Teen Topics : Of the movies you’ve seen lately, what are your favorites? Why? Were any films a waste of time?

Imelda Ochoa, 17, Downtown Business Magnet High: “American Me� is my favorite because it shows the reality of how we are living. “Basic Instinct� was a waste of time because it was plain dumb and didn’t make sense.

Kimberly Carranza, 17, Norwalk High: “Father of the Bride� is my favorite movie. The father had a difficult time facing the fact that his little girl was not so little and was a woman engaged to marry. “Unnecessary Roughness� is also a favorite. It keeps you laughing all through the show. “Ghost Dad� and “Beetlejuice� were a waste of time. Their theme was not understandable.

Veronica Rodriguez, 17, Norwalk High: “Father of the Bride� seems to rank the highest on my list because it deals with things that happen in real life. “Basic Instinct� seems to have been a waste of time. The main reason was because there seemed to be too many sex scenes.

Frank Osorio, 17, Norwalk High: “Terminator II,� “White Men Can’t Jump� and “Stop or My Mom Will Shoot� are my favorites because they kept me awake all movie long.

Jerry Montes, 15, Norwalk High: “Father of the Bride� is a good parody of real-life marriage problems. “Radio Flyer� touches the heart. “Hook� brings out fantasy in the mind. “Lawnmower Man� is a good story with good computer graphics. “Rush� was droll, no plot, made me feel loaded. “Doing Time on Planet Earth� made no sense. “Sleepwalkers� was dumb.

Danilo Torres, 18, L.A. County High School for the Arts: “Basic Instinct� is my favorite because it grabs you from the beginning. “American Me� because it was shot really good and directed good.

Elysa Gomez, 16, School for the Arts: “Cape Fear� was my favorite because of the suspense. It keeps your heart pumping. “Beauty and the Beast� because of the music and basic story. “Sleepwalkers� was a waste of time because it was so stupid, fake, (and had) only one scary part.

Liana Manukyan, 14, Toll Jr. High: “White Men Can’t Jump� was a good movie because it dealt with the racial issues in America and it also had good sense of humor. I would also like to see movies about other cultures who are victims of discrimination in the U.S. “Ladybugs� was a very simple movie because it did not deal with the real problems of life. And it wasn’t very funny.

Kristine Aguilar, 18, Mountain View High: “The Cutting Edge� is the latest movie I’ve seen because it was an original love story. Especially because I love ice-skating. It also has a great deal of jokes, which makes the movie fun.

Yoli Tustin, 15, School for the Arts: “Beauty and the Beast� was a favorite because it was very cute and emotional. “Basic Instinct� because of the good story line (suspenseful). “Lawnmower Man� was a waste of time. It didn’t really make too much sense.

Marissa Gomez, 16, School for the Arts: “Beauty and the Beast,� “Wayne’s World,� “Basic Instinct,� “Thunderheart� and “Beethoven� were my favorites.

Laura Estrada, 18, Roosevelt High: “White Men Can’t Jump,� “Basic Instinct,� “Fried Green Tomatoes� were favorites. “American Me� was my favorite because I’ve been really waiting for movies about Latinos and our way of life. I think this movie was really realistic about everything. It didn’t try to cover anything or make any of the bad stuff look “cool� like other movies. I think “Basic Instinct� was a waste of money and time. The end was really stupid and predictable.

Marcelino Basulto, 17, Roosevelt High: I believe “Basic Instinct� and “Wayne’s World� are the best movies I have seen so far. These movies always or most of the time kept my fullest attention. “Addams Family� was a real bummer.

Miguel Ceja, 17, Roosevelt High: “American Me� is my favorite because of its portrayal of the prison life and the reality that lives among us. “The Godfather III,� because of all the action in the underworld of the Mafia. “Murders of Love� was a waste because of the pathetic cast and no plot.

Francisco Velez, 18, Roosevelt High: “The Silence of the Lambs� is my favorite. The acting is really good.

Michael Layos, 18, Mountain View High: “White Men Can’t Jump� is the latest movie I’ve seen. I chose this film because of the basketball aspect. I have been a fan of basketball ever since elementary school.

Indira Ortiz, 18, Mountain View High: I haven’t been to the movies since last December because it’s too expensive.

Mari Manukyan, 15, Hoover High: “Ladybugs� was the only movie I’ve gotten to see lately. It was a movie worth watching, mostly because of Rodney Dangerfield’s acting. It was a good comedy and made me laugh more than once.

Survey compiled by: Say-Von Khov, of Downtown Business Magnet High; Karen Carranza, Norwalk High; Michelle Snyder, L.A. County High School for the Arts; Jorge Arauz, Roosevelt High; Claudia Tejada, Mountain View High.