Posts Tagged ‘coming-of-age’

Walk to Remember, A (2002)

Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Genres: Drama | Romance
Countries: USA
Actors: Hannah, Daryl | West, Shane | Moore, Mandy | Coyote, Peter | Jonathan Parks Jordan | German, Lauren
Directors: Shankman, Adam
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Each spring in the little port town of Beaufort, North Carolina, Landon Carter remembers his senior year at Beaufort High and Jamie Sullivan, the girl who changed his life. Serious and conservative, Jamie was as far from cool as she could possibly be, and didn’t care. Landon hung with the in-crowd an aimless, moody, reckless guy who breezed through school on looks and bravado and had no plans, no future and no faith in himself. When a prank goes terribly wrong landing a kid in the hospital, Landon is assigned to tutor a young student on the weekends and participate in the Drama Club’s spring play. Clearly in over his head with both assignments, Landon is forced to ask Jamie for help. Soon, against his own expectations and the scorn of his friends, Landon finds himself falling in love with this outwardly plain girl who possesses a passion for life he never imagined possible.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Monday, January 21st, 2008
Genres: Drama | Music | Romance
Countries: USA
Actors: Grey, Jennifer | Swayze, Patrick | Orbach, Jerry | Rhodes, Cynthia | Weston, Jack | Brucker, Jane | Bishop, Kelly | Price, Lonny | Cantor, Max | Coles, Charles 'Honi' | Jones, Neal | Morrow, 'Cousin Brucie' | Knight, Wayne | Trueman, Paula | Myerovich, Alvin
Directors: Ardolino, Emile
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Set in the 1960s, Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman, a sweet daddy’s girl, goes to a very respectable summer camp in the Catskills. Baby has grown up in privileged surrounds with her doctor father and all expect her to go on to college, join the Peace Corps and save the world before marrying a doctor, just like her father. Unexpectedly, Baby becomes infatuated with the camp’s dance instructor, Johnny, a man whose background is vastly different to her own. Attempting to impress him, Baby borrows money from her father to pay for an illegal abortion for Johnny’s dance partner. She then fills in as Johnny’s dance partner and it is during the rigorous training that they fall in love. It all comes apart when Johnny’s friend falls seriously ill after her abortion and Baby is forced to seek her father’s medical assistance. Her father then learns what Baby has been up to, who with and worse - that he funded the illegal abortion. He bans his daughter from any further association with “those people”. In the first deliberately willful action of her life, Baby later sneaks out to see Johnny - ostensibly to apologize for her father’s rudeness - and ends up consummating her relationship with Johnny. A jealous fellow vacationer sees Baby sneaking out of Johnny’s bungalow the next morning and in an act of retribution, tells management that he is responsible for a theft that last evening, knowing he would not furnish his real whereabouts. Attempting to defend her lover, Baby confesses that they were together that night - all night. This revelation causes a huge rift in the family and Baby makes an impassioned speech to her angry and bereft father. At the closing night performances, and although he has been fired and banned from attending - Johnny returns and takes the stage to tell everyone about the woman who stole his heart and changed his life before they have one, final dance together.

Ballad of Jack and Rose, The (2005)

Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
Genres: Drama
Countries: USA
Actors: Belle, Camilla | Day-Lewis, Daniel | Keener, Catherine | McDonald, Ryan | Dano, Paul | Lee, Jason | Malone, Jena | Bridges, Beau | Thompson, Susanna
Directors: Miller, Rebecca
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Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis) lives on the site of his abandoned island commune with his 16-year-old daughter Rose (Camilla Belle). Jack has sheltered Rose from the influences of the outside world, but now Rose’s emerging womanhood poses troubling questions about the days ahead. A man who has lived a life motivated by environmentalism and other altruistic causes, Jack now rages at those who do not share his concerns, like developer Marty Rance (Beau Bridges), who is building a housing tract on the edge of his property. When Jack invites his girlfriend Kathleen (Catherine Keener) and her sons Rodney (Ryan McDonald) and Thaddius (Paul Dano) to live with them, Rose feels betrayed and the situation quickly becomes precarious. Rose acts out wildly, creating chaos. As everything flies out of control, Jack finds himself trapped in an impossible place and is forced to take action.

White Oleander (2002)

Saturday, August 18th, 2007
Genres: Drama
Countries: Germany | USA
Actors: Aquino, Amy | Billingsley, John | Bocanegra, Elisa | Bohorquez, Darlene | Burke Jr., Solomon | Campbell, Scott Allan | Catlin, Sam | Christofferson, Debra | Connolly, Billy | Donato, Marc | Efremova, Svetlana | Fugit, Patrick | Haas, Vernon | Happy, Sean | Hauser, Cole
Directors: Peter Kosminsky
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Astrid Magnussen is a 15 year old girl, living in California. Her mother, Ingrid, is a beautiful, free-spirited poet. Their life, though unusual, is satisfying until one day, a man named Barry Kolker (that her mother refers to at first as “The goat man”) comes into their lives, and Ingrid falls madly in love with him, only to have her heart broken, and her life ruined. For revenge, Ingrid murders Barry with the deadly poison of her favourite flower: The White Oleander. She is sent to prison for life, and Astrid has to go through foster home after foster home. Throughout nearly a decade she experiences forbidden love, religion, near-death experiences, drugs, starvation, and how it feels to be loved. But throughout these years, she keeps in touch with her mother via letters to prison. And while Ingrid’s gift is to give Astrid the power to survive, Astrid’s gift is to teach her Mother about love.

Raise Your Voice (2004)

Monday, May 7th, 2007
Genres: Drama | Music | Romance
Countries: USA
Actors: Duff, Hilary | James, Oliver | Keith, David | Davis, Dana | Lewis, Johnny | Wilson, Rita | Mayhew, Lauren C. | Dennings, Kat | Ritter, Jason | De Mornay, Rebecca | Corbett, John | Reeves, Carly | Avery, James | Trebor, Robert | Palmer, Steven T.
Directors: McNamara, Sean
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Hilary Duff stars in Raise Your Voice as a young woman from a small town who spends the summer in a performing arts school in Los Angeles. She encounters big city circumstances and romance that challenge her small town upbringing. Sean McNamara directs.

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

Sunday, May 6th, 2007
Genres: Drama | Mystery
Countries: USA
Actors: Hopkins, Anthony | Yelchin, Anton | Davis, Hope | Boorem, Mika | Morse, David | Tudyk, Alan | Bower, Tom | Weston, Celia | LeFevre, Adam | Rothhaar, Will | Reifsnyder, Timothy | O'Connell, Deirdre | Beaver, Terry | Blankenship, Joe T. | Fleisher, Brett
Directors: Hicks, Scott
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This is a gentle, innocent film about the reflections of an aging man (David Morse), who returns to his home town after the death of his best friend. Memories of life at age 11 floods back as it was a magical time that changed his life. Three 11 year old children (Anton Yelchin as Bobby, Mika Boorem as Carol, and Will Rothaar as Sully) share their lives. Carol & Bobby have a special affection for one another including sharing a kiss “by which all others will be measured”. Bobby lives with his mother (Hope Davis), a bitter, vain woman who looks for pleasures for herself without sharing much with her son. Into their lives comes a mysterious new boarder (Anthony Hopkins), who befriends the boy but generates distrust from the mother. As time passes, the man and boy share confidences and special powers are revealed. The man warns the boy to be on the lookout for the “lowmen”, who were seeking him. The two share a summer’s adventures and come to love one another before the inevitable happens. A confrontation with a school bully (Timothy Reifsnyder) also changes everyone.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Friday, May 4th, 2007
Genres: Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance
Countries: USA
Actors: Depp, Johnny | Ryder, Winona | Wiest, Dianne | Hall, Anthony Michael | Baker, Kathy | Oliveri, Robert | Ferrell, Conchata | Aaron, Caroline | Williams, Dick Anthony | Jones, O-Lan | Price, Vincent | Arkin, Alan | Blommaert, Susan | Perri, Linda | Davidson, John
Directors: Burton, Tim
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A modern day fairy tale which tells the story of Edward, the man created by an inventor, who died before finishing him and left Edward with scissors where he should have hands. One day when the local “Avon” representative calls at the historic mansion where Edward has been living alone, she takes him home to stay with her family. He has to adapt to the new life and environment that he isn’t used to. Soon he shows a talent in cutting hair and hedges, and wins every body’s heart. But life isn’t always so sweet…

After School Special (2003)

Friday, May 4th, 2007
Genres: Comedy
Countries: Germany | USA
Actors: von Detten, Erik | Denman, Tony | Farber, Daniel | Potts, Sarah-Jane | Smart, Amy | Arnold, Tom | Young, Dey | Smith, Riley | Vieluf, Vince | Levine, Samm | Richardson, Cameron | Sanz, Horatio | Hedman, Anders | Driscoll, Eddie | Dillman, Brooke
Directors: Evans, David M.
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Deacon, Matt and Fred will do anything for even a glimpse of sex and spend their mornings pirating porno movies from Fred’s after school job at the video store. But when Fred is fired, the well runs dry, and our heroes come up with a new plan: make their own “adult” film.

Man Without a Face, The (1993)

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007
Genres: Drama
Countries: USA
Actors: Gibson, Mel | Stahl, Nick | Whitton, Margaret | Masterson, Fay | Hoffmann, Gaby | Lewis, Geoffrey | Masur, Richard | DeLuise, Michael | Phillips, Ethan | De Baer, Jean | De Mave, Jack | Viva | Kanew, Justin | Kellman, Sean | Lineburg, Chris
Directors:
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The story of a relationship between a teacher and his troubled pupil. Justin McLeod is a former teacher who lives as a recluse on the edge of town. His face is disfigured from an automobile accident and fire ten years before in which a boy was incinerated and for which he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He is also suspected of being a pedophile. He is befriended by Chuck, causing the town’s suspicion and hostility to be ignited. McLeod inculcates in his protege a love of justice and freedom from prejudice which sustains him beyond the end of the film.

Aladdin (1992)

Thursday, February 15th, 2007
Genres: Adventure | Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical
Countries: USA
Actors: Weinger, Scott | Williams, Robin | Larkin, Linda | Freeman, Jonathan | Welker, Frank | Gottfried, Gilbert | Seale, Douglas | Adler, Bruce | Kane, Brad | Salonga, Lea | Adler, Charles | Angel, Jack | Burton, Corey | Clarke, Philip L. | Cummings, Jim
Directors: Clements, Ron | Musker, John
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Aladdin is a street-urchin who lives in a large and busy town long ago with his faithful monkey friend Abu. When Princess Jasmine gets tired of being forced to remain in the palace that overlooks the city, she sneaks out to the marketplace, where she accidentally meets Aladdin. Under the orders of the evil Jafar (the sultan’s advisor), Aladdin is thrown in jail and becomes caught up in Jafar’s plot to rule the land with the aid of a mysterious lamp. Legend has it that only a person who is a “diamond in the rough” can retrieve the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin might fight that description, but that’s not enough to marry the princess, who must (by law) marry a prince.