A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon

Posted on November 22, 2011 at 3:57 pm

This week’s release of “Hugo,” based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, is inspired by the films of George Méliès, the French magician-turned-filmmaker who pioneered the field of special effects.  “A Trip to the Moon,” made in 1902, is his best-known.

I highly recommend the last episode of Tom Hanks’ brilliant series, From the Earth to the Moon, which has a poignant tribute to Méliès.

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The Greening of Whitney Brown

Posted on November 22, 2011 at 12:03 pm

B-
Lowest Recommended Age: 4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for brief mild language
Profanity: Brief mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: Comic peril
Diversity Issues: None
Date Released to Theaters: November 23, 2011
Amazon.com ASIN: B005TTEG0M

A middle schooler who thinks she has it all figured out finds herself tossed from 1 percent-ville to 99-percent-land in a cute new film in limited release called “The Greening of Whitney Brown.”  Sammi Hanratty plays the title character, a spoiled prep school princess who is elected school president on a platform that is all about throwing the biggest, best, and most expensive party.  But then her father loses his job when his company goes bankrupt and her parents (Aiden Quinn and Brooke Shields) take her to a place in the country that is all they have left.  Everything is old and broken, there’s a horse that follows her around like Mary’s little sheep, she gets no cell phone reception, and everything she thought she knew about what makes someone popular turns out not to apply in her new school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeklp2nRXe4

Whitney has to start over more than once, especially after it turns out that the friend she trusted to watch out for her at her old school is more competitive and less loyal than she thought.  As Whitney’s parents begin to figure out a path to a new career out in the country, Whitney begins to understand that things she once thought were important don’t matter and things she once dismissed without a thought are where the real value lies.

 

 

 

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The Muppets!

The Muppets!

Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:00 am

Hurray for the Muppets and hurray for Disney and Jason Segal for bringing them back! “The Muppets” is one of the best movies of the year. When your children want more, try The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie, and The Muppets Take Manhattan!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-_QLNkh-zI

 

 

 

 

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The Littlest Angel

The Littlest Angel

Posted on November 21, 2011 at 8:00 am

B
Lowest Recommended Age: All Ages
MPAA Rating: G
Profanity: None
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: None
Diversity Issues: None
Date Released to Theaters: 2011
Date Released to DVD: November 23, 2011
Amazon.com ASIN: B005J4N5G8

Based on one of the top-selling children’s books of all time, The Littlest Angel is a new film based on the classic story by Charles Tazewell, first published in 1946.  A small angel cannot quite seem to fit in until a wise older angel realizes that the little soul will not be able to feel at home in Heaven until he can retrieve his precious box of treasures.  So he returns to earth with his dog, Halo, just as Jesus is about to be born.  Although he worries that it is not important enough to give to Mary’s new baby, he learns that the humblest gift becomes meaningful if given with a full heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS9YOoI0_5Q

I have one copy to give away!  Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Angel” in the subject line and don’t forget your address.  I’ll pick a winner this weekend!

 

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Marilyn Starts a Heat Wave

Marilyn Starts a Heat Wave

Posted on November 20, 2011 at 1:14 pm

I hope that Michelle Williams’ exquisite performance in the new film, “My Week With Marilyn” inspires its viewers to go back and watch the inimitable original: Marilyn Monroe.  Williams does a snippet of this song in the film though does not try to replicate the staging of the original.  It’s one of my favorite of Monroe’s musical numbers, steamy but witty and shows what a gifted dancer and singer she was.  One amusing note: in the original film, There’s No Business Like Show Business, one of Irving Berlin’s lyrics was censored for being too racy.  Instead of saying, “She started a heat wave by letting her seat wave,” they changed it to “letting her feet wave”(!).  In the Michelle Williams version, the original lyric is used.  In both, her seat waves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe-45dj-aGo

That’s Donald O’Connor, Ethel Merman, Mitzi Gaynor, and Dan Dailey watching from the wings.  The movie is just an excuse for a lot of Irving Berlin songs, but that’s enough to make it worth watching.

Here’s Williams:

 

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