Entries Tagged 'Family' ↓
July 5th, 2011 — Action, Drama, Family, Martial Arts
IMDB: Karate Kid (1984)
IMDB: Karate Kid II (1986)
IMDB: Karate Kid III (1989)
Basic Plot: A martial-artist handyman agrees to teach a bullied boy karate. In the second movie, the two are embroiled in a family dispute after they journey to Okinawa so Master Miyagi can visit his dying father. In the third movie, the rival karate master from the first film attempts to gain revenge with the aid of an old army buddy.
Outburst: The first movie is a family drama classic. The second movie is a worthy sequel. We’re going to pretend the third movie is a nightmare that goes away when you wake up. That shouldn’t be too hard considering the plot makes about as much sense as a fever dream.
/DVD — The first two movies are gems and collectibles, worth watching at film festivals and at home.
0 stars — Ignore the third movie as truly awful with a terrible premise, nonsensical plot, and lackluster testosterone-fueled scripting.
BUY IT NOW! The Karate Kid I & II (Collector’s Ed.) [Blu-ray]
BUY IT NOW! The Karate Kid (Spec. Ed. DVD)
April 3rd, 2011 — Family
IMDB: Black Beauty
Basic Plot: Narration of the life of a horse.
Outburst: While the movie is basically a book narrated to video, it was heavily rewritten and also sanitized for children. I can live with the stripping of the more depressing acts of animal cruelty found in the book, but much of the screenplay narrative is plain awful.
— Horse lovers (especially kids) will like this movie. It’s the the most faithful of the film adaptations I’ve seen.
Read the book for free at Project Gutenberg: Black Beauty
Wikipedia Entry: Black Beauty
WATCH IT NOW: Black Beauty
November 19th, 2010 — Family
IMDB: Wall-E
Basic Plot: A small waste-collecting robot finds love and saves mankind.
Outburst: What is innovative about this movie is how well the audience can use simple visual cues to anthropomorphize a robot and the fact that even cockroaches can be made cuddly in the proper animated context.
/DVD — A good family movie, and if you have kids you probably will be forced to buy a copy. Thankfully, there aren’t a host of songs (or even dialogue) which would make repetitive viewings tedious (i.e. the Barney syndrome).
BUY IT NOW! Wall-E (3-Disc Special + Digital Copy + BD Live) [Blu-ray]
June 23rd, 2009 — Family, Fantasy
IMDB The Secret of Roan Inish
Basic Plot: A mythical Irish tale following the selkie legends. Based on the novel The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry, by Rosalie K. Fry.
Outburst: I love Irish mythology, folklore about the sea, and stories involving selkies. So I’m just a little biased when I see a traditional selkie tale made real through the magic of the screen. It’s wonderfully done and highly recommended for anyone who finds Ireland or folktales fascinating. Otherwise, you mind find the story too cutesy. In some aspects it is perfect for the family (non-violent, non-scary), but some prudish-types might be put off by the little naked boy running around briefly in some scenes. You’ll have to listen closely to understand everything being said, the accents are authentically Irish.
/DVD (2 of 3 stars) – If you savor retellings of popular folktales, it is worthy of your collection. For the regular movie-watcher, it’s worth watching once and moving on.
