There’s something about summer that makes me crave comfort. Not just in the form of ice cream or staying up way too late, but in the movies I put on. Every year, without even meaning to, I end up rewatching the same three. It’s become a little ritual at this point.
Are they the greatest movies ever made? Maybe not. But they feel like summer to me. Whether it’s the soundtrack, the setting or just the memories I’ve tied to them, these movies instantly put me in the right mood.
Fortunately, all three are currently available to watch on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. So if you're looking for something to throw on during a lazy afternoon or a thunderstormy night, I’ve got you.
Here are the three movies I find myself watching every single summer — and exactly why they’ve earned their spot on my seasonal watchlist.
‘(500) Days of Summer’
“(500) Days of Summer” was one of those movies I’d always heard about but never actually sat down to watch, until my partner introduced me to it. It’s a romantic comedy that practically screams summer, and not just because of the title. The love interest’s name is literally Summer, which feels kind of perfect.
However, this 2009 flick flips the typical love story on its head — the story doesn't play out how you'd expect. It's funny, stylish, bittersweet and full of visual storytelling quirks (like a musical number, split-screen sequences, and a sharp indie soundtrack).
The movie follows Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a greeting card writer and hopeless romantic who falls for his co-worker Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). The story is told out of order, jumping between different days of their 500-day relationship, from the highs of infatuation to the heartbreak of a one-sided breakup.
Stream it on Hulu
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’
![I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER [1997] - Official Trailer (HD) | Now on 4K Ultra HD - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rEnCEM48QaY/maxresdefault.jpg)
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” might be the second movie on this list with “summer” in the title, but hey, when you’re crafting a seasonal watchlist, you’ve got to stay on brand. And since horror is my favorite genre, I couldn’t get through summer without at least one good screamfest.
Now’s actually the perfect time for a rewatch, especially with the sequel hitting theaters in just a few months.
This slasher flick is peak late-’90s horror, packed with small-town secrets, a group of teens making terrible decisions, and one very angry fisherman with a hook for a hand. The story kicks off when four friends — Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.), and Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe) — accidentally hit a man with their car after a night of partying and decide to cover it up.
A year later, they start receiving mysterious notes with a chilling message: I know what you did last summer. It’s a fun, nostalgic slasher that still holds up surprisingly well.
Stream it on Netflix
‘Jurassic Park’
“Jurassic Park” is one of those movies that somehow never gets old, and no matter how many times I’ve seen it, I’m just as wide-eyed as the first time I heard that iconic theme and saw the dinosaurs come to life.
It’s not technically a summer movie in theme, but it was released in June 1993, and between the palm trees, tropical storms and screaming, it definitely counts.
The story follows paleontologists Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), who are invited to preview a groundbreaking theme park filled with cloned dinosaurs, along with chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and a small group of VIP guests. Unsurprisingly, everything goes very, very wrong once the power fails and the dinosaurs break loose.
And again, this is another perfect rewatch since the next installment, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” is stomping into theaters this July. Whether you’re here for the dinosaurs or just to hear Goldblum’s iconic laugh again, this one’s a must for any summer watchlist.
Buy/rent on Amazon
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