Movies -- A Recap -- Part XL -- Kids Movies (or are they?)

Is it the case that movies for kids are just better than movies for adults, or is my chosen selection of kids movies better, and there are some really bad ones out there that I'm just not seeing.  Open to your thoughts.

My recent viewing of E.T. was a little extra (ha)!  It was one of the SLSO play-along shows, where the score of the movie is played live by the symphony while the movie runs on the projection screen.  I forgot what a sweet and simple movie this is, and it was wonderful to see it again.  I learned a few fun facts about the score from the materials in the program, including that John Williams was having a really hard time conducting the orchestra so that the music in the finale would match the action in the film.  Steven Spielberg, understanding the importance of the music, turned off the film and allowed Williams to conduct the orchestra according to the needs of the music, then re-cut the conclusion of the film to fit the music.  Their understanding and appreciation of the other led to a lifelong partnership of film- and music-making.)

Inside Out is fantastic, and also a total tearjerker.  The main character is a little girl whose family moves, but the perspectives in the film come from her five main emotions: Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith).  As Riley navigates her new home and school, her emotions do battle in her head over how to best manage the changes in her life.  And, even as adults, who can't relate to that experience?

The new Barbie really isn't a movie for kiddos, but since it's based on a toy, I'm including it here.  It stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. This movie is loaded with subjects for analysis, and frankly requires a re-watch.  There is commentary about feminism, gender roles, patriarchy (and matriarchy, though with somewhat less criticism), capitalism, self-discovery, and more.  I'm not sure if I liked it, because I'm not sure what I think of it yet.  More consideration required. 

Y'all remember Labyrinth, right?  Well, I can confidently say that it is at least as weird as you remember it being, if not weirder.  As a kid I remember thinking that the music was the strange part of the whole experience; as an adult, it felt very much the other way around.  (Fun fact:it was directed by Jim Henson.  Yes, that Jim Henson.)

I watched The Secret Lives of Pets 2 on a plane.  As with many sequels, I did not enjoy it as much as the original, but it was still sufficiently entertaining to accomplish the goal of passing the time.  Even if I had viewed it elsewhere, I expect I would have found it amusing. (Aside: Pop Culture Happy Hour, my favorite pop culture podcast, did an episode about the best movies to watch on an airplane.  One of the panelists recommended kids' movies, which is a recommendation I can get behind: bright colors which show up well on that tiny screen, the plot is easy to understand despite distractions and stuff going on around you, and there will be no embarrassing sex scenes.)

Next up: Inside Out 2. 

Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXIX -- Feel-Good Redemption Stories

The list of movies which I have seen an not written about is so long!  So many movies, I'll see how many of them I can remember....

Florence Pugh is someone that I am only beginning to know well enough to recognize her face.  I first appreciated her talent as part of a two-star cast opposite Morgan Freeman in A Good Person.  As a (relatively) young actress able to hold your own against Morgan Freeman, you've got to have some real skill. In A Good Person, she plays a woman who kills some of her fiance's family members in a car accident and suffers serious injuries herself, leading to addiction to painkillers and a reckoning with her fiance's family. It's a lovely look at people who are struggling and a portrait of modern addiction.

I watched Sr. not really knowing what to expect.  I love Robert Downey, Jr. for reasons I am a little bit hard pressed to explain.  But I do.  It's right there in his name, "Jr.," that there is a father of the same name, but I had never really thought about it until I heard about this movie.  It's a non-traditional biopic, made by the son as he knows his father is dying.  It's about their relationship (as you would expect), but also about the father's career and about film-making as an art.  It was a beautiful portrait and a sweet homage, though I feel like some of the appreciation of the art was lost on me because I know nothing about Sr.'s career. 

I didn't know until I was looking into Rams that Sam Neill, probably best known to my generation for his role in Jurassic Park, grew up in New Zealand. The movie is actually set in Australia, and is about a decades-long feud between two brothers who also happen to be neighboring small-town sheep farmers.  It's funny (not ha-ha funny) and requires a bit of cultural understanding.  I always liked Sam Neill, now even more than previously.  Fun fact: this movie is a remake of the original Icelandic version.

The Guardian is an appreciation of and homage to the United States Coast Guard rescue swimmers who save troubled boaters, and a look at the toll that work can take on a person and their relationships. The plot is one of those predictable but enjoyable ones.  Kevin Costner plays the person he so often - a grumpy old man, once the best in the business, who despite his grizzled exterior has a soft, gooey center.

My boyfriend, Matt Damon, stars in We Bought a Zoo. It's based on a book and a real-life true story of a widower with two kids who, in an act of frustration and desperation, abandons his prior life and buys a broken-down zoo desperately in need of funding and repairs, to say nothing of the crew of misfits who are there keeping it running as best they can.  It's a tearjerker and a genuine feel-good story.

Today, We Remember

What I'm Reading Now -- Chop Fry Watch Learn

I'm on to my next Postal Book Club book!  It's E's pick: Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food.

Our book club books are exchanged together with a small notebook in which we each write a page or two of our thoughts regarding that particular selection.  Normally, I don't read anyone else's comments until after I have read the book and formulated my own thoughts.  I was a bit surprised by E's selection because I did not recall her being a big fan of Chinese food, so I went ahead and peeked at her comments.  And I was right!  She's not a big fan, but had good things to say about the story regardless. I'm diving in with high expectations!

The Mayor of Casterbridge -- Take 2

I am a touch disappointed in myself that the last time I posted was when I started reading this book.  Now, I have (finally!) finished it.

I was surprised by how readable The Mayor of Casterbridge was.  Often the wordiness of these older books makes them quite tedious to read, but I found this one more delightful than tedious.  The writing was detailed in that old-fashioned sort of way, but also amusing and easy to digest.  If you, like me, feel as though there are some holes in your education in the classics, I would recommend this as a good place to put a toe back in the water.

It is the story of (you guessed it) the mayor of a British town called Casterbridge.  In his youth, he had gotten screaming drunk at a county fair and sold his wife and child to a passing sailor.  He regretted his drunken choices and swore off alcohol for 21 years as a result (a vow which he kept).  In the meantime, his wife's new husband set sail, and she and the child returned to the town of which the former drunk was now the mayor and most prominent farmer.  His past deeds back to haunt him, he falls, step-by-frustrating-step, from grace.  

This is one more book I can mark off my 2025 Reading Challenge!