Friday Movie Recommendations

We've all been sick, and haven't been watching as many movies recently, but in the past two weeks, we did find time to get two movies in. Martian Child, and The Whole Wide World.
The Whole Wide World is about a school teacher with ambitions of becoming a writer who meets, well, I don't even have the desire to write what the movie was about- that's how exciting/interesting I found it. Here's the info from Netflix:This Dan Ireland-directed film stars Renee Zellweger as Novalyne Price, a Texas schoolteacher with literary ambitions who falls for pulp fiction scribe Bob Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) -- a man who gracefully traverses a world of words but can't seem to fit into real life. Howard's most famous literary hero is Conan the Barbarian; he, too, is a barbarian of sorts. He's a capable writer, but is he capable of love?

It's rated PG (and I don't see it listed on Kids-in-mind.com), but does have some parts that I found somewhat disturbing- when Bob Howard is writing or talking about his stories.

I Say: Don't bother.

My Mister Says: "What in the world was that about?"

Martian Child is about a widow who adopts a little boy, and their journey to becoming a family. From Netflix:n this film based on a David Gerrold novel, John Cusack stars as a recently widowed science-fiction writer who adopts a 6-year-old boy to quell his loneliness. The catch? The kid (Bobby Coleman) claims to be from Mars. At first, the new dad doesn't pay much attention to the boy's story, but when an odd series of events occurs, he begins to believe his son may be telling the truth in this film co-starring Amanda Peet and Joan Cusack.

It is also rated PG, with a 2.2.3 rating at Kids-in-mind.com

I Say: I loved it. I thought it was a sweet movie and, (as my Mister likes to remind me) I like John Cusack.

My Mister Says: "Eh. It was okay. I liked Oh Brother Where Art Thou* better."

*inside joke- he didn't enjoy the movie. He didn't think it was awful, just not worth watching again.

Friday Movie Recommendations

Earlier in the week we rented Miss Potter (Rated PG). When it came from netflix in the mail, I kind of regretted renting it because it had "animation" throughout the movie and I pictured something very childish.

From Netflix...

Blending lush animation sequences with live-action drama, director Chris Noonan constructs this biopic about the personal life of beloved children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Featuring the Academy Award-winning Renee Zellweger as the title character and co-starring Emily Watson and Ewan McGregor, the film traces Potter's private life as well as her contributions to literature such as the timeless "Tale of Peter Rabbit."

I Say: I loved it. I shouldn't have worried about the animated sequences, they fit into the movie very nicely. It was sweet and funny, and made me cry a little.

My Mister's Says: "I liked it, it was okay!"

The second movie I'm reviewing today is one of my new favorites. It is a BBC period drama based on a book by Elizabeth Gaskell. North and South(Not Rated) (the link is an amazon link, so scroll down to read the reviews).

From Netflix (although we loved this move so much that we bought it):

When her father uproots his family from their serene rural burg for an industrial mill town, parson's daughter Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) struggles to adapt to her harsh new surroundings in this BBC series based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novel. As her mother's health fails, Margaret throws herself into the fight for workers' rights and clashes with mill owner John Thornton (Richard Armitage). Sinead Cusack and Tim Pigott-Smith co-star.

I Say: Everything about this movie is well done, I've searched for the soundtrack, but it hasn't been released. The cinematography is beautiful. The only downside to this movie is that it is four hours long, and you can't watch it all in one sitting (unless you have a lot more free time than I do).

My Mister Says: "I like North and South a lot".