Stop and Hear the Music!: August Rush (2007)

     Upon seeing my post for The Art of Getting By, my friend suggested that I watch August Rush which also featured Freddie Highmore in it. And I’m glad she did! All throughout the movie, I was tense to see if it will resolve in a happy ending. Did it? Well, you have to see to find out. Stop and hear the music!

The Art of Getting By (2011)

   This existentialist-fatalist turned inspirational movie is a touching movie to watch. The Art of Getting By is set in the cityscape of New York with main character George (a mature Freddie Highmore), a teenager who feels like nothing is worth anything in this mundane thing called life. Having those feelings consequently leads him to be in constant trouble in his school and at home. His artist’s spirit always distracts him from doing meaningful work and he is close to being expelled. He then meets Sally (Emma Roberts), where they start out as friends, being like-minded and all-- things develop like how life does, unexpectedly.

The Reader (2008): The Film Adaptation

     The Reader, a film adaptation of the book of the same title is a romantic drama movie that is fit for the emotionally mature and discerning individual; this movie is packed with themes to think about, and questions that are worth pondering. The plot is centered on young 15-year old Michael Berg (David Kross) who meets Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a much older woman, when he was sick and vomiting near her place. The two develop an affair which included a ritual of Berg’s reading to her; it lasted for a summer’s time and abruptly ended. Years later, Michael Berg becomes law student who is attending a public hearing regarding the trial of the six lady guards at Auschwitz, one of which is Hanna Schmitz.

Awkward (2011)

     Awkward is a show about 15-year old wallflower Jenna Hamilton(Ashley Rickards) who gets a confrontational letter about how “she could disappear and no one would notice.” She gets rattled enough to take some steps out of her comfort zone and also winds up being stuck in very awkward situations (this is more of an understatement). How awkward? She becomes mistaken for an unstable, suicidal teenager because of an accident, gets involve in complicated relationship problems, and has to deal with how she perceives her family sees her (a load of baggage). Pretty typical socially awkward teenage situations? More or less.