A writer recalls her childhood, and realizes she has suppressed hurtful subjects regarding her relationship with her father and uncle. The story is quite confusing, and especially audio quality distractingly low. Martha, playing the main role, is probably chosen for the role more for her remarkable beauty than acting skill.

William Keane has lost his daughter, and the pain of that loss is all there is room for in his life. Or is it all just his imagination? That is the main theme: what in William's mind is real, what is fantasy, and what are his intentions toward the daughter of the woman he meets during the movie.

It's a dark world in William's head, and though sometimes things move slowly, you are kept on your toes throughout the movie. Abigail's performance as the daughter makes it clear she's an actress with much more to show off than a pretty face.

The strength of this love drama lies in its admirable execution, while the plot is age old. 14-year-old Dani falls in love with an older boy, which feeling is reciprocated – but only until he meets Dani's older sister.

The movie is thick with the humid, slow atmosphere of the rural south US in the 50's. There are a number of cliches from the movies of the time period, but they are made use of rather than fallen into. The Elvis-based soundtrack and the sets support the 50's mood perfectly.

The characters are each real, nuanced, and well-acted. This includes Dani, who is just making the transition from a plucky tomboy and a starry-eyed Elvis fan into a young woman. Reese's acting is consistently good, and this first role of hers is also among her best. She didn't win the Best Young Actress award she was nominated for, but there's no reason she shouldn't have.

Tommy Rowland heads back home to a quiet suburb to for his 10-year high school reunion. He also has to make up his mind about his girlfriend, as do all the high school buddies of his that he meets. This is a solid date movie, but without severely succumbing to any of the pitfalls of the genre. The cast is strong, and characters largely convincing and interesting.

Natalie is one of the beautiful girls of the story. Her character Marty is a precocious, intelligent and outgoing girl who doesn't hesitate to subtly hit on Tommy from the start, despite the age difference. The relationship comes across realistic, the kind of crush that early teen girls sometimes have for older men. The role suits Natalie, who also was an intelligent and perhaps precocious girl, and her performance is widely praised in reviews. Natalie's screen time is under ten minutes, but the role is nonetheless one of the more important ones in the movie.

If you want to watch one early Natalie movie in addition to obligatory Léon, watch this one.

This is the story of Forrest Gump, a man set apart from others by his distinct lack of intelligence. Unlike the book, the movie makes Forrest a very sympathetic character: stupid but kind and compassionate. His life is full of exotic incidents and experiences, such as winning a ping-pong championship, having a flourishing shrimping business, and becoming a war hero.

The theme that ties the movie together however is Forrest's relationship with Jenny Curran, whom he first meets on the bus on the first day of school. Being beautiful, and the only person who shares a seat, Jenny looks like an angel to him. Although one of her first questions to Forrest is "Are you stupid or something?" they become best friends. Jenny's father, an alcoholic single parent, abuses her sexually, and perhaps the fact Forrest doesn't understand this is the reason for Jenny preferring his company.

This relationship between naïve but loving Forrest and intelligent but troubled Jenny holds throughout their childhood and college years. Later on they spend many years separated, as Forrest joins the army and Jenny lives among the hippies of the 60s. In the end they meet again, completing the circle which began by their encounter on the school bus.

Forrest Gump seems to have a divided reception, some finding it too cute – and it does sugar coat things. Personally I enjoy its style, and in particular the relationship of Forrest and Jenny. Perhaps it is the innocence of Forrest that allows for both such pure love from him, and the caring gentleness from Jenny, who has been through so much in her life.

Hanna plays young Jenny, and her role is only a few minutes of screen time. It's however more significant than its length would imply, touching serious themes, and creates a lovely foundation for the main theme of the movie.

Dakota plays Abigail Jennings, an adorable little girl in a well-off family, who suffers from severe asthma. Abby is kidnapped for ransom, but the kidnappers' plan goes awry. Dakota's performance is excellent, and she evokes strong feelings of sympathy, affection, and also helplessness. She also has one of the most convincing on-screen asthma attacks I've seen.

Two early teens, one of them played by Mischa, decide impulsively to rob a bank. Things don't go exactly as planned, and the kids get stuck within the bank holding hostages. The movie appears determined to make a statement, though I'm not sure what the message is. In practice you see a lot of yelling and minor chaos. Mischa looks somewhat confused about what to do; I suspect the director shared the same feeling when making the movie.

Based on the classic girls' book, The Secret Garden stays true to the original story. Mary Lennox (Kate) has grown up in India, and as her parents die, she moves into her relatives' castle in England. Raised selfish and unloved, she befriends other children, and starts to learn how to behave and how to be happy. A fair if unremarkable family movie.

Manny Singer's (Ray Liotta) wife has just died, and his daughter Molly (Tina) has become withdrawn and won't speak. Manny hires a housekeeper Corrina (Whoopi Goldberg), who quickly befriends Molly and makes her forget her sadness. A romance grows between Manny and Corrina, a big deal to many in the Fifties. It's an old subject, and handled in an usually boring way, devoid of surprises. I was also bothered by the jarring mixing of comedy to the rather serious drama, as the humor is quite childish and doesn't fit in.

Tina however is at her best and adorablest. While sullen and silent in beginning, she soon turns into a girl who's frequently very happy indeed, with huge, very cute smiles. Tina's role is large, and gives her more opportunities at real acting than do most child roles.

Anna plays Alison Kantrowitz, a 14-year-old who has had to come with her parents and little brother to their usual, low-budget summer resort, and is none too pleased. During the movie Alison "becomes a woman," gets her first boyfriend, and goes to Woodstock. These events shadow the main story of her mother Pearl, who got Alison young, with her first boyfriend, and feels having missed out much of the things that her daughter is now experiencing. At the resort Pearl meets handsome blouse seller (Viggo Mortensen), which results in a crisis in her marriage.

Anna looks about the same age as her character, 14. She gets about 15 minutes of screen time, which is on the large side of medium by this site's standards. The character of Alison is realistic yet rather clichéd, which can be said of many things in the movie.

While physically adult, Anna exhibits a lot of her youthful mannerisms in this role, which makes it unique among Anna's performances. Don't let the mere 1 year difference between the release years of this movie and X-Men fool you: Anna is, or at least comes across much older in X-Men.

A Walk on the Moon builds heavily on the atmosphere of year 1969, including the first walk upon the Moon. Aside from the Anna aspects, the movie probably works best for those who have lived the time period. The themes and their treatment has little new to offer, but some people are going to enjoy the depiction of the time period.