It seemed like everyone of my generation loved Spielberg movies — and saw them all far too young, leaving us scarred by horrific images that were then seared into our memories for life: Jaws., the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist, Gremlins, The Goonies, and pretty much all of Temple of Doom, which earned one of the very first PG-13 ratings for exactly this reason. On second viewing, it occurred to me that The Fabelmans’ first scene is Spielberg saying “All those movies that fucked you up? That was just me retuning the favor.” And therefore The Fabelmans as a whole goes a long way towards explaining why so many filmmakers of my generation seem so obsessed with recreating the ’80s Amblin style: because that is how the movies get their hooks into you.

Oh and hey here are my top 20 movies of the year if you’re interested.