Five Feet Apart (2019)
Five Feet Apart (2019), directed by Justin Baloni, is a suspenseful and on-your-toes type of movie. Stella is a 17-year-old girl who deals with cystic fibrosis and has spent most of her life in the hospital. She meets a young rebellious teen named Will, who also has the same illness. Once they meet, there is an instant spark, but just meeting is a huge risk because patients with CF have to maintain a distance of 6 feet to keep both patients safe. The more they get to know each other, the rules become less important. They both don't have a lot of time to live, and they decide that they are living their lives too strictly, so they end up secretly dating. One of their dates ends up going terribly wrong. Will has to perform CPR, and later when she’s back in the hospital, there isn't the best news. The acting in this film was truly amazing, seeing both of their emotions and how they felt in the moment. The movie had an excellent pace, not too fast or too slow. I would definitely recommend it to people who are into romance and drama – I think they would really enjoy this movie as much as I did.
After (2019)
After (2019) is a film based on the book by Anna Todd. It’s about a girl named Tessa who’s the dream daughter: she’s a hard worker, gets good grades, is respectful, and is a faithful girlfriend. But as she goes to college, some of that changes. She meets a boy, the stereotypical mysterious bad boy, and things get very complicated at a party. She gets intrigued by him but doesn't want to do anything—especially because she has a boyfriend back home. That idea doesn't work out very well; she ends up falling in love with him and rethinking a lot about herself. I love the concept of this film, as it makes you think about what college can change—and who can change it. It's a good romance movie that would attract more people who like a good heartbreaker and excitement. I really liked the casting for this movie, as the looks of the characters definitely match how they act. In some movies, the actors don't fit the character, but in
Clueless (1995)
Clueless (1995) is an iconic and funny comedy. It's definitely one of the more popular old 90s movies that teens love to rewatch, and I see why. It's about a rich and popular high school teen named Cher and follows her going through high school and seeing how you can be clueless sometimes to certain situations—and just how lost you can get in your own world. It's a very entertaining and hilarious film. The characters in the film have very unique clothing that stands out and makes the movie more colorful. Even now, some of the quotes from the movie are trending with teens—showing what a big movie this really is. It's very enjoyable to see how high school was portrayed back then and how it is now.
Mean Girls (2004)
Mean Girls (2004) is a very funny and entertaining film. Cady, a girl from Africa, moves to her new home in Illinois. She finally gets to experience public school after being homeschooled all her life. She gets to see how everything works, and she joins the most popular group of girls called the “The Plastics.” And what would a good movie be without drama! She falls in love with the ex-boyfriend of the Queen B of the school, which makes Cady's life hell. I really enjoy this movie because it has dark humor, which makes it even more realistic about how high schoolers act. Mean girls is a classic and an unforgettable movie. Seeing everyone's personalities and how they interact with each other is very enjoyable. It even has a good soundtrack as well.
Project X (2012)
Project X (2012) is definitely one of a kind—it's an epic movie that I can't forget watching. It's an insane type of high school movie, but it’s not cheesy or predictable. It's about three high schoolers who are completely unknown and practically ghosts. They decide to change that around and decide to attempt to throw a big party to gain popularity. They were not ready for this party at all, and lots of crazy and stupid stuff happened. In their parents' eyes, it was supposed to be a small gathering for their son’s birthday while they went on a trip. Life ended up being ruined, but they sure had the time of their lives! For this movie, I would definitely say that it’s more popular with teens because it's people their age doing stuff “typical” teens would go crazy for. I like how it has comedy, and the characters make you laugh a lot. The acting is truly incredible, and you can see all of their emotions so clearly. The chaos throughout the whole movie was really fun to watch. It captures all of the details, and a nice touch is seeing the movie from the perspective of the people involved. This is truly a good movie—I've never seen another movie like this!
Room (2015)
Room (2015) is one of those types of movies you can't forget about. Its storyline is just so interesting and sad and has a lot of emotional roller coasters. It's about a young woman who had been kidnapped and held captive in a room for seven years, along with her 5-year-old son Jack who has lived there all his life. She finally decides it is enough, and she makes a plan to escape, going through a lot of trouble to try to get Jack out of this so he can have freedom. The emotions that were put into this movie were incredible; it was as if these actors were really living through this. The child who portrayed Jack played the role really well—even some adult actors aren’t able to portray that type of emotion. It felt so real as if you were really there going through this with them.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) is a very well-made movie with great acting. Peter Parker, abandoned by his parents, finds a mysterious briefcase that was his father's, and Peter tries to solve his parent's disappearance. In my opinion, this is one of the best Spider-Man movies in the whole series and carries many thrills and spins. There are differences in this movie from all the rest. For example, Spider-Man is portrayed as a rebellious and more spontaneous type of guy, while in the rest, he's more the shy type of nervous guy. The movie was well edited, and doesn't look cheap at all—the spider-web scenes look good and realistic. Gwen and Peter's relationship is a big part of the movie, and that is the reason a lot of people like to watch it (including me). Their chemistry is truly great. Even if they weren’t dating in real life, it seemed like they were—and it just makes the movie even better!
Reviews by: Emily M.
Emily is a virtual volunteer at Sylmar Branch Library. ( And a prolific movie watcher!) She is a 9th grader at John F. Kennedy High School
—Dana Eklund, Sylmar Branch Library