WALL•E Won Us Over

I talked myself into taking the kids to WALL•E yesterday. (The kids themselves didn’t need much convincing.) My husband was pessimistic—not about the movie itself, mind you, but about the cost of such an outing. I gave him my most winsome smile and told him not to worry. I’d take care of the expense myself.

And then I raided the kids’ piggy banks.

With their permission.

We arrived just in time for the 4:30 matinee and shelled out $50.00 for the six of us. (Hubby stayed home. Go figure.) I bypassed the concessions thinking I’d save a penny (ha) or two.

Well, here’s a riddle: What do you do when you take a 3-year-old into a darkened movie theater? You (quickly) leave when she (loudly) requests some popcorn.

I will tell you that I hated to miss a single minute of this movie. I want to go back to see what I’ve missed. I want to go back to see it all over. I want…

…to stop getting ahead of myself.

Angela and I followed the smell & sounds of popcorn. I held her small hand and felt thankful for the moment. (Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!) As I stood there scanning the options, the guy in the tie behind the counter asked if we’d like to try one of their “specials.”

“Um,” I responded, “How much is a ‘Number 1?’” None of their prices were listed and so I had to ask. A large popcorn and two large sodas sounded good to me, though—just the trick for our group of six.

“$17.00,” the kid replied.

An exclamation point flash over my head. Was he crazy? Are they crazy? Am I crazy? I certainly felt so as I dished out a mere $12.00 for a large tub of popcorn and a single medium soda.

Angela & I made our way back to the movie where my other kids were watching—rapt and laughing—and where I felt both entertained and fairly guilt-ridden. On the one hand, I felt privileged to be watching one of the best family movies that I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, I just felt privileged.

You could say that WALL•E won us over…at a cost.

I wonder why it has to be like this, why the price of a movie & snacks has to be so darned prohibitive? It’s ridiculous. We’ve a throw-away mentality—the theme of this movie attests to that—and it would seem that we are now being asked to throw away our money, too.

Anyway. I’ll stop with my budget-oriented rant now.

I am not at all going to discourage you from going to see WALL•E. It’s brilliant; he’s sweet; I think you should. The irony is that this movie goes “green” in its take on environmentalism—in a good way, in an amazingly creative way—and yet, sitting there with my jumbo tub of overpriced popcorn, I felt much like one of the big fat American consumers that this movie portrays.

Perhaps I’m just a tad too sensitive.

Perhaps I’m just mad at the economy.

Perhaps I should just pack my own snacks next time!

(Would that be cheating? I don’t think so.)


Ad Jesum per Mariam,



PS. If you do go, plan on arriving early and staying late. First off, Pixar throws in an animated short film (“Presto!”) that’s hilarious. And then, at the end of WALL•E (during the closing credits) is a history of art that is not to be missed. Do you hear that, all you movie-goers who were in the theater with us? Plus you’ve got a theme song by Peter Gabriel! Why would you leave?

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A Catholic Take on WALL-E

Catholic Exchange has a very nice review of Pixar's WALL-E. I haven't seen the movie yet, but now I certainly will.

The Young Riders

Another NetFlix recommendation...
My family cannot get enough of "The Young Riders" whose 67 episodes ran on TV during 1989-1992. The movie is an exciting series of western adventures based on the boys who actually worked for the Pony Express. Our family LOVES this historical connection because we live in St. Joseph, MO -- the location of the Pony Express National Museum http://www.ponyexpress.org/ and original Stables. My daughter even works there giving tours to school children.

The riders include the future "Buffalo Bill" Cody; James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok; Ike, an orphan who is a mute; Buck, a half-White/half-Kiowa scout; and the Kid, a quiet Southerner similar to "Billy the Kid." They also ride with Lou, a young woman who keeps secretly disguised as a boy.

Although highly fictionalized, there are many facts woven into the tales of this group of Express riders based at a waystation in Sweetwater, Kansas. The station is run by an ex-Texas Ranger and all-around eccentric named "Teaspoon" Hunter, and Emma, who is their cook, housekeeper, and mother hen and tries to keep them out of trouble.

Bless me Father

We've been watching this as a family nightly, courtesy of netflix. The Amazon link will give you a glimpse of how well-loved this series is--it has a solid 5 star rating from numerous customer reviews. Now available as a complete set on DVDs. Filmed in the 70s, set in the 50s, supposedly pulled from BBC in the USA.

The old pastor of St. Jude and the new, inexperienced young priest and their housekeeper is a hilarious trio. Family fare, and not at all disrespectful of the Catholic Church, although of course a bit politically incorrect for these days: the doctor is always smoking and carries a bottle in his bag!

VATICAN SHOWS RON HOWARD THE GATE

A movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s book, Angels and Demons, is now in production; it is the prequel to the film, “The Da Vinci Code.” There are reports today that the Vatican has banned those associated with “Angels and Demons” from shooting in Catholic churches in Rome or in the Vatican itself. This is important because there are scenes in the movie that are supposed to take place in the Vatican and in two churches in Rome.

You can read the rest of the Catholic League's current alert here

One movie, two titles

We have watched both the new Indiana Jones film and the latest sequel of National Treasure within a few days of each other, and we realized it's the same movie! Both deal with finding the pre-Columbian lost City of Gold, both deal with older males re-encountering their old true love. Neither is excellent, and the Indiana Jones', albeit all of Harrison's Ford's continuing charm, is pretty violent. But depending on your kids/ages, both may provide fun family time. Never mind that one version of the City of Gold ends up being in Black Hills and the other in Iguassu Falls, which they want us to believe is a series of waterfalls in the Amazon somewhere. They cannot fool this Brazilian. This has been tried before--in James Bond's Moonraker--which I watched as a teen in Brazil. I joined in the general laughter in the theater as James Bond entered the Sugar Loaf cable car, ran behind that mountain (in Rio) to find himself in the Amazon River (5000km or so away, mind you) and then falls off the Iguassu Falls, 7000 km away? I don't think so.


Educational aspects? The Resolute story--and the two desks made from it, one in the White House, one in Buckingham Palace. The nuclear mushroom cloud/testing done is NV is pretty well done. Any others anyone can think of?

Review of The Nun's Story

I'm glad that I previewed the Audrey Hepburn movie "The Nun's Story" from 1958. Although unrated, it was classified as "PG" by our library. I would probably let my high school aged children view this one -- because there is no bad language and only mild violence. In the end, however, **spoiler ** = she leaves the convent! I would want to know this beforehand, and so would other Catholic mothers.

The movie is based on Kathryn C. Hulme's book about the experiences of her friend, who was a nurse and an ex-nun in Belgium. "Sister Luke" is portrayed quite respectfully during her novitiate and up to making her final vows with the Carmelites. For its day, this was probably an intimate view of the clergy and convent that many had never seen before. Sister Luke finds her faith tested and struggles with obedience in quite normal ways. She is very smart and full of good intentions. The elder nuns are very supportive and gently loving towards her. But working in the Congo hospital with Dr. Fortunati, she wrestles with her growing esteem for the good doctor. Their interactions are portrayed more like a secular flirtation/attraction, although the author claims this was a fictatious addition by the Hollywood writers. There are also personal conflicts for Sister Luke because of World War II and her Belgian patriotism. In the end, she chooses to leave the convent. Unfortunately, the movie does not address her difficulties after she is free of the convent. The Catholic Bishops web site is kind to this movie, but I doubt it serves much usefulness amongst those discerning a vocation.

Note: Audrey Hepburn actually met Marie-Louise Habets (the former nun) while preparing for the role, and Habets later helped nurse Hepburn back to health following her near-fatal horse-riding accident on the set of the 1960 film "The Unforgiven." Hepburn earned her third Academy Award nomination for "The Nun's Story."