Eighth Grade: Movie Review

Loneliness and anxiety in one adolescent girl.

Eighth Grade really is a different type of movie. It’s not hyper-sexualized nor edgy and dark. It’s just about one girl and her intense struggles with her place in life. The intensity comes solely from the pressures she places on herself to be cool. There’s a heartbreaking realness to her very palpable anxiety and that’s where this movie shines. Eighth Grade puts words and an empathetic face to the universal concept of every-day nervousness.		2018 Directed by: Bo Burnham Screenplay by: Bo Burnham Starring: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton

Call Me By Your Name: Movie Review

Sensual love and haunting sadness.

Call Me By Your Name is a film about love and sadness. I would argue that that’s all it’s about and it’s beautiful. Timothée Chalamet stars as Elio a teenager in Italy who likes lounging about. Armie Hammer co-stars as Oliver an American who has come to stay with Elio’s family and work with his father. Elio doesn’t like Oliver much and just views him as another arrogant American. The subtle shifts in the characters and their perceptions is particularly good.		2017 Directed by: Luca Guadagnino Screenplay by: James Ivory Based on the novel by André Aciman Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer

Lady Bird: Movie Review

Heartfelt, honest and funny.

Lady Bird is about a lot of smaller ideas, all of which might seem uninteresting to the average viewer, but it so perfectly captures the awkwardness of a teenager coming of age and trying to survive her last year of high school, that there’s a relatable humour and warmth that will echo throughout the generations. Writer and director Greta Gerwig has referred to it as a love letter to her hometown of Sacramento, California, and it’s also about navigating the slightly different social structure of an all-girls catholic school, which Gerwig herself attended.		2017 Directed by: Greta Gerwig Screenplay by: Greta Gerwig Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges

To the Bone: Movie Review

Dramedy tied together with empathy.

To the Bone is a somber yet intriguingly uplifting look at the life of a young woman struggling with anorexia nervosa, and this is the extreme side of the disorder, literally on the brink of death. Or looking at that another way, the film is about a young woman dying who is incapable of saving herself. Not an easy watch, but that’s also only in parts because of the film’s use of humour and introduction of supporting characters there is a feeling of optimism scattered throughout.		2017 Directed by: Marti Noxon Screenplay by: Marti Noxon Starring: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves

Everything, Everything: Movie Review

Romance carries the movie everything else sinks it.

Everything, Everything wants to be both everything and nothing at the same time, and that doesn’t work. On one hand it looks like it wants to be an edgy, surreal, quirky film - at that it fails. At other times, all it's trying to be is a straight-forward teen romantic drama and it definitely succeeds at that. The story is straight out of The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, source material that is more fantasy than reality, and this adaptation from a young-adult novel isn't any more convincing.		2017 Directed by: Stella Meghie Screenplay by: J. Mills Goodloe Based on the book by Nicola Yoon Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson

Speech & Debate: Movie Review

Conquering intolerance with hilarity and amusement.

Stand up and sing, or say something, or just do anything. Speech & Debate does an excellent job in helping its lead characters find their voice. This is about the injustice in high schools: an aspiring journalist being told exactly what to write and not being helped to get into a good school, an aspiring singer denied the lead role in the school musical because she’s too theatrical, outspoken and not pretty enough, and a gay kid not allowed to really be himself because the community is just not progressive enough.		2017 Directed by: Dan Harris Screenplay by: Stephen Karam Based on the play by Stephen Karam Starring: Sarah Steele, Liam James and Austin P. McKenzie

Raising the Bar: Movie Review

Funny and touching, but full of clichés.

Raising the Bar is a small, family-friendly gymnastics film that has “cute” written all over it. Over-achieving teen girl joins overly-ambitious teen girl on an under-achieving gymnastics club, and we have an underdog sports story. It has a very familiar plot with familiar characters but that shouldn’t stop their target audience, and their mothers, and their older sisters, and their younger sisters from enjoying it.		2016 Directed by: Clay Glen Screenplay by: Clay Glen Starring: Kelly Berglund, Lili Karamalikis, Tess Fowler and Jack Tomich

Summer of 8: Movie Review

A slow and reflective end of summer.

At least Summer of 8 gets the simple things right. It’s the last day of summer before a group of friends go off to college – eight of them. Four boys and four girls. I particularly hate movies that can’t count the number of main characters, so this is a pleasant surprise even if it shouldn’t be a surprise. It also, for the most part, gets that feeling of anxiety right. That feeling of excitement, fear, restlessness and uncertainty before their lives change.		2016 Directed by: Ryan Schwartz Screenplay by: Ryan Schwartz Starring: Carter Jenkins, Michael Grant, Matt Shively, Nick Marini, Shelly Henning

Nerve: Movie Review

A gripping game of dare gets a little out of hand.

The premise of Nerve could have gone very wrong very quickly. But it doesn't matter that the game isn't real because the characters are real and very well established. Very swiftly the audience is immersed in this relatable but still exciting teenage world that definitely fits the movie. That's the first two acts. The third act bites off more than it can chew and attempts to undo the better elements already established. But at least it's still fun and interesting.		2016 Directed by: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman Screenplay by: Jessica Sharzer Based on the novel by Jeanne Ryan Starring: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco

Barely Lethal: Movie Review

A giant leap into nonsense with a preposterous premise and limited comedy.

Barely Lethal is a teen girl comedy and a spy action movie. Like combining Clueless (1995) and Mean Girls (2004) with Kick-Ass (2010) and Sucker Punch (2011). Not a bad combination if it works, but the premise starts at such a ridiculous level and it only gets worse from there. There are some good ideas, but overall it's a far-fetched mess.		2015 Directed by: Kyle Newman Screenplay by: John D'Arco Starring: Hailee Steinfeld

Goosebumps: Movie Review

The fun, funny, creepy and thrilling world of Goosebumps.

I haven’t read an R.L. Stine book in 20 years, and so, at the same time, I am both in the target audience and not in the target audience. It can be hard to sell it as a kids movie to today’s kids and as a nostalgic kick to yesterday’s kids, and yet that’s exactly what Goosebumps has done. Give our young hero a witty line and let Jack Black as author R.L. Stine have one creepy look, and it took just a few quick minutes to be transported back into the fun, funny, creepy and thrilling world of Goosebumps.		2015 Directed by: Rob Letterman Screenplay by: Darren Lemke Based on the books by R.L. Stine Starring: Dylan Minnette, Jack Black and Odeya Rush

Paper Towns: Movie Review

A fun and enjoyable teen journey of comedy, adventure, mystery and coming-of-age.

A beautiful girl moves in next door to a geeky little kid, and the boy immediately falls for her. It's not hard to see why; she's beautiful with alluring eyes that can make good guys fall for bad girls. She's not the girl next door, but the mysterious girl next door, and he's going to watch her and admire her from not too far away. Paper Towns starts with the boy and girl at age 8 and she's baiting him into their first adventure.		2015 Directed by: Jake Schreier Screenplay by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber Based on the novel by John Green Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: Movie Review

Trades away sentimentality for quirky humour but doesn't go far enough.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, as the title suggests, is a quirky indie comedy; trying to subvert traditional mainstream sentimentality with referential humour. When it's trying to be funny, it is mostly funny. But it doesn't veer away from its mainstream source – girl dying from leukemia – as much as it thinks it does, and there isn't as much substance to make it more impactful or meaningful, or sentimental.		2015 Directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Screenplay by: Jesse Andrews Based on the novel by Jesse Andrews Starring: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke

The Best of Me: Movie Review

The worst of Nicholas Sparks.

Ten years ago, Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook (2004) was released. Its long simmering success has made “the Nicholas Sparks romantic drama” its own brand, helped launch the careers of Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, and it’s a frequent punch-line in popular movies and shows. It also starred James Marsden in a small role as the man McAdams’ was supposed to marry. This year’s The Best of Me owes a lot to its predecessor, and not just its leading man.		2014 Directed by: Michael Hoffman Screenplay by: J. Mills Goodloe, Will Fetters Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks Starring: James Marsden, Luke Bracey, Michelle Monaghan and Liana Liberato

Men, Women & Children: Movie Review

A drama about the dangers of modern life failed to create engaging characters.

Men, Women & Children is Jason Reitman’s newest film and yet he has descended even further from the heights of Thank You for Smoking, Juno and Up in the Air. In this drama, he explores the effects the online world has on human relationships and sex in modern times. It’s a concept that has been covered and will be covered countless more times. But it’s a lackluster affair despite the star-studded cast because the characters are all so unappealing.		2014 Directed by: Jason Reitman Screenplay by: Jason Reitman, Erin Cressida Wilson; Based on the novel by Chad Kultgen Starring: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer and Ansel Elgort

Very Good Girls: Movie Review

Very dull girls make for a dull movie.

Very Good Girls opens with Lilly (Dakota Fanning) and Gerri (Elizabeth Olsen) skinny dipping at a public beach in the middle of the day and with that the girls shed their good girl exteriors. It’s the summer before college and they’re struggling with that coming of age time. They’re virgins, their happiness and their confidence is fragile, and they’re both determined to change who they are, or how they are perceived.		2013 Directed by: Naomi Foner Screenplay by: Naomi Foner Starring: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen

If I Stay: Movie Review

Come for the tears, stay for the romance.

If I Stay builds up the characters and their relationships long before it really presents the title dilemma, but that’s probably best for your tear ducts. Only a fraction of the movie is set in present day but the car accident that places 17-year-old Mia Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz) in a coma is at the beginning and then we get flashbacks to her childhood, musical education and especially to her boyfriend Adam. It’s just as much a romantic drama as it is a tear-jerker.		2014 Directed by: R.J. Cutler Screenplay by: Shauna Cross Based on novel by Gayle Forman Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, and Jamie Blackley

Boyhood: Movie Review

An epic slice of Texas life.

Boyhood literally examines all the points that make up a boy’s formative years. While viewers are free to extrapolate it to any boy, this movie is about one boy. Writer and director Richard Linklater first cast Ellar Coltrane as Mason at age 6 and filmed him and his movie family for the next 12 years. It is a flawless, moving piece of life in general that encapsulates all major moments and emotions.		2014 Directed by: Richard Linklater Screenplay by: Richard Linklater Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and Lorelei Linklater

4 Minute Mile: Movie Review

Good characters can't outrun heavy drama.

4 Minute Mile is the story of a teenager, Drew Jacobs (Kelly Blatz), who has nothing else in his life that’s good, except for running. He’s always been good at running, but he lost his father, he lost his mother to hopelessness and depression, and lost his brother to a world of money, drugs and crime. He’s not a happy kid, to say the least, but he does want a way out.		2014 Directed by: Charles-Olivier Michaud Screenplay by: Josh Campbell, Jeff Van Wie Starring: Kelly Blatz, Richard Jenkins

Ping Pong Summer: Movie Review

Recreating 1985 but the funny premise quickly becomes stale and tiring.

“Ping Pong Summer” is a coming-of-age tale set in 1985. Like a full-on comedic version of “The Way Way Back” (2013), except quirkier and way less funny. This film tried to survive solely on the cultural jokes of the ‘80s, and what seems like a very funny set-up, quickly becomes a 29-year-old stale joke and there’s nothing else to make the film fresh or funny.		2014 Directed by: Michael Tully Screenplay by: Michael Tully Starring: Marcello Conte, Susan Sarandon