Rainy days and hot humid days in the summer are a good time to see some of those movies you’ve been wanting to see… and that your kids have been wanting to see.  Here are some we’ve watched…

Night at the Museum – we watched the 1st one on DVD – my 8 year old daughter liked this movie and she even wants to visit the Museum of Natural History as a result.  I chuckled a few times and didn’t mind watching it.  I’d say it’s perfect for tweens.  Unfortunately, we missed the 2nd one in the movies, so we’ll have to wait to see it when it comes out on DVD.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – my 14 year old son and I saw this in the movies last month.  This is the darkest Harry Potter Movie yet. I give this movie the same review as all the Harry Potter movies… it’s good as a companion to the books.  I’d recommend reading the books first. (Don’t worry, kids can tell the difference between reality and fantasy and won’t think that magic is real!)  The books are a lot of fun… look at how many people they’ve gotten into reading. According to Wikipedia, "As of June 2008, the book series has sold more than 400 million copies and has been translated into 67 languages…"  You can’t beat a record like that!

Ice Age (The 1st Movie on DVD) – Mediocre – my daughter and I are planning on watching the 2nd one on DVD soon, so we can go see the 3rd one, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, in the theater (it’s out now).

The Secret Life of Bees – We watched this on DVD with my 8 year old daughter. I know a lot of people love this movie.  I liked the book much more.  While the movie was okay, it didn’t capture some of the essence of the book.  It was one of the first serious movies my daughter has watched.  I think it was a good first introduction to some of the day to day struggles of ordinary people during the civil rights era.

Watchmen – We watched this one on DVD – not appropriate for young kids.  We watched it with my son who’s almost 15.  I wouldn’t recommended it for children much younger than that.  Watchmen is based on the graphic novel of the same name.  I’d recommend reading it first.  It’s better as a companion to the graphic novel (which is better than the movie).  Though I would say this is worth viewing if you’re a fan of the genre.

Persepolis -  Animation based on a graphic novel.  The story is about a young girl growing up in Iran during and after the Iranian Revolution.  I loved the animation and I found the story to be illuminating about life in Iran.

Star Trek – The new movie we saw in the theaters back in May – if you’re a fan, I’d recommend seeing this.  It’s the basis of a whole new future series of Star Trek movies starring a different cast playing the old roles of Spock, McCoy, Kirk, etc.

Slum Dog Millionaire – More for adults than kids, I’d recommend this movie.  It shows a part of life in India… wrapped around a story that’s not too likely perhaps.  It’s very colorful.  Loved the musical video at the ending!

The Darjeeling Limited – Shows another part of India… beautiful film, story okay, different.  Again for more for adults.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – More for adults, than kids also, though teenagers might like this flick… my husband and I really enjoyed this one.  It’s based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story.  Fitzgerald based the story on a comment Mark Twain once made that it’s a pity that the best part of life comes at the beginning and the worst at the end. This was my favorite movie of the year so far.

Feel free to let us know about any movies you’ve seen lately, and whether or not you liked, them in the comments below!

Meanwhile, enjoy the show!

Mama Lisa

There were photocopies of the storyboards of the beginning and end of the animation that Dali had worked on. But the middle of the story wasn’t totally worked out on paper. To make the completed animation, in addition to using Dali’s artwork for the project, Disney relied on a journal Dali’s wife had been keeping that detailed Dali’s plans for the piece. They also used a 3D model of Dali’s painting The Tower of Babel to give the animation more depth.

Originally, the film was going to include live people interposed with animations. According to an article on the Disney site (that has since been taken down), Dali was going to be in the film. He would have been working at an easel at one point, and an actor was going to ask him the meaning of the imagery in his works… such as the “melting” clocks. I found what Dali was going to respond to be very interesting:

“What you see here are just symbols. Surrealism is like a new language. Every object means something other than what it naturally appears to be. This watch, for instance — it symbolizes the relativity of time. Depending on the circumstances, in love for instance, one minute of waiting may seem like a thousand years…or an hour may pass as quickly as if it were a few seconds. The time of human being is different than mechanical time. It’s flexible and viscous, like the time in dreams.”

I thought that bit of dialog nicely elucidates Dali’s work and certainly the meaning of the clocks in his paintings.

The music in the animation is an adaptation of a ballad by Mexican songwriter Armando Dominguez. It was sung by Dora Luz.

Here’s a trailer from the animation…

Here’s a trailer of the strangest part of the animation…

You can see other clips of Destino and the whole animation by typing in “Dali and Disney” into YouTube. A higher quality version is coming out soon on DVD.

Thanks to Troy McDonald at PeekaBookaZoo for pointing this out!

I was worried by the clips of this film, that it might be a little scary for my 7 year old daughter. But it looked wonderful and I knew it was a good story. So, I let her know it had a happy ending and said let’s try it out.

My husband, daughter and I all enjoyed it.

It was a 3D film – so it was fun to wear the glasses – but I don’t think that was even necessary. It was really beautifully made even without that. The colors in parts remind you of how you see colors in your childhood – everything it brighter and more vivid.

Afterward, I asked my daughter if she thought it was scary and she said, “Not really”. I checked with her 6 year old friend who had seen it a day or two ago. She said it was scary, but worth seeing. Though her 3 year old brother was really frightened by it.

Here you can see a trailer. If it seems like your type of film, I’d recommend trying to see this one in the theater.

Dear Lisa,

Gerardo

Pin Pon is sung by children throughout the Spanish speaking world.

Guerra worked in children’s programs on Chilean TV in the 1960’s and 70’s. He went into exile after the military coup in Chile in 1973. He returned to Chile after democracy was restored in 1990.

Here you can see Jorge Guerra performing in one of his old shows…

RIP Jorgue Guerra.

Kung Fu Panda is a really great movie. I’d highly recommend watching it with your kids. It looks pretty. It exposes your children to another culture (it takes place in China). It’s funny and has a nice moral to the story (one being, be true to yourself).

You can get an idea of what Kung Fu Panda’s like in the trailer below…

Beware, at the end of the film you’ll find yourself singing the Kung Fu Fighting disco song from the 70’s… Everybody was Kung fu fighting, those kids were fast as lightening, in fact in was a little bit frightening, but they fought with expert timing…

Enjoy the Show!

Mama Lisa

PS This movie is available on DVD now so you can take it out at your local library or rent it.