Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Seen any movies lately?

Happy Holidays -
We are getting some extra holiday down time, and have seen a few movies and rented a few more to see. Snow is a great inspiration for movies around here.

Wondered if anyone had any comments re:

August Rush: About a musically gifted kid searching for his parents. DH, DS12 and I all found it a very effective tear jearker, wonderful in many ways. I can't reccomend it for kids as it romanticises teen 'relations.' My DS seems to have been born 'cautious and skeptical' so I'm not worried about him on that count.

The kid's mom is a portrayed as having a 'controlling' dad, and my DH made an interesting comment that she showed some unusual emotional responces. I thought that perhaps there was some 2E stuff going on that contributed to the dad's actions, which maybe weren't as 'selfish' as they appeared on the surface.

Tonight we went to see 'Yes Man' which was very funny, although there was about 5 minutes of footage that was so embarrassing that I covered my eyes and ears. Definitly not reccomended for kids. Otherwise sweet and laugh out loud funny if you like Jim Carrey's style.

We are looking forward to seeing 'Looking for Bobby Fisher,' 'Nixon' and 'Liar, Liar' on DVD over the next few days. With one hand on the 'fast forward' button of the remote.

Smiles,
Grinity

DS 7 has been picking the last couple of movies:

last night we saw fred claus............ surprisingly good. Santas brother has some troubles.

We also watched "Meet Dave" little tiny space people come to earth in a robot that looks like a human to rob the earth of it's salt, but while here they realize humans are basically good.

We really enjoyed August Rush - both my kids really loved all the music in it. They are both dance-crazy, however.

A beautiful short animated one is 'The Snowman', you might find it second hand. It is based on the word-free book of the same name. The animation really works with the silent story and the only words added are in a very ethereal song towards the end so it has a really dreamy but very fun winter wonderland feeling.
(of course, it is a dream, so that just figures!)

Happy Holidays!

We saw 'W' at the movies. All enjoyed it, although it was not a 'comedy' as DH has been misled to believe by the previews. Mostly 'family friendly' except some graphic war scenes. Not sure about the 'language' cause now that DS12 knows all his swear words I don't even 'hear' them anymore.

Saw 'Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist' with DS and a few older cousins. Wanted the earth to swallow me during the 'relations' part. Yuck! I enjoyed the rest of the movie very much.

Is there a website where I can register my complaints? Seems like I can't go to a movie without being horrified for 5 minutes.

Grinity

All I can say is avoid "Four Christmases" at all costs...my husband and I saw it after hype from friends and we were very disappointed. It was sooooo disjointed and meandering.

"Elf" is a Christmas tradition in our house now, my boys, 10 and 7 , and my daughter, 4.5, love this movie.

And finally, Kit Kittredge, ( sp?) the American Girl movie, was one the 4 of us ( minus my husband ) thoroughly enjoyed. Grinity, I can say that there were no embarassing parts, there was some history portrayed that was relevent to today, and it was a very well done movie.

Jen

LOL! I think that just means the moviemakers weren't aiming at you for their audience, Grin. They'd probably take your complaint as a sign that they're doing just what they wanted to do!

I thought I was the only person who did that! When something embarrassing happens on a movie or TV show I blush like mad and can't watch or listen.

We've been watching a lot of movies lately, too, since we got rid of cable and started doing Netflix. We all (DS6, DS4, DD2, DH, and I) liked "Prince Caspian". DH and I really enjoyed "Stranger than Fiction" and usually I'm not a Will Ferral fan, but it was a really cool concept done well.

Thanks for all these suggestions and warning!

As much as I suffer personally, I also worry that my kid's generation is growing up seeing this stuff and thinking that it's a normal part of our culture. Yuck! If every movie has to push the envelope to get a laugh, then what will the movies of 5 years from now bring?

Weirdly, we all liked 'The Love Guru' and found the 'embarassment laughing' to be a good thing. Almost like they were mocking the way movies have gotten stuck in a competition to be as shocking as possible.

((shrug))
Grinity

Grinity:

I love August Rush. We bought it without even seeing it b/c I just had that vibe that it was going to be a good one and I was so right.

As for your list my fav in there is Searching for Bobby Fisher. It is a beautiful movie and one I have watched over and over.

The movie I am trying to find in the house right now is Love Actually. (A British Christmas Movie) I love the disconnect of the different families and how they all tie in at the end. Of course this is certainly NOT a movie for small children b/c of certain scenes but if anyone has not seen it I highly recommend it for when the kids go to bed.

A couple of years ago, DS13 asked for March of the Penguins for Christmas. It is a very interesting and well done documentary of Emperor Penguins narrated by Morgan Freeman. Last year he asked for Planet Earth, and we've all enjoyed that numerous times. DD10 wanted Akeelah and the Bee for Christmas last year, so we got that for her and it is an enjoyable film, even if somewhat predictable. Of course, she is a HUGE I Love Lucy fan and over the last 2-3 years we've given her all the seasons. It makes for a great (quick) flick when her class is having some sort of party, and much preferable as far as we're concerned over something like Nightmare Before Christmas (of course, we are big fans of Danny Elfman who wrote the music for NBC.)

DH and I watched Finding Forrester with Sean Connery a couple of years ago - a bit slow paced, but we were impressed overall. It's about an inner city young man (jock) who has a passion for writing. Sean Connery's character is a recluse and author who mentors the young man. IIRC, there is a certain amount of swearing in it, so watch at your own risk - or with your earplugs!

Since we enjoy Planet Earth so much, we've considered purchasing Blue Planet - anyone have thoughts on this show?

We enjoy netflix too. It's been fun to watch shows with our kids that we used to watch: Quantum Leap, StarGate: SG1, West Wing, Star Trek, TNG, Little House on the Prairie, etc.

Thanks for the topic. This has been fun!