Thursday Movie Picks: Teachers
This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is about those who shape our lives, whether we like it or not; teachers. We've all had teachers from hell, and also the ones we loved and learned from. I still keep in contact with my favorite one. They don't have easy jobs and they're some of the most important people in our lives. Here are three of my favorite films about teachers.
1) Half Nelson
Ryan Gosling gives the best performance of his career as a drug addicted teacher forming a bond with one of his students.
2) Precious
I've talked about Ms. Rain so many times on my blog, about how she made me cry when she told Precious she loved her. She's a superhero teacher, plain and simple.
3) Pretty Persuasion
Mr. Anderson ends up getting accused of sexual assault when three of his students decide to make up a story about him for fame. Evan Rachel Wood is perfect as a schemer in this film.
Great picks :) Half Nelson was the first film I thought of, even though I haven't seen it yet. It's been at the top of my must watch list for too long!
ReplyDelete- Allie
I hope you get a chance to check it it. It's wonderful.
DeletePrecious was the furthest thing from my mind for this subject, but it absolutely fits. Great call. And Half Nelson is phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad you liked Half Nelson too.
DeleteStill have to see Half Nelson, especially if you say it's Gosling's best performance. LOVE Precious, and ADORE Ms. Rain, even if her name is totally ridiculous. The scene where Precious breaks down just guts me. Gabby Sidibe should have won the Oscar.
ReplyDeletePretty Persuasion I haven't seen, but makes me want to kick myself for not picking Wild Things (which I almost did).
Yes, Gabby should've. That year pisses me off so much for Best Actress.
DeleteI do think Half Nelson is Gosling's best. It's just a hair above Blue Valentine.
Pretty Persuasion amuses me. I think most critics hated it, but I love Evan Rachel Wood so much.
I have yet to finish Precious, and have to watch the rest of your choices. Great picks!
ReplyDeletePrecious is a heavy watch. When I saw it in theaters, it was only me and one other person and we were both crying.
DeleteGreat list -- I've only seen Precious. The other two sound good. I can envision Evan Rachel Wood as a scheming bitch. :-)
ReplyDeleteShe's soooo mean in that movie. It's great.
DeleteOh goodness I haven't seen any of these. I've avoided Precious like the plague it just looks too brutal for me. I've heard Half Nelson is a tough watch but I love Gosling so someday I'll get to it. I've only been vaguely aware of Pretty Persuasion before, I'd heard the title and that was about it but it sounds like the one I'll seek out first.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun theme this week, so many possibilities! I tried to mix mine up a little with a comedy, a dark comedy/drama and two about independent spirits with a dream and a goal.
Kindergarten Cop (1990)-New York cop Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with another agent (the fun Pamela Reed), on the trail of a drug dealer follows a lead to a small town in Oregon where it's believed the dealer's divorced wife is hiding out. When the other agent, who was supposed to masquerade as a kindergarten teacher, falls ill he steps in. Mix of kiddie comedy and violence isn't always wholly successful but there is a great deal to enjoy in this mostly sweet comedy.
Teachers (1984)-Pitch black comedy/drama of a troubled school in the midst of a lawsuit from a student given a diploma despite the fact that he's illiterate and the teachers who try to maintain some semblance of order despite their frustrations. Good performances by a cast full of familiar faces and a loose unbridled one by Richard Mulligan as an educator who dresses up as the characters he teaches about.
The Miracle Worker (1962)-Young teacher Annie Sullivan is sent by the Perkins institute to the home of the Kellers to try and help them with their blind and deaf daughter Helen, who through years of indulgence has become a wild child. Discovering a keen intellect trapped in the girl she sets out on the rough challenge to break through her defenses. Both Bancroft and Duke won Oscars for their great work in this.
Honorable Mention-The Corn is Green (1979)-A strong willed teacher, slightly past middle age, inherits property in a small Welsh mining village where she determines to start a school to educate the workers. She meets resistance from the mine owner who doesn't see the value of her plan and discovers a lad with untapped possibilities and becomes his mentor. This one is slightly outside the perimeters since it's was a TV special but with Katharine Hepburn, in her best late career performance, as the star; George Cukor as director and production values good enough for a theatrical release I decided to include it since it's a favorite of mine.
Nice! I haven't seen Teachers. Kindergarten Cop was one I loved to watch when I was a kid. I still quote it quite often. The Miracle Worker is an excellent call, yet I've never actually seen that film. I should put it on my Blind Spot list, now that I think about it. Thanks for sharing your picks. :)
DeleteHalf Nelson is so good, I just got to rewatch it this week. Precious is definitely thinking outside the box, but it's a great one and easily overlooked, so good call. Haven't seen the last but I'll look out for it.
ReplyDeleteThe last one is an interesting watch for sure. Still kicking myself for leaving out Notes on a Scandal. lol
DeleteI have not seen any of these films but want to see Half-Nelson and working up the nerve to see Precious.
ReplyDeletePrecious is hard to watch, but IMO so worth it. It's a fantastic film and the performances are so good.
DeleteOh my Pretty Persuasion, terrible students. Good film though. Haven't seen Half Nelson yet - its still in my to watch list.
ReplyDelete-Katit at Ever So Ethnically Confused
Yes, PP has the worst students by far! I hope you like Half Nelson when you get to it.
DeleteI totally thought about Pretty Persuasion the other day. That's a weird one. I remember liking it. Half Nelson was so bleak but solid. Never saw Precious. I just thought it would be too devastating.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone else has at least seen Pretty Persuasion! Precious is devastating, but I think the watch is worth it.
DeleteDefinitely thought about picking Half Nelson and Precious myself. Oh I remember Pretty Persuasion. Wood was pretty wicked in it.
ReplyDeleteShe was! She's always wonderful.
DeleteGosling kills it in Half Nelson. I should watch Pretty Persuasion.
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