Saturday Movie Night: Red

I think I like this movie because I'm starting to hit middle age.  Ok, I'm deep into middle age.  Red stars Bruce Willis as an ex-CIA operative who is targeted for elimination to protect the information he carries.  He reunites with his old crew (and enemies) to try and save his life and expose the secret.  It's a little violent, but lots of fun.  Great action-comedy flick.

Kids in mind:  2,7,5

Saturday Movie Night: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I've never liked magic - magicians always scared me as a child (clowns too ;-) - but I really liked The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.   It stars Steve Carell as a Vegas performer who has lost touch with his audience.  It is such a throwback to the magic shows that were always on TV during the 70's.   It also pokes fun of the new genre of magicians who are just glorified stuntmen.  It's light-hearted fun that leaves you smiling at the end.

Kids in mind scores it 5.5.5

Defund Planned Parenthood | "Glenn Beck Program"

Book Review: Clutter's Last Stand

Ok, normally life changing books are much deeper than this one, but reading Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslet actually changed my entire outlook on life.  The main premise is that 20% of the items we own get 80% of the use.  All of that extra stuff just drags us down.  We spend time storing, cleaning, and worrying about so much stuff that we don't really need.  After reading this book the first time, I got rid of enough junk to have two huge garage sales.  Over the course of a year, I went through every closet, drawer, nook and cranny and tossed everything that I didn't use regularly.  It was AMAZINGLY liberating!!  Everything became so much easier - dusting took less time because I no longer had tons of ugly knickknacks to move, cooking was easier because I didn't have to dig through all the useless utensils to get to my favorite spatula, my closets were no longer filled with clothes I hated.   It was scary at first to let go - but you know what?  I never missed one thing.

Saturday Movie Night: Amazing Grace

Today's movie pick is Amazing Grace.  I think it's timely given the Planned Parenthood video releases.  William Wilberforce gave his all to try and end the slave trade in England.  I'm pretty sure that if he had social media in his day, he'd be doing undercover videos.  Instead, he took people onto actual slave ships so they could see for themselves the tortuous conditions and know the truth.  In every age, the righteous are called to proclaim the truth from the rooftops.  It's inspiring to see that eventually, Truth will triumph.

Kids in mind:  2, 4, 2

Life Lessons from a 6 year old

I've been fretting lately over things in the past, and "what if's".  Not sure, but it may be a mid-life crisis.   A friend posted the following quote from Bl. Mother Theresa:  "Do not let the past disturb you, Just leave everything in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and begin again with joy."   This video embodies Mother Theresa's philosophy of life.   I hope to be just like Jaden when I grow up ;-)

Saturday Movie Night: Frequency

It's just past 1:30 am and I realized that I forgot to share my movie pick of the week.  Since this is only the second week I've been doing this, I hate to give up so soon.  Today's pick is Frequency.  It stars a very young Jim Cavizel and Dennis Quaid. I'm a little too sleepy to share the plot, but it's an awesome father-son movie.   Action, drama, suspense and safe for the whole family - what more could you want?

Kids in Mind gives it a 1,5,4

Problem Solved!!

In my last blog post, I bemoaned the loss of Clean Flicks.  Yesterday I did some more research and found this amazing service - Clear Play.  Clear Play lets you safely watch new movies.  You can choose what to edit out (language, sex, violence, etc.)  You can even set the player to edit out specific words.  I am so excited about this!!!  Especially when I saw the new Vacation movie was rated R -  it's no longer off limits!!  (except for the part where I've got to pull together enough cash to buy the system....)

Kids In Mind

If you haven't heard about Kids In Mind yet, it's defiantly a site you want to bookmark.  It lists movies and rates them across three categories: sex and nudity, violence, and profanity.  We have found this site to be so much better than going by traditional movie ratings.  So many times we will start a PG 13 movie only to have to turn it off because it was so offensive.  On the other hand, we have been able to find some very good movies that were rated R, yet had very little concerning content.  The site also lists in detail each offending scene so you can decide for yourself if the movie fits in with your standards.  It sometimes gives away the plot, but it's helpful for knowing when to hit fast-forward.  The number rating system is very consistent.  In our house, we avoid anything above a 5 in sex and nudity.  It's worked well for us, but we also have older teenagers.   I miss the good old days when we had a subscription to Clean Flicks and could watch anything we wanted without fear. (except for the horror movies - those were still scary ;-)

Saturday Movie Night: Ghost Town

We are big movie buffs around here.  Saturday nights are usually take-out Chinese and Red Box movie nights.   Lately, however, it's been getting harder and harder to find good movies.  We've been resorting to replaying old favorites again and again.  In an attempt to help promote the good,  I've decided to dedicate Saturdays to sharing my favorite movies.  I'd love to hear what your favorites are as well - we really need some new flicks to add to the line-up!

Today's pick is Ghost Town.  This is one of those feel-good movies.  It stars Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, and Greg Kinnear.  I love a good comedy, and this one has some laugh-out loud parts.  The best thing about this movie, however, is the underlying message of the importance of taking just a minute to look out for those around us.  So many times we go about our business not noticing the ancillary people we encounter.  Often, a small gesture or a kind word can mean more than we will ever know.  Lighthearted movie with some depth - what could be better for Saturday night viewing?   Pop some popcorn and enjoy!!   (air popper or on the stove with real butter and sea salt of course ;-)

If you want to check the appropriateness for the family, Kids in Mind gives it a 4, 3, 5