1. The Breakfast Club John Hughes, 1985
This movie was released February 15 of 1985 and it’s simply one of the greatest movies of all time because it truly allows you to see the difference in everybody else’s lives. It makes you think how everybody else has entirely different issues to deal with on a daily basis.
2. Superbad Greg Mottola, 2007
Superbad is one of the few very inappropriate movies that I have on this list but overall, it is still a must-see before you graduate. This movie highlights two best friends navigating the last few weeks of high school. We all see high school as a different trial of life and you know we all have that one thing we just have to succeed before we graduate to feel like we are actually starting life.
3. Call Me by Your Name Luca Guadagnino, 2017
This pastel film is breathtaking. It covers the feeling of young love along with the confusion and sadness of it. The plot is simple but the scenes and symbolism make it captivating. I think every high schooler remembers the feeling of their first love and the heartbreak that followed. This film illustrates the feeling of it very well.
4. Grease Randal Kleiser, 1978
Greece is “no if ands or buts about it” one of the greatest musicals of all time. It is the definition of a feel-good movie and it illustrates that people come from at least two different tracks of life. People can be polar opposites and still come on top of some of the best relationships.
5. The Goonies Richard Donner, 1985
Nobody should go without seeing this hit. Now I could never really tell who this movie was made for, it has a whole bunch of children committing crimes and the cast is mainly children while adults are the antagonist. For me, it’s always been the seriousness behind the reason these kids are doing this. All of the kids are being sold from underneath their feet and they are willing to do the most daring things to get the money to help their families pay off their homes.
6. Forrest Gump Robert Zemeckis, 1994
I like to call movies like this one “life movies,” specifically this one. It really shows you that you never know what’s next in life unless you plan it to a tee. Things could go wonderfully right or horribly wrong and it’s okay if it does because that’s what life is about trials and tribulations.
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe Andrew Adamson, 2005
Any movie that allows you to take a break from your life and go to another world for a few hours is a must-watch, especially this one. It invokes a near nostalgic feeling, but now I recognize the deeper themes. It gives me the ability to take a three-hour break from our real world and drift away to a wonderful land field with mystical creatures. Who wouldn’t want that?
8. Django Unchanged Quentin Tarantino, 2012
Parts of this movie are very inappropriate for school, but it's such a good one. If you like highly accurate history movies that are well fact-checked and everything, Django Unchanged isn’t it. This is an alternative history movie especially cathartic for us people of melanin. It has violence and very vulgar language but I promise that you will not find a movie that’s better in its genre.
9. The Hateful Eight Quentin Tarantino, 2015
Everyone should watch The Hateful Eight because it’s an original action movie with a clear moral: put your differences aside. The scenery, outfits, and dialogue are captivating and close to historically accurate. It’s packed with action and never fails to engulf my attention no matter how many times I watch it.
10. Lady Bird Greta Gerwig , 2017
Lady Bird is more popular among girls, but I think it's a perfect coming-of-age film. It covers identity issues, parental conflict, lower-class struggles, and the overall frustrating feeling of figuring all the big problems out. It portrays the introverted way of thinking and expression perfectly. It covers a lot of issues but you can still watch it with friends because it's not too deep. It's put together really well and a lot of scenes are up for interpretation. The end almost gives a sense of security that despite our choices everything will be okay, not perfect but okay.