The Oscars™ are going to be held on March 7 this year and the Bowman house is getting ready for the Celebration.

David has requested to be in charge of the Oscar Supper, usually my domain, because of his plans to be an actor some day. He wants to serve pizza and I requested he make one or two of them something Wolfgang Puck would make for his Hollywood restaurant.

I keep joking that one has to be made of goat cheese.  Now, I am wondering where I can find goat cheese in the Kankakee area. Suggestions anyone?

What I am also  trying to do is see as many of the nominated films as possible. We took out Julie and Julia a few weeks ago. Inglorious Bastards is available for rental as is The Hurt Locker.

Last week we crossed another off the list when the family watched Up. My family had seen it in the theater and I missed out. While the kids were waiting for the good parts, I was seeing this movie for the charming tale the Pixar crew had created.

Every time I see a title by Pixar that I want to doubt, they come back with something great. I thought Finding Nemo was going to reek more than dead fish, that Wall-E was going be a bucket of missing parts. Cars was a sign that these guys were starting to run low on ideas; and that movie was better than most animation out there.

Yet, Pixar is a company that never fails to impress, to go out on a limb creatively, and never fails to entertain.

 I felt all of this with Up. There were so many moments that made me want to cry, that made me want to cheer. I worked for years in the healthcare system and knew a lot of couples as devoted as Carl and Ellie.

 While I enjoyed the first part of the movie, the kids loved the second half when Carl goes off on his grand adventure. Who could ever imagine that balloons could carry off a house to South America? Or that a childhood hero could still be alive? And through it all you learn how to live again?

 There is a lot to like in this movie even if it is hard to believe a 78 year-old man can pull a balloon-lifted house across a canyon. It is a movie all family members can watch AND enjoy together.

 Maybe Up is not deserving of an Oscar™ Best Picture nomination but it is certainly deserving of being viewed again for its bravery, for delivering a great message, and for willing to think that inside the heart of a septuagenarian lives a seven-year-old waiting to explore the world.

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Let the world, or at least St. Anne, know your family’s recent selection by dropping a line to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net. You can also ‘friend’ me on Facebook.

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