More Don’t-Miss Films

Speak

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 made-for-HBO movie, it’s based on a book with the same name by Laura Halse Anderson. It’s one of those novels no girl should miss.

I just love October Sky because it’s set in the sort of place where I grew up –very rural and poor, what my husband refers to as Appalachia–and shows that brainy teens are everywhere. It’s also based on a book, Rocket Boys, this time a memoir. Homer Hickman wants to escape the coal mines where his father works and go to college but he’ll need a scholarship to make it happen. With the help of friends, he creates a rocket that just might take him there – and beyond. A young Jake Gyllenhaal plays Homer.

And while I’m dropping names, Katie Holmes plays April in Pieces of April. She’s the family outcast, living with her boyfriend in a run-down apartment in New York City. When she invites her mother -who’s dying from cancer- and the rest of  her family for Thanksgiving dinner, everything seems to go wrong for her and for them as they make their way to be reunited.

And lastly, if you’re a fairy tale fangirl like I am, don’t miss Drew Barrymore in Ever After. As in most Cinderella tales, she’s wronged by an evil step mother, but she’s not going to rely on the prince saving her. She’s plenty swashbuckling herself.

Tina – Beechview CLP