Angelina Jolie News Blog @newzblogz.com

This column rates current movies for parents and others who want help in choosing films that reflect traditional values and are suitable for family viewing. Films are rated in two categories: ENTERTAINMENT (rated 0 to +4) and ACCEPTABILITY (rated -4 to +4). I'll add brief comments to clarify the reasons for the ratings. All movies listed are currently playing in Midland and/or Odessa as of this writing unless otherwise noted.

ONE MORE PERSONAL NOTE: Thomas D. Laney (Sr.), 87, of Daytona Beach Shores, Fla., former Marine and head of the English Department of the Marine Corps Institute during World War II; former executive V.P. of Building Owners and Managers Association International and former manager of the condominium portion (the upper two-thirds) of the John Hancock building, both in Chicago; guest lecturer at eight universities in the U.S. and South Africa, including Yale, Syracuse, the University of Houston and...

FAMILY-FRIENDLY FILMS

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

Most of us know the story of Daniel Pearl the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and beheaded in Pakistan in 2002. Considering the subject matter, we know were not in for an uplifting film when we set out to see A Mighty Heart.

Sobering, yes, but this film is not depressing. Its also made in superb taste. Naturally, itd be simple enough to string together a gory, violent sequence of torture and murder leading up to Pearls decapitation, but this isnt really the story of Pearl. Its the story of his wife, Mariane, and what she went through during the search for her missing husband.

Based on Mariane Pearls book, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl, the woman had more than a bit of input in the filmmaking and the result is respectable.

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

Based on the novel by Susan Minot and adapted for the screen by Minot with Michael Cunningham, this drama was directed by Lajos Koltar. Two pairs of real-life mothers and daughters - Vanessa Regrave and Natasha Richardsonm and Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer - portray, respectively, a mother and her daughter and the mother's best friend at different stages in life, Overcome by the power of memory, Ann Lord (Redgrave) reveals a long-held secret to her concerned daughters, Constance (Richardson) and...

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, a brief accident, sexual material, and language - Movies 16.

Ratatouille (?)

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

Starring Mandy Moore, John Krasinski and Robin Williams. Ben Murphy and his fiance, Sadie Jones, have always dreamed of getting married in a traditional wedding at the family church. The problem is St. Augustine's only has one wedding slot available in the next two years, and its charismatic pastor, Reverend Frank, won't bless Ben and Sadie's union until they pass his patented, foolproof marriage-prep course. Rated PG-13 for sexual humor and language, running time 100 minutes. Starts Tuesday. (Cape West Cine)

'Ratatouille'

Starring the voices of Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm, Peter Sohn, Brian Dennehy, Brad Garrett and Peter O'Toole. Remy is a little rat with big dreams of becoming a world-class chef. So he makes a home under a fancy Parisian restaurant and forms an unlikely bond with a lowly garbage boy, Linguini, that will take them both to new, unimagined culinary heights, if Remy doesn't get caught by the real chefs first. Rated G, running time 110 minutes. (Town Plaza Cinema)

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit