Posted on December 17, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Jim Emerson has put together an excellent list of movies everyone should see. What’s your score?
And if you get a good score on that one, take a look at the list from the Alamo Drafthouse and this one from Time. Happy watching!
Posted on December 17, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Cheers to The Station in Bernardsville, NJ. They give patrons a basket for their phones and other devices. And then if the customers make it to the end of the meal without using them, they give 5% off the bill. Bravo! Families should do this at all meals, at home and in restaurants.
Posted on December 17, 2013 at 11:20 am
Michael Sheen, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, Ioan Gruffudd, and Aneurin Barnard star in this film based on Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box
Posted on December 17, 2013 at 8:00 am
Even Santa’s elves sometimes find themselves on the naughty list. In this very cute animated DVD, elf brothers named Winter (Sean Astin) and Snowflake (Drake Bell) have a hard time following the rules of the North Pole. When they accidentally wreck Santa’s Christmas tree, they find themselves on the Naughty List, along with a reindeer named Sparkle (“Glee’s” Naya Rivera), who is responsible for a “sleigh incident.” Under the stern supervision of a robot named Tinsel (Matthew Lillard), they are punished with boring chores, but they just get in more trouble, finally giving food poisoning to everyone — even Santa (Kyle Chandler) — just before Christmas. The only ones who can save the day are the Naughty List-ers.
I have a copy to give away! Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Naughty” in the subject line and tell me your favorite Christmas song. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only.) I’ll pick a winner at random on December 20. Good luck!
Posted on December 16, 2013 at 9:42 pm
“Contest” more than makes up for some first-time-filmmaker shortcomings with its sincerity and unexpected strengths in the storyline and cinematography.
Tommy (Danny Flaherty) is a high school loner, often bullied by the swim team jocks led by Matt (Kenton Duty). Both boys do not have parents. Tommy lives with his grandmother (“The Good Wife’s” Mary Beth Peil), who owns a pizzeria. Matt lives with his older brother Kyle (Kyle Dean Massey).
When security camera footage of the swim team throwing Tommy into the pool lets Matt in trouble, the assistant principal tells him that if he can make friends with Tommy and lead the anti-bullying campaign for 30 days, he can be reinstated in his extra-curricular activities. Tommy is not interested at first, but when he is selected for a television teen cooking show competition and needs teammates to try for the $50,000 prize, he grudgingly accepts Matt’s help.
Meanwhile, the young, arrogant landlord who owns the pizzeria’s lease wants to get her out. Tommy’s brother Kyle is given the assignment of making sure she cannot exercise her option to buy the property.
The young actors sometimes struggle with the material and the face-slaps from the all-female opposing team are unfortunate. But the script is absorbing, with some unexpected twists, appealing characters (I especially liked the grandmother and the pretty blogger), and real insights into the origins of bullying and its impact on the bully as well as the victim.
Parents should know that this film concern bullying and includes some rough talk.
Family discussion: Why do people become bullies? How are the teens in this story like the adults around them? What does Tommy mean about “flipping the switch?” What changes Matt’s mind?
If you like this, try: “Mean Girls”
