L.I.E. (2001)
[7] Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Brian Cox (Manhunter) star in this deeply unsettling coming-of-age drama about a motherless teen who robs houses with his friends until they entangle with an older man who's a pillar of the…
Center of My World (2016)
[7] Jakob M. Erwa directs his own adaptation of Andreas Steinhöfel's novel about a 17-year-old who returns from summer camp to find his hedonistic mother and twin sister have become uncomfortably distant. At the same time, he enters into his first…
Sleepers (1996)
[8] Four boys are sent to a juvenile detention center where they are raped and brutalized by the guards. Thirteen years later, two of the boys have a chance encounter with the head guard that ends in vengeful bloodshed. It's…
Mad Love (1995)
[3] Chris O'Donnell and Drew Barrymore star in this teenaged drama/romance about high school students who hit the road after Barrymore's parents put her in a psychiatric ward for attempting suicide. The young lovers think the open road and fresh…
The Half of It (2020)
[7] Writer/director Alice Wu tells us in the beginning of The Half of It that none of the characters will get what they want, and she's not lying. But that won't stop you from rooting for all three characters in…
Boys (2014)
[7] Two high school relay racers (Gijs Blom and Ko Zandvliet) develop a same-sex attraction, but one of the boys is afraid to make their relationship public. This Dutch drama/romance features a likable, competent cast and is shot in several…
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
[8] A six-year-old girl lives on a small island called "The Bathtub" in Louisiana, where she lives in squalor with her dying, tough-love father until flooding drives them into their makeshift boat to find food and stable shelter. They band…
Giant Little Ones (2018)
[7] Two teenaged boys, friends since early childhood, experience a rift after a night of drunken sexual experimentation. One boy questions his sexuality while the other leans into homophobic name-calling and behavior to distance himself from his former friend. Meeting…
Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
[6] Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas, The Karate Kid) stars as a high school senior who resigns herself to babysitting when her date cancels at the last minute. But when her friend runs away from home and makes a panicked…
Flirting (1991)
[8] Writer/director John Duigan (The Year My Voice Broke, Lawn Dogs) takes an earnest and engaging stab at the 'boy meets girl and falls in love' narrative with Flirting. Noah Taylor stars as an ostracized Australian boarding school student in…