10 Things I Hate About You

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: March 31, 1999

DVD Release Date: October 1, 1999

Plot 411: One sister's social life depends on another's. Money exchnages hands. People fall in and out of love.

Review: Kat (Julia Stiles) and Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) are as different as can be despite being related by blood. Kat, the older sister, is more withdrawn from the high school's typical social structure. Bianca is all too willing to become queen B. When their father (Larry Miller), forbids Bianca from dating unless Kat dates, he thinks this is a good way to deter his young, naive daughter because he doesn't believe Kat will ever date anyone. At school, new kid Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls for Bianca from afar and tries everything he can to win her over, including bribing the school jock Joey (Andrew Keegan) and aligning himself with the school outcast Patrick (Heath Ledger). This is one of those movies that started it all for young actors. Looking back on it, it's not one of those ground-breaking performances that'll win you an Oscar. But, it is a teen flick that'll get you noticed . . . and that's just what it did for many of these actors. Based on Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew, this movie was probably one of the better teen rom coms to come out of the late '90s. In a very memorable scene, Ledger sings and dances.

Watch It: For a quick look at where some of the best young actors began their careers.

Skip It: Because you're probably better off watching The Taming Of The Shrew in an original remake instead of an adaptation like this.

Candy

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: November 17, 2006

DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007

Plot 411: A love story almost as tragic and destructive as Romeo and Juliet.

Review: Dan (Heath Ledger) and Candy (Abbie Cornish) are a young couple completely in love with each other. Their passion for one another burns even brighter after their introduction to drugs. The drugs seem to make their love more intense while at the same time making them more fragile. The couple's drug habits get worse and they do everything they can to get their fix. They steal from family members, prostitute themselves and commit identity theft just to fill the euphoria of the drugs. When they learn of an unexpected pregnancy, the couple decides to quit for the baby. But after years of drug abuse that has rocked their relationship, can they be responsible enough to raise a child? This movie is the first in which I truly recognized Ledger's acting chops. Sure, he'd been in several movies by this point (such as 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight's Tale and Lords Of Dogtown), but even after Brokeback Mountain I thought it just might've been a fluke. How could the guy who did an impromtu Frankie Valli tribute pull off this tweaker? But Ledger pulls out all the stops and is really something to watch. It was a moving and powerful performance and utterly heartbreaking to know that he's gone.

Watch It: Because despite his genius as the Joker in The Dark Knight, I think he is even more amazing as Dan.

Skip It: Because of its pretty explicit drug usage.