Beyond Binkies, Code and Make-Believe

Pirates of the Carribean 4 - On Stranger Tides - Enjoyed it

Spontaneity abounds in summer. We are prepping for a camping trip, but I just wanted to see a movie with the children last night. The Valley Cinema Pub is a great option for a spontaneous idea without spending a lot of money.  Finally saw Pirates of the Carribean 4 - On Stranger Tides. I'm so glad I saw it on a big screen, even though I was a bit late and there were only 9 people in the theater.

We loved it and were exhausted by the end.  It was fun, exciting and a bit scary with those vampire mermaids.  Our children are 6 1/2 and 9 1/2 - no nightmares and big grins at the end!  Love that the  left it open for another when Johnny Depp feels like it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298650/

Phoebe in Wonderland - a delightful suprise. Great Indy film.

Confounded by her clashes with the seemingly rule-obsessed world, a little girl (Fanning) seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher (Clarkson).So that's what the quick liner says about this movie.  It's so much more than that.  There is so much heart and beauty in this movie.  We all enjoyed it. Our children (8 and 5) had so many questions about Phoebe and her different behavior.  The compassion they showed for her and when she succeeded, their cheers warmed my heart.

This movie was cast perfectly and acted beautifully.  Favorite parts:  Halloween scene - "Karl Marx!" and when Phoebe was taking questions from her classmates about her condition and answering with confidence.

I highly recommend this movie. http://phoebeinwonderland.com/

The movie, "Up" was not a hit with our children.

We were spontaneous on Sunday after a very full day Saturday.  We took the children (4 and 7 1/2) to see "Up."  We'd heard wonderful things about the movie from some and cautions from others (JO).

They both were crying and hiding throughout the movie and we had to talk-them-down.  In particular, the "Bambi" beginning, the mean dogs and the fire scene.  These were all spaced just enough to squash the other fun parts.  We liked the movie a lot.  You just never know how it will go, yet they can watch an Orca go up on the beach and snatch baby seals and chalk it up to "that's just nature."  They can also watch Star Wars and not be bothered.  I think the difference is home vs. theater.  I think we'll save the $ and rent movies again for a while.  Just easier. No need to spend $60 with tickets and snacks to have them upset. That's just dumb.

Movie Review: Appaloosa with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen

Date night at home.  They usually start around 9:30.  We had, "Appaloosa" to watch.  Tom had read the book.  I like westerns, so there we were.  The movie was directed by Ed Harris, staring Ed Harris, written by Ed Harris.  Reminds me of Ron Howard and Tom Hanks.  Actually, this was a very well done movie.  The sets, costumes, script and casting left no room for improvement.  It languished a bit in a few spots, but they were necessary to drive a moment to the full story.  I'm not used to slower paced movies any more.  So many quick clips.  It took a few minutes to settle in and adjust to a deliberate, thought-out pace. Once I did I was able to fully take in the settings, the character development.

We both really enjoyed this movie. I'm very glad we used our at home date night for it. 

Instead of a chick flick, this was a dude flick.  It told of true friendship between men without any mush and about how most women are out for themselves and will lie.  One woman told it like it was; the other, Renee Zellweger's character, was the lying, selfish woman in the guise of a man's dream.  We enjoyed the friendship of the men - true and unshakable until the end.

Coraline - just who is the audience? Not us - not your children.

I am devouring a Carl's Jr. Famous Star.  We skipped dinner because of the timing of the movie Coraline.  We had a date tonight to celebrate six years of marriage. We had the sitter and a plan for a late night dinner.  Our timing was off so we skipped the dinner part and picked up to go.  This would be alright except that we'd really like Henry Selick to return the two-and-a-half hours of our lives we spent at his movie.  He owes me an anniversary celebration.

Burn After Reading - hmmm.

We finally got around to seeing, "Burn After Reading."  We enjoyed it, but were disappointed that it either wasn't more suspenseful or funnier.  Brad Pitt was the best, but they took care of that a bit early.

Shrek 3 - a favorite

We haven't been doing much in the theaters lately, but I did have a delightful evening with a frient recently.  A friend is a client that I like a whole bunch and enjoy spending time with.  I met one recently and we were both exhausted after a big day and just wanted an easy evening in her home.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

As a parent I'm subjected to more than my share of kid movies.  Many of them are dogs.  This one was, but in a good way.  Beverly Hills Chihuahua was a lot of fun. It was a bit slow starting out for us adults, but then we just sat back and had a lot of fun.  The children - we took three - were dancing in their aisle and laughing throughout the movie. 

Michael - perfect way to celebrate Angel Day

We celebrated the Feast Day of the Guardian Angels today.  What better way than with the movie, "Michael."  Other than one 30 second part I wasn't ready to explain to our nearly-seven-year-old, it was a great movie.  We laughed, cried and danced throughout the movie.  It also had the required happy ending.  Even though Michael was an Archangel - I missed that knowledge by a few days and that special day by a few as well.  Oops.

Dark Knight - Heath Ledger's movie

The best thing I can say about Dark Knight is to see it for the performance of Heath Ledger.  That's about it.  It was fun mixed with a bit much on the sadistic scenes side.  Don't read the rest. It's a bit of a spoiler on minor elements.  Not the big plot.