Big Daddy, Cinderella Man, Why Did I Get Married?

Amber Ellis
Senior, Mount Miguel High School film and lit class

School Daze is an educational, funny movie about pledging a sorority or fraternity. During the time of the story, apartheid still exists, and an activist at a black college hopes the college will cease supporting South Africa. But the frat leader suggests there’s no connection between the blacks of South Africa and the blacks of the U.S. This is in my personal top ten because not only did it make me laugh but it also showed an important subject.

Little Shop of Horrors is a geeky movie about Seymour, who works at a local skid-row flower shop. He’s at the threshold of losing his job when a phantom from outer space turns the store into a major attraction. While the plant cries, “Feed me!,” Seymour causes a series of inadvertent deaths that make up for the food shortage. This is one of my all-time favorite movies since I was a little girl.

School Daze
(USA) 1988, Sony Pictures

Little Shop of Horrors
(USA) 1986, Warner Home Video

Claudia Luque
Senior, Mount Miguel High School film and lit class

Responsibility is something many kids learn at an early age. But that’s not the case for 32-year-old Sonny. I liked Big Daddy a lot. It had a good plot and good actors. I liked the irony of 5-year-old Julian teaching 32-year-old Sonny how to grow up.

Emotional, physical, and mental battles are fought by boxer Jim Braddock. The beauty of Cinderella Man is that a poor man became an unlikely hero to people everywhere. This is a very inspiring film with lessons we can all learn from and put into practice.

Death, betrayal, lust, battles, love, fear, and victory all play important roles in the fantastic film Gladiator. This is one of my favorites. The acting is great; Russell Crowe plays Maximus perfectly. There’s good dialogue, and it shows how anyone, no matter what you go through, can be a hero.

Big Daddy
(USA) 1999, Sony Pictures

Cinderella Man (Widescreen Edition)
(USA) 2005, Universal

Gladiator (Widescreen Edition)
(England/USA) 2000, Dreamworks

Leonora Jones
Senior, Mount Miguel High School film and lit class

Why Did I Get Married? is about four couples striving to better their marriages. I love this film because it keeps the audience engaged. The marriages consist of different problems everyone can relate to. One problem involves a marriage where the wife made all the money and she felt she could belittle her husband. She was the drunk and never afraid to speak her mind. She was my favorite character and always kept me laughing. The movie was worth watching and inspirational.

Illegal Tender — doesn’t the name intrigue you? The film concerns a Hispanic family whose father dies in a drug transaction. Twenty-one years later, it comes back to haunt the family. The emotions really connected to the audience. To me, that’s what a film is all about. This movie has action, romance, and drama all in one. The mother conveyed the true essence and love of being a mother who gets the job of protecting her children done.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? (Full Screen Edition)
(USA) 2008, Lionsgate

Illegal Tender (Widescreen Edition)
(USA) 2007, Universal