Film.com Mom on Film

A Nicer Take: My Sister's Keeper

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:33:00 PDT

Editor's Note: Earlier, we poked a little fun at My Sister's Keeper. So, in the interest of fair play, here's another take.

A few years ago I read one of those books. The kind you can't put down even though you recognize the flaws and know it can't end well. Maybe I picked it up because it was there -- I had received it as a Christmas gift -- maybe I kept reading it because it made me feel less bad about some of my own parenting decisions or maybe because it actually is a good, if…

Mom on Film: Empire of the Sun - The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated

Wed, 27 May 2009 10:20:00 PDT

Sometimes, in the movies, differentiating between "good guys" and "bad guys" is easy; 101 Dalmatians' Cruella De Vil, Harry Potter's Voldemort and Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent fall unquestionably into the "bad" category. No moral gray area exists regarding these characters, only black-and-white (literally, in Cruella's case), good and bad. Often, however, the distinction is not as clear, as I was reminded while watching Steven Spielberg's remarkable, gorgeous, complex, PG-rated film, Emp…

Mom on Film: DVD Hotel for Dogs - All Wag, No Bite

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:01:00 PDT

If you are searching for a good, family-friendly movie, I recommend the latest DreamWorks/Nickelodeon feature, Hotel for Dogs, available on DVD April 28 (official movie site). Perfect for sleepovers and electronic babysitter material, Hotel for Dogs is lots of fun and features kids who are smart and creative but not overly precocious, plus it has a happy ending. It contains nothing scary and even the sad part, while potent, doesn't last too long. Also, it stars the talented, lovely Emma…

Review: Earth is Disneynature's First Magnificent Offering

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:47:00 PDT

"Earth is very real, very beautiful and very much appropriate for children of all ages."

Before heading to the theater with our 13-, 11-, and 6-year-olds and a couple of their friends to watch Disneynature's new film, Earth, I had a little talk of the "this is a film about real life, and real animals, and in real life, you know, animals die" variety with my son; he tends to be sensitive to animal suffering, real or scripted. While the conversation was a good idea, it was…

Mom on Film: Monsters vs. Aliens -- Girl Power Saves the World

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:39:00 PDT

There's nothing like a blow to the head to knock some sense into a girl. Monsters vs. Aliens' Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is saved -- despite all immediate appearances to the contrary -- by just such a blow in a close encounter with a meteor that not only effects her thinking but also her corporeal self, and not a moment too soon. After trading her Parisian honeymoon for a job interview in Fresno, and just before sacrificing herself on the altar of matrimony to selfish, cad Derek (Will…

DVD Review: Escape to Witch Mountain & Return from Witch Mountain

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:05:00 PDT

OK, moms and dads, think back, way back ... Think pre-VCRs, think Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. Remember the '70s? Perhaps you even recall the first time you saw Escape to Witch Mountain Whether you can or cannot is, at this point, immaterial because now you can revisit those times and Witch Mountain, courtesy of two new releases on Walt Disney Family Classics DVD.

Escape to Witch Mountain is the G rated, 1975 Disney film which recounts the story of Tia and Tony Malone (Ki…

DVD Review: Australia - Expansive Land Mass, Average Film, Anemic DVD

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:40:00 PST

Upon its theatrical release in November, Film.com writer Christine Champ gave Baz Luhrmann's newest film, Australia, a respectable grade "B" rating. The same day, Film.com's Laremy Legel declared it an "absolute catastrophe on every level."

Australia is now available on DVD. So if you missed it in the theater and wish to decide with which of these writers you most agree, now is your chance. My take on it is as follows: the acting was good, which came as no surprise with the highly talented

…

Black History Month DVD Recommendation: HBO's Boycott

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:14:00 PST

This January, in celebration of the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I drove with my children to Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. King's hometown. We spent a day at the King Center, learning about Dr. King and the American Civil Rights Movement. It was an experience I will not soon forget, nor, I believe, will my children. What we saw, read and experienced at the King Center brought tears to our eyes, made us flinch and turn away. It laid us low and then raised us up again with the…

Mom on Film: Mary Poppins - 45th Anniversary Edition: Still Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:47:00 PST

This year Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, the film based on P. L. Travers' books about a magical English nanny, turns 45. To celebrate the occasion Disney has released yet another two-disc anniversary edition (official site) following the 40th anniversary set from five years ago. I might ordinarily be inclined to declare this persistent re-packaging, re-issuing, and re-marketing of the same film excessive. However, Mary Poppins is no ordinary film. It is "practically perfect in every way" and is,…

Mom on Film: City of Ember Fails to Ignite on DVD

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:15:00 PST

When I learned last spring that City of Ember was to be released as a movie, I was cautiously optimistic. Our family read the book aloud together several years ago and decided, even before completing it, that it would probably sooner or later be turned into a film. Our question was, would the filmmakers do the book justice?

Released in theaters in last October, Ember disappeared again quickly. Its rapid release to DVD this week represents the kind of turnaround that leads me to think the…