MOVIES TO SEE BEFORE YOU GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL by Michael Howarth is a HUGE disappointment. Howarth doesn't even mention works by Shakespeare other than a brief reference to a 1983 film named Valley Girl which apparently is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. "Wait," you say, "surely West Side Story would be in this list." NO – not when I searched the eBook preview. And no, no, no for artists like Streep, Olivier, and Eastwood. Also, no, no, no, and no again for films like King of Hearts, Cold Comfort Farm, Leave No Trace, and Winter's Bone. Inconvenient Truth, perhaps because it is more of a documentary and not so directly tied to Howarth's theme of coming of age, is also not included. I agree it is easy to criticize lists for what is omitted so I kept searching and eventually found an entry for Eighth Grade and one for Breakfast Club. Like the other movies which are listed, there is a plot summary, a description of why you should see the film, a classic line and recommended double feature (1980s movies were mentioned again). There was also information about the director, writer, cast, rating, run time and genre, but that is readily available online in several easily searchable databases. Thumbs down for this movie review guide. Nell Minow's movie lists (sadly, dated now) were much better.

While the book is fun and a definite walk down memory lane into nostalgia for those of us who grew up with most of these films, I expected more of an "essay" type book on the films and their themes, whereas this was just plot reviews of the stories and minimal themes. So not sure which audience this would be best for...because if you've never seen the films, it tells you the story in its entirety, thus maybe making people not want to see the films? And if you've seen the films, you already know where it's going.

3.5 Stars

Movies to See Before You Graduate From High School is a comprehensive list of 60 movies that should be on every high schooler’s list. There are movies that span the past few decades, and they are organized into a variety of categories. Although it is a fun idea, this book seems a bit unnecessary in my opinion.

The beginning of this guide has a really interesting reflection on the influence of film and pop culture on society. Howarth makes some great points, and they add some depth to this book of lists. Personally, I would have preferred it if the entire book had been more analytical.

❀ UNNECESSARY FORMAT

While I really love all of the movie ideas that the author suggests to see before you graduate from high school, this really could be condensed into a list of movies featured in a blog post. I don’t see the value in providing a published book of lists in this era of googleable information.

❀ POTENTIAL SPOILERS

Each movie is completely summarized in the book, which may be aggravating for some readers. If you haven’t yet seen the movie, the plot is pretty much spoiled. While I love discovering films that might be of interest, this is one book that has some potential. That being said, it would be better as a post featured on a blog or website.

While I really wanted to like the concept of this book, it was virtually unreadable in the version of the ARC sent. Horribly formatted - the titles of the movies were missing from their respective reviews in all but a few instances. One would have to go back to the list at the front to fin the matching title, which was also difficult in an e-book ARC that had no chapter or section delineations. I understand an ARC is an unfinished copy, but why send out something so poorly formatted? It strongly affects the readability, and therefore my feelings about the book. Aside from the formatting issues, I was not a fan of the subjective reviews of the movies by the author. I'm a huge fan of lists such as this, but I didn't enjoy the approach of this book. I feel it was too much academic analysis for the casual reader.I had hoped it would be a neat guide to share w/my high school age sons, but I'll pass. Undecided as to whether I'll post a review on my Goodreads - I'm leaning not to in light of my feelings for it.

I picked up this egalley just because I thought it'd be fun to see which movies made the cut according to Michael Howarth. This has a nice mix of older titles like Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and The Breakfast Club (1985) and more recent films like Eighth Grade (2018) and Love, Simon (2018). I also like the appendices that categorize the chosen films by theme, genre, and top-5 lists such as "Best to Watch after a Breakup."

I don't think there's anything wrong with the films chosen, but I wasn't impressed with the write-ups. Each movie entry includes a multi-page synopsis that focuses too much on relaying the plot rather than the themes. The themes are there, but they're buried in walls of text that I didn't even want to read. The entries end with a brief "Why You Should See This Film" statement, but they aren't very useful. For example, the statement for Clueless (1995) is "Because it's a funny and satirical look at glitzy teen life in Beverly Hills." That's a description of the movie, not a reason to watch it, and especially not a reason to watch it before you graduate high school specifically. I expected more analysis, less plot regurgitation.

Also, many of the chosen quotes for "Classic Lines" are just... odd choices. Take Clueless again: the line listed is, "Anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel. I doubt anyone would miss you." Despite the inherent grossness of the line itself, I also could never have told you it was from Clueless if I heard it out of context. How is that more "classic" than the far more iconic lines, "Ugh, as if!," or, "And in conclusion may I please remind you that it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty," or, "Why should I listen to you anyway? You're a virgin who can't drive"???

To sum up, this collection isn't anything special. Granted, I only skimmed it, and definitely didn't look at every entry, but I did read through a few of the movies that I'm familiar with and a few I haven't seen, but I wasn't impressed with what I saw.

Trip down memory lane! I had forgotten some of these films, and could think of a few that should have been added to the collection. These movies sure did capture teen age angst. My favorites captured my years in high school in the seventies "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Dazed and Confused." But I could seriously relate to "Breakfast Club" and "American Graffiti" was familiar, though quite a while before my time! I'll likely work my way through all the films again in the future as the book as stirred up re-interest on my part! Wonderful read!