A Look into Hamber Students’ Favourite Films
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2026 has been a year of physical media resurgence, bringing renewed attention to vinyl records and paperback books, and also restoring an interest in films. Movies are once again being appreciated not just for their content, but as a reflection of viewers’ personal tastes and interests — a trend that is echoed in Hamberites’ individual film preferences.
Camille Le (9), a passionate movie fan, has a handful of recommendations. “First, Forrest Gump,” she said. “[Gump] is just genuinely so funny. It’s so interesting what he does.” She then recommended Little Women and Pride & Prejudice, saying that they were both “really cinematic, and also artful and meaningful.” Finally, Le said that the horror-thriller film Get Out was also among her top movies. “I think [it] just had really good symbolism,” she commented.
As someone who watches films often, Le also recommends using the app Letterboxd to track recently watched films and keep up with friends’ viewings. “It gives good recommendations, and it’s free,” she stated.
Simone Rizek (9), another Letterboxd user, has two favourites: Bones and All and Marty Supreme, both starring Timothée Chalamet. “The movies are both really good, and both made me cry,” she said. “I just love [Chalamet].”
Ben Thiessen (10) recently watched and enjoyed Memento, a Christopher Nolan-directed psychological thriller. “It’s a story about this guy who has no short-term memory, and it’s told in reverse. So the story starts when you see him shoot this guy, and you’re like, ‘why is this happening?’ and the rest of the movie is just finding out why he did that,” said Thiessen. However, he does caution that the movie contains a fair amount of gore and violence.
Farah Berkson (9) enjoyed watching Run, a psychological thriller. “It’s a horror [movie], but it’s not too scary,” she said, stating that she liked it because “it doesn’t keep you waiting,” and that “it [goes at] a nice pace.”
Annelies Stolk (10) said that the manga-to-anime adaptation Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc made an impression on her. “The storyline was quite emotionally compelling [...] [and] you feel wholesome in scenes that don’t appear to be, well, wholesome,” she states. “If you’ve seen it, you’ll know what I mean,” said Stolk, not wanting to spoil the film’s contents for interested viewers.
Isaac Manery (9) prefers fantasy-adventure movies more, namely The Lord of the Rings. “I think it’s underrated,” he said. “The worldbuilding in it is very interesting.” The trilogy of films, starring Elijah Wood, are adaptations of the famous novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.
A comfort movie for Mia Vu (9) is the Pixar-produced movie Coco, which she enjoys because of its weighty emotional themes. “It’s really good and really sad, and I just like the storyline,” she said. “Also, it’s really good for long flights.”
Olivia Leung (9) suggests watching the classic romantic-comedy musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, released in 1964. “[It] was really good. The production design is just great, and the opening credits are really cool,” she said. Leung also found the aesthetics of the movie to be pleasing and interesting. “The colour work is really nice, and it’s in French.”
Mr. M. Vatta (English) also followed the classics route and recommended Casablanca for a myriad of reasons. “It’s many films in one,” he said, stating that the film is a drama with comedic elements, while also having a great romance plot. “[It’s] one of the greatest indelible love stories of all time. [...] It’s [also] filled with great lines and meaningful acting performances. And it has maybe one of the top ten final lines of any film.”