Get Back to School Right with these Amazing Movies
Reel reviews: Countdown Cinema
By Donovan Darling staff writer
Breakfast Club (1985)
“You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning. We were brainwashed.” You can’t help but feel existential when watching The Breakfast Club and that’s precisely the point. A movie that examines cliques, stereotypes and teenagers’ desire to be understood by their parents and adults, we learn the secrets and struggles of each student stuck in all-day detention at Shermer High School. We sometimes forget that none of us doesn’t have it all figured out, and that’s very much the case here — each of the students feels the pressure of expectations, whether it’s good grades, athletic success, or beauty. Even the “criminal” and “weirdo” have a reputation to uphold, but they’re just as vulnerable and lovable as anyone else. If there’s a point to this movie, it’s to be kind. Starring most of the “Brat Pack” — Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson. Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheed — as well as Paul Gleason and John Kapelos. Rated R for strong language, adult themes and triggering topics.
Matilda (1996)
“I’m right and you’re wrong, I’m big and you’re small, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Oddball, wallflower, nonconformist, weirdo. Whatever you want to call her, Matilda does not belong, especially in her family, almost as if she was adopted. She’s kind, lonely, she loves to read, she can solve large math problems in her head, and, well, eventually she can move things with her mind. And once she’s allowed to go to school, she begins to thrive, finds happiness and is well-beloved by her classmates. She finds a confidant in her teacher, Miss Honey, with whom she shares a common enemy, the scary Ms. Agatha Trunchbull (and Miss Honey’s aunt), who terrifies the school she leads. It’s dark, wryly funny and somehow magical. Starring Mara Wilson as Matilda, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris and more. While suffering at the box office, Matilda has become a cult classic since its release. Rated PG for mild violence, scary images and rude language.
Harry Potter (2001)
“You’re a wizard, Harry!” As a millennial who grew up with Harry Potter in real-time, to say this movie is meaningful to me is an understatement. From the mind of a then-single mother on welfare writing in the Elephant House Cafe in Edinburgh, it’s easy to see why the magical world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts so easily whisks you away from reality. Directed by Chris Columbus, the first movie (and second) have an unmistakable warmness to them that’s impossible to hate — like a fireplace on a cozy night. Harry, living with his awful aunt and uncle and cousin, discovers on his 11th birthday that he’s a wizard, and is invited to attend Hogwarts to study magic. It’s a coming-of-age, family comedy, action-adventure fantasy all rolled into one. There are spells and wands, trolls and elves, dark wizards, goblins and unicorns, and all manner of magical creatures running around this mystical world. Rated PG for scary moments and mild language.
