My favorite memories at the movies

My review of Star Wars:

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

When I first went to the theater with my dad to see Star Wars, I had no idea how much of an impact it would have on my life or on movies themselves.

Every time that I see those words appear on the screen and hear the theme music by John Williams, it brings back those childhood memories. The secret to the success of Star Wars isn't just the great story, amazing special effects, a good cast, and so on. I believe it is the memories that it evokes.

As a kid, I became not only a huge Star Wars fan, but a movie fan as well. I love watching movies and collecting them. This was all because of Star Wars!

It changed how movies were made and marketed. Of course, there have been a lot of movies made, before and since, but none of them (in my opinion) has made such a difference in the movie industry and in pop culture as this movie has.

10/10

For me, Christopher Reeve was (and still is) Superman!

The Karate Kid is probably the only movie that I got to see twice in theaters growing up. One of those times was when my grandmother (Granny) came to visit us. Granny, my parents, my sister, and I went to the movie theater. Truthfully, I don't think it mattered what movie we picked because Granny was just there to spend time with all of us, especially her only two grandkids. We bought our tickets, got our refreshments, and got to our seats, ready for the movie to start. That is when Granny asked, "When is the lion gonna roar?" (referring to the MGM lion shown below.)



To this day, every time that I watch The Karate Kid or see the MGM lion logo, I smile because I think of my grandmother, a wonderful woman that I loved and adored.

The first time that I saw The Princess Bride was at my high school graduation party in 1988. One of my friends said that it was a great movie so she rented it for us all to enjoy. It became one of my favorite movies.

My best friend from high school and I went to see Dances with Wolves. It was the first movie that I can remember that had an intermission because of it's running time of 181 minutes (3 hours and 1 minute). It remains one of my favorite movies.

I went to see Mrs. Doubtfire in theaters with my girlfriend at the time. We both thought it was pretty good, but what made it even more fun was a moviegoer's laugh. She was sitting a few rows in front of us and every time she laughed, everyone close by, including us laughed. We weren't really laughing at her, but at her laugh itself because it was so funny. I like to think we were just laughing with her.

The Phantom Menace is the first movie that I bought tickets for in advance, just so I could see it on opening day. I remember buying the tickets at the theater several days in advance (maybe a week or two). Then I prayed to God that I wouldn't lose them. (Fortunately, I didn't!)

The day that I went to see the movie, I was extremely excited because this is the first Star Wars movie to come out in theaters in 16 years. It was also really cool to see some fans dressed up in costumes.

The Rookie is the movie that my wife and I saw on our first date. We have been together ever since, including 9 1/2 years of marriage.

The first time I saw Kung Fu Panda was at the theater. It was on my great-nephew's birthday and my wife and I were invited to go out to eat and see the movie with the family. The best part was hearing our great nephew (and his two sisters) laugh like crazy. Movies are suppose to be nostalgic and entertaining. This movie was no exception.

My wife and I are huge Harry Potter fans. We read the books and went to see all of the movies on opening day. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was bitter sweet because it was the end of the story that lasted for more than 10 years. We got to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow up before our eyes. We got to know them (along with other characters) as friends and some as enemies.

I think both the movie and the book ended the way a series like this should have. It is one of those experiences that you are glad to be a part of.

I am a huge superhero movie fan, so naturally, I convinced my wife to go with me to watch The Avengers (as well as Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America) at the theater.

Two of my favorite moments in the movie involve the Hulk. (I won't go into detail because I don't want to ruin it for those that haven't seen the movie yet.) The laughter from everyone in the audience at both of these moments was worth the price of admission alone.

As a big fan of The Lord of the Rings, I couldn't wait to see The Hobbit. My wife and I went to see on opening day and we both were expecting it to be a great movie. Thankfully, we were not disappointed.

The greatest thing about these stories (books and movies) is they take you to a place that you want to visit over and over again. Middle Earth is such a place! The characters are so well written and performed that you care about them and stay interested in what happens to them.

Seeing this movie was like visiting a family member or a friend that you haven't seen in a few years. It was nice to catch up on what has happened in their lives and you can't wait until the next time you see them again.