Going to the Chapel

Family Movie Night

 

Last week was graduation.

 

I don’t know about you but I was incredibly weepy. Not only was one of my guys graduating but so were most of his friends. all of these guys have hung out at my house and now they are moving on to high school.

 

I remember the first day of kindergarten when my guy RAN to his kindergarten class. Left me behind and made his move. Now, he is planning to do the same for high school.

 

I really need to get used to this. After all it is June, the month of home leaving, especially if there is going to be a wedding  in your family. One day they are seeing a great new person and then – WHAM! – they are getting married. They leave home and start a new life.

 

Well, what can you do but celebrate it. And watch a movie or two.

 

James McAvoy and Emily Blunt give voice to "Gnomeo and Juliet," Image from IMDb.com

My new favorite romance movie is Gnomeo and Juliet. It is this incredibly cute movie by DreamWorks about two crazy kids who fall in love despite their families’ long feud. She is a red gnome and he is a blue gnome. Both have been told to hate the other although who knows for what reason in the first place.

 

This is a movie that is highly watchable by the younger kids and the parents or grandparents will love the soundtrack that is Elton John/Bernie Taupin music of our youth. I enjoyed the sequence in which Gnomeo discusses his love life with the Shakespeare statue in the park. Sure, it is obvious and maybe self-serving but what a fun little bit.

 

Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas starring in "The In-Laws," Image from IMDb.com

Another fave is The In-laws starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks.  In this wedding movie the focus is more on the relationship of the father-in-laws more than the bride and groom. The  PG-13 flick – best suited for early teens and up – has many interesting moments as we, like the Alert Brooks character, discovers that Michael Douglas is either crazy or really a CIA agent. Douglas is fearless whereas Brooks is a phobia-filled foot doctor.

 

Maybe this movie is not as good as the original with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin but I love it for the popcorn fun of it and Ryan Reynolds plays the groom. However, we also get to see some interesting shots of Chicago. I personally loved the para-gliding scene as they take off from the top of the Hancock building.

 

Billy Crystal, Brino Kirby, Carrie Fischer and Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally...," Image from IMDb.com.

Now there are many movies that feature a wedding in some shape or form. But my favorite one is one of the best romantic comedies of all time. There is a pivotal scene that takes place at a wedding in When Harry Met Sally… but more than anything this movie is about love. Love that lasts a lifetime and how it can be right there and you simply do not see it.

 

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan have incredible chemistry together as they spar about men, women, love, friendship and sex over the years. This is not a movie I am watching with my younger kids although the older teens could be around for it. Or maybe not because this is a movie I enjoy watching either by myself or with my husband.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

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McAvoy Marathon? Oh Yeah!

Family Movie Night

I realize I do not always talk about movies I have seen recently in the theaters.

Truthfully, I do not get out to see enough movies as far as I am concerned. However, this past week our 4H group had a pizza and movie night.  

James McAvoy and Emily Blunt in Gnomeo and Juliet, picture from IMDb.com

We went to see Gnomeo and Juliet. This delightful bit of animation had the 3D thing going on and was totally UNNEEDED. Added nothing to the experience. But what really made the experience wonderful was the use of Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs as incidental music and full length cuts.

The story is essentially Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare with gnomes, those adorable garden figures. Not that I have any in my yard but that is another story for another day. The rivalry occurs between Blue gnomes (Gnomeo) and the Red gnomes (Juliet).

Emily Blunt was wonderful as Juliet. But I really loved James McAvoy as Gnomeo. He had the right amount of everything to make it work. But then again, I have enjoyed McAvoy’s work for sometime now.

As Mr. Tumnus in "Narnia," picture from IMDb.com

We first saw him as Mr. Tumnus in the first Narnia movie in 2005. Then he turned head around the world with his role in The Last King of Scotland (2006). We also saw him as the young man who woos Christina Ricci in Penelope (2006). Suddenly, McAvoy was everywhere. He was Robbie in Atonement (2007) with Kiera Knightly, Tom LeFroy in Becoming Jane (2007) with Anne Hathaway, Wesley in Wanted (2008) with Angelina Jolie.

As Charles Xavier in "X-Men: First Class," picture from IMDb.com.

How could you not fall in love with him with those blue eyes and intensity of character? This spring he will play Charles Xavier in the latest X-Men movie and I cannot tell you how excited I am about this! I have already watched trailer and I get thrilled watching him and Michael Fassbender as the two men who will be leaders in the mutant world.

It is amazing watching him in a minute’s worth of film, it is amazing watching in a full length feature. I have watched him pull out romantic scenes as well as intense anger or fear. And if I hear that McAvoy is going to be in a movie, I want to see it because he makes it worth my time to watch.

James McAvoy in "Wanted," picture from IMDb.com

So plan a McAvoy marathon. You can go with romantic, action or serious movie themes. I guarantee, you are not going to be disappointed. 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Let the world know about your latest pick for Family Movie Night and drop a note below.