Family

Rated: G

• Running Time:
• My Rating: 0/5
• Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón, Agnieszka Holland
• Starring: Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Rusty Schwimmer, Arthur Malet, Vanessa Lee Chester, Errol Sitahal, Heather DeLoach, Taylor Fry, Darcie Bradford, Rachael Bella, Alexandra Rea-Baum, Camilla Belle, Lauren Blumenfeld, Kelsey Mulrooney, Kaitlin Cullum, Alison Moir, Time Winters, Lomax Study, Vincent Schiavelli

Two of Frances Hodgson Burnett's most treasured children's novels come to the screen in wondrous adaptations. Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) directs A Little Princess, the magical story of a girl who uses her powers of imagination and zest for life to overcome hardships at a stern boarding school. And three lonely children are forever changed as they learn to trust each other while restoring and taking refuge in The Secret Garden. Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa) directs and Francis Ford Coppola executive produces a luminous film in which magic and hope bloom.

Date added to my collection: 24 Feb 2007

My Comments:

Rated: PG-13
Release Date:1999
Running Time:
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka

This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and "anime" fans, "Princess Mononoke" represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki ("My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service"), an acknowledged "anime" pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here.
Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature.
Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. Recommended for ages 12 and older. "--Sam Sutherland"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments:

Rated: PG
Release Date:1982
Running Time: 115
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace-Stone, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, K.C. Martel, Sean Frye, C. Thomas Howell, David M. O'Dell, Richard Swingler, Frank Toth, Robert Barton, Michael Durrell, David Berkson, Susan Cameron, David Carlberg, Erika Eleniak, Will Fowler Jr., Barbara Hartnett, Milt Kogan, Alexander Lampone, Diane Lampone, Rhoda Makoff, Robert Murphy, Richard Pesavento, Tom Sherry, Mary Stein, Mitchell Suskin

Steven Spielberg's 1982 hit about a stranded alien and his loving relationship with a fatherless boy (Henry Thomas) struck a chord with audiences everywhere, and it furthered Spielberg's reputation as a director of equally strong commercial sensibilities and classical leanings. Henry Thomas gives a strong, emotional performance as E.T.'s young friend, Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore make a solid impression as his siblings, and Dee Wallace is lively as the kids' mother. The special effects almost look a bit quaint now with all the computer advancements that have occurred since, but they also have more heart behind them than a lot of what we see today. "--Tom Keogh"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: His Adventure On Earth

Rated: PG
Release Date:2004
Running Time: 141
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Griffiths, Pam Ferris, Fiona Shaw, Harry Melling, Adrian Rawlins, Geraldine Somerville, Lee Ingleby, Lenny Henry, Jimmy Gardner, Gary Oldman, Jim Tavaré, Robert Hardy, Abby Ford, Rupert Grint

Some movie-loving wizards must have cast a magic spell on "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", because it's another grand slam for the Harry Potter franchise. Demonstrating remarkable versatility after the arthouse success of "Y Tu Mamá También", director Alfonso Cuarón proves a perfect choice to guide Harry, Hermione, and Ron into treacherous puberty as the now 13-year-old students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry face a new and daunting challenge: Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison, and for reasons yet unknown (unless, of course, you've read J.K. Rowling's book, considered by many to be the best in the series), he's after Harry in a bid for revenge. This dark and dangerous mystery drives the action while Harry (the fast-growing Daniel Radcliffe) and his third-year Hogwarts classmates discover the flying hippogriff Buckbeak (a marvelous CGI creature), the benevolent but enigmatic Professor Lupin (David Thewlis), horrifying black-robed Dementors, sneaky Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall), and the wonderful advantage of having a Time-Turner just when you need one. The familiar Hogwarts staff returns in fine form (including the delightful Michael Gambon, replacing the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and Emma Thompson as the goggle-eyed Sybil Trelawney), and even Julie Christie joins this prestigious production for a brief but welcome cameo. Technically dazzling, fast-paced, and chock-full of Rowling's boundless imagination (loyally adapted by ace screenwriter Steve Kloves), "The Prisoner of Azkaban" is a Potter-movie classic. "--Jeff Shannon"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: Something wicked this way comes.

Rated: PG
Release Date:2001
Running Time: 125
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yumi Tamai, Yo Oizumi, Koba Hayashi, Tsunehiko Kamijô, Takehiko Ono, Bunta Sugawara, Shiro Saito, Jack Angel, Bob Bergen, Rodger Bumpass, Daveigh Chase, Michael Chiklis, Jennifer Darling, Susan Egan, Paul Eiding, Lauren Holly, Noriko Kitou, Sherry Lynn, Jason Marsden, Mona Marshall, Mickie McGowan, Candi Milo, Colleen O'shaughnessey, Suzanne Pleshette, Phil Proctor, John Ratzenberger, David Ogden Stiers, Tara Strong, Jim Ward, Ken Yasuda

The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" ("Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi") is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's "Lilo & Stitch") plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") "--Charles Solomon"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: Animated

Rated: PG
Release Date:2000
Running Time: 104
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, Molly Shannon, Clint Howard, Josh Ryan Evans, Mindy Sterling, Rachel Winfree, Rance Howard, Jeremy Howard, T.J. Thyne, Lacey Kohl, Nadja Pionilla

Under a thick carpet of green-dyed yak fur and wonderfully expressive Rick Baker makeup, Jim Carrey is up to all of his old tricks (and some nifty new ones) in this live-action movie of Dr. Seuss's holiday classic. He commands the title role with equal parts madness, mayhem, pathos, and improvisational genius, channeling Grinchness through his own screen persona so smoothly that fans of both Carrey and Dr. Seuss will be thoroughly satisfied. Adding to the fun is a perfectly pitched back-story sequence (accompanied by Anthony Hopkins's narration) that explains how the Grinch came to hate Christmas, with a heart "two sizes too small." Ron Howard proves a fine choice for the director's chair with a keen balance of comedy, sentiment, and light-hearted Seussian whimsy. Production designer Michael Corenblith gloriously realizes the wackiness of Whoville architecture, and his rendition of the Grinch's Mt. Crumpit lair is a marvel of cartoonish, subterranean grime. Then there's Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), the thoughtful imp who rallies her village to recapture the pure spirit of Christmas and melts the gift-stealing Grinch's cold, cold heart. You've even got a dog (the Grinch's good-natured mongrel, Max) who's been perfectly cast, so what's not to like about this dazzling yuletide movie? The production gets a bit overwhelmed by its own ambition, and the citizens of Whoville (including Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon, and Bill Irwin) pale in comparison to Carrey's inspired lunacy, but who cares? If a movie can unleash Jim Carrey at his finest, revamp the Grinch story, and still pay tribute to the legacy of Dr. Seuss, you can bet it qualifies as rousing entertainment. (Ages 5 and older.) "--Jeff Shannon"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: You Better Watch Out!

Rated: PG
Release Date:2002
Running Time: 161
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Harry Melling, Toby Jones, Jim Norton, Veronica Clifford, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, Mark Williams, Chris Rankin

First sequels are the true test of an enduring movie franchise, and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" passes with flying colors. Expanding upon the lavish sets, special effects, and grand adventure of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry involves a darker, more malevolent tale (parents with younger children beware), beginning with the petrified bodies of several Hogwarts students and magical clues leading Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) to a 50-year-old mystery in the monster-laden Chamber of Secrets. House elves, squealing mandrakes, giant spiders, and venomous serpents populate this loyal adaptation (by "Sorcerer's Stone" director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves), and Kenneth Branagh delightfully tops the supreme supporting cast as the vainglorious charlatan Gilderoy Lockhart (be sure to view past the credits for a visual punchline at Lockhart's expense). At 161 minutes, the film suffers from lack of depth and uneven pacing, and John Williams' score mostly reprises established themes. The young, fast-growing cast offers ample compensation, however, as does the late Richard Harris in his final screen appearance as Professor Albus Dumbledore. Brimming with cleverness, wonderment, and big-budget splendor, "Chamber" honors the legacy of J.K. Rowling's novels. "--Jeff Shannon"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: "Dobby Has Come To Warn You Sir."

Rated: G
Release Date:2004
Running Time: 99
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Leslie Harter Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen, Nona Gaye, Peter Scolari, Brendan King, Andy Pellick, Josh Eli, Mark Mendonca, Rolandas Hendricks, Mark Goodman, Jon Scott, Gregory Gast, Sean Scott, Gordon Hart

Destined to become a holiday perennial, "The Polar Express" also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. "--Jeff Shannon"
The World of "The Polar Express"
The book by Chris Van Allsburg
The Soundtrack
"The Magic Journey (Polar Express the Movie)" (book)
Stills from "Polar Express" (click for larger image)

Date added to my collection: 02 Dec 2005

My Comments: Animated

Rated: G
Release Date:2000
Running Time: 84
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Peter Lord, Nick Park
Starring: Phil Daniels, Lynn Ferguson, Mel Gibson, Tony Haygarth, Jane Horrocks, Miranda Richardson, Julia Sawalha, Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, Benjamin Whitrow

There were a lot of disappointments in the 2000 summer movie season, but "Chicken Run" wasn't one of them. Made by Aardman Animations, which produced the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit shorts, this is a dazzling stop-motion animation film that is both deftly funny and surprisingly touching. The concept is simple: "The Great Escape"--with chickens. But directors Peter Lord and Nick Park take it much further than that (and remember: there's a whole generation out there that has no idea who Steve McQueen is). Julia Sawalha voices Ginger, a plucky English hen who has been trying to escape from Tweedy's chicken farm, where the vicious Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) fries up any chicken who doesn't produce enough eggs. When egg profits slump, Mrs. Tweedy decides to turn her farm into a chicken-pie factory, giving new urgency to Ginger's plan. Enter Rocky the Flying Rooster (Mel Gibson), a brash American who has escaped from a circus and promises to teach the chickens to fly to safety. The film is filled with innumerable visual touches and the animation has a tactile quality that makes you want to reach out and touch these funny fowl. Above all, it's played with intelligence, wit, and heart--a rare combination in any film. While "Chicken Run" is being marketed to a youth audience, it truly is a family film that operates on both a child and an adult level. It would be a shame if grownups skipped it because they thought it was strictly for kids. "--Marshall Fine"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: Animated