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An opening scene of a movie is like a cinematic thermometer. You take a movie’s temperature by that first scene. It holds you, intrigues you, grabs you — or it doesn’t. Though it’s true that plenty of great movies take their time building up our involvement, obviously they can’t take too long. Then there are those others that start off with a bang. It’s this latter group we’re celebrating today. Here are fifteen of our favorite movie openers, covering seven decades of filmmaking:  

There are lots of things we will never do, and most of them involve ice, big waves, rocks and other things that can easily kill us. Fortunately, adventurous, half-crazy thrill-seekers are born to take on insane challenges for us. And thanks to filmmakers, we get to watch the results from the comfort of our own homes. Here then, is our roundup “extreme”-ly adventurous movies. You might want to grab a helmet.

Intermingling genres can be a risky move — just ask the makers of 1964’s kiddie/sci-fi film “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” which IMDB users voted as one of the worst movies of all time. (I’ve seen it; it makes Ed Wood looks like Stanley Kubrick.)  Sometimes, however, the mixing-and-matching really pays off.  Look no further than the current box office champ, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, a sci-fi comedy that’s received as many solid critical reviews as it has audience raves. With its success, “Guardians” joins a small but noble band of films that deliver all the conventions of a dramatic sci-fi film, while keeping its tongue planted firmly inside its green-skinned alien cheek.

 Dads are sometimes manhandled in movies – depicted as absent, neglectful, or comically inept. They can be relegated to grim portrayals in films like “The Great Santini” (1979) or “This Boy’s Life” (1993), where fatherhood is all about intimidation.  Life with these fathers would make for a very disturbing Rockwell painting.        I think it’s patently unfair for a few movie Dads to cast a poor light on men that work hard to be affectionate, considerate, and above all, always there for the family. Like me. So, as Sunday is Dad’s day, let’s show him (or his memory) some love, respect, and affection. Just once, for your father, take his advice, thank your mother, chew with your mouth closed, stop making that face, finish your chores without any sass-back, and stick to one of these father-friendly films. 

Oscar season is now upon us, as the year’s prize-worthiest fare begins its annual rollout to theaters in time for the holidays, sliding in just under the wire for nomination eligibility.  It is never too soon to start handicapping the contenders in the acting category, so we have compiled a handy reference guide to some of the types of roles that Academy pops for year after year. Once one starts to look for them, it becomes easy to spot future winners. Many of the performances in the upcoming raft of releases will be jaw-dropping.

Movies with similar titles often show up next to each other on the shelf, or line up in a search, but are usually very different animals—animals you don’t want to get mixed up.