Spring Break
Scene Picks Modern Movie Classics
Alexandra Kilpatrick, Jess Shaffer and Syzmon Ryzner
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Scene
Alexandra's Picks:
Titanic: A classic love story about the real-life tragedy of the 1912 sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, this movie is well-known as the highest-grossing film of all time. It propelled Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into superstardom and won eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
American Beauty: Set in modern American suburbs, the movie artistically shows the beauty in life by following the character of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) who has a messy family life and a boring job. The drama dominated the 2000 Academy Awards, won Best Picture, and is best summed up through a final quote from Burnham: "I guess I could be really pissed off about what happened to me … but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world."
The Sixth Sense: M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller is about a young boy, played by Haley Joel Osment troubled by the ability to see and talk to the deceased, and his child psychologist, portrayed by Bruce Willis. The movie has everything an award-winning thriller needs: Shyamalan as writer and director, the instant-classic line "I see dead people," and a surprising twist ending.
Fight Club: "The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is - you DO NOT talk about Fight Club." An adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel, this controversial black comedy has become a pop culture phenomenon. The movie stars Edward Norton as a nameless protagonist who becomes increasingly distressed with consumerism as a way of life until he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who inspires him to create an underground fight club.
A Beautiful Mind: The award-winning biographical film stars Russell Crowe as John Nash, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, and follows the difficulties of his early years at Princeton. The movie won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Lord of the Rings trilogy: Adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's three-volume book The Lord of the Rings, the epic trilogy is set in Middle-earth and chronicles the journey of Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship to destroy the Ring. The critically acclaimed films are three of the highest-grossing of all time and won 17 Academy Awards in total.
Titanic: A classic love story about the real-life tragedy of the 1912 sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, this movie is well-known as the highest-grossing film of all time. It propelled Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into superstardom and won eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
American Beauty: Set in modern American suburbs, the movie artistically shows the beauty in life by following the character of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) who has a messy family life and a boring job. The drama dominated the 2000 Academy Awards, won Best Picture, and is best summed up through a final quote from Burnham: "I guess I could be really pissed off about what happened to me … but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world."
The Sixth Sense: M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller is about a young boy, played by Haley Joel Osment troubled by the ability to see and talk to the deceased, and his child psychologist, portrayed by Bruce Willis. The movie has everything an award-winning thriller needs: Shyamalan as writer and director, the instant-classic line "I see dead people," and a surprising twist ending.
Fight Club: "The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is - you DO NOT talk about Fight Club." An adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel, this controversial black comedy has become a pop culture phenomenon. The movie stars Edward Norton as a nameless protagonist who becomes increasingly distressed with consumerism as a way of life until he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who inspires him to create an underground fight club.
A Beautiful Mind: The award-winning biographical film stars Russell Crowe as John Nash, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, and follows the difficulties of his early years at Princeton. The movie won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Lord of the Rings trilogy: Adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's three-volume book The Lord of the Rings, the epic trilogy is set in Middle-earth and chronicles the journey of Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship to destroy the Ring. The critically acclaimed films are three of the highest-grossing of all time and won 17 Academy Awards in total.