Top Ten Movies for Teens

There are a lot of different genres of movies out there-- from comedy to horror, romance to action, and beyond. I, myself, enjoy the total spectrum, with few exceptions. Now, with the invention of the Redbox, which allows you to rent movies for a dollar plus tax per night, I am able to watch more new movies, and even old favorites. With this, and having worked at a movie rental place for half a year, with free rentals, I have seen a ton of movies. Here are, in my opinion, my picks for top ten movies for teens.

1. Harry Potter series: Not that it needs explanation due to its popularity, but Harry Potter is a series of eight films, based on the series of seven books, by J.K. Rowling. The main character, Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron and Hermione, go through adventures and misadventures of being teenagers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all while Harry goes on with his vendetta against the antagonist, Lord Voldemort. There are currently six films out, with the seventh to be split into two. This is a pick for top ten teen movies, because it's popular with the teenage crowd right now.

2. Twilight series: The Twilight series is based on the series of four books, written by Stephanie Meyer. Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington, and ends up falling in love with vampire, Edward Cullen. Her dull, boring life turns into a fantasy world of forbidden love, as well as action, to fend off the bad guys. There is only one movie out now, but there are three more to follow, with New Moon coming out on November 20. Like Harry Potter, the reason behind chosing this, is because of its popularity.

3.10 Things I Hate About You: This movie is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. This shows two sides and groups at high school-- the popular kids, and the not-so-popular kids. It's a typical high school setting, with friendship leading into love, with a single father raising his two teenage daughters, Kat and Bianca. It's fairly predictable, but one of my favorite movies ever. There is also a new show on ABC Family, with the same name and story line. This shows the upsides and downsides to being popular, as well as not-so-popular.

4. A Walk to Remember: I think this is a good movie for all teens. It's a story of bridging the social and faith gap in high school, when popular kid, Landon Carter, becomes drawn to preacher's daughter, Jamie Sullivan, despite heckling from his group of popular friends. Fair warning, this movie does have a sad ending. This is a choice, because it shows that all of us aren't that different from each other.

5. Saved!: I think that every teen needs to see this movie, Christian or not. This helped me to open my eyes, and see that some Christians out there, are really crazy. The story revolves around, Mary, who, at first, lives the "perfect" Christian lifestyle, with her Christian high school, group of Christian friends (the Christian Jewels,) and her perfect Christian boyfriend. Her life gets turned upside down when her boyfriend tells her that he thinks he's gay. Then, in a near-drowning experience, she sees God, who tells her to do whatever it takes to save her boyfriend from that lifestyle. This translates into her having sex with him. He ends up getting sent to Mercy House, and it turns out she's pregnant. All of her Christian friends turn on her, and she finds solace and friendship in two outcasts-- Cassandra, the school's only Jew that everyone wants to save, and Roland, the paraplegic brother of head Christian Jewel, Hillary Faye.

6. Mean Girls: In this movie, Cady Heron comes into a typical highschool, after being homeschooled in Africa all her life. She's kind of a social outcast, and is taken in by two very different groups-- Janice, the school's goth, who is presumably a lesbian and Damian, a proud gay guy, and The Plastics, a.k.a. the school's royalty. Cady's desire to fit in leads her to become one of The Plastics, and blows off her other friends. This movie is full of lies, gossip, secrets, backstabbery, and in the end, what friendship is all about. This movies shows the treachary that comes with being popular, and spreading negative communication.

7. Charlie Bartlett: I believe that every teen needs to see this movie, so they can get the message that no teen, no matter how perfect they may seem, is without problems. Main character, Charlie Bartlett, gets kicked out of his last prep school, and gets sent to a public school. Once an outcast, he becomes the unofficial school psychiatrist, holding sessions in bathroom stalls, and prescribing medicine that he illgot from his real psychiatrist.

8. School of Rock: There's no real reason I picked this for a top ten teen movie. I just think it's fun and full of great music. Main character, Dewey Finn, is a washed up rock star, who gets kicked out of his band, and who lives with his best friend and former bandmate, Ned, a substitute teacher, and his girlfriend, Patty. Once kicked out of the band, Dewey desparately tries to find new band members, to play Battle of the Bands, for a chance to win and actually get some money. Ned gets called for a sub job, at Horace Green Prep School, and Dewey pretends to be Ned, to get the job. Within a week, Dewey finds out that the kids are musically inclined, and teaches them to play rock music, in order to get them to play Battle of the Bands.

9. Prayers for Bobby: This movie is a little harder to find, because it was originally a Lifetime movie. This movie is based on a true story. Bobby Griffith comes out as gay to his religiously strict family. They treat him as an outcast, and try to convert him, by constantly preaching at him and quoting Bible verses at him. Before he moves out, to his cousin's, on the west coast, his mother, Mary Griffith, tells him that she won't accept a gay son. After he moves out, these memories haunt him, and feels like he's not good enough, and kills himself. His mother struggles between this and her faith, seeking out real answers on whether or not she was justified in shunning her son's homosexuality. She ends up at a MCC church, which leads her to PFLAG, where she goes on to be an activist for gay rights. This movie is emotional, but it shows other gay teens that they are not alone, and parents and friends of gay teens, that their shunning is causing more hurt than harm.

10. For the Bible Tells me So: I am choosing this as a top teen movie, because gay teens are fed a lot of lies about how their homosexuality is a sin, and how it's unnatural. This documentary debunks a lot of Scriptural lies, and you hear the stories of others who grew up in the same shunning environment, and how they turned out. It also shows the way the families of these people made a turn around. Not only is this a top ten movie for teens, but for their families, as well.

Although all my choices aren't exactly common, I think these ten movies are all movies that I believe teens should see; especially those with a positive message for today's youth.