FILM RECOMMENDATIONS: CLASSICS (1971-95)
Universal Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 89/100
Plot
Five high school students, all with different mindsets, face detainment in their school library on a Saturday morning. As time passes by, their egos fade and they become close buddies.
Review
Another favourite single-day structured narrative; just like 'American Graffiti' (1973), 'Superbad' (2007) and 'Booksmart' (2019), the film presents realism and allows the audience to empathise with the characters. In a short time, the characters manage to change their attitude and how they perceive one another. In any other film, it would be too quick of a character development that you won't care for the characters, however, for a single-day narrative, you feel like you have spent too much time with the characters that you feel like you know them on a personal level. My only criticism would be the stereotypical 'male gaze' scenes that are not too hard to miss. It may be due to the generation differences (I like to think we are more self-aware now), however, it doesn't validate the scenes.
My rating: 7.5/10
Paramount Pictures
Age Certificate: 12
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 82/100
Plot
Cher is a rich high school student who is learning to cope with adolescence and its problems. She also helps a new student gain popularity and, in the process discovers her own feelings.
Review
The film is a cult classic and for a good reason. The pace of the film is good and the tone along with the aesthetics matches the time period of the 1990's. It is probably one of the top films to be associated with the 90's especially in terms of fashion and teen romance. The film can be watched over and over and that's due to Silverstone's sense of humour and her character in general. She carries the film and makes Cher an iconic character that is mentioned in different media in today's generation.
My rating: 8/10
Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Age Certificate: 12
IMDb: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 51/100
Plot
A tough cop must pose as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a dangerous criminal's ex-wife, who may hold the key to putting him behind bars.
Review
Honestly, I do not remember too much of the film such as the tone and pace of the film, however, when I did watch the film, I was engaged by the narrative and I'm sure at the time, it was an original story. We see a lot of different adaptations of undercover cops these days but Schwarzenegger was (in my opinion) the original undercover cop.
My rating: 6/10
20th Century Fox
Age Certificate: PG
IMDb: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 77/100
Plot
In this second sequel to "Planet of the Apes," three apes flee their world before it's destroyed, and travel back in time to present-day America. When the humans discover that the trio are intelligent and capable of speech, they treat them as experimental research animals until they attempt to escape.
Review
I love how the series of Planet of the Apes is going. It is very fictitious and obscure but that is why my favourite genre of films is Sci-Fi. The possibilities for the storyline are endless and it doesn't need to make sense for realism. Sci-Fi begs the question of what if and the film follows the same narrative as the first film; instead of apes being the superior species whilst humans are treated like animals, we are back at a time when humans are still the 'intellectual' species and are shocked to find a group of apes from the future to speak.
My rating: 6.8/10
Lightstorm Entertainment, TriStar Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93/100
Plot
A terminator is set on a mission to kill Sarah Connor's son. However, another cyborg, who was once after Sarah's life, has now been assigned to protect him.
Review
One of the best films of all time and one of my favourite films to date along with Star Wars and Planet of the Apes. The film has a dark tone but the antagonist, the show-stealer, is the frightening part. I have watched this film too many times and the T-1000 still scares me every time. What makes his character fascinating is the fact that he rarely speaks which makes him mysterious. The script is perfectly written and produced, the film captures action and adventure at its finest but what sold the film for me is the visual effects. Every scene with the antagonist turning to liquid metal but specifically when he goes through the prison bars (an iconic scene for film history), it looks too perfect for CGI of its time; it did not look out of place and fake and that is probably why you can watch the film and you might forget that this was a product of the early 90's.
My rating: 9.6/10
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This was a short list as I've already done a classic series but I still wanted to recommend these films. I will be reviewing some romance films but it will also be a short list since I'm not a big fan of romance. I will do a separate list of iconic teen romance films in the future. ❤
Sabina 🦁
