Sometimes it's super entertaining to watch movies about high school when you're in high school so you can point out all the irregularities and unrealistic scenes. But sometimes you stumble upon shows that are realistic, and that's the stuff I like.
Superbad: Columbia Pictures
Superbad: Let's address the elephant in this movie. The main character, Seth (Jonah Hill) is a senior in high school, trying to attend a party hosted by his crush, Jules (Emma Stone), in a sad and rather pathetic way to sleep with her. The way he plans to do this is by getting Jules drunk out of her mind, so that she would agree. That is sexual assault. Even though he does not do this, there are plenty of people in the world who do, and by normalizing it through media and movies, you normalize it in the real world. This must stop. Despite Seth's intentions, this movie perfectly capsulated the real life awkward high school experience, with its cussing and insults combined. The plot is weak and basic, the jokes are old and out of style. But hey, I'm watching this in 2020, and it was released in 2007, times change.
Outer Banks: Netflix
Outer Banks: Essentially the new version of Goonies, but I'm not hating! The main characters on a good road to development (I absolutely have to see more of JJ and Pope), but there's the unnecessary road of drama. If Sarah just went to the damn cops instead of running off, this whole fiasco would be avoided. The characters are charismatic, though the dialogue is cringe ("You're my best friend, and you're..." "say it" "you're my girlfriend" hurgh), this show has the potential of being great in its second season, but let's hope they don't drag it out after that. It probably would have been more effective if it was a limited series with 13 one-hour-long episodes.
Scream: Resurrection: VH1
Scream: Resurrection: I loved the Scream movies, so when I found out they were adapting it to fit the modern audience on TV, I was so excited. I watched the first two seasons immediately when they came out on Netflix, and I was patiently waiting for the third. Unfortunately, Netflix didn't put up the third season on their platform so I had to watch a bootleg version on YouTube. And after watching it, I realized why Netflix didn't post the last season. It was a complete and utter disaster. The characters had no depth whatsoever which made it extremely difficult to feel sorry for them when they died (except Manny, I loved that kid). The identity of the killer was painfully obvious from the get-go and the ending was lame as hell.
Natural Selection: Modoc Spring
Natural Selection: Teenagers are faced with a number of problems in high school. Something that we never expect is the threat of gun violence in a place you're meant to be safe. Listen, I'm a privileged international student who has never attended a public school, let alone a public school in America, so I have no idea what they must be going through everyday. But I do know that Natural Selection had a lot of potential for being a good movie, and it kind of flopped. The cast was bored of their roles, and in certain scenes you can tell that they are waiting for the lunch break. This movie was a confused and misguided attempt at a high school drama, to be put simply, this film thinks that it is "deeper" and more poetic than it really is, when instead it's just...dumb.
Lady Bird: IAC Films
Lady Bird: As a coming of age movie, this is very sophisticated and well made. The bonds that the characters have with each other are clear and obvious, but also layered and dimensional. I can truly believe that this movie is something that happened in someone's life. It's quirky, funny, sad and true. This is probably the first movie I saw with Timothée Chalamet and I seriously do not see the big deal with him. He looks like a dehydrated rat and his acting was mediocre at best. Teenage girls on Instagram and TikTok... please get a grip and find new standards.
Crazy Stupid Love: Carousel Productions
Crazy Stupid Love: You begin the movie with two seemingly disconnected stories, but the twist that comes two-thirds of the way through throws the viewers off their game, making them gasp at such ingenuity. This is a sharp script that makes you yearn for the good old days of romantic comedy. The cast is perfectly chosen, as if the parts were specifically written for them, and their chemistry is perfect in every scene. Overall, this is a wonderful movie that you can watch with your friends or family.
XOXO: Netflix
XOXO: What... was that. Very big waste of time. Way too many storylines that deviated from the purpose of the movie and the characters were not likeable. I have nothing else to add.
Blockers: Universal Pictures
Blockers: John Cena plays an innocent and naive dad in this movie and it's absolutely hilarious, because we're so used to seeing him as the "you can't see me" dude. This movie shows the great barrier between seniors and parents who think of themselves as open, kind, chill, and progressive (but in fact are the complete opposites). There are jokes that are very out there and unrealistic, but they provide a great laugh. All in all, I would say this movie is not that great, but it didn't suck.
Sierra Burgess is a Loser: Netflix
Sierra Burgess is a Loser: BARB DESERVES BETTER THAN THIS. This movie feels like a first draft with its cringey dialogue, unfinished sound bites, and a depressing color scheme, nothing about this movie screams original. John Hughes was obviously the inspiration behind this movie, and I think if he were to see this today he would not be happy. On the other hand, this movie does have a good message even though its execution was shit. Don't change who you are for anyone. Catfish them instead :)
American Vandal: Netflix
American Vandal: This show is so immature, but at the same time, so sophisticated. They perfectly capsulated the true crime genre. Its use of dead-pan comedy in serious scenes makes you gasp in the "oh dip, he really said that?" way. This show has a surprising amount of emotional heft that you don't realize until the characters are at their wits end. It's a wonderful series, and I would say that every true crime genre fan has to watch it. PS: the very beginning of the second season (where they say that Netflix decided to sponsor them) made me google "Is American Vandal real?" and that's the moment I realized that I was watching too many documentaries.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Universal
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: You know that Spiderman movie, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse? You know how it's animated in the style of a comic book? Well, imagine that, but in live action, and there are no superheroes, just a dorky guy with his dorky friends. It's geek heaven: weird music, video games, comic books, and a love triangle. It's so original, even ten years after its release. There's no other movie that's quite like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and I doubt there ever will be.
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