By Laura Jean Null

Staff Writer

The greatest movies are those that make you feel. They tug at the heart strings, empower you, and the greatest feeling of all, they make you remember the importance of being alive.

Jim Valvano said, “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day.” That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” That is the same take away you should have after watching any great film.

Movies are supposed to teach us a lesson, whether it’s a lesson about humanity or ourselves, something is being taught. It cannot always be about the entertainment or making a profit, because sometimes flukes sell out too. The greatest movies of all time are the ones you remember when you are in a crappy situation.

Those movies you look to for inspiration are the best films because they give us hope, they give us motivation to keep pushing forth and growing as a person. But sometimes, the movies that are behind-belief the greatest, do not nearly get enough recognition as those top selling block buster films.

There will always be action movies, comedies, horror, etc., but most of the time when you watch a movie with one of those specific types of genres, that is usually the way the movie plays out.

You normally never see a horror film inspire you to be the best possible person, or a comedy inspiring you to go save the world. That is because those multimillion dollar films that everyone talks about has one purpose, and that purpose is to sell out, making an enormous profit.

So, a recommendation, next time you are on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. watch a movie you haven’t seen before. Ignore picking out a new television show to binge watch. Instead, watch a film you have never heard of. Indulge yourself into stories that are true and create meaning for yourself.

Also, take a minute out of your day and read over the short movie summaries. If you are choosing the types of movies and shows you want to watch solely based on the title and cover photo, you are missing out big time! The summary is there for a reason, use it.

Another idea to do, is search key terms or specific actors and actresses you like. Most times you will find Hollywood stars in some small produced, underrated film before they became a hotshot celebrity in the movie industry.

And the key terms search-bar is incredible for finding movies with certain elements that you are interested in.

You like horses? Great, search for them in the key terms and you will find any movie with a horse in it.

However, on a more serious level, my personal favorite is to look at the movies that are based on/inspired by a true story.

For example, any holocaust movie on Netflix, watch it. Watch it if you haven’t seen it before and watch it because it is a lesson in history for the world to know. Those movies with truth behind them make you feel the greatest emotions of them all, because these events actually occurred.

So, pick a rainy day or a night in that you aren’t really doing anything and find yourself a movie that moves your spirits.

Not every film has the power to do that, it is your duty as a movie fanatic and human being to explore your options and find those movies.

Email Laura at:

lnull@live.esu.edu