Teen Movie Reviews
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All quiet on the Western front

All Quiet on the Western Front directed by Edward Berger is a film set during World War I. The movie follows 20-year-old Paul Bäumer and his friends. Paul is captivated by the war and is desperately trying to sign up for the German military in order to serve his country. Paul is brainwashed by German propaganda and the speeches that the politicians and officers gave, and he is so excited to join with his fellow classmates, he decides to forge his fathers signature. He is then sent to the front lines with barely any training and is forced to battle for his life in the trenches. This movie provided a very good insight into the tragedy and the horrors of war which some movies tend to overlook. This movie also focuses on a young soldier who you can see humanity slowly starting to draw out of him as the movie progresses.
 
This movie had some amazing action scenes and you almost feel as if you can feel the emotions and the thought process of Paul. choreography. What made this movie especially unique was the fact that it didn’t seem to have a set storyline, the movie seemed to move from place to place without much explanation. This movie was also spoken completely in German, but translated with English subtitles. Overall, I believe that viewers should watch this movie because it brought to light how horrible human beings can be to one another. I also believe that this movie had some great insight into the perspective of a soldier during the war time, and it had some stellar action sequences.
Avatar

Avatar is a Sci-Fi movie set in the mid-22nd century and it focuses on a paraplegic Marine who was dispatched to the moon Pandora for a mission. Pandora is filled to the brim with alien life, but is slowly being infiltrated by humans to try to take the moon for supplies. The native people who live on the island are called the Na’vi. The marines who are sent on this mission control a spitting image of the Na’vi called Avatars, so they can navigate and explore the island safely without endangering any human life.
 
The story in this movie was pretty generic, but the visual effects in this movie was something else. The visual effects in this movie were great, everything in this movie felt real and not made from a computer simulation. The movie had great flora and fauna, the plants in the movie had felt extremely real, it looked and felt like a dense forest. The animals in this movie look like something from the Jurassic period. The animals felt and looked real. The luminous trees in the night time looked like something out of a painting. Avatar had a good musical score and the music had enriched the movie and added more emotion and depth to the story. Although the story could be a little lackluster at times, Avatar was still a great watch and I’d recommend it to anyone.
Beautiful mind

A Beautiful Mind" is a biopic of the great 20th century mathematician and economist Nash, who entered the mathematics department at Princeton University in 1947. He soon published his famous game theory which boldly interpreted the theory of Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, in a different way, and the theory had a significant impact on the economy and the military. However, just as Nash was gaining international fame, he was diagnosed with delusional schizophrenia and often saw characters that did not exist in reality, such as the fantasy that Parcher had recruited him for a top-secret mission to break enemy codes. When his fantasies are dismantled, he is forced to undergo psychiatric treatment, endure the ridicule of others, and suffer both physical and mental blows. In 1994, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his research on game theory.
 
Schizophrenia is often considered a mental illness that is difficult to recover from. But Nash miraculously recovered without insisting on medical treatment, which is the power of love. Alicia’s love is the bridge between Nash’s unconscious and conscious mind, and the bridge between Nash and contact with reality.
 
The most important thing to heal a patient who can no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood is to focus his attention on reality. Nash is fortunate in that he has always had the loving support of Alicia. Nash has been able to feel Alicia’s love. When he was confused between truth and falsehood, at least he knew that Alicia’s love was real. It is this bit of real emotion that brings the real world back into Nash’s consciousness and allows Nash to refocus on the real world under the guidance of real emotion.
Black Adam

Black Adam is a movie a part of the DC franchise, and thus is a superhero movie. When the movie starts, it takes place around 5,000 years before modern times in the ancient city of Khandaq, and when Black Adam or Teth-Adam was granted the power of the gods. After 5,000 years he is freed from the place that he was held, and he begins to enact his form of justice, which is not appreciated by many of the heroes in the modern world. The people responsible for setting Black Adam free were Adrianna Tomaz, her brother Karim, Samir and Ishmael. They were on the search for a rumored crown that had given the wearer immense power. Black Adam’s methods of enacting revenge and dealing with people were not appreciated by the justice league, and the justice league went on a mission to stop Black Adam.
 
Overall, this movie had some great special effects and wardrobe options. This was shown very clearly with a fight in the city, where the destruction was shown very well and is up to par with many other great movies. The dialogue in this movie was also good and at times the dialogue felt very powerful and impactful, even if it was something small. I believe that viewers should watch this movie because it was a fun superhero movie and had some very powerful moments.
Black Panther: Wakanda forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a PG-13 Movie that was released in November 2022 that is about the Black Panther and his passing. The movie is an Action/Adventure film and takes place in the fictional city of Wakanda. The city is filled with futuristic technology and bald women who have taken up the mantle of defending the city after losing the Black Panther. This movie faces their internal arguments in their nation and against the outside world, for they believe the outside world wants to take their resources. They also face the issue of facing an unknown race of people with superhuman abilities.
 
This movie is a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman who was the prior Black Panther, who had died of cancer. The movie is about the Black Panthers’ family. His sister, mother, and the other important figures. The movie had a very well suited wardrobe for its purpose. It felt exotic and otherworldly, not usually how people would dress in daily life. The dialogue in this movie was also pretty good, the dialogue was powerful at times, and humorous at others, and some of it cheesy. I believe that viewers should take the time out of their day and check out this movie because it was a very well directed movie, with powerful dialogue and it carried on the legacy of Chadwick Boseman.
Dead poets society

Dead Poets Society is a drama set in the 1950's in Welton Academy, Vermont. The film focuses on a group of privileged teenage boys and their new English teacher, Mr Keating. The boys have faced tremendous pressure from their parents, especially Neil Perry, whose father is forcefully choosing his son’s path for him as a doctor. The introduction of Mr. Keating and his outlandish ways of teaching open the boys’ eyes and break them out of their shells, planting the desire in them to “seize the day”. The film follows the friends recreating the group which Mr Keating was a part of when he was their age, the “Dead Poets Society”. Neil discovers that he’s always had a love of acting through this, and this leads to intense conflict with his father.
 
The most stand-out scene to me was when Mr. Keating unknowingly brought Todd Anderson to come out of his shell and prove to him that poetry can come from anywhere, and does not need to be written down. He knew public speaking was Todd’s major weak point, but still taught him how to release his inner emotions.
 
I really recommend Dead Poets’ Society to any teenager or parent, as it shows realistic and tough situations from both perspectives.
Front of the class

This story is about a man with Tourette’s Syndrome. Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by sudden, repetitive, rapid, and unwanted movements or vocal sounds called tics. His name is Brad Cohen. The plot of this story is very climatic in a good way. This film's genre is docudrama. This means that the real story has been dramatized for a movie. This story took place in Atlanta Georgia. Brad Cohen is a real person. You can look up stories about him online. The main characters were Brad Cohen, and his Mother and Father. His mother and father were important figures in his life because it affected how his way of life was. His father and every other person that doubted him were the antagonists. Brad’s mother was always there for him. She supported him in every way possible. Brad Cohen always wanted to be a teacher and would never let the tourettes control his life.
 
To conclude everything that has been stated so far, the reason why viewers should check out this movie is because it can inspire you to not let the bad things keep you from following your dreams. It is an opening, heart-warming story and there is nothing that I would say is bad about it. The big moral of the story was, Never Give Up.
Hocus pocus 2

The film Hocus Pocus 2 begins in the past, when the Sanderson sisters are young, basically establishing how they became witches. This part takes place during 1600’s, in Salem, Massachusetts. At this time, innocent women were falsely accused of being witches. I enjoyed this part, I thought it was smart how they shed some light on the characters that are known to be “evil”, and let us know that they weren’t always like this, they were only protecting themselves at first. After this glimpse into the past, we are brought back to present day where we are introduced to the new main characters, three best friends. We can immediately see a resemblance between the Sanderson sisters and these friends; They stick together, they preform rituals together, and they live in Salem, Massachusetts.
 
I definitely appreciated the set throughout the movie. I've always wanted to visit Salem, and seeing the Halloween decorations and happy community throughout the town made me even more tempted to visit. The issue introduced is that two of the best friends fell out of touch with the other girl. Every year for their birthdays, they preform a birthday ritual. This requires all three of them, it requires friendship. This year, they have to do it with only two people, considering they aren’t on the best of terms with the third. They accidentally summon the Sanderson sisters, and they begin causing chaos around Salem, as a sort of revenge.
 
By the end of the movie, in order to take town the three witches, the best friends realize that they need to stick together if they want to accomplish something, and that nothing is stronger than friendship. I found this theme beautiful, and an amazing example to kids watching at home. I strongly believe that viewers should check out this movie, it is iconic, of course, but it is also well made and a perfect addition to any Halloween traditions you have.
Lorax

Lorax is about a 12 year old boy who lives a girl of his dreams. He lives in a town with empty hills. There are many flourishing forest of Truffula trees and many interesting animals. After the first crop is produced there is one small creature that talks about protecting the trees. He expands his business. At the end of the story Lorax protects his environment and meets with the girl he likes. The genre of the film is drama, fantasy, animation, comedy, musical and family. The film took place in 2012 in America. The main characters of the story were Ted, Audrey and Lorax. Ted was the supporting character in the story because he helped save the environment from pollution and other wasteful substances.
 
The mood tones in this movie were serious and sermonizing with great language and vivid imagery. Lorax is the one who tries to save the trees. The symbols in this story is greed which destroys the environment for profit. The effects that impressed me were there lighting and the characters setup in the movie. I think people should watch this movie because it has a great message to viewers about how to save the envionment and protect our beautiful animals on this earth.
Shrek

Shrek is a comedy/fantasy movie made in 2001 and it is about a lovable green ogre by the name of Shrek. Shrek lives in a small hut by himself and is very strict on his privacy, and doesn’t appreciate anybody coming on or anywhere near his swamp. However, one day when Shrek was just out living his best life, he stumbles upon a donkey who was being chased by some guards, and this donkey follows Shrek back to his hut, much to the annoyance of Shrek. Later that night, Shrek starts to notice unusual sounds, and he realizes that his hut has been invaded by fairy tale creatures because of Lord Farquaad.
 
Shrek was a good animated movie, and it had a good storyline to back it up. The movie also had some funny comedy scenes and had some catchy pop songs, such as “All-Star”. The Shrek movie also has some great CGI scenes and animations considering the movie was made in 2001. The wardrobe choices for the characters in the movie were also great, since they fit the rustic vibe of the movie. I believe that people should check out Shrek because it was an amazingly animated movie for its time period and a very fun movie to watch.
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