Gnomeo and Juliet: A Movie Review

Who could forget the story of Romeo and Juliet? Anyone who had this story overanalyzed in their high school literature class will remember the tragic events leading to the deaths of both young lovers. Here we have a retelling with a happy ending. The other major difference is that the characters are played by garden gnomes.

With very little prologue, the audience is taken to the front yards of the Capulets and Montagues. The owners of the houses hurl insults at each other as they leave for work. Once they are gone, the garden gnomes come to life, revealing the materialistic and antagonistic tendencies they have inherited from their owners. The Blues (Montague) and the Reds (Capulet) are obsessed with outdoing the other’s gardens.

While on a mission to obtain a beautiful flower from the top of a greenhouse for her family’s garden, Juliet Capulet meets with Gnomeo Montague. He is on a revenge mission and they are both in disguise. It is love at first sight, and they play-fight over the flower until their disguises are removed and they discover they each come from opposing families.

With the help of a frog gnome, who plays the nanny to Juliet, and a pink flamingo, who serves as a sort of chaperone during their trysts, Gnomeo and Juliet meet several times. In the meantime, the war between their families continues. Ben Montague loses his tall blue hat in a fight with Tybalt Capulet. Gnomeo attempts revenge through a mower race with Tybalt. Tybalt loses, crashing his mower into a fence and getting smashed. An angry crowd chases Gnomeo into the street.

It appears that Gnomeo has gotten crushed in the street, but actually what they see is a broken teacup that has fallen out of a truck. With Gnomeo missing and taken for dead, the war between the houses escalates, with the purchase of an upscale tractor mower. Juliet’s father glues her to a pedestal at the top of a fountain so she can stay “safe” at home.

I love the part where Gnomeo converses with a statue of William Shakespeare, asking him how his story ends. Shakespeare found it both suitable and satisfactory that they both die in the end. Gnomeo is determined on a better fate. He returns just in time and, although both gardens are ruined by the upscale tractor mower that has gone into “destruction” mode, the two families decide to end their feud and forgive one another.

The movie ends with a wedding. The flamingo finds his long-lost love. Tybalt even gets glued together and is seen dancing at the wedding.

A few parts that parents may find objectionable include a garden gnome in a revealing bathing suit that shows his entire backside, a joke about a squirrel losing his “nuts”, and a flashback scene in which the flamingo is showing how he lost his true love due to the separation of the couple who owned their house. In my opinion these are trivial issues that don’t take away from the overall charm of the movie. Parents may want to discuss the fact that Gnomeo and Juliet sneak out to court without the permission of their parents.

The message of the movie is a Christian one of love and forgiveness. Courtship and matrimony are also shown in a positive light.

17 Again: A Movie Review

[Spoiler alert.]

In "17 Again", Zac Efron plays Mike O’Donnell, the once-college-bound athlete with promises of a “free ride” scholarship, who later thinks that he threw it all away to marry his pregnant girlfriend Scarlett. At the age of 17 his girlfriend tells him of her pregnancy right before the biggest game of his life. With the scouts watching and his girlfriend walking away, he walks off the court to chase after her and ask her to marry him.

Flash forward to middle-age, wherein Mike (now played by Michael Perry) has a nowhere job and does nothing but complain about his family life. His wife (Scarlett, played by Leslie Mann) throws him out and he is forced to move in with his wealthy software genius nerd and best friend Ned Freedman (Thomas Lennon). He walks to the high school to reminisce. There a mysterious janitor apparently casts a spell on him and he meets with an accident that transforms himself into his 17-year-old self. He is still, however, in his own time.

After he convinces Ned that he is himself, Ned enrolls him in the high school, thinking he is meant to live out the basketball-college-star-dream he was once on track for. However, Mike soon realizes that his true path is to help his own children, who are also presently enrolled in the same school. His daughter is dating a boy who is pressuring her to have sex, and his son is a talented basketball player who just needs a confidence boost to get himself on the team and make some friends. Mike is able to befriend his children in a way he would not have been able to in the state of their previous father-child relationship.

Meanwhile, Scarlett is starting to date, while forced to remember the good old days because of the haunting presence of this young man who looks exactly like her husband did when he was 17. Things escalate to the point of divorce proceedings before all is made right. The kids’ problems are solved, Scarlett and Mike fall back in love, and Mike is transformed back into his normal aged body – with no regrets.

This movie is a great conversation-starter for parents and kids. The messages are pro-life, pro-abstinence, and pro-marriage. I recommend this film for teens; and for pre-teens with parental guidance. It can also be used as part of an abstinence program in any youth program.

Presently playing on HBO.

Revolutionary Road: A Review with Spoilers

I find it impossible to review this movie without spoiling the ending for my readers. I have read numerous reviews on Christian sites, which seem to be afraid to talk about the main focus of the movie. Yet the topic of the movie – abortion – is something that the viewer will have wished he or she knew before going into it.

The star-crossed lovers of Titanic have reunited on the set, but their relationship is nothing to be admired. In the story based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates and directed by Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet and Leonard DiCaprio play a husband and wife who have reached the stage of boredom in their 1950s upper-class suburban home in Connecticut. Two children float in and out of the picture, having no real roles but that of accessories, like the bland but elegant furniture in the large house in which they live on Revolutionary Road.

After starting his birthday with a marital argument with his wife April, Frank Wheeler seduces a young secretary at work. When he arrives home, there are tears in his eyes as his wife and children surprise him with a cake. Later, April convinces him that the way out of their unhappy situation is to sell all they own and move to Paris. There, she can take a good-paying job and he can find his purpose in life.

Setting a date for September, she purchases steamer tickets and puts the house up for sale. With some hope on the horizon, the couple seems happy that summer until two things happen that put their decision in jeopardy: she becomes pregnant and he is offered a job promotion.

“Don’t worry, Millie tells me as long as I take care of it before 12 weeks it will be okay,” she consoles him, and he says nothing. When he finds a piece of tubing in the bathroom closet, he knows she is seriously thinking of aborting. The tension grows and she becomes more and more emotionally distant. She frequently smokes and consumes alcohol. While she appears to be in control, there are times where privately she totally “loses” it, including when she gets drunk and cheats on her husband with the next door neighbor.

The night on which her pregnancy is dated at 12 weeks, they have a really awful fight, during which they both admit to hating each other, and he says he wished they had gotten rid of “it”. He later says he didn’t mean it, but he has already triggered a chain of thoughts in her mind that has set her resolve.

The last morning, there is a chilling scene during which she plays the perfect wife, making him a nice breakfast. She has placed the children in her friend Millie’s care, and you know what she is going to do as soon as he leaves the house.

Wearing perfectly starched linens, she carries the necessary instruments to the bathroom and closes the door. When she walks down the stairs, she stands at the window and smiles. She starts bleeding and calls for help. She dies in the hospital.

The movie ends with Wheeler sitting on a park bench, watching his children on the swings and obviously grieving over what he has lost.

I do not recommend watching this movie for fun. I would absolutely not recommend it for minors. I do think the movie tells some important truths, including the facts that: (1) abortion has been around for a very long time; (2) more often than society likes to admit, abortions happen even in upper-class marriages, just because the baby is not convenient; (3) abortion is a life-or-death decision for both the baby and the mother.

This post has also been published on Catholic Media Review.

Disney's "A Christmas Carol"

If you are wondering whether A Christmas Carol is too scary for your child, please read my review over at my Examiner column.
Leticia Velasquez also has an excellent review at MercatorNet.

Teaching kids historical perspective through the movies

On Friday I took the kids to see the new Disney’s Christmas Carol. It was amazing technically, and filled with real Christian messages. Musical selections included “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy to the World”. The message front and center was that you gain happiness by helping others.

After the movie, my ten-year-old was filled with questions. Why were the horses of death chasing him? Why was the Ghost of Christmas Present keeping two children called Want and Ignorance under his skirts? Did people really have to go to jail because they were poor? I was so glad that I had been able to take them to a quality movie that offered the opportunity to discuss such deep questions.

On Saturday my twelve-year-old surprised me by requesting that we watch Gone With the Wind. This is my favorite movie of all time. Why the sudden interest? She has been studying the Civil War in school and they have been watching Glory, which is told from the Northern perspective.

So we sat and watched the whole thing. We paused the movie many times so I could explain what was going on culturally. The difficulties of those times made me so thankful for the modern conveniences we take for granted. What was chloroform and why did they have to cut off solidiers’ legs without it? Why did they have to boil the soldiers’ clothing?

There were also some tricky moral questions. Why was Belle Watkins considered a bad woman? Why were Scarlett and Ashley kissing when they were married to other people? Why was Scarlett marrying her sisters’ beaus?

I also got to give them a little movie history. I recited for them the names of the actors, the awards the movie and the book had reaped, and why the sunset kiss between Scarlett and Rhett was controversial for its time.

Not only do true classics never go out of style; they offer great opportunities to share your knowledge and make it relevant to the world that your children are familiar with.

What Movie is Your Christmas Most Like?

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Each year, you really get into the spirit of Christmas. Which is much more important to you than nifty presents.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

The Movie Meme

I was tagged for this fun Meme by Leticia Velasquez…

1. Which actor do you think hasn't gotten the attention he/she deserves?

Emmy Rossum, who played Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (2004).

2. What is your favorite movie line?

That would have to be from “Gone With the Wind”, which is the favorite movie of both me and my husband. Rhett Butler, after Scarlett O’Hara Butler discovers, too late, that she loves him,
“That’s your misfortune.”
My Second favorite line is oft delivered by Scarlett O’Hara:
“Tomorrow’s another day.”

3. What is the absolute worst movie you've ever seen?
Dumb, Dumb, and Dumber

4. Is there a movie you hated when you first saw it and then later had to admit you were wrong?
Fight Club. I can watch this over and over and still be mesmerized by it. I can easily switch my answers with these last two questions…

5. What is your biggest guilty pleasure movie - the one you're ashamed you enjoy?
The 40-Year-Old Virgin. (Are you shocked?) It is definitely an adult-only movie and full of perverse humour, but at least they waited until they got married (even if it was for all the wrong reasons)! It also demonstrates that a woman can “start over” with being chaste, and shows role reversal in that it is the man who wants to wait this time.

I tag Loren Elizabeth Christie for this meme.

A Trip to the Library

Yesterday we made a long-overdue visit to the library. Our last visit was the first Wednesday of August, whereupon we had added dozens of borrowed books to our already growing collection. I got these together before the start of school, piling them into a corner of my dining room, hoping to rid myself of some clutter before September. However, we were unable to get ourselves together for a visit before school started, and the pile proved to be too enormous for me alone to cart in with my baby.

So I kept renewing them all every Wednesday online. This online renewal system has been both a boon and a bane. Although it is helpful to be able to do so, I tend to lean on that ability too much. It is especially helpful when the library closes at 9 and you can still renew online until midnight. But then I inevitably miss the date to renew and all of a sudden I owe lots of spare change in overdue fines; plus then I HAVE to get there to return them because you can’t renew a book once it is overdue. Sometimes the book is lost by that time; then I have to turn the house upside down to find it.

In the olden days, I would have a printed receipt that I would post on my refrigerator. Every time I returned a book, I would check it off. I NEVER had an overdue book. There also was a reasonable limit to the number of books you could check out – say, 20 items per family. Then, with the dawn of online everything, the library started to allow an unlimited number of books and old movies.

Every time I went to the library, I would set a limit, telling my children, “three each”, or something like that. But they would have their three so quickly, and see something else they HAD to have. How could I say no to a child so enthusiastic about reading something? For the movies, the limit was more severe. “I think the library has a limit of 2 per card,” I tried once.

“Oh no, you can take out 10 DVDs per card, and as many VHSs as you like,” a librarian had to tell us.

“Thanks so much,” I replied, shooting darts at her with my eyes.

We are such a sight coming home. I do tell them they must carry whatever they pick out, and very often my seven-year-old son repeatedly tips his pile as we trip out to the parking lot. I must look like a real meanie, making my kids carry all those heavy books! But I just have my meager five or so – I will only have time for one, but my eyes are too big for my brain sometimes as well.

Early yesterday, I attempted to renew everything once again. However, “That’s Not My Dinosaur” came up with a red ON HOLD, which meant it could not be renewed. So it was time to go. Right after dinner, I ordered the children to pile up all the books in the trunk and get going.

We came back with a moderate sized pile this time. I limited myself to ONE book of rhymes that I can read to my toddler. The others followed suit. My son got five books on tigers for a report on the animal of his choice. The original “The Time Machine by H.G. Wells” and “Madeline” (not the animated series) were the only movies we took home.

We did no recreational reading today, but we did watch “Madeline” and count the number of Ludwig Bemelmans’ stories that they were able to fit into the production. It was a real hoot, with nothing I found objectionable. My toddler turned out the lights and pretended to look for Pepito.

“And that’s all there is; there isn’t anymore.”

The L-Shaped Room

Just in case you thought the recent boom in “she’s having her baby” movies was a modern one, I would like to bring to your attention the 1962 black-and-white movie “The L-Shaped Room”.

Leslie Caron plays Jane Fossett, an unmarried French woman who goes to London in her second month of pregnancy, hoping to live out the duration in relative anonymity before returning home. Although she hides her situation from her fellow boarders, she does seek out medical advice and reveals that she had left the father of her own accord. She later confides that she had had a moment of weakness with this fellow, losing her virginity and becoming impregnated at the same time.

She soon finds that no-one seems to think she should have the baby. The obstetrician makes an appointment for her to terminate the pregnancy, assuming that was what was warranted. She leaves, insulted and determined to keep the baby. Another boarder, who overhears her telephone call to the doctor, offers her pills to end the pregnancy. She puts them in her pocket and leaves.

In a rash and terrible moment, she takes the pills. When she collapses in the street, she is brought to a hospital, where she finally receives some quality prenatal care. She is thankful that the abortive attempt was unsuccessful. The film ends with a healthy birth and an open ending as to how a romantic interest might play out.

This is a wonderful movie starring an excellent actress. Some adult situations, mild in comparison with today's films. I would preview this film before viewing it with your older teenage daughter.

Fighting a Caspian-like Battle on the Home Front

I took the children to see Prince Caspian this weekend. I thought the movie was incredibly well-done. One of the great things about movies based on classic literature is that you basically know what you will be getting. In fact, very rarely will I take the children to see any movie that is not based upon a book that I have read. Even if the movie is rated G, there may be materials I find objectionable because they run counter to our beliefs. Or, it might be so inane that I find it a waste of our time and mental energy.

Caspian was rated PG for violence, but it was not senseless violence. As scary as the battle scenes may be, you know the good side is going to beat the evil side. And good and evil are clearly defined. Children also need to know that there are battles worth fighting.

Just like many of our American men felt a strong urge to go fight for our country after the attacks on 9/11/01, I came out of the movie with a desire to fight for something worthwhile. After making dinner and cleaning up, I did a cross-stitch while the children watched a BBC version of Prince Caspian that we had on VHS.

How can I fight for something worthwhile? I thought, thinking that I was doing next-to-nothing. To paraphrase A.A. Milne in his Winnie-the-Pooh stories, Christopher Robin says that “nothing” is what you tell your parents you’re doing when you go outside to play. We all know the importance of childhood playtime. So, “Nothing” can actually be “something” worthwhile.

I pondered that for a while and realized that the “nothing” I was presently doing was really quite something. I was enjoying my children while they filled their minds with great stories. I was relaxing, taking delight in the wonderful family life God has granted us. I was making a handmade gift for someone, something the family in that household can take joy from for many years to come, rather than writing out a check or buying something off a registry.

We mothers are indeed fighting a holy war in our homes. We are fighting a culture that says things are more important than people, morals are relative, and God is a creation of our minds.

King Miraz feared the truth and brainwashed his people until they came to believe that the Narnians were extinct. The secular establishment fears the righteous, and brainwashes us through the media, textbooks, and schools to believe that really good people are extinct. Good politicians are considered oxymorons, brides are generally assumed to be unworthy of wearing white, men are believed to be incapable of remaining faithful in both mind and body, and religion is held to be something for the weak-minded.

In the book, Prince Caspian’s nurse (who was not mentioned in the movie) was sent away for disobeying the king. She and the tutor who takes her place, Doctor Cornelius, raise a righteous leader by defying the King and secretly telling the child all the stories of Narnia. Like them, we can do our part in bringing up righteous citizens by instilling God’s Word in our children’s hearts and rearing them in homes that live uprightly.

“Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God’s law they study day and night.”
Psalm 1:3

A Toddler and "The Water Horse"

Two weeks ago the Catholic school had a half day for teachers’ conferences. I love those days because I can take the kids wherever we like to go without the crowds experienced on days off shared with the public schools. If there is a movie we all want to see, I usually save it for one of those days.

We went to see The Water Horse. We have always been fascinated by tales of the Loch Ness Monster. I for one believe the explanations of an ancient sea monster (Plesiosaurus, perhaps) that used to be in the open sea and eventually became land-locked. Certainly Noah was not instructed to bring sea monsters into the ark. The creature could have become displaced by the high waters and then left in Loch Ness.

Incidentally, my attention had originally been gotten by an advertisement that read “The Chronicles of Narnia” as a subtitle. I thought perhaps this was a renaming of The Voyage of the Sea Treader. The advertisement was misleading, and I eventually found out it was created by the same company that produced The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

We ran into two other families from our school – happily, at first, but later this would turn to my embarrassment.

The older children and their friend all fit in a small row on right-hand side of the theatre. I sat across the aisle, on the left-hand side, where the seats were joined in pairs. At first the baby was amused by her seat and her animal crackers. But this did not last long. Whether it was the darkness, the loudness of the movie, the sea monster, or just the fact that she was supposed to stay in one spot, she soon became very upset.

She ran into the aisle; I caught her. Repeatedly. I tried to take her into the back of the theatre. She ran into the aisle, tripped over herself, and started to roll down the aisle – right past the friends from school. By the halfway point of the movie I gave up and decided to watch the movie from behind the door in the back of the theatre, through the little window.

I could see the picture fine and missed out on the dialogue, which I figured was not too important anyway in an action-adventure-fantasy. I was a little lost on what was happening with the army, and more than a little perplexed by my toddler’s behavior.

I later found out that my friend Leticia Velasquez had reviewed the movie on her new blog, Catholic Media Review. Had I previewed her review I would have been forewarned that the movie was a little too loud, dark, and scary for little ones. I probably would not have listened – but then I would only have myself to blame.

I also later discovered that some theatres have “family-friendly” morning showings specifically for mothers with toddlers. The lights are not so low, the volume is lower for sensitive ears, and changing tables are available. (On Long Island, Holtsville’s Island 16 is one such theatre.)

Catholic Media Review, an alternative to the USCCB Office of Film and
Broadcasting Site, was co-created by Julie at Happy Catholic, Jean at Catholic
Fire, Christine at The World . . .IMHO, Scott Nehring at Good News
Film Reviews, and Leticia Velasquez at Cause of Our Joy.

St. Philomena and "Bella"

I am so excited about going to see Bella with my daughters this weekend! I would like to share this letter that I received regarding this all-important opening weekend.

"Dear Universal Archconfraternity of St. Philomena Family Members,

I wanted to share some exciting news about a film, Bella, recently produced by fellow St. Philomena devotee Leo Severino. The film took the top prize at Toronto's International Film Festival winning the "People's Choice Award," a distinction that puts the movie in the company of Oscar-winning works. The directors of Bella also were recognized with the Smithsonian Latino Center's Legacy Award honoring positive role models of Hispanic heritage who have made a significant contribution to American culture and society.

You may recall receiving an e-mail recently about Leo and his bride Jacque who stayed at St. Philomena's Sanctuary in Mugnano on their honeymoon in August.

Please join me and show our support for Leo and Jacque and his production crew by taking your family and friends in your community in the United States, or telling your family and friends who live in the United States, to see the film this weekend. The film opens in many U.S. theaters on October 26, 2007.

Your support of the film, which is centered on the value of pro-life, will enable it to reach millions of people in theaters across the U.S. and around the world.

Click here to learn more about the film and specific theater locations.

Leo was recently interviewed on EWTN where he commented that they consecrated the movie to St. Philomena and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Please join us in congratulating Leo and his family and for the continuous intercession of our beloved Saint to promote heroic purity to our youth of the twenty-first century and to encourage all people to commit their fidelity to Christ,

Marie Burns,
Director General of the Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena

Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena
83027 Mugnano del Cardinale
Avellino, Italy
tel:011 39 081 825 7204
fax:011 39 081 511 2733
http://www.philomena.it
e-mail:SantaFilomena@philomena.it"

NOVENA PRAYER TO SAINT PHILOMENA
We beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant us the pardon of our sins by the intercession of Saint Philomena, virgin and martyr, who was always pleasing in Thy sight by her eminent chastity and by the profession of every virtue.
Amen.
Illustrious virgin and martyr, Saint Philomena, behold me prostrate before the throne whereupon it has pleased the Most Holy Trinity to place thee. Full of confidence in thy protection, I entreat thee to intercede for me with God, from the heights of Heaven deign to cast a glance upon thy humble client! Spouse of Christ, sustain me in suffering, fortify me in temptation, protect me in the dangers surrounding me, obtain for me the graces necessary to me, and in particular success for the film "Bella".
Above all, assist me at the hour of my death. Saint Philomena, powerful with God, pray for us.
Amen.
O God, Most Holy Trinity, we thank Thee for the graces Thou didst bestow upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, and upon Thy handmaid Philomena, through whose intercession we implore Thy Mercy.
Amen.