Reel Corner

What better way to celebrate a month that embraces Father's Day than to have a movie night in his honor? I've selected favorites from over the last few decades, suitable for fathers of all ages. and grandfathers, too.


FATHER of the BRIDE (1991)
A comedy about a father who gets a little crazed in the midst of planning his only daughter's wedding. I prefer the Spencer Tracy/ Elizabeth Taylor version (1950). The updated Steve Martin/Diane Keaton (1991) version is also very heartwarming.

FIELD of DREAMS (1989)
Who could forget: "If you build it, he will come" - the ethereal message that inspires Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) to construct a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield.

MRS. DOUBTFIRE (1993)
Daniel (Robin Williams) is an eccentric actor. A kind man, but irresponsible father, he is a poor disciplinarian and shaky role model. His wife, the very professional Miranda (Sally Field), reaches the end of her patience and files for divorce. The court only allows a visit once a week. Determined to stay in closer contact with the children, Daniel pulls off a ruse as the new housekeeper, Mrs. Doubtfire, who neither his ex-wife nor his children recognize as him.

FINDING NEMO 3D (2012)
This is a stunning underwater adventure filled with memorable characters, humor and heartfelt emotion. Finding Nemo follows the comedic and momentous journey of an overly protective father, a clownfish named Marlin (voice by Albert Brooks), and his son Nemo (voice by Alexander Gould), who become separated from each other when Nemo is unexpectedly taken far from his ocean home and dumped into a fish tank in a dentist's office.

GOLDFINGER (1964)
007 films are always a good Father's Day choice, and Goldfinger is my favorite of this genre. Featuring Sean Connery as 007, this film puts 007 to the task of preventing a notorious gold smuggler, appropriately named Goldfinger, from robbing Fort Knox. Goldfinger is surrounded by evil henchmen, such as the sexy, female pilot Pussy Galore, and Oddjob, who kills with his steel-rimmed bowler hats.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning, autobiographical novel was translated to film in 1962. Set in a small Alabama town in the 1930s, the story focuses on the scrupulously honest, highly respected lawyer Atticus Finch, magnificently embodied by Gregory Peck. Finch puts his career on the line when he agrees to represent Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of rape. The trial and the events surrounding it are seen through the eyes of Finch's six-year-old daughter, Scout (Mary Badham). While Robinson's trial gives the film its momentum, there are plenty of anecdotal occurrences before and after the court date, which places this academy award winning drama as a must see classic!

ROCKY (1976)
Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a Philadelphia boxer, is but one step removed from total bum-hood. Once-promising, Rocky is now taking nickel-and-dime bouts and running strong arm errands for local loan sharks to survive. Even his supportive trainer, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), has given up on Rocky. All this changes thanks to super-boxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). With the Bicentennial celebration coming up, Creed must find a "Cinderella" opponent for the big July 4th bout-some unknown whom Creed can glorify for a few minutes before knocking him cold. Rocky Balboa was not the only Cinderella involved here: writer/director Sylvester Stallone, himself a virtual unknown, managed to sell his Rocky script on the proviso that he be given the starring role. Since the film was to be made on a shoestring and marketed on a low-level basis, the risk factor to United Artists was small. For Stallone, this was a make-or-break opportunity-just like Rocky's million-to-one shot with Apollo Creed. Costing under a million dollars, Rocky managed to register with audiences everywhere, earning back 60 times its cost. The film won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue, in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then ensues with Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft, making the June 6, 1944 approach to Omaha Beach, to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach, littered with bodies, is a soldier with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. The incident is based on a true occurrence.

JAWS (1975)
Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel, Steven Spielberg's 1975 shark saga set the standard for the new Hollywood popcorn blockbuster, while frightening millions of moviegoers out of the water. One early summer night at a fictional Atlantic resort, Amity Island, Chrissie decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit.

THE PERSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (2006)
Will Smith earned an Oscar nomination for his inspiring performance opposite his real-life son Jaden in this tearjerker about a struggling single parent who is determined to build a better life for his family. Chris Gardner (Smith) is smart and talented, but his dead-end sales job barely pays the bills. When he and his son are evicted, they face trying times, as a desperate Chris accepts an unpaid internship at a stock brokerage firm.

If none of the above suits your Dad's fancy I would suggest a film from the super hero genre . IRON MAN, SPIDER MAN, or BATMAN.
After all aren't all Fathers heroes?