Stardust by Neil Gaiman

When Tristan tells his girlfriend, Victoria, that he will bring back a falling star for her, he means it. Stardust tells the fantasy story of how he finds the star and brings it back. Tristan lives in Victorian times in a village that shares a wall with a supernatural world of fairies and witches called Stormhold. When the falling star disappears on the other side of the wall, Tristan must go into that land to find it. His adventure is complicated as others want the star too. He must deal with a witch who wants the star to achieve long life and the king of Stormhold's sons, who want the star in order gain control of the kingdom. The star turns out to be a beautiful girl from space. Tristan finds her and promises to protect her if she will come with him to his village.

The movie does not exactly follow the book, but does a better job of it than other movies based upon books. For example, in the movie, Stormhold is a little scarier of a place than in the book. In the book, Tristan must deal with a few more "bad guys" in order to bring back the star-girl. The movie is beautiful to view, and the cast is amazing. It is one of those movies you have never heard of that end up being among your favorites.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn; Starring Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Charlie Cox

Movie; 13+; Paramount, 2007

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

Annie has graduated from college and still does not know exactly what she is meant to do with her life. While she tries to figure out what she should do, she decides to become a nanny and takes on a job with a wealthy, Park Avenue family in NYC. She soon learns that being a nanny is not an easy job. She must deal with a bratty kid, Grayer, and his snobby mother, Mrs. X. Mrs. X does not have a job, but still needs lots of help from Annie to get through her extremely busy day. Annie finds that being a nanny to an upper class New York City family often means being a surrogate mother. What was supposed to be a part time job turns into an all day, and sometimes overnight, position. Annie finds that she is losing herself in her job, and not in a good way. Her life becomes so wrapped up in her supposedly temporary nanny position that it's almost has if she is giving up her soul.

The Nanny Diaries, as a movie, seems a lot like The Devil Wears Prada, another movie in which the protagonist plans to work for a short amount of time in a job then finds herself changing and becoming too wrapped up in the position. As usual, the book is way better than the movie. The book is much funnier, perhaps because we are "hearing" what the main character thinks, not just watching her go through the actions. However, the movie does have its own charm, and the lessons in it are worthwhile.

Directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini; Starring Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Scarlett Johansson, Donna Murphy, Judith Roberts, and Nicholas Art

Movie; 13+; Weinstein Company, 2007

Beowulf

The fact that Angelina Jolie stars as Grendel's mother is probably enough to get many of us to see this movie, but Beowulf is worth seeing just to see the classic tale brought to life. Although the movie is a little different from the book, I recommend it to anyone reading the book to help sort out the events and themes.

Beowulf is an old world version of a mercenary who travels to Denmark to vanquish the demon, Grendel, who has been terrorizing the country. Beowulf has an epic battle with Grendel and wins. However, the story is not done with Grendel's death. Grendel's mother comes to avenge her son's death leading to yet another epic battle.

On its own, the movie is not that great. The use of some animation does not work well in the movie and the characters don't have the emotion of the book's characters. Maybe the creators tried too hard to make an action movie and forgot that there is so much more to the tale than battles.

Directed by Robert Zemickis; Starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright, Crispin Glover, and Angelina Jolie

Movie; 14+; Paramount, 2007

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Imagine finding parents who look just like your parents but who are much cooler or more attentive. Would you switch to the new and improved version of your parents? Coraline finds herself in this position when she discovers another world with the same people as in her world, but the people are "better." Coraline and her parents have recently moved into a new apartment in an old house. Coraline's parents are busy professionals who have little time for her, and she is left entertain herself and explore her new home. She discovers a door that at first only leads to a brick wall, but when she checks again, Coraline finds a passage to another apartment just like her own. In the copy apartment, she finds another set of parents just like hers, but they pay more attention to her and the mother likes to cook Coraline's favorite foods. Another difference is that the other parents have black buttons for eyes. There is also a black cat that talks to Coraline. Coraline enjoys the other apartment and the other parents, but soon the other parents want Coraline to stay with them forever. Coraline goes back to her own apartment to find that her parents have disappeared and that the other parents have something to do with their disappearance. Coraline must go back to the other apartment and other parents in order to get her parents back. With the help of the black cat and three other children who have been trapped in a mirror when they were unable to rescue their own parents, Coraline sets about to rescue her family.

This movie, like the book, has a very creepy vibe. It may look like a Disneyish, children's movie, but Coraline is probably better left to teens and adults. It is actually scary. Younger teens ready for something to scare them will love it. If you loved A Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, you will love Coraline too. To get an idea of the creepiness of the movie, visit http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/coraline/ and explore the different pages of the site. I am surprised that this movie has not been given more fanfare and attention. It should be a classic, but, unfortunately, it did not get a lot of advertising and is probably floating under many people's radars.

Directed by Henry Selick; Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, and Keith David

Animated Movie; Laika Entertainment, 2009

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon tells the fantasy story of Eragon, a teen farmboy who discovers he is destined to become a dragon rider when he finds a rare dragon egg while searching for food in the forest. Dragon riders in this story are much like Jedi knights in Star Wars- using magic, they are supposed to uphold good against evil and make sure justice prevails. Eragon raises the dragon and develops a tight bond with her. When his uncle is killed and his farm destroyed, Eragon and his dragon go to avenge them.

The movie is good, though not great. However, that may be because it is difficult to not compare it to other fantasy epics like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. The special effects are realistic and enjoyable in themselves (they had some help from Industrial Light and Magic). On the other hand, if you are a major fan of the book, you may have trouble with the movie. The book is epic, but the movie does not have enough time to cover all of the story's twists and details. For lovers of the book, Eragon will seem watered down and will notice that much of the original story is missing or changed. However, it is still fun and satisfying to see Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, is action. The parts of the movie that do stay true to the story manage to breath life into the book as well. Hopefully, the next installment, assuming they are making a movie of it, will have a larger budget that might allow for more time to portray the whole story.

Directed by Stefen Fangmeier; Starring Michael A. Mehlmann, Ed Speleers, Tamas Deak, and and Jeremy Irons

Movie; 10+; 20th Century Fox, 2006

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries, based on the first book in Cabot's series, is about Mia, who is a normally awkward girl in New York City. She goes to an exclusive prep school, where she is not popular, and lives with her mother. Her father is dead, and one day her paternal grandmother stops by to tell Mia that she is the crown princess of a small country called Genovia. Every girl's dream right? Not for Mia; she is not happy about being a princess at all. After the news, she is whisked off to Genovia to learn how to be a princess, which is no easy task. Mia is clumsy and unsophisticated. She would much rather hang out with her best friend than learn table manners and how to walk properly in heels. However, this makes for funny scenes for movie viewers. On the upside for Mia, here boyfriend prospects have improved somewhat, but will she choose the hunky, but dumb, jock she's had a crush on or the smart and caring guy who would obviously make a better prince for her? Perhaps more importantly, will Mia be able to remain true to herself or will she give in and become a royal snob?

This movie is funny and endearing. It works for all ages. Don't be scared of by the G rating, it is still fun for older teens, though this is definitely a chick flick! If you are a fan of the books, don't expect this movie to follow them closely. Right away, we learn that Mia's father is dead, which is a major departure from the books where Mia's father plays a prominent role. Other characters are different too. It is still fun to be able to watch Mia deal with etiquette and her clumsiness though!

Directed by Garry Marshall; Starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews

Movie; 10+; Walt Disney, 2001

Bend It Like Beckham by Narinder Dhami

Ok, the book is based on the movie rather than the other way around, but I love Bend It Like Beckham much that I had to add it to this list.

The movie (and the book) is about cultural differences between generations and friendship. Jesminder is a tomboy growing up in a traditional Sikh Indian family in modern England. She loves soccer (known as football in the rest of the world) and plays with her male cousins and friends. One day, she is spotted by Juliette, who invites Jes to join an all female soccer league. Jes is excited by the prospect, but her parents put their feet down when Jes tells them about joining the team. They expect her to start growing up and behaving like a proper Indian woman, which to them means learning to cook, no longer showing her legs (which puts a real damper on soccer uniforms) and finding a suitable Indian boy to marry. Compounding matters, Jes is growing up in the shadow of her older sister who epitomizes the family's values and will soon be married. The movie is a soccer story, so of course Jes sneaks behind her family's back an continues to play soccer on the team.

Juliette, who goes by Jules, has similar problems at home. She too is a tomboy. Her mother does not understand why her teenage daughter cannot be interested in typical teen girl things, like clothes and dating. However, Jules has plans that dating will get in the way of. She is hoping to be recruited by an American college soccer team. However, this doesn't mean that Jules is not interested in someone. She has a crush on her team's coach, Joe. Matters get complicated between Jules and Jes when Joe becomes interested in Jes and she returns his interest. Plus, Jes too hopes to be recruited for college soccer. Will the two girls be able to set aside their differences so they can play as a team again and win the recruiters' attention? Will Jes be able to make her family understand that she is not a bad daughter for wanting to play soccer and go to college in the U.S.?

I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It has enough sports for the guys and tomboys out their and enough romance for the not-so-sporty types. The story is easy to follow, but you will fall behind if you leave at the wrong moments. It gives great insight into what children of first generation immigrants may be going through when their family's heritage and traditions clash with those of their new home. It also sends a great message about choosing between what is really important and getting over what can turn out to be silly differences.

Directed by Gurinder Chadha; Starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and Shaheen Khan

Movie; 12+; Kintop Pictures, 2002

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Have you ever had to spend the summer apart from your absolutely best friend in the world? This movie, and the book it is closely based upon, is about four best friends who spend the summer apart but still manage to stay connected. Best friends since birth, Bridget, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby, find a pair of jeans that amazingly fit all four of their different body types. They get the idea to share the jeans over the summer, when each girl will be leaving for different places. Each girl will keep the jeans for one week then pass them onto the next with a note explaining the most exciting thing that happened so far to her. Bridget goes to soccer camp where she falls for a coach; Latina, Carmen goes to meet her absent father and his new step-family, who are all Caucasian; Lena goes to visit her family in Greece where she ends up re-starting a family feud when she falls for a local guy; and Tibby will be staying home and working. The differing stories are fun with some serious parts that will make this movie more appropriate for older teens (one of the girls' mothers commits suicide). Overall the themes stay summer-breezy just like the story line.

The teens who play the characters fit well into their parts, and the story mostly follows the book with a few deviations and omissions that will probably not bother die-hard book fans too much. Many scenes, especially those in Greece, are beautiful. The story never gets too cutesy or patronizing.

Directed by Ken Kwapis; Starring Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Blake Lively

Movie; 12+; Alcon Entertainment, 2005

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

If you liked the book, you will like the movie even though it takes on a slightly different storyline. In the book, it's Nick who grabs Norah to be his girlfriend "for five minutes" so his ex-girlfriend, Tris, won't think he's alone. In the movie, it's Norah who grabs Nick in order to avoid her frenemy, Tris, who happens to also be Nick's ex-girlfriend.

The movie is still good, even if it's not totally loyal to the book. Nick and Norah still spend the night running around Manhattan going to clubs. In the movie, they are looking for an elusive band who is playing a secret show at some club. Oh, and they lost their friend somewhere so they have to find her too. Both Nick and Norah are on the rebound after having their hearts broken. Will they have a chance together?

Also like the book, there are several references to various bands that music geeks will love. The soundtrack is also great. Another great thing about the movie is that, unlike other "teen" movies, it has a PG-13 rating so you won't have to rely on your parents to get you in.

Directed by Peter Sollet; Starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, and Ari Graynor

Movie; 13+; Sony Pictures, 2008

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight series has been so crazy popular that is was only a matter of time before a movie was made of it. I thoroughly expected to be disappointed by the movie version but ended up being pleasantly surprised (although I still encourage anyone who has not read the book to not rely only on the movie. The book is always better!).

The basic story (click here for the review and longer description of the book) is of the developing romance between Bella, a teen girl, and Edward, an incredibly hot vampire. Bella has moved to Forks, Washington, the rainiest town in the U.S., to live with her father. Edward is a student at Bella's new school (starting out as high school students allows Edward and his family to live in one place for a longer period of time). At first Edward seems to hate Bella, but it turns out that he just can't resist her good smelling blood. Bella ends up being welcomed by Edward's vampire family, who have a family policy of not getting their blood from humans but from animals. Unfortunately, and here is where the movie deviates from the book a bit, there is another coven of vampires that do prefer humans, and they are preying upon people in the Forks area. When they get a whiff of Bella, one of them decides he must have her. There is more to it than that, but I don't want to spoil the whole story.

It's an enjoyable movie on its own, but, for me, it was no substitute for the book. It didn't portray the level of angst and need that was in the book, but would probably be very hard to do anyway. Some of the special effects were not that great. Supposedly the next movie in the series has a much larger budget and therefore should have much better effects. The characters were not disappointing in their roles, although Bella looked like she was constantly cold and Edward's constant staring could be a little disconcerting. I guess both were supposed to be showing their intensity. I recommend seeing the movie and reading the book though reading the book is not required for enjoying the movie.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke; Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, and Peter Facinelli

Movie; 13+; Summit Entertainment, 2008

Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) stays fairly close to the young adult book by John Boyne. The basic storyline is that eight year old Bruno and his family move from Berlin, Germany to Poland where Bruno's father as been given command of Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno has no idea of the atrocities that are happening at Auschwitz, much less that it is a concentration camp. He thinks that the place is a farm and that the people there are workers on the farm. Bruno is told to stay away from the "farm," but there is nothing to do in the remote location and he soon wanders over to see what's going on. There, Bruno meets Shmuel, a Jewish boy the same age as Bruno. The two strike up a friendship playing games through the fence that separates them. When Bruno's family decides that the mother and kids should go to live with an aunt back in Germany, Bruno can't bear to leave his friend behind.

To say any more about the story would be to ruin the experience of either the movie or the book. For an older viewer, parts of the storyline may seem simplistic, but keep in mind that this is written for young adults. Some may wonder why Bruno does not figure out what Auschwitz is on his own, but when you consider his age, and that he has no background information or experiences that would lead him to a conclusion, it is understandable why he continues to think of the place as a farm. The movie is not the typical Holocaust movie. Boy in the Striped Pajamas is filmed in bright color without the usual darkness and sepia tones other Holocaust movies have. This creates an interesting contrast from the dark subject matter that serves to make the story more realistic. In real life, not every bad event happens on a rainy day.

Directed by Mark Herman; Starring Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, and David Thewlis.

For teachers, there is a classroom edition of the movie with extra features you might want to check out.

Movie; 13+; Miramax, 2008