9 Great Films to Enjoy on Father's Day

So it's Father's Day, a day we spend honoring the great men in our lives who raised us, taught us, fed us, lectured us and laughed with us. Over the years, there have been several awesome dad-themed films in genres ranging from comedy to sci-fi epic. Here are nine movies you can watch with your father on his special day.

Finding Nemo (2003)
This is probably my favorite Pixar movie. I don't need to tell you how funny it is. The story is so simple but it's so wonderfully layered. It's perhaps one of the best movies about father/son relationships. So if you fight with your son but will do anything for him, this is the movie for you. It's so touching and heartwarming without being too sappy or annoying.

Jurassic Park's Dr. Ellie Sattler Should Be the Template for Women in Blockbusters

With the release of Jurassic World, the long awaited new entry in the popular Jurassic Park series, there has been some backlash regarding the unfortunate way the lead female Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) was written and directed. I don't want to add to that discussion but here is an article that perfectly describes just how awfully the character was written.

What I do want to talk about is the great work of screenwriters David Koepp and Michael Crichton, director Steven Spielberg and most of all Laura Dern as the female lead in the 1993 original Jurassic Park. Dern plays Dr. Ellie Sattler, an expert paleobotanist who along with Sam Neill's Dr. Alan Grant comes to Jurassic Park to give their okay in exchange for some funding. Even though Jurassic Park is 22 years old, it does a lot of things right when it comes to gender politics. So here are some reasons why Dr. Sattler should be the template for female characters in blockbusters.

'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' Isn't a Feminist Triumph (But Close Enough?)

Aanand L. Rai's last film Raanjhanaa was so horrifically misogynistic (guy threatens to kill girl if she doesn't go out with him, she reluctantly does--yay, they're in love!) that I was severely disappointed that this movie I was kind of into was also directed by him. Tanu Weds Manu Returns had an appealing trailer, some catchy songs and the promise of a showcase performance for Filmfare award winner Kangana Ranaut. Truth be told, Tanu Weds Manu Returns came at the right time--I had just seen Ranaut in the totally marvelous Queen on Netflix.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns is the sequel to the 2011 hit Tanu Weds Manu. Ranaut stars with R. Madhavan, Jimmy Shergill, Swara Bhaskar and Deepak Dobriyal. Krsna Solo returns as music composer. The film was directed by Aanand L. Rai from a screenplay by Himanshu Sharma.

Scarlett Johansson, Misfit Movie Star (part 5)

In Part 4 of this series, I explored 3 films where Scarlett Johansson became a supporting player when the narrative pushed her to the side. In Ghost World, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Don Jon, this is where her misfit status took her and the films were more interesting as a result. Please read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this Scarlett Johansson series.

As I was going through her IMDb page trying to figure out where to take part 5, I ended up choosing three films that are totally different from one another. We are now seeing Scarlett Johansson the Misfit Muse. As an actress with attention to paid to her looks, she did have to play characters who become inspiration for white men (like most actresses have to do at some point). These films do more than show Johansson in some passive role, however, as she continues to find ways to break the male gaze directed at her.

Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino Resist Getting Toppled in 'San Andreas' (Review)

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson seems like the coolest guy, like if he crashes at your place after an awesome night out, he'd sneak out to get coffee for you before you get up. While curating a charming, non-jerky offscreen persona, he's been excelling at being a major added value to existing franchises like the Fast and Furious series and even the Journey to the Center of the Earth films. San Andreas is Johnson's first major blockbuster effort as a "by himself" star, as the marketing focused solely on him.

San Andreas also stars one of my faves Carla Gugino (Watchmen), Alexandra Daddario (True Detective), Paul Giamatti, Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Teen Wolf), Art Parkinson (Game of Thrones), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) and Ioan Gruffudd (Forever).  San Andreas is directed by Brad Peyton who previously directed Johnson in Journey to the Center of the Earth: The Mysterious Island. The film is written by Carlton Cuse, known for his work on the TV show Lost.