The Last Starfighter (1984)

The Last Starfighter (1984)

[7]

For a movie that was no doubt jumping on the E.T. and Star Wars bandwagon, The Last Starfighter manages to carve a niche for itself. Teenager Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) wins the high score on a mysterious video game and is suddenly recruited by an alien to defend the universe from some cosmic bad asses. What counts here is charm. The Last Starfighter oozes with the stuff, and it’s not forced. I love the trailer court setting and the depiction of the tight-knit community that live there. Casting “The Music Man” himself, Robert Preston, as a charlatan recruitment officer named Centauri is a stroke of genius. You can’t help but love Preston, even when he’s peddling bullshit. Dan O’Herlihy also does a commendable job acting through heavy prosthetics as Grig, Alex’s lizard-like trainer and shipmate.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

[8]

Maggie Smith took home the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Jean Brodie, a charismatic school teacher who dedicates herself to a class of impressionable young women. The film may sound like an all-girl precursor to Dead Poets Society, but it’s a far more nuanced and provocative take on the ‘inspirational teacher’ story. Brodie may begin as the hero of the story, but her tenacious influence and overly-romanticized world view end up having a devastating effect on some of her students. In her (subconscious?) attempt to live vicariously through her “girls,” she ends up creating a monster in her own image.

Mud (2013)

Mud (2013)

[9]

Two Arkansas boys discover a wanted man (Matthew McConaughey) hiding out on an island who needs their help to find his girlfriend and escape a small army of bounty hunters. There’s a resounding echo of Shane here, with McConaughey putting in another fine performance after his career-turning appearances in Magic Mike and Killer Joe last year. (Welcome back, Matthew!)

Fly Away Home (1996)

Fly Away Home (1996)

[9]

Admittedly, I’m a bird fan, but don’t let the marketing fool you. This is not just a kid’s movie — it’s an incredibly moving, gorgeously made film based on an inspirational true story, and I blubber every time I see it. After losing her mother, young Amy (Oscar winner Anna Paquin, The Piano, True Blood) goes to live with her eccentric inventor father (Jeff Daniels). They’re estranged from one another, but they bond over a common cause: a gaggle of orphaned geese. The hatchlings imprint on Anna, believing she is their mother. Since the geese can’t learn their migratory path unless their mother teaches them, Dad builds a pair of ultra-light planes so he and Amy can lead the geese on an amazing journey to their winter grounds.

Angus (1995)

Angus (1995)

[9] It may look like just another silly high school comedy, but Angus is more than that. It's about a fat kid named Angus (Charlie Talbert) who refuses to let the "normal" kids write him off. After the school's most…
Threesome (1994)

Threesome (1994)

[9] One girl. Two guys. Three possibilities... Josh Charles (Dead Poets Society), Lara Flynn Boyle (Twin Peaks), and Stephen Baldwin star in this college romp about three co-eds who wander into a sexual threesome of sorts and survive to tell…
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

[9]

It may be steeped in sentiment and nostalgia, but Fried Green Tomatoes doesn’t need to use them as a crutch to elicit a powerful emotional response.  It’s got bigger guns than that:  character and storytelling.  It’s one of the rare movies that successfully captures the importance of real, honest-to-God friendship, whether its reflected in the toned-down affection between Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker (whose characters are lesbians in Fannie Flagg’s novel), or in the budding friendship of Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy.  It’s a marvel that the movie can cut back and forth between the two story lines and keep both equally interesting.

Pump Up the Volume (1990)

Pump Up the Volume (1990)

[9] I think the movies we see when we're impressionable teenagers have the greatest impact on our lives. As a quiet kid who started finding his voice in high school, Pump Up the Volume influenced and inspired me. The movie…
Heathers (1989)

Heathers (1989)

[10]

This superb dark comedy blows apart any precious John Hughes-like notions of high school life. Winona Ryder stars as Veronica, a high school girl caught in an elitist bitch-clique with three other young women (including Beverly Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty) — all named Heather. But when the dangerous and alluring JD (Christian Slater) rides into town, Veronica falls under his spell as the two set out to exact revenge on the Heathers and every other force of alienation in the school. Veronica quickly finds herself in over her head with JD when their shenanigans end up having a body count. As classmates continue to die, Veronica finds herself running from both JD and the Heathers — building to a climax that will change the student body hierarchy forever. 

Empire of the Sun (1987)

Empire of the Sun (1987)

[8]

Spielberg explores World War II through the eyes of a young British boy (Christian Bale) separated from his parents in Shanghai and forced to live in a Japanese internment camp. For a director who often celebrates innocence (and sometimes wallows in it), it’s nice to see a darker examination of the subject. In Empire of the Sun, innocence isn’t just lost.  It’s almost shattered.