For much of human history, athletes have inspired unity, strength, and respect. Popular culture idolizes athletes, and today that doesn’t just mean that their achievements are documented in books or that they are written about in newspapers’ it means that there are feature films made about them, that they star in reality shows, and have an unprecedentedly large number of followers on social media.

People are drawn to stories of perseverance. We feel and respond to the plight of aspiring athletes, struggling to represent their countries and pursue their dreams. That’s why we love watching sports and movies — anything that presents us with a tale of redemption or success. And we love watching the Olympics; the world comes together to compete in a healthy — and hopefully fair — competition, an event populated by dedicated, hard workers.

As 2016’s games in Rio begin, here is a quick look at some Olympics films, including true stories and side-splitting parodies.

“Cool Runnings” (Jon Turteltaub, 1993)

Jamaica’s first-ever bobsled team must battle expectations and inexperience as they take on uncharted, frozen territory: the Winter Olympics. Based loosely on a true story, “Cool Runnings” will make you laugh out loud and bite your nails — and you’ll have the bobsledders’ chant stuck in your head for weeks beyond viewing the film. “Feel the rhythm. Feel the rhyme. Get on up, it’s bobsled time!”

“Chariots of Fire” (Hugh Hudson, 1981)

https://youtu.be/PWle59ZHPIM

A pair of runners prepare for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Set in the U.K. in the 1920s, the two young men differ in their religious beliefs — one a Christian, the other a Jew —  but not in their desire to run and prove themselves.

“Without Limits” (Robert Towne, 1998)

https://youtu.be/e8s5DJBDjnA

“Without Limits” is one of several feature films that tell the biographical story of Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine. Often credited as one of the media stars who inspired the 1970’s “running boom,” Prefontaine was a national record holder and star. He died shortly after his career began,at age 24, in a tragic driving incident. About 20 years after his death, the film industry took great interest in his life.

“Blades of Glory” (Josh Gordon & Will Speck, 2007)

Two male figure skaters are banned from the sport after tying for a gold medal and getting into a fist fight. Figuring out that they can enter later competitions as a pair, they revive their skating careers and shock the world with their excruciatingly odd yet impressive routines. This is a classic Will Ferrell comedy and a nice way to get some chuckles while feasting the eyes on what appears to be some excellent figure skating.

“Munich” (Steven Spielberg, 2005)

Based on Operation Wrath of God, the Israeli counterterrorism mission carried out in retaliation for the 1972 massacre at the Summer Olympics, “Munich” is a political action film. It is also an acclaimed and lesser-known Spielberg movie. Though this telling of the operation is fictional, critics say that its general depiction of events is historically accurate — sans the parts  left out, dramatized, or treated with creative liberty.

The wait is over.

“Suicide Squad” has hit the theaters, and while the initial reviews are looking less than favorable, it’s undoubtedly the biggest coming-together of lovable rogues for one single movie.This got us thinking: what is it about certain bad guys that we’re drawn to. And which in cinema are the most endearing?

Today we’re not just talking antagonists with likable qualities, but bona fide bad guys who you can’t help but want to see win.

1. Dr. Hannibal Lecter (The “Hannibal” Franchise)

It’s an exceptional feat of writing to make an audience root for a murderous psychopath who thinks nothing of turning a flautist’s liver into pate and serving it to dinner guests.

In theory, we should despise Dr. Hannibal Lecter as the monster that he is. But due to his limitless charm, willingness to help the story’s underdog (Clarice Starling), and the gleeful delight he takes in torturing characters we also dislike (Dr. Chiltern, Paul Krendler, and Mason Verger, among others), it’s hard not to feel like he’s on our side.

We’ll ignore “Hannibal Rising.”

2. Gru (“Despicable Me” franchise)

Animated features rarely switch up the notion of good guy/bad guy. More often than not, it’s very clearly defined which characters are “evil” and which ones we should be rooting for as an audience.

“Despicable Me,” on the other hand, places a classical super villain in the role of the protagonist –and to great effect. There is a more super-villainy super villain in the form of Vector, which frames Gru as a good guy in a relative sense and gives him someone to work against. But throughout the movie, Gru is very much intent on being the most typical bad guy on the planet.

Until, of course, his sensibilities change in the third act, giving Gru a story arc that follows The Hero’s Journey beat for beat.

3. The Firefly Family (“Devil’s Rejects” and “House of 1000 Corpses”)

Make no mistake about it: the Firefly family are terrible, terrible people whose sadism and penchant for violence is utterly horrifying.

But paradoxically we want them to kill the dumb kids, and we definitely want them to escape from the rather unlikable Captain Wydell. In the universe Rob Zombie crafted across the two movies, their tale is one of outlaws sticking it to the man. Horror aside, it becomes something of a buddy road movie, and one which those with a strong stomach are invited to enjoy.

4. Jareth (“The Labyrinth”)

If you can think of another baby-kidnapper who is more enigmatic, charming, and likable than Jareth, we want to hear about it in the comments.

Rest in piece, David Bowie.

5. Patrick Bateman (“American Psycho”)

Like many of the other entries on this list, Patrick Bateman doesn’t have many redeemable character traits going for him. Not only is he a serial killer, but he’s a vain, materialistic investment banker.

Ultimately, however, we take a perverse joy in watching a man live an anarchic life and indulging in whatever whim takes his fancy.

6. Alex Burgess (“A Clockwork Orange“)

https://youtu.be/v90KPJ6n4Ew

From one anarchist to another, Alex Burgess (or DeLarge in the novel) is similar to Bateman in the sense that he eschews all social convention in favor of simply doing whatever he pleases: in Alex’s case, it’s spreading his own brand of “ultraviolence.”

But above it all, he’s sophisticated and charming – and even recognizes that not everyone should act like him, lest society completely collapse. He’s a complicated and endearing one-off, and for that we delight in his unruliness.

7. The Joker (“The Dark Knight”)

Closing off with arguably the greatest interpretation of the greatest super villain of all time: Heath Ledger’s The Joker.

Bateman and Burgess have nothing on the Clown Prince of Crime. He not only displays zero affection for organized society or even the notion of “good and bad,”  but he’s obsessed with forcing others over to his way of thinking.

A common thread here is that we secretly enjoy watching people act outside of “the rules,” and nobody does it with more flair and drama than The Joker.

Any we missed? Head on down to the comments and let us know your top super villains you can’t help but love…

… and your thoughts on “Suicide Squad” if you’ve seen it!

Recently, we had an opportunity to sit down with Paul Feig, famed director of Spy, Bridesmaids, and the recent re-launch of Ghostbusters. Feig is also an actor, producer, and screenwriter. He’s worked every job there is in the industry. We asked if he had any advice for students at the New York Film Academy and this is what he had to say…

1. Now is the Time to Start

Paul Feig: “If you’re starting as a filmmaker now, you are doing it at the greatest possible time. Coming up, when I was trying to do it, just to shoot a movie was prohibitive because you had to get film—and film costs a ton of money—and how do you get all this stuff together? And then, if you were lucky enough to have enough money to make it, how do you possibly distribute it? Even just post-production costs a fortune, and then you’ve got to distribute it.”

Unless you choose to shoot on film, which you absolutely should try at least once, you may never know the struggle of perfectly timing your shots, so you don’t run out of footage. Today, with the advent of digital filmmaking, you do not have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars just to shoot your idea. There’s no better time than right now to begin your career because…

2. You Already Havethe Materials

Paul Feig: “Now, with this cell phone sitting on the desk, I can shoot a high definition movie. All of these takes [can be] downloaded into my computer. My computer comes with non-linear editing software.”

If you buy a computer or touch screen phone, chances are you’ve got all you need to make a short or even feature film. Both Tangerine and 9/Rides were shot on iPhones. Both films had major festival releases and helped launch their director’s career.

3. The Internet is Your Friend

Paul Feig: “And then the INTERNET. You can literally distribute your movie to the entire world by hitting an upload button.”

In other words, don’t take for granted the easy access to potential fans. The Internet is all around, and it’s easy to forget what a valuable resource it is. In fact, the UN just declared the Internet a human right, which means more people than ever are using it. Shouldn’t they be using it to watch your films?

4. No Disclaimers

Paul Feig: “The fact that you’ve made it doesn’t mean it’s great. Hopefully it will be, but you’ve got to be really hard on it. You’ve got to let people around you be hard on it. You’ve got to work it; work it because once you put something out there, you want it to be your calling card. You don’t want to have to go, ‘Oh yeah, well it would be better, but we didn’t do this or that…’

No disclaimers. That was the biggest lesson I learned when I was at film school. We would show our student films and you would get up and say ‘Oh, no, the reason [was] we didn’t have this…’ And my teacher wouldn’t let you talk. He’d just say, ‘No disclaimers. The audience doesn’t care.’”

Your audience doesn’t know you or the blood, sweat, and tears you put into making your film. All they know is they came to be entertained. So, when you screen your film, don’t tell viewers about the struggle, and try to get people who can be brutally honest. By putting your film through a rigorous screening you’re helping to ensure its success in the real world.

5. Story First

Paul Feig: “What they care about is a great story with great characters. They don’t care if it looks professional. If you capture them and intrigue them with a great story and great characters then you are a filmmaker and you will be found.”

At the end of the day, it’s all about the story you’ve told. Do the characters pull on the heartstrings? Is the audience pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong? If you can create that kind of magic then you can truly call yourself a filmmaker.

Nerve is coming out on July 27. In the film, Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are brought together by a real world, high stakes game, where “players” are given tasks with cash prizes assigned upon completion. The game generates money from its “watchers,” who pay to watch the game take place. It’s hard to tell how the plot will unravel before the movie actually hits theatres. The trailers, however, hint that there may be a twist at the end, that the players will end up stuck in the game, or even that their lives may be at stake. It seems that the film excitingly combines elements of a teen action movie, with its young lead actors, and elements of a cyber conspiracy movie, as the players are controlled through surrounding technology, and the game controllers are able to hack into their lives using the Internet. Here are 5 other suspenseful movies where an overbearing organization – an anonymous hacker, a group of activists, or the government – takes control of the protagonist, leaving them with no means of escape other than to fight their way out.

Nerve ( 2016)

Eagle Eye (2008)

A regular guy is suddenly thrust into fugitive status as he discovers he has been framed for a serious crime, and the FBI wants to catch him. This is all controlled by a mysterious agency that communicates with him through surrounding technology in order to manipulate his life.

Source Code (2011)

The military is using top-secret technology to transport Captain Colter Stevens into the body of a man who died in a train explosion. This should help them catch the bomber before he makes another attack. But where is the Captain’s body?

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

In The Purge’s twisted version of America’s future, it becomes clear that the government is using the annual night of murder for political gain. Conspiracy, mystery, rebellion, mind games: you’ll find all of that and much more in this eerily real seeming film.

V for Vendetta (2005)

A vigilante terrorist faces off with a fascist government. But underneath the violent physical combat, a cyber war is taking place.

Her (2013)

Falling in love over the phone is one thing. But falling in love with the artificial intelligence operating system inside of your phone? That can’t be good.

Combing through cinema history, we thought we’d list ten unforgettable and well executed scenes that have stood the test of time. While we’re not listing these as the top ten best scenes of all time, they’re arguably some of the most memorable. Let us know which scene is your favorite whether it’s on this list or not.

On the Waterfront

Marlon Brando delivers his famous line in the back of a car with his brother. Unhappy with his current position as a “bum,” Brando lets his brother know his disappointment for having to take dives—back when he was a boxer—in order for his brother to make a few extra bucks. He could’a had class.

Casablanca

“Here’s looking at you, kid” Humphrey Bogart is forced to selflessly let go of his former love portrayed by Ingrid Bergman. At least they’ll always have Paris.

The Godfather

In this final scene from Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Michael Corleone has officially taken over all family business as he’s crowned the new Don. His business affairs are now officially off limits for Kay.

Manhattan

Such a breathtaking shot from Gordon Willis of the Queensboro Bridge as Woody Allen professes his love for New York City while having a romantic evening with his best friend’s mistress.

Jaws

Epic monologue from Robert Shaw as he recounts horror tales of the sea from his time in World War 2.

8 ½

Federico Fellini delivers masterful filmmaking in this scene where his main character, Guido, falls into a fantasy where he’s surrounded by all the women from his past.

Duck Soup

This scene is remarkable on several levels. Just consider the time and commitment it must’ve taken Groucho Marx.

The Shining

At the height of his cabin fever, Jack Nicholson chases down his wife and son with an axe. “Here’s Johnny!”

Rocky II

After finally defeating Apollo Creed to become the world champion, Rocky Balboa wastes no time in telling the love of his life, “Yo, Adrian, I did it.”

The Deer Hunter

The harsh reality of Vietnam POW prisoners forced to play Russian Roulette. Some incredible acting chops displayed from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken. “Mao!”