list. However, many of these are classics which will withstand the test of time for years to come. Many of my favorites are included in this list. Thanks.
mommybearadmin says
We are glad that you enjoyed our list. There are so many great movies that they all can’t be on the list. What movies do you like that you were surprised not to see?
Unknown says
Pinochio movie “2015”
Carlabree Bonesteel says
My boyfriend and I LOVED The Avengers…It was awesome, even if you don't have kids!
mommybearadmin says
Yeah I agree Avengers is a very good movie!
Peter says
Oh and you should also include Ben-Hur (1959)
Peter says
And The Great Escape
Peter says
The last family movie night we had was unsuccessful. Me and my dad chanted out FROM HERE TO ETERNITY on TCM. We ended up watching Liam Neeson’s Non-Stop. What a stupid stupid stupid movie.
Peter says
Close Encounters of the Third Kind too
Peter says
Close Encounters 3rd Kind, Sunset Blvd, City Lights, Gold Rush, Modern Times, Rear Window, Vertigo
Polly says
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is about a callgirl and (along with Auntie Mame) has the most racist depiction of Asians ever captured on American film.
Cindy says
This is the Army was a good old show.