Thursday, September 22, 2011

Movies you just can't turn off

Watching movies at home is a completely different experience than seeing them in the theaters. Sometimes you weren't even planning to give up your evening to a certain film, especially if you've seen it multiple times before, but the remote lands on it and before you know it, you're sucked in. Here are some of the movies that work like Roach Motels for our brains. Share yours with us on Facebook.

'Parent Trap'
It?s hard to believe that it?s been 13 years since 1998?s ?Parent Trap? hit the big screen. I never saw it in the theaters, yet every time it?s on TV, I can?t turn away. It?s certainly not because ?Parent Trap? was amazing or anything. Sure, it?s adorable and offers a few giggles, but the thing that keeps me tuned in every time is Lindsay Lohan doing double duty as mischievous twins Hallie and Annie. It saddens me to see all the talent and promise she has since thrown away with her seemingly endless shenanigans. And with every year that passes and additional headline that she drums up, the wasted potential seems even greater. Will she ever regain what she once had? Who knows? But ?Parent Trap? is like a miniscule glimmer of hope for what could be one heck of a comeback story.?? ?Anna Chan

Slideshow: The evolution of Lindsay Lohan (on this page)

?Cast Away?
I like Tom Hanks. On screen and off he seems like a genuinely likeable guy (a bosom buddy, maybe?) He?s the kind of guy you would hope could find his way off a deserted island should he end up there after a horrific plane crash. There are a couple things at play in ?Cast Away? that cause me to stick with it every time it?s on. First, I love the idea of surviving a plane crash. I hate flying and the fact that the character Chuck Noland is able to swim away from the wreckage of his FedEx plane is very comforting to me. Second, I love the idea of being marooned on a tropical island and finding a way to survive ? what a great way to lose weight and get tan! I could do without Wilson the volleyball, but that?s never enough to make me turn it off before the rain-and-tears-drenched reunion with Helen Hunt.? ?Kurt Schlosser

Slideshow: Tom Hanks is toast of Hollywood (on this page)

'Aliens'
The movie is 25 years old and I?ve probably seen it 10 times, but every time I come across ?Aliens? on TV, I?m as pinned to the couch as those poor cocooned colonists were to the walls. Most people I know prefer the original ?Alien,? but for me, this one is as good or better. I always seem to tune in just as the colonial marines are marching in, complete with attached helmet cameras, and ?even though I know their sad fate it?s like I?m hypnotized. The suspense just builds and builds and we?re helpless to do anything but watch the slaughter unfold. ?Remember, short, controlled bursts.? ??I got signals, I got readings, in front and behind!? ?It?s a bug hunt!? ?Nine meters?eight...seven?six?? ?That can?t be, that?s inside the room!? ?Pull your team out, Gorman!? ?They?re comin? outta the walls!? ?Game over, man, game over!? I know the scene?s not going to end differently, but somehow I owe it to Vasquez, Ripley and pals to see them through to the end.?? ?Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Slideshow: Female action heroes (on this page)

'Shawshank Redemption'
I can't even recall if I saw this in the theater when it came out, but I've certainly seen it countless times from my couch, from bed, or from a perch near the stove while cooking. There's something about the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), an honest man who "had come to prison to be a crook," that I need to watch. Sure, I know the ending (and I won't spoil it for you, in case you're part of the single-digit percentage of the population who has not seen "Shawshank," or you were born after, say, 1995). But I still need to see Andy & Co. earn their bottles of suds for working up on the roof. ?I need to see Andy worm his way into the psyche of the warden, then send the whole house tumbling down. And most of all, I need to see it all through until the scene at the end (which I am still not spoiling, see earlier note).?? ?Courtney Hazlett

5 shows to click off after 5 minutes

'Shattered Glass'
I have a hard time not watching the world crumble under Stephen Glass, the self-styled "fabulist" who invented or enhanced dozens of stories for The New Republic in the mid-1990s. Billy Ray directs Glass (Hayden Christensen) as a dreamy, charming writer whose infantile self-deprecation ("Are you mad at me?") makes him odious. But what glues me to my seat is the sharp sequence of scenes in which Glass's perfidy unravels beneath new Republic editor Charles Lane's (Peter Sarsgaard) unwavering gaze; Lane's quiet, righteous anger is precisely the instrument needed to pierce Glass's bubble. The performance made me a lifelong fan of Sarsgaard's understated and underappreciated talent, and by the end of the film I'm left wishing I could take both him ? and Lane ? out for a round of drinks.?? ?Randee Dawn

Everything
It happens every time. I walk by the TV, and it doesn?t matter if it?s ?Lord of the Rings,? ?Star Wars? any ?James Bond,? ?Indiana Jones,? ?Mummy? or ?Harry Potter? movie, I look to see what?s on, and I?m sucked in. Maybe it?s the sense of instant familiarity, or sharing a favorite scene with the kids ? ?oh, watch this guy get it!? ? that makes it so much fun. We have many of our favorites on DVD, but there?s something magical when you stumble across a movie already playing itself out, sort of like a "shuffle" mode for your TV viewing habits. I?m pretty sure washing the dishes can wait a little while longer.? ?David Gostisha

Which movies are you just unable to turn off? Discuss with us on Facebook.

? 2011 MSNBC Interactive.? Reprints

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44625931/ns/today-entertainment/

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