50 Must-See Movies: Mothers — Free This Weekend for Mother’s Day!

50 Must-See Movies: Mothers — Free This Weekend for Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 8, 2015 at 8:00 am

In honor of Mother’s Day, my ebook 50 Must-See Movies: Mothers will be free on Amazon through Monday, May 8-11, 2015.Image

No relationship is more primal, more fraught, more influential, more worried over, more nourishing when good and more devastating when bad that our connection to our mothers. Mom inspires a lot of movies in every possible category, from comedy to romance to drama to crime to animation to horror, from the lowest-budget indie to the biggest-budget prestige film. A lot of women have been nominated for Oscars for playing mothers and just about every actress over age 20 has appeared as a mother in at least one movie. From beloved Marmee in “Little Women” and Mrs. Brown in “National Velvet” to mean moms in “Now Voyager” and “Mommie Dearest.”  Oscar-winnng classics and neglected gems, based on real-life like Sally Fields in “Places in the Heart” or fantasy like Dumbo’s lullabye-singing elephant mom, these are all must-see movies.

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Books

My Letter to the Washington Post About Empire’s Costume Designers — And My Appearance on Motley Fool Money About Movies and the Oscars

Posted on February 14, 2015 at 12:00 pm

I’m delighted that the Washington Post printed my letter about the costumes in the terrific Fox series “Empire.” Robin Givhan’s article about the way the show’s costumes define the characters was outstanding, but it omitted one important detail:

Copyright Fox 2015
Copyright Fox 2015

I was delighted to read Robin Givhan’s insightful comments on the brilliant use of costume to illuminate character and context in the TV show “Empire” . But I’m sorry that she left out the names of the brilliant costume designers who selected those iconic looks.

Every choice, from Hakeem Lyon’s gold chain to Lucious Lyon’s pocket square to Cookie Lyon’s leopard-print, skin-tight minidress, was made by Rita McGhee and Paolo Nieddu. Costume designers play an essential role in defining characters and telling the story. When their work is recognized, their names should be included.

And thanks, as always, to the Mac Greer and Motley Fool Money for inviting me on their terrific podcast. We even managed to make some Oscar predictions.

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Media Appearances

Robert Elisberg’s Review of My Book: 101 Must-See Movie Moments

Posted on November 9, 2014 at 3:59 pm

Many thanks to my old friend Robert Elisberg for a wonderful review of my book in the Huffington Post. 101 Must-See Movie Moments

What makes the book such fun is that most books on movies give a fairly general overview of the films its covering, Nell hones in on the specifics. Or rather, on one specific. She does discuss each film, of course, to sort of set the stage, though not as a mere recap but rather going into depth with behind-the-scenes tales, and an explanatory sense of why the movie is so worth attention — but then singles out that one special moment that (as the title says) always gets overlooked at the expense of others, or was so wonderful in a movie you might never have even heard of.

In some ways, the book could have been titled, “Remember That Scene Where…”

That’s the fun of the book, how it brings the joy of the movie-going experience to life. There’s nothing dry about her writing or appreciation of films. (Don’t forget, I did say she’s giddy about watching movies, sometimes two or even three in a day — after having met with corporate shareholders to analysis their situation earlier in the day.) And so what we get here is picking that one unique scene that helps put the whole movie in perspective, and help explain why it works so well. Why we love that film, or why we should see it. Through the focus of one great moment.

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Thank You! This Site is 19 Years Old This Week!

Posted on July 26, 2014 at 3:59 pm

It seems like yesterday, but it was 19 years ago this week that I first began writing reviews online as The Movie Mom®.  Anyone remember Prodigy?  The first appearance of my website was via the Sears-owned online service, so long ago it does not even turn up in Wayback searches.  At the time, web sites were in the thousands, not the millions, and there were hardly any from corporations or publications.  Blogging had not yet been invented, much less Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Vine.

I did all of my own code for the first four years.  I could never have imagined that less than two decades later I would be able to post movie clips, much less that I would have written books about movies, had the privilege of weekly radio spots to review films, or had so many wonderful visitors, many of whom send me emails and comment on my posts.  That first review is now one of 2500, plus more than 4000 interviews, commentaries, quizzes, giveaways, lists, and more that have me close to 7000 posts.  Thank you for 19 wonderful years!

In honor of my anniversary, my ebooks will all be free on Amazon through July 30, 2014 (except for Fathers, free today only)!  That’s 50 Must-See Movies: Fathers, 50 Must-See Movies: Mothers, 50 Must-See Movies: Weddings, and 101 Must-See Movie Moments. (Coming this fall: my new one on teachers)

Enjoy!

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THE MOVIE MOM® is a registered trademark of Nell Minow. Use of the mark without express consent from Nell Minow constitutes trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws. All material © Nell Minow 1995-2026, all rights reserved, and no use or republication is permitted without explicit permission. This site hosts Nell Minow’s Movie Mom® archive, with material that originally appeared on Yahoo! Movies, Beliefnet, and other sources. Much of her new material can be found at Rogerebert.com, Huffington Post, and WheretoWatch. Her books include The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies and 101 Must-See Movie Moments, and she can be heard each week on radio stations across the country.

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