Get Ready To Push

Claireece Precious Jones, known as Precious, was 12 when she had her first baby. To her father. She is 16 when she has her second. Her mother beats her because she is jealous. Precious receives an A in English even though she is illiterate. The principal tells her teacher to just “focus on the ones who can learn.” So [...]

Calling all Film Lovers

Dear Filmlover,
I need your help. Would you like to make sure other teens get to know and love your favorite films? I’m on a committee  for the American Library Association to pick films for a list for teens. Who would know more about what teens like than you guys? Our theme is Outside/In: Rebellion vs. Conformity. Please [...]

The Plague of Comic-Movies!!!

Well, ok, it’s not a plague.  Unless you meant plague as a good thing, in which case, yes.  Have you noticed this good plague of movies made from comic books?  Perhaps the title Watchmen rings a recently-advertised bell?  Or Iron Man? 
With Marvel actually producing movies in its own studio, and other titles being optioned like… hotcakes (or something that [...]

More Don’t-Miss Films

Reading Corey’s post reminded me of some terrific films that you may have missed but are definitely worth seeking out:
Speak stars Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame as a 9th grader who quits talking after she has a traumatic experience at an end-of-summer party.  Because she called the police,  she’s persona non grata at her new high school. Oiriginally a [...]

Classic Films With Teen Appeal

I just had a lovely conversation with some teen regulars about great movies, growing up, feeling out of place, etc.  It made me quite happy to be working where I work, encountering wonderful people and sharing ideas.
They told me about how much they love movies from the 70s and 80s, and were excited about the recommendations [...]

Twilight Took a Bite out of the Box Office, But What Do *You* Think?

The L.A. Times reports that the movie adaptation of Twilight, the vampirrific romance that’s caught the world by storm, grossed a whopping 70.5 million. But just because you saw it doesn’t mean you liked it. Cat and I were both bitten by the Twilight bug, and you can see our opinions below. [...]

Joseph’s Lexically Limited Review of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Late in the movie, Norah tells Nick about the Judaic concept of tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that translates to “repairing the world.” It turns out to be the perfect phrase to chart the course of two characters who begin the film broken but find solace in one wild New York night. [view [...]