Do the Right Thing (1989)

The best movies make us look at ourselves, especially when it’s not comfortable. 1989’s Do the Right Thing will likely go down as Spike Lee’s masterpiece for a director who has made some of the world’s greatest cinema. The movie explores racial hatred in a Brooklyn neighborhood on a hot summer day. In 2026, White America has started to learn not everyone has had the same experience in this land. Do the Right Thing tried to show that 37 years ago, but White America wasn’t ready to listen. It is a movie 2026 would embrace. But in 1989, things were a lot different, and there was a small-minded belief the movie was racist against Whites. It is a movie that will test you as a person and see where your empathy lies. It may cause you to learn some uncomfortable things about yourself. Movies can inspire, movies can break you, movies can have you asking questions. Do the Right Thing will do all of that. If it makes you mad, good. If it makes you sad, good. If it causes you to do even a little introspection, good. This is what cinema is for.

Scream (1996)

Movies still have the power to become cultural events. But it’s not as strong as it used to be before our collective attention span splintered into a trillion directions. It is hard to describe the effect 1996’s Scream had when it was released to someone who hadn’t

Mannequin (1987)

If you can say one thing about 80s cinema, it was willing to take chances. 1987’s Mannequin might have been the most ludicrous concept to come to a theater, until Weekend at Bernie’s two years later. Kim Cattrall is the spirit of an ancient Egyptian who somehow gets

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

There are just director-actor combos that seem to just go together. Alfred Hitchcock had Jimmy Stewart. John Ford and John Wayne. And Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. We’ve talked about their collaborations before with Ed Wood. 1999’s Sleepy Hollow is another one of their perfect pairings. It’

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Hollywood is a copycat factory. If there’s a hit movie, you can guarantee there are going to be movies just like it in the years following its release. Raiders of the Lost Ark set the world on fire in 1981, so of course there were going to be clones.

Read more

Scream (1996)

Mannequin (1987)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Romancing the Stone (1984)