Movies

The kids' movie night selection for today was "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." From Wikipedia:

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 Academy Award-winning stop-motion animated film, the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations, and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box and shot entirely in Britain. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is in part a parody of the horror genre, and contains many images that parody or pay homage to specific horror films. The directors have oft referred to the film as the world's "first vegetarian horror". Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) is joined in the film by Ralph Fiennes (as Lord Victor Quartermaine), Helena Bonham Carter (as Lady Tottington), Peter Kay (as PC Mackintosh), Nicholas Smith (as Rev. Clement Hedges), and Liz Smith (as Mrs. Mulch). Gromit remains silent, communicating only through body language.

The Moore boys weren't especially impressed. We probably didn't get the references to specific horror films.

Today I finished watching Grizzly Man (2005,R). From Wikipedia:

Grizzly Man is a 2005 documentary film by German director Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of environmentalist and bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. The music in the film is by British folksinger Richard Thompson.

To call him an enthusiast is a gross understatement. The guy was obsessed and obviously a bit of a wack-o. But he was living life his way. I give it 4 out of 5.

Today I finished watching Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002,PG). From Wikipedia:

Rabbit-Proof Fence is an Australian film based on the book of the same name by Doris Pilkington Garimara about three young half-caste Aboriginal girls (one of whom, Molly, was her mother) who ran away from a Western Australian settlement at Moore River, just north of Perth, in which they were placed in 1931, in order to return to their Aboriginal family. The film follows the girls walking for nine weeks along 1,500 miles of fence to return to their mother's community at Jigalong. The fence is "rabbit proof", preventing rabbits from crossing.

I give it 4 out of 5.

For movie night today, Lisa and the kids watched Monsters, Inc. (2001,G). From reel.com:

Two monsters who specialize in scaring young children find their world turned upside down when a three-year-old girl follows them back to their headquarters.

They liked it, though Lisa thought it was a little too "rowdy." Elliot said, "What's rowdy?"

Tonight I finished watching Control Room (2004,NR). From Wikipedia:

Control Room is a 2004 documentary film about Al Jazeera and its relations with the US Central Command, as well as the other news organizations that covered the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

I thought it was pretty interesting to see some of the TV images (e.g., of captured American soldiers) that I had originally seen glimpses of on US news when the US news was reporting on the fact that the footage was being shown on Al Jazeera. Also seeing the interaction between the skeptical Al Jazeera correspondents and the surprisingly balanced spokesmen for the US troops. I give it 4 out of 5.