Guest Post: THE BREAKFAST CLUB Review By Marie Rearden!

Today's guest post comes from the awesome Marie Rearden! Not only is Marie a writer, but she also loves movies. So much so that she reviews them in 100 words on her blog. It's my pleasure to let her take the Reel YA stage and share a review near and dear to her heart. 

Take it away, Marie! 

Five teens.

Eight hours.

One essay on who they think they are.

With John Bender's troubled encouragement, Claire admits she's a virgin, Brian confides his thoughts of suicide, and five almost-strangers come together to admit how much their parents just don't get it. After that, five lives are changed, and we wonder what happens at school on Monday. To me, the members of The Breakfast Club defeat the adolescent caste system and never turn out like their parents, but most importantly, they each come closer to understanding who they really are.

Without a doubt, the timeless, phenomenal, BEST teen movie ever. :)

Huge thanks to Marie for stopping by! Make sure you go check out her blog, and follow her on Twitter!

Have you seen The Breakfast Club? Which is your fave character? 

Movie Review: 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

Official logline:

A film inspired by the classic Shakespeare play, "The Taming of the Shrew", set in a modern day high school. 

My review:

10 Things I Hate About You hit theaters in 1999. By then, 90% of the actors in the film were total unknowns. In particular, these two:

Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger as Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona

I'm not sure if there's a more iconic couple in teen films from the 90s. To me, Julia and Heath made this movie. Not only are their characters compelling on their own, but the. Chemistry. Between them. We all know the formula, don't we? Bad Boy woos Tough Girl. Against her better judgment, Tough Girl falls for Bad Boy. Bad Boy breaks Tough Girl's heart. He apologizes, she forgives him, and they live happily ever after. 

Then we have these two:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Larissa Oleynik as Cameron James and Bianca Stratford

Again, familiar formula. Nice Guy is fascinated by Popular Girl. But Popular Girl doesn't know he exists. Then Nice Guy pushes his way into Popular Girl's life. He saves her when she needs to be saved. Even so, Popular Girl likes Popular Douche. Nice Guy pines for her anyway, and eventually changes her mind with his niceness. Happily ever after again. 

To me, these formulas don't do much for the movie. I don't particularly find films as engaging when they don't surprise me. But... wait for it... the. Chemistry. It's hard not to love these relationships. How they interact with each other. How they don't say what they mean, and don't mean what they say. And the ANGST. Oh, the angst... 

10 Things I Hate About You changed many things. Among them, the actors' careers, and teens' lives. The former was due to the unexpected success at the box office. The latter? Too broad of a scope for me to pinpoint just one reason behind it. But my guess? The realness of the chemistry has something to do with it. If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend checking it out primarily for that. 

Also, you will laugh your face off. Guaranteed.

Have you seen 10 Things I Hate About You? If so, what do you like most about it? 

Movie Review: FRIGHT NIGHT

Official logline: 

A teenager suspects that his neighbor is a vampire. 

My review: 

This remake of the 1985 film is fun. I haven't seen the original version, but many fans tell me it's much, much better. Even so, I appreciated several things about the remake, one of them being the protagonist. Charley Brewster (played by the talented Anton Yelchin) is a geek-gone-cool. He's ditched his childhood friends to hang out with a couple of stoners, and has begun dating one of the popular girls in school. Charley spends a lot of time trying to be someone he's not--a lover of all things videogames, graphic novels, and vampire lore.

Enter Jerry, the vampire neighbor (a.k.a. Colin Farrell). To be honest, I never thought Colin Farrell could scare me. Ever. But the bastard did it. He plays a manipulative ticking time bomb so, so well. He's not overtly aggressive, though, and his calmness comes off as much more eerie to me. You just know there's something messed up waiting to lash out. But what I loved most was how Jerry forces Charley to face two things: 1) who he really is; 2) his fear of confrontation. 

Whether you're burned out on vampires or not, I suggest watching this flick. If only for Charley's character development. And the brilliant dialogue. 

Have you seen the Fright Night remake? What about the original version?