Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

Posted on June 30, 2009 at 8:00 am

Jonas Brothers fans will feel like they are on stage with Joe, Nick, and Kevin in this immersive 3D concert film from the recent “Burning Up” tour. Brief backstage glimpses of the JoBros waking up, having breakfast, filming a music video in Central Park, visiting a record store for the release of their new CD, and, in a brief tribute to A Hard Day’s Night, running from their fans, punctuate performances in New York and Los Angeles, in cavernous arenas filled with ecstatic fans waving glowsticks.

Seasoned pros at 21, 19, and 16, the brothers started performing as children, with Nick and Joe appearing on Broadway as children and their first tour as a group in 2005. They are natural showmen, obviously having fun on stage, with an appealing easy athleticism and infectious enjoyment. Parents can feel comfortable with their strictly G-rated lyrics and resolutely G-rated off-stage personas. Their father is a is a former Assembly of God pastor and they are open about their commitment to their faith. A shirt may (briefly) be off, but their purity rings stay on.

The concert benefits from guest appearances by fellow teen pop-stars Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift (whose brief romance with Joe Jonas inspired her new break-up song “Forever and Always”). Both young women sing female empowerment anthems that add a bit of balance. But even when they are on stage, the brothers are always at the forefront, the guest stars another in a series of precisely timed show-boosters that include fireworks, cartwheels, lifting the boys on pedestals, spraying the fans with firehoses, and — this is a 3D movie after all — a number of objects being thrown at the audience including guitar picks and drumsticks.

The shots of the fans — hyperventilating, weeping, smiling so widely their braces seem to take over the entire screen, jumping over police barricades — may be there to promote the Jonas Brothers brand but they will also be reassuringly validating to the movie’s primary audience. They may come to enjoy the music and the behind-the-scenes glimpses of the teen idols, but they will appreciate the sense of community and good spirits as well.

Parents should know that this is a G-rated film with no bad language, sex, or violence. One of the boys briefly has his shirt off and the brothers spray their fans with firehoses in a manner some may find suggestive.

Family discussion: What is it that makes the Jonas Brothers so popular? Which one is your favorite and why?

If you like this, try: Camp Rock, Burning Up: On Tour with the Jonas Brothers, and Music from the 3D Concert Experience

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3D Documentary Musical

Paperclips

Posted on June 15, 2009 at 8:00 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Discussion of Holocaust and some images of concentration camps
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	2004
Date Released to DVD:	2005
Amazon.com ASIN:	B000CMNJF4

The tragic shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC last week reminds us yet again of the importance of making sure that future generations do not just learn the statistics but truly understand the near-incomprehensible devastation of genocide and the toxic tragedy of bigotry.
The documentary Paper Clips is one every family should watch. It is the story of Whitwell, Tennessee, a small coal mining community (population 1600) outside of Chatanooga. The population is almost entirely white and entirely Christian. When the local school set out to teach children about tolerance and diversity, the teachers realized that most of the children had never seen a person from another country or faith. So the school decided to teach students about the Holocaust in Germany during World War II.
As the students tried to come to grips with the Nazi genocide, they had a hard time visualizing the magnitude of the loss of six million people. They wanted to collect six million of something to represent the people who were killed.
The students did some research and learned that the paperclip was invented in Norway and that Norwegians wore paperclips on their collars to demonstrate their sympathy for the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and other groups being persecuted by the Nazis. The students decided to collect six million paperclips and began writing letters to everyone they could think of to ask for help.
This documentary shows how the project grew from a classroom assignment to an event that transformed the entire community.

Silverdocs 2009

Posted on June 14, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Silverdocs is now the biggest documentary film festival in the United States. It opens tomorrow in Silver Spring, Maryland, with an outstanding line-up of documentaries — old, new, long, short, funny, sad, domestic and international. Some of the highlights include a tribute to Albert Maysles (of “Salesman,” “Grey Gardens,” and “Gimme Shelter”), opening night film “More than a Game” about an Akron, Ohio basketball team featuring future superstar LeBron James, and films about a facial hair competition, the Washington D.C. “mayor for life” Marion Berry, a prison rodeo, being struck by lightning, an environmental struggle between indigenous people and multi-national oil companies in Ecuador, Vogue’s monumental September issue, and the acknowledged worst movie ever made (followed by a screening of the film itself, “Troll 2”).

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Documentary Festivals

Come ‘Home’ with a One-Time Chance to See An Amazing Documentary

Posted on June 4, 2009 at 8:00 am

Home is a gorgeous new documentary with a haunting musical score about the planet we live on. It is from internationally renowned French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and produced by award-winning director Luc Besson. HOME is narrated in English by Glenn Close and in Spanish by Salma Hayek. Three film crews worked in more than 100 countries over 21 months to produce more than 488 hours of aerial footage.

And it is being made available worldwide at no charge to audiences by the firm PPR in the first global all-media format premier of a film on World Environment Day, June 5th. PPR’s support of HOME will make it possible to reach viewers all over the planet in more than 127 countries on June 5th to watch HOME for free on TV, in open-air theaters or on the internet in partnership with Youtube and Google, and in theaters worldwide and on DVD at a reduced rate. Please make an effort to see this beautiful, inspiring, and very important film.

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Documentary Television

Earth

Posted on May 5, 2009 at 9:24 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Low-key and mostly off-camera references to predators and life cycles
Diversity Issues:	Diverse species
Date Released to Theaters:	April 22, 2009

This stunning valentine to our planet’s plants and animals re-purposes some of the footage from the stunning documentary Planet Earth into a more narrative storyline, taking us through the seasons and across the globe to see nature’s eternal themes of renewal and connection. We see cooperation and nurture by parents across species. And we see the perils of the animal world as well.
The narration drags at times, mostly avoiding getting too cute but sometimes, even with the voice of James Earl Jones, sounding too much like an educational film for Social Studies classrooms. It alternates between almanac-worthy facts and figures and cozy folkish narratives about the animal families, never matching the grandeur of the visuals.
Parents should know that there are some discreet references to the life cycle and survival issues, some G-rated footage of predators (no blood), and not all of the animals make it to the end of the movie. There are also references to the consequences of climate change on the habitats of the animals.
Topics for discussion: Which of the animals are most like humans? Why?
If you like this, try: Planet Earth, Microcosmos, and Winged Migration.

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Documentary Movies -- format