Movie Mom Favorites for a Happy Halloween
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 9:12 am
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New Sesame Street Character Teaches Kids About Food — And Hunger
Posted on October 16, 2011 at 3:32 pm
In observance of World Food Day, “Sesame Street” has a new toolkit to help families make good decisions about food, so that even those on a limited budget can make meals that help families grow and stay healthy. A new Muppet character named Lily is one of the 17 million children in America who do not have a reliable source for their next meal. “Sesame Street” allows Lily to tell her story to help children who watch develop empathy and kindness, to give children in poverty a character they can identify with so they will not feel as isolated, and to remind everyone of the importance of access to wholesome and nourishing food. Lily will not be a regular on the show, but appears in “Sesame Street’s” special on food and on the website.
Trailer: The Three Musketeers
Posted on October 9, 2011 at 3:49 pm
I’m always excited about another version of The Three Musketeers
As we wait for this acrobatic remake from the director and star of “Resident Evil,” we can revisit some of the best of the previous versions. Here’s Gene Kelly showing off his athletic skill in one of the sword fights from the 1948 version.
I’m not a fan of the 1993 version with Charlie Sheen and Chris O’Donnell. My favorite is still the sumptuous and unbridled 1973 version directed by Richard Lester.
Citizen Kane
Posted on September 25, 2011 at 7:51 pm
A+| Lowest Recommended Age: | Middle School |
| MPAA Rating: | NR |
| Profanity: | None |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | Drinking, smoking, sometimes to excess |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Tense confrontations, sad death |
| Diversity Issues: | Character makes an anti-Semitic remark |
| Date Released to Theaters: | 1941 |
| Date Released to DVD: | September 26, 2011 |
| Amazon.com ASIN: | B0050G3NWG |
“Citizen Kane” has topped more “all-time best” lists than any other movie and this 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition is a treat for passionate fans and those who still have the thrill of seeing it for the first time ahead of them.
Orson Welles was only 26 but already an accomplished writer/director with a distinguished body of work on stage and radio. He and writer Herman J. Mankiewicz wrote the script, inspired by the life of publishing titan William Randolph Hearst. Welles directed and starred in the title role of a wealthy young man who turns from idealistic newspaper owner to political candidate to bitter recluse. It is worthy of every accolade it has received and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyv19bg0scgThis magnificent film influenced and inspired everything that came after. And the sumptuous extras that come with this anniversary edition are treasures, especially the scene-by-scene commentary by Roger Ebert, almost as entertaining and illuminating as the film itself, with insights and details of technology and artistic innovation that are mind-boggling. There’s a separate commentary by director/historian Peter Bogdanovich and interviews with editor Robert Wise (who later became a director) and co-star Ruth Warrick (who played Kane’s first wife and later went on to star in “All My Children”).
Dumbo
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 8:00 am
A| Lowest Recommended Age: | Kindergarten - 3rd Grade |
| MPAA Rating: | G |
| Profanity: | None |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | Characters get drunk |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Sad and scary scenes, mother caged and separated from her child |
| Diversity Issues: | A theme of the movie, some racial material insensitive by today's standards |
| Date Released to Theaters: | 1941 |
| Date Released to DVD: | September 19, 2011 |
| Amazon.com ASIN: | B003H9M1QM |
A gorgeous new 70th anniversary “Dumbo” Blu-Ray DVD pack is the Pick of the Week.
The stork delivers babies to the circus animals, including Mrs. Jumbo’s baby, an elephant with enormous ears. The other elephants laugh at him and call him Dumbo, but Mrs. Jumbo loves him very much. When Dumbo is mistreated, she is furious and raises such a fuss that she is locked up. Dumbo is made part of the clown act, which embarasses him very much. He is a big hit and, celebrating his good fortune, accidentally drinks champagne and becomes tipsy. The next morning, he wakes up in a tree, with no idea how he got there. It turns out that he flew! His big ears are aerodynamic. He becomes the star of the circus, with his proud mother beside him.
The themes in this movie include tolerance of differences and the importance of believing in yourself. It also provides a good opportunity to encourage empathy by asking kids how they would feel if everyone laughed at them the way the animals laugh at Dumbo, and how important it is to Dumbo to have a friend like Timothy.
Parents should note that while respecting individual differences is a theme of the movie, the crows who sing “When I See an Elephant Fly” would be considered racist by today’s standards. One of them is named “Jim Crow” and they speak with “Amos ‘n Andy”-style accents, but clearly they are not intended to be insulting. Families who see this movie should talk about that depiction, as well as these questions: Why does Timothy tell Dumbo he needs the feather to fly? How does he learn that he does not need it? Why do the other elephants laugh at Dumbo’s ears? How does that make him feel?
Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy some stories with related themes. The circus train, Casey, Jr., puffs “I think I can” as it goes up the hill, just like “The Little Engine That Could.” Compare this story to “How the Elephant Got Its Trunk,” by Rudyard Kipling (read by Jack Nicholson in the wonderful Rabbit Ears production), in which another elephant finds his larger-than expected feature first ridiculed and then envied by the other elephants. Kids may also enjoy comparing this to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and other stories about differences that make characters special.