Chasing the feel of watching The Spectacular Now ? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.
Everybody loves a good coming-of-age movie, but they have their trappings. Their youthful characters are often cartoonish, or perfect, or insanely inept. This is where The Spectacular Now achieves something that is indeed spectacular: it feels incredibly real. The film features Miles Teller (from Whiplash) as a charming, but slightly lost, heavily partying high-school senior named Sutter Keely. After waking up on a strange lawn after a long night, he is awoken by Aimee, played by Shailene Woodley, whose performance is as spectacular as the depth of this movie's characters. What starts as a rebound fling for Keely eventually goes deeper and deeper, while his problems become more and more apparent to us, the viewers, to Aimee, and to his caring teacher, played by the incredible Andre Royo, who some of you might recognize as the iconic Bubbles from The Wire. If this premise sounds corny to you, think again, because this film has a deep respect for its characters and the journeys they must take. A sensitive drama with incredibly life-like performances.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Aasif Mandvi, Adrian Martinez, Alan Aisenberg, Ato Blankson-Wood, Bernard White, Billy McFadden, Dana DeVestern, Daniel London, Emma Roberts, Jared Goldstein, Jeremy Davies, Jim Gaffigan, Karen Chilton, Keir Gilchrist, Lauren Graham, Leo Allen, Lou Myers, Macintyre Dixon, Matthew Maher, Molly Hager, Morgan Murphy, Roddy Skeaping, Rosalyn Coleman, Stewart Steinberg, Thomas Mann, Viola Davis, Zach Galifianakis, Zoë Kravitz, Zoe Kravitz
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
A dark and sophisticated slow-burning drama, Never Let Me Go is adapted from the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro. It stars Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield as boarding school raised teenagers eager to explore the outside world when they learn a secret that will threaten their very existence. Anything more is a spoiler, watch it.
Genre: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction
Actor: Amy Lennox, Andrea Riseborough, Andrew Garfield, Anna Maria Everett, Carey Mulligan, Charles Cork, Charlie Rowe, Charlotte Rampling, Chidi Chickwe, Damien Thomas, David Sterne, Domhnall Gleeson, Ella Purnell, Fidelis Morgan, Hannah Sharp, Huggy Leaver, Isobel Meikle-Small, Izzy Meikle-Small, John Gillespie, Kate Bowes Renna, Kate Sissons, Keira Knightley, Luke Bryant, Lydia Wilson, Monica Dolan, Nathalie Richard, Sally Hawkins
Director: Mark Romanek
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Actor: Ann-Sofie Rase, David Dencik, Emrik Ekholm, Felix Sandman, Johan Liljemark, Lena Carlsson, Liv LeMoyne, Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Peter Eriksson, Sofi Ahlström Helleday
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Aaron Abrams, Albert Howell, Cheryl MacInnis, Ciaran MacGillivray, Damien Atkins, Danielle Miller, Diane D'Aquila, Diane Flacks, Graham Abbey, Jean-Michel Le Gal, Jennifer Podemski, John Dunsworth, Luke Kirby, Mary Pitt, Matt Baram, Michelle Williams, Samantha Farrow, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen, Vanessa Coelho
Director: Sarah Polley
This is a revelation of a movie for its simplicity in handling a pretty serious and dark subject. It's the story of a generally immature and newly unemployed stand-up comic in New York and her unplanned pregnancy with a man that was supposed to be a fling, and it's surprisingly funny and yet rather touching. I can't think of many actresses who would've fit the bill quite like Jenny Slate. Not only is she hilarious, but her treatment of a generally sensitive issue from the honest, crass point of view of a down-on-life, New York-er leaves you drowning in empathy for her. I recommend this for anyone looking to cuddle up, have a few little clever laughs and feel all tingly in the chest-al area.
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Actor: Amy Novondo, Cindy Cheung, David Cross, Elise Widerker, Emily Tremaine, Ernest Mingione, Gabe Liedman, Gaby Hoffmann, Jake Lacy, Jennifer Kim, Jenny Slate, Justin Lerner, Karen Maine, Kitty Crystal, Mary DelMarco, Michael Bonfiglio, Nicholas Cirillo, Paul Briganti, Polly Draper, Richard Kind, Sarina Roma, Stacey Sargeant, Stephen Singer, Suzanne Lenz
Director: Gillian Robespierre
I loved this movie. It starts a bit weird but gets so good. In a parallel world where human frequencies determine luck, love, and destiny, Zak, a young college student, must overcome science in order to love Marie, who emits a different frequency than his own. In an attempt to make their love a reality, Zak experiments on the laws of nature, putting in danger the cosmic equilibrium of fate and everything he holds dear. This unique and experimental drama blends science fiction and romance to create a futuristic tale where love, science, and fate collide.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction
Actor: Daniel Fraser, David Barnaby, David Broughton-Davies, Dylan Llewellyn, Eleanor Wyld, Georgina Minter-Brown, Joanna Hole, Lily Laight, Owen Pugh, Ria Carroll, Timothy Block
Director: Darren Paul Fisher
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Actor: Asbjørn Krogh Nissen, Baard Owe, Christian Brandt, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Gethin Anthony, Gordon Kennedy, Hélène Kuhn, Martin Hestbæk, Martin Hestbæk, Mille Dinesen, Olivia Grant, Sebastian Armesto, Sebastian Bull Sarning, Silja Eriksen Jensen, Tamzin Merchant, Zaki Nobel Mehabil
Director: Mark Raso
On par with the best documentaries of the 21st Century thus far, “Requiem for the American Dream” is an essential viewing for the discerning viewer in search of a more complete understanding of how American society has evolved to such a dramatic point of polarization, and how both politics and big business have played a role in this process. In his introductory remarks to the film, celebrated intellectual and linguistics professor Noam Chomsky expounds: “Inequality has highly negative consequences on society as a whole, because the very fact of inequality has a corrosive, harmful effect on democracy.” Chomsky spells out his perspective regarding the modern political machine and the downfall of democracy, with a keen eye to the historical decisions and influences that have sabotaged the “common good” and shaped America’s current political, financial and social landscape.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Noam Chomsky
Director: Jared P. Scott, Kelly Nyks, Peter D. Hutchison
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this film. I’ll be honest and say I did not really expect much given that it starred Jesse McCartney in the title role. Nevertheless, he managed to really surprise me. McCartney and Harnois have excellent chemistry as Keith and Natalie and you find yourself rooting for them to end up together. The film does a great job at building up their relationship and emotional connection, and it will definitely succeed in pulling at your heartstrings. If you enjoy films in the vein of A Walk to Remember, you should check this one out!
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Actor: Courtney Halverson, Dennis Cockrum, Elisabeth Harnois, Eric Parker, Ethan Phillips, Gareth Williams, Ian Nelson, Ignacio Serricchio, Jan Devereaux, Janice Kent, Jennifer Grey, Jesse Heiman, Jesse McCartney, Jessy Schram, Margo Harshman, Megan Hubbell, Micah Henson, Michael Bryan French, Michael McGrady, Michael OKeefe, Rachel Thorp, Rance Howard, Sam Murphy, Sarah Zinsser, Tabitha Brownstone, Tim Halligan, Victoria Chalaya, Zack Rockefeller
Director: Todd Kessler
Electrick Children is the debut film for director Rebecca Thomas and one of the most unique and visually stunning films I’ve seen in a while. This gem is about a teenager born and raised in a religious community who believes she has been impregnated with the son of God from a cassette tape she listened to. She decides to run away to neighboring Las Vegas in search of the real father, “the man who sings on the cassette tape.” Heavy stuff, man. Electrick Children is one of those films you see once and it stays with you. It deals with teenagers so delicately and accurately, depicting the butterflies, the excitement, the romance, the heartbreak, the trials and tribulations of this age and beyond. Its cinematography is hypnotizing and its soundtrack is divine (listen to Top of the Hill by Conduits on repeat and it’ll start to have an impact on your life.) Its plot is completely fresh and is able to grab and keep your attention from the first second until the very end. Watching this film made me want to go back in time and fall in love all over again. It made me feel lusty and gave me butterflies and made my heart flutter unlike any other film I’ve seen. You can’t pass this one up.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Bill Sage, Billy Zane, Cassidy Gard, Cynthia Watros, John Patrick Amedori, Julia Garner, Liam Aiken, Rachel Pirard, Rory Culkin
Director: Rebecca Thomas
I watch many movies and the great majority of them leave little impression on me. They are fun and entertaining, but quickly forgettable. Not Disconnect, though. This is a powerful and provocative film that not only keeps you pinned to your seat but also makes you think about the consequences of your actions. It should certainly be a required viewing not only for young people but also for any one who uses social media or communicates via the Internet. Disconnect is a timely, well-written, well-acted, and well-paced movie that stays with you long after you finish watching it. I was also pleased by the fact that the director and writer did not take the easy way out. No glib, predictable solutions here, which is one reason why the film's events linger in your mind.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, Antonella Lentini, Cole Mohr, Colin Ford, Ella Lentini, Erin Wilhelmi, Frank Grillo, Haley Ramm, Hope Davis, Jason Bateman, John Sharian, Jonah Bobo, Kasi Lemmons, Kevin Csolak, Marc Jacobs, Max Thieriot, Michael Nyqvist, Norbert Leo Butz, Paula Patton, Tessa Albertson
Director: Henry Alex Rubin