Top Coming of Age Movies

Coming of age is a rite of passage; in ancient cultures, this transition is often represented in rituals and ceremonies in which the child must endure through a series of trials to prove his newfound status of adult. In modern times, growing up isn't so clear cut; however it does involve sacrifice, challenge and change. Films of this genre often focus on the trials of growing up, budding sexuality and the loss of innocence. You can catch many of this films on satellite TV.

Stand By Me: Directed by Rob Reiner and starring River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland and John Cusack. This movie is based on a Stephen King novella which is set in a rural Oregon town during the summer of 1959. Four friends, all twelve years old, set to begin Jr. High, go on one final adventure. They attempt to find a body of a boy who was supposedly hit by a train. The story is told as a flashback, with Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator. It's a poignant story about the loss of innocence and the hardships of growing up. This is a classic bildungsroman movie that airs frequently on satellite TV.

Rushmore: This quirky, off-beat comedy starring Bill Murray and Jason Schwartman tells the tale of an eccentric 15-year-old boy who attends Rushmore Academy. Max fills his schedule with extracurricular activities, which leave him no time to study; while flunking out of school, Max falls in love with a first grade teacher, compulsively lies about his family, and gets into a fight with rich industrialist Mr. Blume played by Murray. The film is a brilliant look at what it means to grow up. Watch the film in HD on any film channel on satellite TV.

The Breakfast Club: The quintessential high school drama, this movie directed by John Hughes gives us a glimpse into the world of teenage angst and antics. There's plenty of soul searching and contempt for the grown up world. As the character Allison so plaintively puts it 'when you grow up, your heart dies.' This classic has developed a cult-like status.

Almost Famous: Written by Cameron Crowe, this movie is autobiographical, detailing Crowe's years as a young journalist for Rolling Stone. At a mere 15 years old, William hits the road with an up and coming rock band. He falls in love, gets his heart broken and learns about life, the hard way.

Dead Poets Society: A group of young prep school boys have their lives turned upside down when Robin Williams, playing the role of Professor John Keating, introduces them to poetry and the liberating philosophies of classic authors. The boys then form their own 'dead poets society' and begin to read poetry and seek out new ideas.

Ghost World: This film examines the lives of two young friends on the verge of adulthood. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch, we watch as the two figure out what they want to do with their post-high school lives. The girls spend the summer making vague plans and hanging out with a handsome former classmate. It's an eclectic sort of story that strikes the right cords. You can watch in on HD DVD.

Movies About Young Adults That Prove Their Integrity and Substance

Pretty in Pink - 2 Stars (Average)

Pretty in Pink is a classic high school story of first love and prom night, starring Molly Ringwald as Andie, a girl from the wrong side of tracks who falls for Blaine (Andrew McCarthy), a rich preppie.

For people who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks (this group includes your movie reviewer), Pretty in Pink strikes some emotional chords, such as looking at the homes of rich people, wondering what it would be like inside, and realizing you will never know; or, being asked to the prom and then being dumped by your date.

I give this movie two stars because of one story line item: after being dumped by her prom date Blaine, Andie decides to go to the prom alone; that requires not only courage but integrity, the idea that the date you had is not going to control your life.

Pretty in Pink falls apart psychologically in two critical ways. One, we are led to believe that Andie does not know that her best friend from childhood, Duckie, is crazy in love with her; and two, there is no real explanation why her date, Blaine, decided not to take her to the prom.

We are led to believe that it is because his rich parents and friends turned on him for dating a girl from the wrong social class, yet Blaine makes a case that it was something else; we are never told what that something else is, or the story line does not make it clear, either way, it fails to communicate properly.

Andie proves to be a girl of truth, courage and integrity. I give some props to John Hughes , the writer who chooses to make Andie a budding woman of substance rather than a push over. I believe that Andie, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, will live a better life than Blaine, who must overcome his social position to discover himself.

This movie is better done than so much slop of the same genre. I reserve the right to raise my rating on this film at a later date, and just might.

Saint Ralph - 2 Stars (Average)

Saint Ralph is the story of Ralph Walker (Adam Butcher), a 14-year-old boy who is raised by his single mother. He grows up without his father who died a war hero. His mother then gets ill and falls into a coma while he ends up living in his home alone telling school authorities he is living with his grandparents.

As if his life is not troubled enough, he is picked on and put down continually by his Catholic school classmates.

When he realizes he is bound for an orphanage if his mother dies, he has an epiphany that tells him if he accomplishes the miracle of winning the Boston Marathon his mother will come out of her comma and recover.

You will have to see the movie to discover if he wins the Boston Marathon. Despite some technical issues and weak acting, Saint Ralph is a movie worth the time and effort to see because of the values that it teaches, including having a dream, believing in your dream, being focused on your dream, and being determined to accomplish your dream.

This is a good film with a good message that falls short of a great film. There are audio problems which experience and knowledge could solve. Ralph has a diction problem which maturity and experience could resolve.

The title (Saint Ralph) does nothing to lift this good film to a great one. Miracle in the Making would have been a better title than setting up poor Ralph with the task of becoming a saint. The story line is really too much of a stretch, but at least the movie will touch your heart and moisten your eyes.

Law of Attractions - Magnetism and Love

Have you ever heard of the Law of Attractions? Whether or not you believe in it, it is best that you review the principles of the Law of Attraction as well as some of the more controversial methods of dating in the 21st century.

The Law of Attraction doesn't have a standardized definition. It is defined differently by many different authorities. The consensus is that the Law of Attraction refers to a person's conscious and unconscious thoughts, which dictate the reality of their lives - whether or not they admit it or are even aware of it. The four basic principles of the Law of Attraction are that:

* (A) a person knows what he or she wants;
* (B) they ask the universe for it;
* (C) they behave as if they are already experiencing it; and
* (D) they open their mind and heart to receive it.

The Law of Attractions

It's easy to see how the Law of Attraction has been defined according to various logic systems, both spiritual and scientific. Some say the Law of Attraction is founded in the understanding of cosmic energy, while others claim it is simple quantum physics. Neither of these theories can be proven, but sure do captivate interest. Some apply this Law of Attraction it to making money, while others apply it to dating and sexuality.

Another aspect of this law is in the idea of "becoming irresistible to others." This theory proposes that if one behaves in a manner that is dominant and attractive to others, people will be unconsciously attracted to that one, just as followers flock to a leader. This part of the Law of Attraction is based partly on the study of mammal species. The alpha male dominates the group and is attractive to others because they believe he can provide for them. When another male challenges the alpha male, he must conquer him or leave the group to start his own following. In the meantime, the followers are dedicated to the alpha male, because he has already proven himself a successful leader and one that can benefit those who associate with him.

Is this applicable in dating? Some believe it is, particularly among men. A man proves his "alpha dominance" by being confident, not intimidated by women and by painting himself as a proven "winner" in everything he does. Many women are naturally attracted to a man that is confident, has strong leadership abilities and is not afraid of what he wants - in this case, intimacy. We learn this from the monkeys, and as we all know, alpha monkeys get all the girls!

How to Know What Real Love Is

What is real love about? Love is constantly happening. Love endures all things, including boring nights in front of the television, sick days where intimacy is the last thing on your mind, and even full-blown and painful arguments. There is a great deal of sacrifice in real life relationships, the likes of which are rarely shown in movies or covered in books. Love is very real. Real people with real emotions fall in love. You should never be so enamored with the ideal of love that you fail to appreciate the real thing. Perfection is unattainable. Romance isn't perfectly choreographed, nor do happy endings always turn out from complication. Don't go looking for some perfect ideal that doesn't exist. Love in the here and now.

A Fine Balance

The answer is to try and find the best balance between realism and idealism. You want to love a partner that is close to your ideal; someone that whose company you enjoy. On the other hand, you also want to find a partner that neatly fits into your world. Setting your sights on someone nearly unattainable - whether a celebrity, or a married person, or someone from a very different culture and lifestyle - may not be realistic thinking. It's easy to say that love conquers all, but it's important to keep a realistic perspective of your own life and that of your partners.

Money, age differences, opposing ideologies, even extended family are all issues that can test a relationship. Keep in mind that not everyone is able to sacrifice their life for love, or follow their heart instead of their logical mind. Some people marry just for passion while others marry for convenience. It's up to you to discern what your partner really wants and up to you to determine how much you're willing to sacrifice to make the relationship work.

Hollywood Comedy Movies - From John Hughes to Charlie Chaplin To Jim Carrey

Comedy movie started long back in the 1900. The first movie to be produced was by Thomas Edison's kinetoscope of his assistant Fred Ott in Record of a Sneeze. This could also be considered the first to show comedy aspect of the movie.

Comedy films began to appear more during the era of silent films, prior to the 1930s. These comedy movies were originally based on visual humor. The prominent figure that we all know as Charlie Chaplin was one of the famous clown-style actors of the silent era. It was through Charlie Chaplin that the Hollywood comedy movies became famous and soon came the Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

Then in the 1920s came another trend of animated cartoons. They were the most popular Hollywood comedy movies of the time. The several popular characters of that era were Felix the cat, Krazy Kat and Betty Boop. However, the popularity of these movies was hindered due to lack of sound and color.

The end of 1920s, the Hollywood comedy industry marked a change brought about by the introduction of sound into the movies. This has allowed the industry to create dramatic new film styles and use verbal humor. These films were soon replacing silent movies. These films used dialogue of comedians such as the W.C Fields and the Marx Brothers. Charlie Chaplin was the last comedian to have acted in the silent films, and his films during 1930s were devoid of dialogue, although they did employ sound effects.

When the United States entered into World War II, Hollywood movies changed its course to themes related to the conflicts and Hollywood comedy movies portrayed more on military themes. The war era experienced a boom, where restrictions on the traveling made nearly a quarter of the money spent was on attending movies.

In the 1950s, the interest shifted where the TV became the focus of adult social situations on family oriented comedies. During this time the release of Hollywood comedy films declined. The 1960s saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies. In 1970 Hollywood comedy movies reflected the anti-war sentiment, which was prevailing then. Amongst the leading figure of this time were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. They wrote, directed and appeared in their hilariously funny and witty movies.

In the 1980s the gag based comedy Airplane, a spoof of the previous decade disaster film series was released and Hollywood comedy movies paved its way for more of the same including Top Secret and the Naked Gun film. The popular comedian of this time included Dudley Moore, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Jim Carrey, the Canadian actor and a comedian came into Hollywood comedy movies in the late 1980s where he won the role in Damian Lee Canadian skiing comedy, Copper Mountain.

The most popular Hollywood comedy movies were of John Hughes , which includes Ferris Buellers Day Off and Home Alone series of 1990s. The later films focused more to family audience, this was a revival in comedy movies. The spoof comedy movies remain popular till date.

Another development in the Hollywood comedy movies was the use of gross-out humor, which is usually, aimed at younger audience in films like, There is Something about Mary, American Pie and many more. This trend of gross-out movies continued with adult oriented comedies picking up the box office till date.