Weekend Film Reviews: ‘Teenage Wasteland,’ ‘The Sun Never Sets’

<p dir="ltr">Forget &ldquo;6-7.&rdquo; In 1990s Middletown, New York, a high school class figured out how to really drive the adults crazy: exposing a toxic waste scandal in their backyard. A new documentary, Teenage Wasteland, tells the true story of a group of students that stumbled onto a major scoop. To uncover the truth, they followed the money, grilled corrupt local officials and got on the wrong side of the mob. <strong>Angelica Jade Basti&eacute;n</strong>, film critic for <em>New York</em> magazine, says the film makes a &ldquo;beautiful argument&rdquo; for &ldquo;civic courage&rdquo; &mdash; that &ldquo;we should look at the world with curious eyes and not just swallow the mistruths or outright lies of the broken governments we live under.&rdquo; <strong>Katie Walsh</strong>, film critic for the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> and the Tribune News Service, says the movie is more 1990s nostalgia trip than heart-pounding thriller. &ldquo;It is really inspiring to think about how a teacher empowers them to just go out and start asking questions," she says.&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr">Basti&eacute;n and Walsh also review <em>Onslaught</em>, <em>The Sun Never Sets</em>, and <em>Boorman and the Devil</em>.</p>