A French Officer in the American Revolution is the thrilling story of a dashing and courageous French soldier who joined the Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington to fight in the American Revolutionary War. It is based on meticulous research and the journals of François-Louis de Ménonville, written by his direct descendant as if it was told by the soldier himself, with extensive footnotes for those interested in learning more. It describes not only his adventures in battle and comments on military strategy but his thoughts on George Washington, Lafayette, and other major figures.

The ebook is FREE the holiday weekend in honor of the 250th birthday of the US.

It has been 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed, and we have spent two and a half centuries trying to live up to its ideals.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. 

Enjoy the parades, picnics, and fireworks, but take some time to remember the vision and courage behind how we began.

1776 I love this film, based on the Broadway musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, with almost all of the stars from the acclaimed stage production, including William Daniels as the “obnoxious and disliked” John Adams, Ken Howard as a dashing Thomas Jefferson, and Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin.

And…..

Independence Day Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum star in one of the all-time great popcorn pleasures. Aliens attack the earth and it takes a quirky engineer, a plucky President, and a heroic military pilot to save the day. What does that have to do with the 4th of July? Listen to the President’s stirring pep talk.

The Patriot There are many films about the Civil War, but not many about the Revolutionary War. Mel Gibson stars in this uneven but stirring film about a farmer pulled into the rebellion.

And don’t forget Schoolhouse Rock!

It was about the time that tourists on a history of Hollywood tour walked past an animated George Lucas in a glass case, speaking with the ACTUAL VOICE OF THE ACTUAL GEORGE LUCAS that I said, “Okay, my critical faculties have been officially shut down and I am just a happy fangirl at this point.” “Minions & Monsters” continues the origin story of the little yellow guys in denim overalls and now adds in the origin story of the movies, plus a robot voiced by Jesse Eisenberg and some love for the fanboys. That’s a quintella of irresistableness and I did not even try to resist.

In a present-day prologue, tour guide (Alison Janney) tells a group to take a seat so she can give them the full story of the two minons who changed everything in movies, history, and the world. We go back in time to see them on their quest to find and serve the most evil master in the world. Unfortunately, the minions keep accidentally destroying their “big bosses.” First there is a “scary, burly, and super-mean”gigantic one-eyed ogre, then a wizard with a book of arcane spells, and a despotic king.

Then, they see another promising bad guy, an old West train robber riding a galloping horse. The minions end up taking over the train, which crashes through the city of Los Angeles circa early 1920s (the history dates here are pretty wobbly, but go with it). This gives us a glimpse of iconic silent film characters and settings including Charlie Chaplin in “Modern Times,” Buster Keaton in “Steamboat Bill Jr.,”and Harold Lloyd in “Safety Last.” That train robber? An actor, in a film the minions have just disrupted to the frantic consternation of a dashing monacle-sporting, tweed-knickers-wearing director named Max (Christoph Waltz). But it turns out the brothers who run the movie studio (both voiced by Jeff Bridges) love the chaos of the minions and soon they are big stars, living in an enormous mansion, adored by fans, and selecting what will become their iconic look: denim overalls.

Like many other stars of the silent era and unforgettably depicted in “Singin’ in the Rain,” things change dramatically for the minions when the sound era begins. The minions do not possess the ability to produce intelligable speech. Most of the minions go off in search of another “big boss.” A few, including James, Henry, and Ed, who is Deaf decide that they need to make a monster movie. And so they use the wizard’s book of spells to call up a friendly little green monster (Trey Parker) who promises to bring them to some scary but cooperative monsters.

Meanwhile, a nerdy robot named Dort (Eisenberg) proves unexepectedly adept at fighting bullies at a sci-fi convention and starts seeing a sweet suffragist named Debbie (Zoey Deutch). Dort is a great new character, with a wonderful retro design and a hilarious, slightly unbalanced walk.

It is exciting and very funny and in love with movies. It even begins with the old Universal logos and the Eadweard Muybridge images that led to the very first development of movie technology. Above all, like “Toy Story 5” (and “Toy Story 4”) this film is a tribute to the joy of imagination. The two new minion characters, James and Henry (like the other minions, voiced by director Pierre Coffin) grew up creating stories and characters. The people who made this film did, too, and they want you to see how exciting and fun and important that is.

Parents should know that this film includes a lot of cartoon comic mayhem, peril, and violence including scary monsters and sharks, chases, punching and slapping, a character’s head is cut off, and another dissolves into dust. There is some rude humor including a character who sits on a toy. A new minion is Deaf and his friends quickly adapt to using sign language.

Family discussion: Why do brothers Frank and Ernest have such different responses? Which of the minons are better at adapting to changing circumstances? Which of their “big bosses” is the scariest?

If you like this, try: the classic movies referenced in the film and the other minions and “Despicable Me” movies

Last year, “Superman” gave us David Corenswet as an optimistic, trusting, honorable Boy Scout of a superhero, one who said that that was the real punk rock. And in a scene in the credits, we saw that his cousin Kara/Supergirl (Milly Alcock) is a complete mess and also very attached to superdog Krypto.

Now, in “Supergirl,” that is where we start, with Kara celebrating her 23rd birthday with an inter-planetary pub crawl. Every night is a different planet and a different bar and every morning is the same hangover. Throughout this film, Superman will try to get in touch with Kara and encourage her to come “home.” But she does not see Earth as home. We will learn more about her grief and the source of her trauma later. Unlike Superman, who was sent from the exploding Krypton as a baby and found a loving home on Earth, Kara was a teenager when she lost her home and parents and has severe PTSD.

Those who know the backstory of the refugees from Krypton will remember that one of the sources of their superpowers on earth is our yellow sun, instead of the red sun on Krypton. So when we see that she is getting drunk on a planet with a red sun we know that she does not have the super-strength, invulnerability, or laser vision she has on Earth or any other yellow sun planet. But, we will learn, she likes to drink on yellow sun planets because without superpowers she is more susceptible to the effects of alcohol.

I always say that superhero movies, and really most action movies, depend more on the bad guys than the good guys, and in this case our bad guy is the genuinely terrifying Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) an inter-planetary brigand with a face covered with studs who specializes in senseless violence, not so much because he enjoys it but because it is meaningless. We see him kill a modest man who is a legendary crafter of swords, along with his wife and son, even though they made no effort to keep him from stealing their cache of weapons. The young daughter, Ruthye (Eve Ridley) hides and sees it all. She is determined to kill Krem, so “True Grit”-style she goes to a bar full of rowdy, cut-throat outlaws to find someone to help her. This is not “Planet Hail Mary” so no one cares about details like whether the gravity and oxygen and language/communication and technology on other planets are all as easy to reach as the next stop on the subway and pretty much the same, aside from some “Star Wars” cantina-style creatures in the bar scenes.) Also, like Mattie in “True Grit,” she has an oddly formal, old-fashioned way of speaking, plus, for some reason, a British accent.

One of the bar creatures steals Ruthye’s sword, and Kara, drunk, without her powers, but perhaps identifying a little with the girl goes after the thief. It’s always good to see a fight scene that has a little extra zhuzh to it, and seeing Kara fight a gigantic, scary-looking guy without her powers and with impaired judgment adds interest. There’s nice zhuzh in some of the the other fights, another one with Kara impaired and especially when Kara fights three maurading women who have technology that enables them to disappear briefly and re-appear in another nearby location.

Even though Kara keeps telling Ruthye she will not help her, circumstances keep pushing them together. Krem takes Kara’s ship and shoots Krypto with a poison that takes three days to kill. This gives her a mission and a deadline. They also meet up with cigar-chompin’, motorcycle-ridin’, now it’s a party all-purpose ruffian Lobo (Jason Momoa) who shows up now and then, not to rescue Kara or Ruthye, just to join in.

It’s a little messy. But so is Kara, and her path to being a bit less messy by the end is worth watching.

NOTE: You do NOT need to stay to the end of the credits. No exta scenes.

Parents should know that this is a superhero film with constant comic-book-style action, peril and violence with many characters injured and killed and some graphic and disturbing images. Two young women lose their families. Young women are kidnapped with the intent to rape and impregnate them. Characters use strong language and Supergirl/Kara drinks to get drunk and numb her pain.

Family discussion: How did Ruthie change Kara’s ideas about herself? What is the difference between being nice and being good. What is the meaning of the moment when Kara decides to wear the uniform Superman gave her? Why is it SuperMAN and SuperGIRL?

If you like this try: “Superman” and the “Supergirl” television series.