21-30

Dazed and Confused (1993) Takes place in a suburban town in Texas on the last day of high school in 1976.  Everyone tries to stay "clean"…with a classic rock soundtrack and the obligatory feel of relief.
Death in Venice (1971) Luchino Visconti's poetic, good-humored hymn to dying was made into an opera two years later by Benjamin Britten, and contains the magnificent penulminate movement of Mahler's Fifth.
Die Hard (1988) Bruce Willis's marriage is on the rocks.  It's gonna take the counter-infiltration of German terrrorists in a Japanese-owned LA skyscraper for him to win Bonnie Bedelia back.
Down by Law (1986) Two drifters are thrown in jail for crimes they didn't commit, too lazy to fight back.  Their stay, however, combined with Roberto Benigni and his poor English, allows them to see things in a different light.
Dumbo (1941) A very young elephant becomes the laughingstock of the local circus because he has freakishly large ears.  Then a mouse (of all creatures) comes to his aid and shows a use for them: flying.  Disney had previously made a cartoon short of The Ugly Duckling, but it's this one that is the rightful classic.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Steven Spielberg's heartwarming tale of an alien abandoned on Earth, who befriends Henry Thomas, may well be a great antidote to Alien from a few years back.  In fact, the same could be true of the whole stereotype surrounding extraterrestrial life.
Evil Dead II (1987) Cinema's most light-hearted and fun horror movie.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) Yes, there is a Smiths song on the soundtrack (in fact, some depressed people have adopted it as their theme song).  But the film teaches us to call in sick and kick back and relax every once in a while.  Mental health, dude!
Field of Dreams (1989) Kevin Costner becomes baseball's medium: He both creates a pitching field for ghosts and and catches up with his dead father.
Finding Nemo (2003) A film that has unjustly faded into the sands of time since it first came out.  It's a great character study as Albert Brooks' overprotective father loosens up while trying to find his only son—while we loosen up hearing Ellen DeGeneres speak Whale.

Series plan in jeopardy

I was going to make this into a series if the first film was successful enough.  But I won't get my hopes up yet.

I was going to explain the real problem, but that would involve giving this one away.

11-20

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) Two products of dumbed-down modern America kidnap historical figures to help them with their history projects.
Bottle Rocket (1996) Wes Anderson remakes his 1994 short subject, again with good friend Owen Wilson and his brother Luke.  It's about two brothers who go on the road pulling off heists for a living.
Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) Jean Renoir's satire concerns a reversal of fortune for a wealthy man and a pauper he saves from drowning.
Bringing Up Baby (1938) Cary Grant is a paleontologist, Katharine Hepburn his girlfriend.  Together they rase a young leopard named Baby.  Cinema's 2nd most acclaimed romantic comedy.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Yes, the first of two pairings of Paul Newman and Robert Redford ends unhappily, but everything up to then is pure buddy-movie fun.
Central Station (1998) Walter Salles' instigator of the Latin American Renaissance of film has a gruff cynic helping an orphaned boy find his father - a life-changing experience for both.
A Christmas Carol (1951) Any list like this needs an adaptation of this most famous novel of Charles Dickens - this time with Alistair Sim as Scrooge.  Sadly, most modern audiences refer to the original work as entertaining rather than uplifting and enlightening.
Cinema Paradiso (1988) Reflected memories of going to the movies in Italy.  For anyone (like me) who feels the experience has gotten too commercial, this might be a blast from the past.
City Lights (1931) Charlie Chaplin falls in love with a blind flower girl, providing room for lots of pathos and bittersweet adventures.  This is often (if not usually) considered the Tramp's finest work.
The Court Jester (1956) That bundle of joy Danny Kaye is at it again as a court jester in the Middle Ages.  Filled with madcap jokes and a rousing feel à la Flynn's thief of Nottingham.

I wonder…

…if Steven Spielberg's partner in crime John Williams might make a good choice for the score.  He almost invariably scores SS's directorial efforts.

And just like Spielberg's work as director, some of his scores lean more toward the fantastic, others more toward the gentle.

1-10

À Nous la Liberté (1931) I'm ashamed to share a country with people willing to brand leaders they dislike as "socialist" without even knowing what the term means.  They ought to see this one.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) One of Errol Flynn's iconic roles, as the thief of Nottingham.  First of all, we've got someone who steals from the pitiless wealthy and gives it back to the poor.  Secondly, it's a jolly good romp, with fine direction and action, a rousing score, and excellent performances from Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone.
Amélie (2001) The first French film to gross $100 million worldwide opens with an apparent mass orgasm in Paris, but that serves as something to be counteracted with the bright and bubbly personality of Audrey Tatou as the title character, who believes in making people happy. (That's what life's about, ain't it?)
Anand (1971) Let's introduce a Bollywood movie about a character with a terminal illness finding the comic side of life in his final months.
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) Oscar-winning, splendidly fun adaptation of Jules Verne's famous novel features gorgeous color, gorgeous scenery and a boatload of star cameos. (The American West, with John Carradine as a San Franciscan politician, is particularly of interest.)
Avanti! (1972) Jack Lemmon goes to Italy to learn more about his late father—good things—and falls in love.
Babe (1995) Basically, this is Charlotte's Web sans a spider—just an assortment of barnyard animals, this time actually supportive, who help young Babe to thwart ending up on a plate, instead helping him fill the role of a sheep-dog.
Back to the Future (1985) A tesseract sends Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd back to the mid-50s, where the yuppyish 80s collides.  My favorite joke: When Marty, confronting his sleeping father-to-be, puts on a mask and says, "I am Darth Vader!"  Also, Huey Lewis' theme song rings true.
Beauty and the Beast (1991) Yet another decidedly Disneyfied version of a classic tale, but "That's all right.  I'll borrow…this one!"  Possibly too scary for younger children, it still has a good feel to it; another true-ringing theme song (providing Celine Dion's first U.S. hit); and the best animated palate this side of The Lion King.
The Big Lebowski (1998) "The Dude (Jeff Bridge)…is, in his own languid way, the most subversive role model in recent cinema."

101 Movies to Make You Feel Good: 3 That Almost Made It

ONE THAT COULD BE AN HONORABLE MENTION

Ted (2012) - Sure, this is an interesting glorification of high school and early college habits; the main titles are magical; and the title toy is equally endearing as a gruff adult as a child.  That said, I don't particularly care for Seth MacFarlane's sense of humor, which is quite interested in making obscure in-jokes (which is also slightly true on his Family Guy).

ONE THAT I DISAGREE TO PUT HERE

Braveheart (1995) - Why the Times listed this one is beyond me.  While it is undoubtedly a very good historical parable on the importance of adult decisions (among others), it plays pretty darn straight, and could contend for the school of opera that Tom Reynolds said makes Shakespeare's "Hamlet look like an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants."

ONE THAT ILLUSTRATES THE TIMES'S SEPARATION

From Justin to Kelly (2003) - This is the kind of movie that tries to qualify for such a list as this.  But if you've seen this movie and you're not a 13-year-old girl, you'll know why it fails.

Our next list

"There are movies that make you feel good and there are feel-good movies.  The latter is a stupid word (like 'chick flick' or 'rom-com') that has become a vague, dubious genre of films specifically and cynically designed to fill the shallowest hole in your soul - your need for mild, 'heartwarming' entertainment.…But you can always go back to something better, the movies that you can, as Quentin Tarantino put it, 'hang out with.'  They will always pick you up, never let you down, and whether in jest or seriousness, they only tell you what you want or need to hear."

-The Sunday Times (2004)

Except for one horror remake, as far as I can tell, my filmography will encompass these films.  My next subject is a list of 101 that might work.  Maybe I could go back and use them as models.

SHOCKER: Not 'From Justin to Kelly'…'From Bad to Good'

For some time, I've made it my goal to reunite one of the screen's most awkward and preposterous couples, Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson.

Why?

First of all, I really feel sorry for Justin.  Nobody even knows who he is anymore, and it's entirely the fault of the movie they were contractually obliged to make. (Or the studio's; they chose to have it coincide with the release of his first album.) I think it would really be a good idea to give him a second chance by getting them back together, provided that they both can act.

Furthermore, I think it would be neat because it would be nostalgic for the millions of people who watched the first American Idol.

And it just so happens this is the movie I'd like to try this stunt on.