Horton’s Lessons

Posted on December 3, 2008 at 8:00 am

Be sure to look at the wonderful gallery of “Twelve Lessons Horton Taught Me” by Hillary Fields. Inspired by the upcoming release of the DVD, Fields describes the spiritual lessons of the Dr. Seuss classic from “a person’s a person, no matter how small” to the importance of responsibility and a sense of purpose.

Great Books for Kids

Posted on November 28, 2008 at 8:00 am

Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. WETA, Washington DC’s PBS Station, has worked with the U.S. Department of Education to help parents, caregivers, and teachers help children learn to read and love to read.
They’ve created a holiday gift guide with lots of great suggestions of books for kids from toddler to age 9. If you want some ideas for holiday presents that will never require batteries these choices are a wonderful place to begin. Having some reading choices that are funny and exciting and inspiring, books you can read together or let them master on their own, is a good way to make them want to be lifetime learners. And don’t forget that nothing will convey the importance (and pleasure) of reading as much as seeing you enjoying a book or magazine, so be sure to set a good example.

Movie Alphabet Soup

Posted on November 20, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Christian Toto’s participation in the movie blog alphabet soup meme started by blogcabins inspired me to create my own alphabetical list of movie titles. My theme is “the second 200” — these are movies that may not be in my top 100 list, but would all find a place just below it. And they’re all wonderful choices for family movie nights.

Amistad This underrated historical drama about the trial of a rebellious slave is a brilliant exploration of America’s most fundamental principles and its most tragic compromises.

Ball of Fire One of the wittiest romantic comedies ever made, with a sizzling performance from Barbara Stanwyck.

Charade One of the glossiest romantic thrillers ever made with Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, and a swooningly romantic score by Henry Mancini.

The Defiant Ones Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis are escaped prisoners manacled together in an early Civil Rights-era drama.

The Emperor’s New Groove A refreshingly unpretentious animated film about a spoiled prince.

Fly Away Home A young girl goes to live with a father she barely knows and finds herself responsible for teaching a flock of geese to flow south for the winter in this beautiful film inspired by a true story.

Gregory’s Girl A sweet Scottish high school romance filled with adorably quirky characters and some quiet insights.

Holiday Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn star in this bittersweet romance about a wealthy girl who falls for her sister’s fiancee.

I Love You Again William Powell and Myrna Loy star in this hilarious comedy about a con man from the city who awakes from amnesia to find himself married to a beautiful small-town woman.

Jezebel Bette Davis plays the fiery Civil War-era Southern belle shocks her community by wearing a red dress to a ball where unmarried ladies always wear white.

Kiss Me Kate Brush up your Shakespeare with this musical version of “Kiss Me Kate” with dances by Bob Fosse and music by Cole Porter. In a word: Wunderbar

Ladyhawke This medieval romance has a heroic couple under a terrible enchantment. Michelle Pfeiffer is Lady Isabeau, who becomes a hawk by night. Rutger Hauer is the handsome captain who becomes a wolf by day.

Magnificent Obsession Rock Hudson is the reckless playboy carelessly causes the death of a beloved doctor abd discovers that the meaning of life is what one gives to others.

Ninotchka Greta Garbo laughs in this lovely romantic comedy about a stern Soviet who meets a dashing Parisian.

October Sky This true story of a boy from a small town who dreams of becoming a rocket scientist is one of the best films ever made about the thrill and hard work of science and a great family movie.

The Pirate Gene Kelly plays an actor who masquerades as a dreaded pirate to woo Judy Garland. It’s sly humor was lost on many audiences when it was first released but it is a treasure.

The Quiet Man Technicolor was invented for the green of the Irish hills and the red of Maureen O’Hara’s hair in this tempestuous love story starring John Wayne, with one of the greatest fight scenes in movie history.

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles A Japanese man estranged from his dying son makes one last gesture to show how much he cares when he goes to China to complete his son’s promise to film an opera and fathers and sons connections resonate through the quietly powerful story.

Stranger Than Fiction In this witty meta-movie, Will Ferrell is terrific in a quiet role of an IRS investigator who may be a character in a novel. Co-stars Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman are magnificent and there is a sweet love story to boot.

The Thief And The Cobbler This neglected gem with stunning visuals and a sweet story was the life’s work of a brilliant animator named Richard Williams.

Up the Down Staircase Sandy Dennis plays an idealistic teacher in this film based on the autobiographical novel.

The Visitor One of this year’s loveliest films (with four of this year’s most beautiful performances) is the story of a lonely professor who tries to help some illegal immigrants. It raises many questions, not the least of which is which character is referred to by the title.

The World of Henry Orient There is no more evocative version of middle school friendships and other passions than this 1960’s story of two girls in New York. It has wonderful supporting work from Peter Sellers, Angela Lansbury, Phyllis Kirk, and Tom Bosley, but the stars are the girls, the city, and the sparkling score.

X-Men Marvel heroes come to life in this super-charged super-hero story of mutants who must fight prejudice as well as super-villains.

Yellow Submarine The Beatles rescue the gentle citizens of Pepperland from the Blue Meanies and remind everyone that “All You Need is Love.”

Z Costa-Gavras political thriller would be gripping as fiction but it is all true.

Be sure to check out Christian Toto’s list and the lists from the other participants collected by Blogcabin.

Wall•E

Posted on November 18, 2008 at 11:06 am

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Tension and peril, themes of environmental degredation and toxic waste
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	June 27, 2008
Date Released to DVD:	November 18, 2008
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0013FSL3E

700 years after the last humans left the planet they had made uninhabitable through environmental degradation, one small robot is still continuing to crunch the mountains of trash. He is a Waste Allocation Load-Lifter Earth-Class, or Wall•E. His eyes are binoculars, his legs are treads, and his torso is a garbage compacter. But somehow, somewhere, he has developed the heart of a true romantic hero. His speech may be made up of beeps and squeaks but he thinks about the trash he picks up, puzzling (as well he might) over a spork and a Rubik’s Cube. He feels affection for the only life form he sees, a friendly brown cockroach. And every night he comes back to his little home and puts on an old video tape of “Hello Dolly,” watching the big dance numbers and dreaming robotic dreams of having a hand to hold, just like the characters in the movie. Just as we always suspected, after total annihilation of everything else on the planet, the only survivors will be cockroaches, Broadway show tunes, and Twinkies (okay, the lawyers made them call it something else on the package, but trust me, it’s a Twinkie). The genius of Pixar, the most successful movie studio in history, the only one ever to make more than $100 million with every one of its releases, is that they may spend blockbuster money on a film (reportedly $180 million for this one) but hold on to the soul of an independent movie made on a microscopic budget. They are happy to take on the consumerist culture that has made their corporate owner, Disney, a world power larger and more influential than most countries. They don’t rely on pre-sold characters (fairy tales, television shows) or focus-grouped storylines with all of the risk and quirkiness squeezed out of them — along with all of the authenticity and character. Like the humble little hero of this film, they hold onto their dreams. If that makes the films more challenging, less easily accessible, good for them and good for us, too.Indeed, that is one of the themes of this film, whose robot characters have much more wisdom, courage, intelligence, and personality than the humans. After 700 years away from Earth, humans have devolved into a sort of perpetual infancy, their minds and bodies all but atrophied. They float through their space station in hover chairs, mesmerized by media screens before their eyes that block their ability to see anything else. Food and drink are constantly brought to them by robot drones and they, like their space station, are on automatic pilot. One of the lovely ironies of this story is that the machine who watches “Hello Dolly” on a broken-down videotape is inspired by it to seek companionship and intimacy while the humans’ media immersion puts them in a constant state of dazed isolation. Wall•E’s life is changed when an egg-shaped space probe named Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator (EVE) arrives. At first, they seem like opposites. He is scuffed and rusty and she is sleek and pristine. He is a romantic and she is all business. But like all great screen romances, their initial disconnections spark their affection. In this case literally. Their kiss is electrifying.Wall•E and EVE end up on EVE’s space station where her mission is revealed — and then imperiled. It is the misfit robots and one brave human who discovers that he can think for himself who must find a way to bring the humans and their home planet back to life. Just as the first courageous little tendril of a plant is willing to give Earth another chance, so the first tender stirrings of empathy, affection, curiosity, and honor in the small robots and the oversize humans inspire each other — and us. (more…)

Still Leaving it to Beaver

Posted on November 14, 2008 at 8:00 am

The Washington Post has a poignant tribute to Leave It to Beaver from a man who found his favorite childhood show unexpectedly comforting when he was struggling with serious illness.

“Leave It to Beaver” rejuvenates me. I need its gentle tone and mild-manneredness, its absence of deep drama and complicated characters, and its simple, predictable, formulaic story lines, in which nothing seems to have lasting consequence. And I need Beaver’s innocence, his youthful ability to trust and believe completely, his state of confused wonderment (“Gee whiz, Dad, has it always been hard on kids being kids?”), and his wholly natural, small-boy approach to life. When my cancer refuses to slow down for sentiment, “Beaver” helps me feel embraced by life, not tossed around by it….

It’s easy to lose one’s perspective in the suffocating web of cancer. I don’t know if watching “Leave It to Beaver” is pathetic or liberating. But for now, I’ve put my faith in the idea that these stories from my childhood — realistic or not — possess the kind of redemptive power referred to by William Maxwell. “Stories,” he wrote, “can save us.” Such is the reality; such is the hope.

Appreciation for one of “Beaver’s” stars comes from an even more surprising place. The Louvre, with one of the world’s great art collections, the place that houses the Mona Lisa, will show a sculpture from Tony Dow, who played Beaver’s older brother, Wally.

“Of course, I’m really proud of ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and my directing career in television,” said Dow. “Those are great accomplishments. I’m really proud of them, but this is interesting because I don’t think they know anything about that at the Louvre.”

Still, I suspect Dow and his fellow castmates will be most fondly remembered for their 1950’s television show. It does hold up remarkably well, not just for the way it evokes a more innocent time, but because it evokes the worldview of a child. Sweet but not sugary, it is a family classic.