Submarine

Film: Submarine
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Richard Ayoade
Year: 2010
Starring: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, & Noah Taylor





For most of us being a teenager is awkward and confusing. Movies have been expressing this kind of feeling for a long time, making itself really known in the 80's, via the work of John Hughes, but these kinds of film have existed before the era of bright colors and bad haircuts. On top of that, this film is about the adolescence of a young British (Welsh to be more specific) man, dealing with his life in his own way.

The film is based on a novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne, and is the coming-of-age story of a young Welshman named Oliver Tate(Roberts). Like most teens, Oliver isn't the most popular kid in school, but he also isn't the most outcast or spat upon, he seems to remain more in the middle. He has a crush on a girl in his class named Jordana(Paige), and uses his imagination and general teen urges to get him to fall for him, even though it requires him to throw the class outcast into a pond. Along with his romantic desires, he deals with the apparently failing marriage between his parents, which only gets worse when his mother's old flame moves in next door.

As with many teenagers, Oliver is far more clever and charismatic in his head than he is in reality. His narration of events is well constructed and preformed with great poise and grace, while his actual speech is often quiet and slightly-bumbling. There is a scene where he gives his girlfriend a stack of books which he wants her to read, thinking the books will make him appear more cultured and sophisticated than in reality. Even his physical movements are of that young and awkward age, he stands stiffly, rarely looking relax about anything.

Overall, the film is very good. It has the same feel as one of Wes Anderson's films, though it's much less colorful, perhaps as a way of responding to the Welsh environment that Oliver lives in, and has to deal with. Though in general the film lacks color, there are a few colors which are brought out, primarily blue(Oliver's room is blue, compared to his parents and the rest of the house, which are all beige), and the red of Jordana's jacket which makes her stand out whenever she appears on screen. Also, the film itself can be very funny, despite its subject matter, much like Anderson's films, with cleverly written lines sprinkled throughout, keeping with its more dramatic tone.

Memorable Moments:
• In the prologue Oliver mentions the fact that he sometimes daydreams about what would happen if he died. The following fantasy of thousands of people mourning his death, despite him not being well known, or even liked that much.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Film: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Genre: Comedy/Teen Drama
Director: Amy Heckerling
Year: 1982
Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Lee, & Judge Reinhold



Every generation has its own slew of high-school centric films and television shows. With todays being such trip as Beverly Hills: 90210, whatever Selena Gomez is on, and so forth. Today's media puts its focus on the more popular, and good looking of the teenagers, most likely in a marketing scheme. WELL BACK IN MY DAY, shows were normally about the regular kids, who weren't the center of attention, but were like many of the viewers: just regular kids.

Comedy classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of the said tales of a generation of American teenagers, specifically for those who came of age in the late seventies, and early eighties. Many people hold this to be the quintessential high-school film, and sets the bar for any films that followed in that genre. It is my believe that it deserves such a distinction, and it still holds up today, perhaps even better than high school movies made more in recent years. The film has a grittier feel to it that today's polished, and happy-go lucky attitudes like in the High School Musical franchise, and films like Disney's Prom.

The film revolves around several different students who go to the titular Ridgemont high, and their lives though out the autumn semester. Instead focusing on one particular character, it jumps around between a group of students, following their actions across the season. Though there is no particular main character, there is a list of some whom the story rotates around more often. Brad Hamilton(Reinhold), and his sister Stacy(Lee), with the iconic surfer-stoner Spioli(Penn) appearing every now and again to lighten up the tone.

I enjoyed this film, for its subtle humor, and apparently gritty realism. Unlike films today were everything is polished and cleaned up as to not poison the mushy minds of today's youth, this film doesn't hold back. It shows teens as what they really are: people. Often media's portrayal of teens is that of a pimply faced socially awkward introvert, or as a super good looking idol who's standards are so high the general public can meet. Teenagers make mistakes, try and do the right thing, and even at times act like, dare I say it: humans. Brad and Stacy are especially synthetic characters, you can easily see yourself in their position, and deal with their personal issues, and there is just something more compelling about that, rather than having them singing and dancing about going to lunch.


Memorable Moments:

• Any of a young Nick Cage (credited as Nicolas Coppala) brief appearances.

• Whenever people mention this film the always mention Sean Penn as Spicoli, though I was surprised to find he was far from the main emphasis of the plot. But I guess he looks good on the posters.

• After years of watching Clerks: The Animated Series I understand this joke: