Don’t watch “The Cove” with your dog

Posted on 06. Apr, 2010 by kchristieh in animals

Partway through the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Cove“, a diver sidles up to a wild dolphin and rubs its belly. When we saw this, our whole family said the dolphin reminded us of our dog, Ricky. So it’s no wonder that, when the movie got tense, our normally fearless dog freaked out and started trembling. He had good reason: the movie showed the violent methods used to capture dolphins for animal shows at parks such as SeaWorld. We also learned that the dolphins that weren’t “lucky” enough to be chosen would be killed and, despite the dangerously high levels of mercury in their bodies, sold as food for humans. I took Ricky to the living room to calm him down, but he cowered under the coffee table and kept looking back at the family room. Eventually I took him outside and let him run around until the movie ended. He was still shaking slightly when he went back inside, but when he realized the movie was over, he stopped.

When my teens summed up what happened during the movie when I was out of the room, by son said that the dolphin hunting was “like eating orange chicken with one chopstick. Poke, miss, poke, miss.” He’s an eloquent young man.

I’ve been to my fair share of dolphin and orca shows at SeaWorld, but now I’d feel guilty if I ever went again. In fact, I’d feel guilty giving SeaWorld any of my money. I hope that they and other sea life and animal parks improve the conditions of their capturing practices, and if they can’t keep an animal in a setting that approximates the animal’s natural habitat, that they don’t keep the animal in captivity. If you don’t agree, please watch “The Cove” and see if it changes your mind.

By the way, the night after we watched “The Cove”, Ricky started shaking soon after we started watching “24″. He finally calmed down when I turned him around so he wasn’t facing the tv. This is definitely a G-rated dog.

Here’s the trailer for “The Cove”:

Watch “The Butterfly Circus” and feel the hope

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in movies

The Doorpost Film Project is a short film contest with seven categories every year: Authenticity, Community, Sacrifice, Commitment, Truth, Identity and Hope. Entries must be less than seven minutes long, and focus on one of the seven categories.

I watched the finalists from last year’s contest, and I agree that The Butterfly Circus deserved to win. Gather the family around and watch this thought-provoking, uplifting film about what happens when some travelers come upon a Depression-era freak show and befriend a man with no limbs. It’s a wonderful illustration of how we’re all worthy of being loved and forgiven.

If I were running a film competition, I’d want to run it like the Doorpost. Their mission is to seek truth, honor creativity, serve visionaries, build community and share discoveries. Their website says that they allow the finalists to meet each other and the Doorpost staff, and that their events have “marked the beginning of various creative and professional partnerships among filmmakers as well.” It sounds like they’re not stereotypical Hollywood bloodsuckers.

Speaking of freak shows, yesterday I heard someone on NPR compare the animal shows at SeaWorld to 19th century freak shows. I’ll admit that I’ve enjoyed my share of SeaWorld shows and 3-ring circuses, but I’d never looked at them that way. I think he’s right, and hopefully the other day will open peoples’ eyes so that we do right by orcas, elephants, and other animals who live in inadequate conditions so that they might be available to entertain humans. I’ll keep this in mind when I watch the DVD of The Cove that we received from Netflix.

My new role model: Leigh Ann Tuohy

Posted on 28. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, movies, parenting

I was slightly hesitant to see “The Blind Side” movie with my family. I felt like I already knew the story after having read the 2006 Michael Lewis article, “The Ballad of Big Mike,” in the NY Times Magazine years ago and seeing numerous previews for the movie.

I’m so glad I went. I only knew the framework of the story, but the beauty of it was in the details.

The framework is this: a rich family takes in a homeless African-American teen who has been given the chance to play football at their children’s private school if he gets his grades up. They help him get his act together, and he becomes a football success in high school and college, and has now moved on to the NFL.

I knew that much of the story was driven by the strong, determined mother in the family that takes him in, but I had no idea what a role model she was. Leigh Ann Tuohy’s two dominant characteristics are ones I strive to have: she cares deeply about others, and she’s true to herself. She takes in Michael Oher because she wants to give him a chance to have a decent life after all the struggles he’s had, and she does it despite the racist remarks of some of her fellow Southerners. I also admire her confidence and outspokenness. It takes a special personality to get away with stopping a high school football practice by marching out onto the field and telling the players what to do. I’m too polite, and would never do that. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, actually, but I’m impressed that she knew when it was the right thing to do and succeeded because she already had the respect of the coaches and players and said exactly what needed to be said. Sandra Bullock played Leigh Ann Tuohy beautifully, and showed that despite all her strength, she was also a sensitive person who would retreat to a bedroom or the car when she had to cry.

Of course, I also deeply admire Michael Oher, who survived his difficult childhood by “closing his eyes” when pain and evil swirled around him. Leigh Ann describes him lovingly as “Ferdinand the Bull,” and she’s right. His big body may scare some, but he’s got a big, soft heart within.

It’s too bad that smaller kids in his old neighborhood don’t get the same chance that he did.

“Precious” lessons

Posted on 14. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in movies

I wish that the movie “Precious” wasn’t based on a book (“Push” by Sapphire) that was based on real-life people. It would be so much more palatable if the story could be dismissed as total fiction, because as Wikipedia describes it,

In 1987, obese, illiterate 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem with her dysfunctional family; she has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers constant physical and mental abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary (Mo’Nique). The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and subsists on welfare. After a visit from her high school principal, Mrs. Lichtenstein (Nealla Gordon), Precious is invited to an alternative school where she hopes that her life can change direction.

I feel so fortunate, not just for the material comfort I enjoy, but even more for the loving relationships I have. Precious’ situation is interwoven with the poverty that she suffers, but her biggest problem is with her parents, who constantly abuse her. Other people root so hard for her, because they care, and they see a spark that could ignite into a more positive future. But whatever Precious does, her mother figuratively and literally kicks her down, and life circumstances pull the rug out from under her.

I’m glad I saw the movie. I grow when I see how others live, and I gain empathy when I understand what they might be going through. I also appreciate what I’ve been blessed with, and want to give my own family and friends an extra-big hug. Now to figure out how to give people like Precious the same hug. It’s an age-old problem, but one we should never give up on.

Am I a Disney Princess?

Posted on 28. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in movies, my life

After watching Enchanted again last night, I came to the realization that perhaps I am a Disney Princess. The evidence is overwhelming:

1. I have a handsome prince.
2. I’m allergic to apples.
3. When I sing the animals come to me.

The last one was the clincher. Before I went to bed, I belted out my best falsetto and a spider crawled out from the floorboard and my dog emerged from under the bed.

Is it good to be a Princess? In “Stranded in Neverland,” Christianity Today writer Skye Jethani argues that the Disney Princess franchise appeals to our most base consumer instincts. I think that’s true, and I confess that I am susceptible to that sometimes.

However, Enchanted reminds us that it’s all about love, especially true love. And that’s and ideal that everyone should strive for.

Why I’ve fallen in love with Netflix

Posted on 16. May, 2009 by kchristieh in movies

After listening to “The Story of Stuff” video, (which I’ll blog about when I have more time) I’ve decided not to have Etsy Fridays anymore. No need to promote using up our environment more. Not that I’m a saint in that regard, but I might as well not promote it.

To that end, today I’ll gush about my new Netflix membership. For $8.99 a month, we get unlimited movies streamed to our television, plus one DVD mailed to us each month. I don’t think we’ll bother with the DVD: the streaming is amazing.

Here’s how it works:

• After signing up with Netflix, I rated movies that I’ve seen by clicking on anywhere from 1 – 5 stars. I also told Netflix what genres I like. (e.g., I like drama, but not martial arts) So far I’ve rated nearly 400 movies.
• Netflix recommends movies that it thinks I’ll like in various categories. When I mouse over them, I see a description of the movie.
• I can click on the movie, and add it to my queue.
• When I turn on my tv and go to Tivo, the movies are there. When I click on it, it takes about 30 seconds to start.

It’s that simple. Tonight my husband and I watched “The Visitor.” I’d never heard of it until Netflix recommended it, and it was fantastic. I can’t wait to see more recommended movies!

Here are some that it’s currently recommending. There are many, many more.

Movie recommendation of the week: “17 Again”

Posted on 25. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in movies, my life, work

I didn’t celebrate my birthday well enough this week, so I promised myself to resume celebrating at 3:00 pm today. I was working too hard on the parcel tax website, but by 4 pm I had enough done on that I decided to see “” with my teenage daughter.

I’m so glad I did!

We both loved this movie. It was a fun, romantic comedy with an excellent message (appreciate the life you have, love the ones you’re with, etc.) that had excellent acting. It was perfect to see with my daughter, but would have also been fun to see with my husband. It made me appreciate my 22-year marriage even more and I look forward to seeing it with him on DVD some day.

I’d heard a few negative things about “The Soloist,” so I’m glad we chose to see this instead.

My speech

Posted on 08. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news

I was honored this evening by the LCF Educational Foundation for doing lots of volunteer work. Some kind folks have asked me to post my speech, so here it is:

I have a confession to make: Last night, when my husband and son went to see the new Watchmen movie, I stayed home and watched House Bunny.

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot of House Bunny, I’ll spare you the details here. You’ll need to look that up on Wikipedia. Let it suffice that I’m glad my teenaged son wasn’t there watching it with me.

Despite its outward appearances, House Bunny communicated some very good messages. At one point, the main character explains why she volunteers in a nursing home, and the way she phrases it is so eloquent that I paused the DVD and wrote it down:

In other words, she could say all she wants about caring, but if she didn’t put her words into action, it wouldn’t matter much.

At the other end of the cultural spectrum, there’s a similar passage in the Bible:

Whether I’m quoting “House Bunny” or the Bible, the point is that we need to put our time and our money behind our good intentions.

La Canadans are very good at this. Not only do we take care to make sure that our children are doing their homework and setting a high bar for themselves, but we selflessly give our time and money to make sure that all kids have the resources to get a great education.

I’m very honored to be the Spirit of Outstanding Service Award winner this year. It’s been rewarding to see what a difference we can make to our children’s education, and I’ve enjoyed making new friends and working with the seemingly limitless pool of talented volunteers La Canada has to offer.

I wish I could stand up here and say the battle’s over, and that our state government and taxpayers have decided to adequately fund our public schools, but that’s just not the case. Our state budget crisis and our failing national economy portend darker days ahead.

When my friend Paul lived in Mississippi, he ended every letter with a few statistics that Mississippi ranked last on. It’s good he moved back to New Jersey, because these days California has bumped Mississippi from the bottom of the list on many school funding statistics. California ranks 51st, behind even the District of Columbia, on the number of students per school staff member, the number of students per librarian, and the number of students per guidance counselor.

Did you catch those last two? California ranks last on the number of students per librarian and per guidance counselor.  It’s no coincidence that these are two areas where the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation has stepped forward to make sure that our kids aren’t left behind. And as you know, there are many more positions and programs that would be lost if it weren’t for the Educational Foundation and other generous school support groups.

In these tough times, it’s more important than ever that all of us do what we can to give our kids one of the greatest gifts of all: an excellent education.

So as I humbly accept tonight’s honors from you, I hope you’ll join me in continuing our commitment of both time and money to make sure that we do all that we can to ensure that the La Canada schools maintain the high quality they’re so well-known for.

Thank you.

Do “Madea” movie ads contribute to racism?

Posted on 22. Feb, 2009 by kchristieh in movies, sports, things that bug me

Studies show that a majority of whites in this country harbor an often-subconscious racial bias against blacks. According to Charles M. Blow in today’s NY Times op-ed piece, “A Nation of Cowards,” no matter how hard we try, our brain often has a mind of its own, and will process the input it receives to form an opinion that goes against what a person doesn’t consciously want it to.

If anyone’s wondering what these inputs might be, one should just take a look at today’s print edition of the NY Times. After reading Mr. Blow’s piece, the first image of a black person I saw was this one of Tyler Perry in the new Madea movie. It was on the front page of the Arts section, and was 7.5″ high.

On page 2 of the Arts section, I saw this article / picture of Chris Brown at the top of the page:

Then, a few pages later, I saw this ad for Madea:

That was it for the Arts section. There were no blacks pictured in the Business section, but Mets players Duaner Sanchez and Francisco Rodriguez were pictured in the Sports section. (Are they black?) There was also a black man sitting on the bench behind Utah State basketball coach Stew Morrill.

I finally took a look at the front section (I’d read the racism story online) and the lead story featured this picture of the Stanford Superstars cricket team with the club’s owner, Robert Allen Stanford. (No relation to my alma mater!!)

The front section also included a picture of Illinois Senator Roland W. Burris, who is being urged to resign.

Final tally:

• 4 pictures of blacks in trouble with the law
• 3 pictures of blacks in sports

With images like these, it’s no surprise that many whites show a bias against blacks.

Of course, I try not to have these thoughts. I truly believe that God created all races in His image, and everyone should be accorded the same respect, opportunities and rights regardless of race. The article points out, however, that often whites who try not to appear biased are perceived as more biased.

Aaargh!! It’s like Angelina Jolie, when she’s stuck in the asylum in “Changeling.” A fellow patient advises her that if you try too hard to appear “normal” they’ll think you’re crazy. But I digress…

As Blow concludes, it’s good to face the facts and start a dialogue. I think a good place to start would be the entertainment industry, which produces movies such as Madea and bad-boy artists such as Chris Brown.

A parent’s review of “Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist”

Posted on 09. Nov, 2008 by kchristieh in movies, parenting

I finally saw “Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist” with my family last night. We all enjoyed this story of NJ teens who spend a whole night gaining self-confidence, getting to know each other better and backing each other up as they search for their elusive favorite band. There were great lessons about true friendship, and not surprisingly, the movie had a great indie soundtrack. I’d give it four stars.

It was odd that no parents were shown in the movie. I guess that’s not surprising, since these kids clearly had complete freedom from parental restrictions. I can’t imagine letting my high schoolers run around in New York City until dawn. When I was a teen growing up in NJ, we never imagined doing this. At least the main characters made a point of saying they choose not to drink.

It was a bit awkward to watch with my kids, who were completely embarrassed when I softly whispered “you know that isn’t appropriate!” when there was an implied sexual encounter. At least it was implied – if it wasn’t, the movie wouldn’t just be rated PC-13. Even though it’s PG-13, I wouldn’t take a kid to it unless they’re at least 14 or 15, and even then I’d watch it with them to provide some perspective.

I’ll always be Young at Heart

Posted on 06. Oct, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, inspirational people, movies, music, my life

I figure that at 45, I’m theoretically halfway to retirement. I say “theoretically” because I don’t ever see myself “retiring.” I like what I do, so I can’t imagine wanting to stop. Hopefully at some point I’ll slow down a little and put together a few photo albums, however.

Maybe some day I’ll reprise my high school choir training and sing in a chorus like the stars of the wonderful documentary “Young @ Heart.” The average age of their chorus members is 80, and instead of singing old standbys, they conquer the works of artists such as Sonic Youth and David Bowie. Three generations of our family sat down together and watched this movie this weekend, and we all loved it. I loved the spirit and energy that the chorus members had, and I admired how they’d found a group of like minded people to have fun with. Their music videos were hilarious, but there were some very poignant moments also. It comes with the territory, I suppose. I also admired the group’s director, Bob Cilman. He was incredibly patient and persistent, and had a real gift for leading the chorus. He’s a true hero.

I wonder/fear what it will be like some day if I don’t die before all the people I love. I’ll probably become an expert at attending funerals and mourning people.  Maybe I really should take up the bagpipes, so I can at least participate in the ceremonies. Death will be certain for all of us, but the living must go on with their lives. It’ll be hard to strike the right balance. Hopefully I’ll have the same good attitude that the “Young @ Heart” singers do.

One more thing: besides singing, I still hope to be blogging. Like Margaret and Helen. Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…. (or is it The Blog As Performance Art? Who cares? I love it!!)

PS – When I’m old, don’t call me “Dear” or “Sweetie.” It’s demeaning. See this great NY Times article about the topic, “In Sweetie and Dear, a Hurt for the Elderly.”

Why you should boycott “Tropic Thunder”

Posted on 12. Aug, 2008 by kchristieh in disabilities, movies, things that bug me

I bet you know what the F-word, N-word, and the L-word are. But do you know what the R-word is? If you had Down Syndrome you would, and you’d cringe every time you heard it.

The new Ben Stiller / Robert Downey, Jr. movie, Tropic Thunder, has 17 uses of the R-word in it. One of the characters plays an actor who pretends to be mentally handicapped in order to win an Academy Award. The movie spoofs Hollywood and all it takes to be successful there. But does it have to use the R-word so much? No. According to Tim Shriver in today’s NPR interview, the N-word is only used twice. He says the use of the R-word leads to suffering, injustice and exclusion.

Why do people feel so comfortable using the R-word? Is it because the people it stigmatizes don’t fight back?

Well, now they are. The Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles (DSALA), one of my longtime website clients, has joined with the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Congress, ARC, and many other groups to encourage people to boycott this movie. No matter how hard we try, the more we hear certain speech patterns, the more we’ll emulate them. So the last thing our society needs is more people using a hateful word like “retard” to describe a person.

So stand up and do what’s right. If you see a movie this weekend, see “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” I saw it last night, and it was actually really good. If that’s too chick-flicky for you, go see Wall-E or Dark Knight again. Either way, you’ll sleep better knowing you didn’t support Tropic Thunder, a film that promotes disrespect to innocent people.
Pledge your support at R-Word.org and find out more about why the R-word is so hurtful.

“Live and Become” is an amazing movie

Posted on 05. Jul, 2008 by kchristieh in international, movies

I agreed to see “Wall-E” last week only if my family would see “Live and Become” (translated from “Va, Vis et Deviens”) with me this weekend. I’d heard about it awhile back, but when I got a special Laemmle Theatre email touting it, it sounded like a movie I didn’t want to miss. I’m SO glad I went!

The movie’s about a Christian Ethiopian refugee boy whose mother places him with a Jewish Ethiopian woman who is being airlifted to Israel during Operation Moses in 1984. He hides that he’s neither Jewish nor an orphan for many years, and leads a completely Jewish life until his secrets overtake him.

I looked the movie up on Wikipedia, and it doesn’t mention anything about it being a true story. It sure seems real, however, and I’m guessing it’s a combination of many true stories. It’s a long movie – 140 minutes – but it kept me completely enraptured. The story is gripping, the acting is wonderful, and at the end it totally made me cry. It’s no wonder this film won too many awards to list. (Bonus for you Francophiles: much of the dialogue is in French!)

The adults in our group loved it, but my teenage son thought it was too long. I think my daughter would have liked it, but she wasn’t there. I took her to see “Kit Kittredge” tonight, so I made up for it. More about that tomorrow…

WALL-E: Great movie, but oh so depressing

Posted on 29. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in education, environment, movies, my life

We loaded the kids into the Prius last night and saw WALL-E at our local theater. As all of the reviews I’ve read agreed, this is a great movie. The animation and story are top-notch, and the music is wonderful.

So why am I still so depressed after seeing it? Perhaps it was the bleak vision of the future, a world so filled with trash that humans escape to outer space, where they lose their individuality and bone structure and suck on protein drinks. Even though the end of the movie could be considered optimistic by some, the realist in me doesn’t think it would play out that way. I hope our great-great-grandchildren don’t blame our generation for all of their woes. We’re trying!!!!

On a happier note, I think that WALL-E could score some good summer employment cleaning up the destruction at my kids’ alma mater, Palm Crest Elementary School. I drove past today and saw that the district decided to go ahead and build a new cafeteria / auditorium (a “cafetorium” as we say) and has commenced destruction. Many of us fought hard to pass the bond to support this, so it’s satisfying to see that all of our efforts weren’t for naught. Hopefully there will be enough kids to keep the school open! (If we were in Europe, I wouldn’t bother.) Although my kids spent Kindergarten through 6th grade at the school, and I was a PTA president there for two years, it seems like a long time ago that we were part of the PCR community. Still, if I walked around campus during the school year, I know I’d see lots of people I know and feel part of it again.

Here’s a picture of the destruction so far. Go for it, WALL-E!

Every senior’s worst nightmare, solved

Posted on 26. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in education, movies, my life

When I was a senior in high school, I applied to six colleges. That was a lot for 1981, but these days kids are often advised to apply to nine or more. Today I read about a guy who applied to 18 – and got into 17 of them!

My worst nightmare was that I wouldn’t get into any. I remember how relieved I was when I got my first acceptance letter. At least I knew I’d go somewhere, and I could exhale and relax.

But what if you don’t get in anywhere? What do you do? If you’re the main characters in the movie Accepted, you start your own college. I was too tired to work this evening, but had to stay up late to pick up my son, so I watched this on HBO with my teenage daughter. It was actually pretty good (though it completely deserved its PG-13 rating), and brought up some good topics for discussion. (fraternities, following your passion, how long four years is) It’s a silly movie, but it was the sort of brain candy we needed now that school’s out and she’s gearing up for a tough junior year.

We’re all “Under the Same Moon”

Posted on 06. Apr, 2008 by kchristieh in international, movies, politics

Meet Carlitos. He’s nine years old, and hasn’t seen his mother in four years. She’s an illegal immigrant living in Los Angeles while Carlitos lives in Mexico with his grandmother. “Under the Same Moon” (“La Luna Misma”) chronicles what happens when the grandmother dies and Carlitos decides to cross the border and find his mother.

I loved this movie. The acting was superb, the story was engaging, and even the hardest of characters were touched by Carlitos’ determination and heart. No matter what your views are on illegal immigration, I think this story will touch you, too.

We went as a family, and we all enjoyed it. Besides the entertainment value and political discussion that ensued, I’m glad it allowed my teens to see one view of what life can be like in Mexico and for illegal immigrants here.

The dialogue and music were in both English and Spanish with English subtitles. I’ve often wondered if mariachis ever play songs with subversive words to unsuspecting cholos, and now I know that if they play the corrido, “Superman es Ilegal,” they’ll be singing words such as,

He came from the sky but is not a plane
He came in his spaceship from Krypton
And though it hurts to admit it
Superman is an illegal
He’s a journalist?
Well so am I.
He didn’t serve in the army.
What’s up with that?
But he’s blond, blue-eyed and well-built
And I am dark and fat and really short
Why do they let him work?
Without Social Security or a green card?
They let him fly without a license
And even call him Superman!

Not so subtle! You can see the clip from the movie that includes the song on YouTube by clicking .

West Bank Story spoofs Israeli-Palestinian relations

Posted on 07. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in international, movies

I think I started laughing the moment that “West Bank Story” began. After years on our wishlist, this 2006 Academy Award Winner for Best Live Action Short Film finally showed up on our Tivo. The movie follows the story arc of “West Side Story,” but instead of the Jets and the Sharks, it features the Palestinians who run the Hummus Hut right across from the Jews who run the Kosher King. There’s music, snapping fingers, a love story, and a great lesson at the end. All of this in only 30 minutes! My kids and I got a big kick out of it, and I laughed constantly.

Shakespeare would be pleased. After all, “West Side Story” itself was based on “Romeo & Juliet.” “West Bank Story” makes the story that much more modern and therefore accessible, and is daring enough to attack a topic as incendiary as Palestinian-Israeli relations. Hopefully this movie will make people on both sides of that debate take a second look at how unproductive hate can be.

When did “R” become “PG-13″?

Posted on 16. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in movies, parenting

Have you noticed how many new movies that are rated PG-13 would have been rated R 15 years ago? Apparently I’m not the only one who’s noticed: CommonSense Media nominated the MPAA for a 2007 “OFFul” Award for “Gaming the System.”

The nominees included:

• The MPAA for changing its standards behind closed doors and with no explanation so that a movie that would have gotten an R rating a decade ago gets a PG-13 rating today.
• Broadcast networks for tinkering with their own standards and practices and allowing ads for erectile dysfunction drugs and condoms during afternoon and primetime shows when kids are watching.

And the winner is:

• Rockstar Games for resubmitting Manhunt 2 to the ESRB and getting the rating reduced from “Adults Only” to “Mature,” ensuring that the game will be widely accessible to teens.

You can see more of their award categories, including awards for merit, on the CommonSense Media website.

When in doubt, check CommonSense Media or one of the other sites that reviews movies with kids in mind. We were saved by Screenit.com recently. My husband and son wanted to see “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” and I objected because it’s rated R. My husband didn’t think it could be too bad, but when I looked up the Screenit review it mentioned some things I won’t mention in this blog and he instantly nixxed the idea. Of course, then I made the mistake of renting the PG-13-rated “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” for my son at Blockbuster, only to discover some pretty inappropriate scenes in that, too. Ugh. At least I watched it with him and could comment on it. Too bad Blockbuster doesn’t have an in-store kiosk with a parental review site on it.

Don’t watch “Knocked Up”

Posted on 08. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, music, parenting

I rented Knocked Up to watch with my husband this evening since I’d heard it had a good message. That may be true for the last 15 minutes of the movie, but oh my gosh do they go to extreme lengths to get there. Most of the movie is filled with enough profanity, sex, and drugs to make a sailor blush.

When things would get nasty, I’d bury my head back in The Week. What a coincidence: on page 12 of the Dec. 14th issue, there’s a summary of what Katherine Heigl thinks of the movie.

Actress Katherine Heigl has denounced Knocked Up, the hit movie that made her a star, as “a little sexist.” In an interview with Vanity Fair, Heigl said the movie – in which a chubby slacker impregnates a beautiful, ambitious woman – “paints women as shrews, humorless and uptight, and it paints men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It was hard for me to love the movie.”

Amen. I don’t recommend this. And it’s definitely not for the kids, even teens. Please note that I think I may have picked up the unrated version at the video store. I didn’t know there was a difference.

I am able to say one good thing about the movie, however: it had some good songs on its soundtrack. I especially liked “Grey in L.A.” by Loudon Wainright III, so I just purchased it on iTunes.

I saw human sacrifice coming, so I delivered the brownies

Posted on 10. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in movies

So much for my relaxing evening of tv viewing last night. We decided to watch the recording of Apocalypto we have on our Tivo. The first part was fine, with bucolic scenes of peaceful Mayan villagers. Then, the invaders came, and things got so ugly that my heart raced and I had to leave. I decided it was the right time to deliver brownies to my daughter and her friends, who were hanging out a few blocks away.

Each time I peeked my head back in, the movie was still too horrific for me. My husband had no problem with it. Perhaps he really does have Mayan blood running in his veins. Once I read the Wikipedia entry, I figured out where I could start watching again. The portions I watched gave me a good sense of what life was like in that time and place.

It was ok that I didn’t watch the whole movie. It allowed me to work on the school directory.

Here are some movies that we’ve seen recently that I DO recommend:

• The Illusionist
  A cabinetmaker’s son falls in love with a duchess but is forbidden to see her. He moves away, becomes a renowned magician, and makes contact with her again. It’s a much better movie than this description would suggest, trust me.
• Wordplay
  We almost didn’t watch this documentary about rabid crossword puzzlers. We’ve seen so many movies about spelling bees and other contests that we figured this was more of the same. In a way it was, but it was still quite intriguing. The people all tried so hard, and seemed so sincere. Will Shortz’s passion for his craft is infectious!
• Legally Blonde: The Musical
  I have a sophisticated friend who went to NYC last spring and saw four or five Broadway shows in one week. (!) She saw the hottest shows, but she said that Legally Blonde was by far the best. It aired recently on MTV, and she’s right: it’s got great music, witty lyrics, and terrific acting. I usually don’t like to see things twice, but even after seeing it on television I’d love to see it in person.

Enjoy!

Movie recommendation: “We Are Marshall”

Posted on 13. Oct, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, sports, tv

Great movie – we just watched it on pay-per-view. Here’s the description from Wikipedia:

We Are Marshall is a 2006 motion picture directed by McG dramatizing the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed most of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, the rebuilding of the program, and the healing that the community undergoes. It stars Matthew McConaughey as head coach Jack Lengyel, Matthew Fox as assistant coach William “Red” Dawson, David Strathairn as University President Donald Dedmon and Robert Patrick as ill-fated Marshall head coach Rick Tolley. Georgia governor George “Sonny” Perdue has a cameo role as an East Carolina University football coach. ^[1] The movie is rated PG. The movie was scored by Christophe Beck.

Our whole family enjoyed it. Have a tissue box ready, if you’re so inclined.

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Don’t miss these movies: Catch A Fire, Inside Man and The Puffy Chair

Posted on 29. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in movies

Here are several movies I’ve seen recently that you won’t want to miss:

Catch A Fire

This film is based on the true story of Patrick Chamusso, a black South African who’s wrongly accused of a crime, but is so mistreated that he ultimately joins forces with the African National Congress to bring down apartheid. It stars Derek Luke as the accused, and Tim Robbins as the accuser.

We all liked it more than Tsotsi, which won an Academy Award in 2005, and it sparked some great discussions with the kids.

We Tivo’d it, but you can also see it on DVD.

Inside Man

Clive Owen plans the perfect bank robbery, and it’s up to a police detective played by Denzel Washington and a hired consultant played by Jodie Foster to figure out how to free the hostages and recover the loot.

I confess that until we watched this movie, I’d never heard of it. How can that be? These are all great actors, after all. I’m guessing it’s because it’s hard to describe how wonderful all the twists and turns the movie takes are until you see it.

Our teens also enjoyed watching this one.

The Puffy Chair

It’s a perfect movie for our times: a group of Gen-X’ers take a road trip to North Carolina to pick up a red La-Z-Boy chair one of them purchased on eBay to give to his father for his birthday. This movie is so realistic that I had to click “info” on Tivo several times to convince my husband and daughter it was fiction.

This film has won several independent film awards. My daughter and husband both liked it as much as I did, but my husband was really bugged at the irresponsibility and touch-feelyness of the characters. He says it’s his Midwest sensibilities shining through.

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Want to spoil that movie?

Posted on 19. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, movies

My husband’s about 20′ away from me right now, watching “Flight Plan” with Jodie Foster. I’m too busy being productive (except for blogging) to join him, but I was curious to see how the movie ended, so I typed “flight plan ending” into Google. Lo and behold, there’s actually a website called Ruined Endings that lets you know how movies end! Vive les spoilers! If you don’t want to know the ending, but do want to know the plot, the site has most of those too.

I’ll have to remember this for the next time I’m a party pooper, or when I can’t remember how a movie turned out.

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“Night at the Museum” movie beats expectations

Posted on 01. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in movies

I can’t wait to visit NY’s Museum of Natural History again. I’ll be imagining what would happen if every exhibit came to life, just as they did in “Night at the Museum.” I had somewhat low expectations when we decided to watch this movie on pay-per-view this evening, but I wound up loving it!

Ben Stiller does an excellent job playing a night watchman who has to contend with the museum exhibits coming to life. Imagine a dinosaur running amok, Romans fighting American pioneers, and Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt. It sounds preposterous, but it actually works.

It was wild to see Mickey Rooney as one of the former night watchmen. We just saw him as a teenager in “Boys Town” last week, and I don’t think he’s changed a bit. I wonder if he ever played a different character? I think it’s safe to assume he’s playing himself. Dick Van Dyke did a fine job as another former night watchman. If you see the movie, make sure to get far enough down in the ending credits to see him dance – he’s like rubber!

My favorite scene is where Ben Stiller’s character attempts to reason with Attila the Hun. He uses amateur psychology to get Attila in touch with the pain he felt as a child, and helps him to understand that it fuels his anger but he can overcome it.

If only life were that simple. See tomorrow’s post…time for bed now…

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“War Tapes” excellent depiction of war in Iraq

Posted on 29. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in international, movies, politics

When videocameras were given to three New Hampshire National Guardsmen about to ship out to Iraq, I’d bet the military brass expected a positive representation of what it’s like to serve. After all, the three men chosen were not only bright and enthusiastic soldiers, but at least two of the three were gung-ho about the war.

“The War Tapes” is the award-winning documentary that combines the footage that these soldiers came home with. It’s an honest depiction of what it’s like to fight in Iraq, and does a good job balancing actual battle scenes with soldiers’ reflections. We saw it on TV last night, on the Military Channel. (I didn’t even know that channel existed.)

The soldiers who had the hardest time upon returning were those who went into Iraq with high expectations about what they’d be accomplishing over there. When you and those you love sacrifice so much for a cause that you truly believe in, and it looks like your sacrifices might be for nothing, it can get really stressful. Either you abandon the cause and feel betrayed, or your loyalty and optimism makes you continue to hope that it’s all been worth it. But as you continue to see that it’s not, it can get quite stressful. And that stress can be magnified within you when you try to put on a strong public face and not admit to your struggles.

I never supported the war in Iraq, for a variety of reasons. Among them was the fact that I never thought we’d win. At this point, I’d love to see us pull out, but I don’t want us to leave the country in more of a mess than we found in the first place. I admire the brave men and women and their families who have sacrificed to much for this cause. I hope it is all worthwhile, or that no further sacrifices will have to be made.

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Babel or Blades?

Posted on 21. Apr, 2007 by kchristieh in movies

My daughter saw Blades of Glory tonight. I wish I’d seen that instead of Babel, which we watched on pay-per-view.

I understand why Babel won a Golden Globe: it’s very artsy, complicated, international, etc. But I think the screenwriters sat in a room and said, “How can things get even worse?” as they cooked up the story. I also think that one of the stories is completely irrelevant to the plot, but that it was a story they really wanted to tell so they concocted a way to tie it in.

Very depressing. The Americans win, once again, but it’s a hollow victory.

A truthiness film festival

Posted on 25. Mar, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, education, environment, international, movies, politics, videos

We watched a trio of films this weekend that weren’t exactly uplifting, but they were educational and quite thought-provoking. It’s no coincidence that two of them have the word “truth” in their title.

First, we finally finished watching An Inconvenient Truth. If you have any doubts about global warming, I challenge you to watch this film and report back. Al Gore did a great job of distilling reams of scientific data into charts, graphs and examples that drive the point home. The downside to this documentary was that it seemed like 1/3 of it was a pre-campaign commercial for Gore. I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t declare his candidacy soon.

Next, we watched a short documentary called Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Bullying and School Violence. A friend who works for an entertainment company obtained it for me, and I wanted to watch it with my kids before we screen it at the next PTA meeting and pass it on to the school to show the kids. The film is about what constitutes bullying, how much of it goes on, and what kids can do about it. We stopped it several times to talk about what it was saying – a sure sign that a film resonates. I think it was quite effective.

Finally, we watched Invisible Children. This was the most disturbing of all three films, as it chronicled the desperate lives of children trying to avoid being abducted to serve as child soldiers in Uganda’s bloody civil war. The young filmmakers are sensitive to their subjects, and are quite adept at getting them to open up and describe their experiences. This was released in 2003, but The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that:

The Spring Valley-based organization now has 100 volunteers, a paid staff of 35, and a budget last year of more than $3 million, according to its 2006 annual report.

More than 80 percent of that money came not from grants or fat donor checks, but in rumpled bills and scattered change.

It was raised through the sales of bracelets and baked goods, pizzas, posters, DVDs of the movie, car washes and African art – anything U.S. schoolchildren could offer in exchange for money to help children in Uganda.

Earlier this month, Invisible Children launched Schools for Schools, its most ambitious fundraising campaign.

Schools for Schools is an interactive Web community enabling students at high schools and colleges across the country to form fundraising clubs that directly benefit 10 dilapidated high schools in northern Uganda.

My daughter heard about it from a friend whom I think is organizing the Schools for Schools campaign at her high school. Hopefully it’ll be successful!

The end was Cache

Posted on 09. Mar, 2007 by kchristieh in international, movies, things that bug me

Thirteen minutes before the end of Caché, I turned to my husband and said, “Wow. Isn’t it amazing that we’ve sat through an hour and 47 minutes of this movie and still haven’t figured it out?”

Then it hit me: I’d once again played the part of the optimistic American duped by French cinema. I should have known that there’d be no conclusion, because the French are so much more sophisticated than we Americans that they know that life doesn’t always have meaning and justice isn’t always served.

What a waste of time. At least it was in French, so I got to practice the language a little. If you’re Tivo’ing movies this month, try Second Chance instead. It’s much better.

Only in L.A.

Posted on 17. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, my life

Here’s our “Only in L.A.” moment for the week: a friend called to let us know that my sister’s renters are filming a movie at my sister’s house. Of course, our first thought was that it wasn’t rated G…so sad that we’d think that.

The renter explained that his son is a film student, and my sister’s house is one of about 30 locations being used in the film. Today was supposed to be the last day of filming, and I’m sure the neighbors will be happy to see the bright lights go and parking free up again.

Cool and strange at the same time…

Thank You for Smoking

Posted on 17. Dec, 2006 by kchristieh in movies, my life

It’s scary, but obvious: the protagonist in the movie “Thank You for Smoking” bears a strong resemblance to my former step-uncle, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. The part that reminded me the most of Wayne was when Nick says that if he can defend big tobacco, he can defend anything. Wayne didn’t start out as a big gun user, and in fact the (non-NRA member) relatives would tease him by giving him wooden and stuffed animal ducks for Christmas. I loved that the MOD (Merchants of Death) included alcohol and firearms!

Incredibly, the film doesn’t show one person smoking…gee, why?? Anyway, great movie, make sure to see it – it’s on Charter Direct.