Whether seeking back-to-school appreciation or waxing nostalgic about life lessons, here’s a list of 16 pics that make the grade. Of course, what that grade actually is depends on the viewer.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)
Directed and written by Kelly Fremon Craig
During the 1970s, a sixth grade Manhattanite (Abby Ryder Fortson) transfers to a New Jersey school where she encounters new friends and puberty.
By its very nature, motherhood is the be-all and end-all of humanity. Moms mark the start of everyone’s story! As such, here’s a handful of mom-related movies (in alpha order) to watch on Mother’s Day. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023) Directed and written by Kelly Fremon CraigBased on the same-named bestseller, this…
The Fabelmans (2022)
Directed and co-written (with Tony Kushner) by Steven Spielberg
During the 1960s, a high schooler (Gabriel LaBelle) discovers the joy of filmmaking while learning about life, love, and his parents’ (Michelle Williams and Paul Dano) shortcomings.
The Holdovers (2023)
Directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson
During the 1970s, a prep schooler (Dominic Sessa) spends the holiday with his teacher (Paul Giamatti) and cafeteria manager (Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph) while learning about life, love, and his parents’ (Gillian Vigman and Stephen Thorne) shortcomings.
Per last weekend, Da’Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers (2023) is holding onto a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as her lead in the race to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. So far, the emerging star has swept the awards season with Golden Globe, Gold Derby, National Board of Review, Critics’…
I Remember Mama (1948)
Directed by George Stevens and written by DeWitt Bodeen
During the early 1900s, a high school senior/aspiring writer (Barbara Bel Geddes) embarks on her journey into adulthood with the help of her Norwegian immigrant mother (Irene Dunne).
In honor of CatVideoFest 2022 at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, Rebellious Magazine is citing cinematic cats, from iconic depictions of strays (The Third Man, La Dolce Vita, The Godfather) to Siamese breed portrayals, both controversial (Lady and the Tramp) and celebrated (Bell, Book and Candle; That Darn Cat!; The Incredible Journey). Orange cats dominate the…
Belfast (2021)
Directed and written by Kenneth Branagh
During the late 1960s, a grammar schooler (Jude Hill) experiences love, loss, and political upheaval in Ireland.
Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day just as everyone is the same according to “Belfast” (2021). Perhaps that’s why the film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021. Since then, the National Board of Review ranked “Belfast” as one of the best films of the year. The fan favorite…
Dick (1999)
Directed and co-written (with Sheryl Longin) by Andrew Fleming
During the Watergate scandal of 1972, high schoolers Arlene (Michelle Williams) and Betsy (Kirsten Dunst) get an education in Washington politics when they cluelessly cross paths with President Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya).
This week, the entertainment world lost Teri Garr. Best known for playing Inga in the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein (1974) and Phoebe’s estranged mother on the popular sitcom Friends (1997-1998), the comedic character actress nabbed an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Sydney Pollack’s rom-com Tootsie (1982) which features a largely improvised…
Ghost World (2001)
Directed and co-written (with Daniel Clowes) by Terry Zwigoff
During the early 2000s, a teenage outcast (Thora Birch) embarks on her journey into adulthood via a summer school art class.
Perpetrator (2023)
Directed and written by Jennifer Reeder
While studying at a girls’ school in Chicago, motherless teen (Kiah McKirnan) stays with her estranged aunt (Alicia Silverstone). But after her 18th birthday, complications ensue.
Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator (2023) is many things, most notably a self-described feminist horror-noir movie. The Chicago-based director and writer’s screenplay revolves around Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan), a super hip and motherless teen whose inept father (Tim Hopper) sends her to live with her estranged aunt (Alicia Silverstone) right before she turns 18. The exaggerated, and…
Saltburn (2023)
Directed and written by Emerald Fennell
While studying at Oxford in 2006, a posh pretty boy (Jacob Elordi) befriends unpopular Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan). But once he brings Ollie home, complications ensue.
Emerald Fennell’s latest film Saltburn (2023) isn’t as promising as her directorial debut Promising Young Woman (2020) but those who appreciate allusions to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), Ken Russell’s Women in Love (1969), Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980), and Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) should find it entertaining. The black comedy/psychological thriller about…
Past Lives (2023)
Directed and written by Celine Song
While studying film in New York, a South Korean coed (Greta Lee) breaks ties with her childhood schoolmate (Teo Yoo). But after she weds, the two reunite and complications ensue.
South Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song is gaining praise for her lost opps romance Past Lives (2023). The atmospheric dramedy was named Best Indie at the Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards and recently earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Performance by an Actress (Greta Lee) in a Motion Picture –…
No Hard Feelings (2023)
Directed and co-written (with John Phillips) by Gene Stupnitsky
Before heading to university, a nerdy virgin (Andrew Barth Feldman) is pursued by a hot older woman (Jennifer Lawrence). But once he learns she was hired by his parents (Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick), complications ensue.
Jennifer Lawrence enjoys a birthday in August, yet she’s the one giving movie goers the gift of laughter this summer with No Hard Feelings (2023), the highest grossing R-rated comedy of the decade. Although the star’s collaborations with filmmaker David O. Russell brought her an Academy Award for the romantic dramedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012)…
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Directed and written by Paul Thomas Anderson
In 1973, teenaged entrepreneur Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) juggles between attending high school and working as an actor while pursuing an older woman (Alana Haim).
Love is in the air –– and on the big and small screens thanks to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” (2021) and Analeine Cal y Mayor’s “Book of Love” (2022), respectively. Ever since Anderson (aka PTA) made his underrated masterpiece “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002), he’s shown how to redefine the rom-com by ignoring genre tropes. As…
CODA (2021)
Directed and written by Sian Heder
Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) juggles between attending high school and working while looking after her deaf parents (Marlee Matlin and Oscar winner Troy Kotsur), finding a love interest (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), and pursuing college options.
Congrats to CODA (2021), a little film about a high school girl and her deaf family, that won all of its three Academy Award nominations, including the big one: Best Picture. To some, the victory came as a surprise since CODA doesn’t seem like a typical Oscar winner. For starters, it cost $10 million to…
Wildflower (2022)
Directed and co-written (with Jana Savage) by Matt Smukler
Bambi Johnson (Kiernan Shipka) juggles between attending high school and working while looking after her mentally disabled parents (Samantha Hyde and Dash Mihok), finding a love interest (Charlie Plummer), and pursuing college options.
Wildflower (2022) is a 2023 release that follows the same template as the Oscar-winning movie CODA (2021). But instead of a plucky teen with promise having a deaf mom and dad, she’s being raised by intellectually disabled parents. Or rather, she is looking after them which obviously can be a challenge for a high schooler.…
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Directed and written by John Hughes
In the mid-1980s, the Brat Packers — a brain (Anthony Michael Hall), a basket case (Ally Sheedy), a jock (Emilio Estevez), a troublemaker (Judd Nelson), and a princess (Molly Ringwald) — learn about each other during detention at Shermer High School in Chicagoland.
It’s taken Andrew McCarthy nearly 40 years, his memoir “Brat: An ’80s Story” (2021) and his new documentary Brats (2023) for the actor-turned-director to come to terms with the term Brat Pack. The label was coined in the New York cover story “Hollywood’s Brat Pack: They’re Rob, Emilio, Sean, Tom, Judd and the rest — the…
St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
Directed and co-written (with Carl Kurlander) by Joel Schumacher
In the mid-1980s, the Brat Packers — a brain (Andrew McCarthy), a basket case (Demi Moore), a law student (Emilio Estevez), a yuppie (Judd Nelson), a preppy (Ally Sheedy), a troublemaker (Rob Lowe), and a princess (Mare Winningham) — learn about each other after graduating in Boston.
