Recently Watched

King Solomon's Mine- my friend loaned us this movie and it was a surprise hit at our house. My 11yo "Eeyore" was very gloomy at the prospect of sitting through this movie, but it just took a few minutes and he was hooked. I think it must have been made as a mini-series from the way the transitions in the movie went, so it is not a big "production value" movie, but it kept my boys on the edge of their seats. The best comparison I can think of for this movie is "Raiders of the Lost Ark" except that neither of my younger two boys (8&11yo) would handle watching Raiders (way too intense and dark).

Captain America- got this nice review at Decent Films Guide. I loved that I could completely relax and enjoy this movie with my boys. No over the top bad language (that I remember), no s*x scenes, no over the top romantic plots, and there IS a heroic hero! It is an action adventure film set during war, so that is something to consider for very young children. You can read the content advisory in the  Decent Films Guide review.

The Big Year- this movie is rated PG for some language and sensuality. I am bummed that there is one scene that has the wife climbing on her husband's lap in the bedroom in a very sensual way. They are married, but this movie is such a potentially great family friendly film that I wish they could have conveyed the point without... and then there is the issue of this same wife waiting in the doctor's office for her bird watching crazed husband to show up for an IVF appointment. That being said, with a quick fast forward, I can feel comfortable watching it with my boys, and my boys love this movie! Bottom line, this movie is about three guys living their "big year" of bird watching. And it is fun to watch.

A stipulation- I don't often see a movie that I am completely satisfied with as "wholesome viewing". It happens, but very rarely. A less obvious transgression in the "Big Year" is that the dad is portrayed negatively as a sort of work drone who does not understand his 36 yo son who is just trying to "live his dream". The son who lives at home! As a friend recommended, I try to look at these types of things in movies as conversation starters. The other approach my friend explained to me is that she asks her older children (12 & 14 yo) to "find the lie" in the film. She gives them the job of finding what might be incorrectly or questionably portrayed.

That being said, happy viewing!

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 14, 2012 at 5:43 PM

    Captain America was a great movie. We didn't have the older boys watch it, but we could have because it was surprisingly clean. I will have to check out King Solomon's Mine, I've never heard of it!

    ReplyDelete

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