Weird Science (1985) – John Hughes

John Hughes’ Weird Science is very much a male teen fantasy fulfillment. It riffs on Frankenstein while drawing in themes of self-confidence, and being who you are instead of worrying about what others think of you, because in the end, if they really like you, they’ll like you for you. Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and…

Sixteen Candles (1984) – John Hughes

There are lots of things that still work with John Hughes teen comedy, Sixteen Candles, but there are so many problematic things that have really begun to overshadow the story’s heart. There’s some racism, there’s some things that walk the line up to and over harassment and assault, and that really takes the shine off…

The Breakfast Club (1985) – John Hughes

I remember the first time I saw The Breakfast Club, and in fact this was my introduction to John Hughes. I was in high school, in grade 9, and one of our gym teachers, of all people, put it on for us during one of our gym classes, as the idea of acceptance, and the…

Edward Scissorhands (1990) – Tim Burton

  Tim Burton’s suburban fairy tale is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film following my screening of The Wizard of Oz. Perennial Burton favorite Johnny Depp is the titular character, a gentle young man, created by an elderly inventor (Vincent Price) who dies before he can give his creation…

Results (2015) – Andrew Buljaski

  Opening today here in Toronto as well as other selected cities is this human-dramedy starring Cobie Smulders, Guy Pearce and Kevin Corrigan, as a trio of people who get mixed up in one another’s lives as all of them try to find that defining something that makes their lives worth living. Corrigan is Danny, recently moved to…