Movie Reviews

I've seen several movies lately. Since my dh broke his arm (in a most royal fashion, might I add), we've entertained ourselves with movies. Several have been children's movies. Some werne't good enough to mention. I'll talk about the few I remember.

The first one I thought had a lot of good dialogue: Saved by Winn Dixie. It was good for those of us who live in a small town and find ourselves talking about one another instead of with one another. It's about a Baptist preacher and his young daughter. They have their share of scars, but as the little girl gets to know people, she begins to pull the community together with her charm. One part in particular that stuck with me was a half demented librarian she talked with. The lady had saved some losenges from a time when their was a candy factory in town. They were special candies made by a man who had suffered much and wanted to add something sweet to the world with his candy. She gave two girls a peice to sample. The both liked it at first, but then got this pensive look on their faces. They said that the candy somehow was making them feel sad. The librarian told them that it had a secret ingredient. Sorrow. The plot began to evolve around that fact that what makes life so good and connects peopls is both sweetness and sadness, joy and sorrow--but, only when we share it. At one point, the little girl says something like, "they say what has torn this town apart is that noone shares their sorrows anymore. I think it's because nobody shares their joys either!" So, she throws a part with "the town witch [actually just a half blind African American lady with wild hair nobody got to know].

I also took the kids to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I actually liked the movie a lot, mainly because it was fun while still acknowledging the effect of pain in life on people. I also liked Charlie's sense of family and how much they valued what was important. I loved the role of the elderly people in the movie and in his family. They had very little, but had it all.

We also saw Sky High. It was about a family of superheroes. It was cute. My kids liked it. It was more pre-teenish, but the underlying values in it were good. Bad guys can become good friends. Waiting on who you will become. Never underestimating the value of a good right hand man.

Last night we saw Million Dollar Baby about the girl boxer that came out last year or so. The acting was exceptional and it had a lot of redeeming qualities. I won't say too much about it or I'd ruin it.