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In a Nutshell: Inspired by true events, Academy Award
winner Kevin Costner produced this heartbreaking and heart warming film that
attempts to cross black and white barriers to understanding and accepting one another.
Uplifting Theme:
·Unfortunately, race is still an issue in this
country. Kevin Costner plays a
hard-drinking and newly widowed grandfather, trying to raise
his mixed race granddaughter. Academy
Award winner Octavia Spencer plays Rowena Spencer (Grandma WeeWee). Rowena
says “But you don’t want her down here, do you Elliott…here with the black
folks…?” Elliott brushes her off and
says “Don’t start with that. What is it
with you? Why do you always have to go
there?” She spits back “What is it with you that you don’t want to admit that
there’s a ‘there’ there?”
Things I liked:
·There are some funny moments like when Kevin
Costner tries to brush his granddaughter’s black hair. Frazzled, he asks “This is every day?” There are also a lot of funny/awkward
moments, like when Grandma WeeWeePee tries to kiss Kevin Costner or give him "some love" with a hug.
·The evolving relationship between Elliott Anderson and his granddaughter, Heloise, is very sweet. It’s cute how
they tap their heart with their fingers when they say goodbye to each other.
·The math tutor (“Johnny Quest sidekick”) played by Mpho Koaho is adorable. I love how he has written papers on so many
different subjects and is always there to support Elliott.
·Jillian Estel (Eloise) does a great job and is
adorable.
Things I didn’t like:
·I don’t care what color you are…if you’re doing
drugs, I don’t want you around my kids.
It bugged me that Rowena and her brother sued Elliott, claiming he didn’t
want Eloise around her biological father because he was black, as if his drug
use, prison time, and dangerous lifestyle had nothing to do with it.
·Some of the characters in the story are
ridiculously stereotyped on both sides.
Funny lines:
·“I’m no good at math; I’m a lawyer. Do you know what we’re good at?” - Elliott
“What?” – Heloise
“Nothing…….it’s a little joke.” – Elliott “Duvan, tell me the truth. What planet are you
really from? OK? I’m not going to report
you. I just would like to know.” -
Elliott
Interesting lines:
·“She’s not black. Alright, she’s half black. She’s also half
white. What does that have to do with
anything anyway? That’s the stupidest
thing you’ve ever said.” – Elliott
·“I don’t watch much television. I’m afraid for me it is not a nourishing form
of entertainment.” – Duvan
Tips for Parents:
·Language, including the “N” word and 1 F-bomb,
drinking, drug use, and a couple of fights.
* Custody battles often cause emotional hurt for both parents and children. Because of the complicated nature of race and custody, this film would be boring and inappropriate for young children.
In a Nutshell: While
this underdog story isn’t unique, the newest Disney film has a lot of heart and shows
how to do the proven formula for inspiring sports films right. Like the sign says that the town’s kids hold
up to cheer on the cross country team, “McFarland es mas macho.” I especially love inspiring movies about true
stories when, at the end, they show the real people the film was based on and
where they are today.
Hollywood cranks out movies about football and baseball, but
rarely do you see high school cross country featured. My two oldest sons ran
cross country when they were in high school in San Diego. I remember cheering them on and eagerly
waiting for the judges to score the races and announce the winners. It’s an admirable sport whose athletes
impress me with their tenacity and calm endurance. You’ll be even more in awe when you see what
this coach and team were able to accomplish in real life.
Maybe I was in a sentimental mood, but I got teary-eyed several times in this movie. If you don't feel anything during this movie, you need to run until you cry.
Uplifting Theme:
·You’ll be introduced to the small town of
McFarland, USA
, “the fruit bowl of California” and you’ll look at the plentiful
produce in your grocery store differently.
Hopefully, you’ll look at Mexican Americans, especially “pickers”, in a different
way too.
·Like all
good sports movies, this one includes lessons on sportsmanship, dedication,
humility, hard work, persistence, and vision.
Things I liked:
·Kevin Costner seemed to disappear from the big
screen for awhile, but now he’s starring in two movies currently playing in
theaters: McFarland USA and Black or White.
He does a great job in both.
·I always appreciate the details in movies. This movie painted a broad brushstroke of Mexican American cliches, while also providing details like yard chickens, tortas, quinceanera parades, and
dusty car windows to give you more of a flavor of the culture and town.
·The Star Spangled Banner montage reminded me that America is the home of the brave and how truly brave those who leave their own countries to work this land are.
The boys on the team are charismatic, which makes for a good story, but the fact that they are real people is awesome.
Things I didn’t like:
·While I love Maria Bello’s biceps, she looks pretty beat up in this film. Maybe that was intentional?
The script doesn't address illegal migrant workers.
Funny lines:
·“Nobody can hold a grudge like a teenage girl.” –
Cheryl White (Maria Bello)
·“Nice shorts dude.” – cocky runner on a
different team, making fun of the McFarland team outfit
“You play golf?” – Thomas Valles (Carlos Pratts)
“Yeah.” – cocky runner
“This ain’t golf.” – Thomas smirks as he
runs ahead of the other player
·“You go slow, right?” – Jim White (Kevin Costner) to Javi (Rigo Sanchez) who is
driving his daughter in a Quinciniera parade
“”It’s the only way to we go…low and slow” - Javi
·“We certainly don’t want a fire in this
place. It could cost tens of dollars in
damage.” – McFarland High School janitor
·“Where’s Danny?
He’s slower than 911 to a Mexican’s house.” – Jose Cardenas (Johnny Ortiz)
·“You think I’m picking on you, Diaz? Go faster and I’ll pick on someone else.” –
Coach White
·“Congrats, White. They’re treating you like a
picker.” - Johnny Sameniego (Hector Duran)
Inspiring lines:
·“We don’t practice to lose.” – David Diaz (Rafael Martinez)
·“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Johnny
“It depends on the dog.” – Coach White
“Now we know what we didn’t know.
Let’s hit it again.” - Coach White
Tips for Parents: This movie can provide a great opportunity to talk to your kids about sports, determination, cultural differences, prejudices, expectations, bullying, and working hard.
Other inspiring Disney sports movies I think you'll enjoy!
In a
Nutshell: The movie uses “found footage” as its film style, which can be slightly annoying. The
camera work is so shaky that it’s more irritating than clever. Its dizzying effect reminds me of the movie Cloverfield
.
The story features a high school senior who gets accepted
into M.I.T. and discovers a time travel machine in his father’s basement. Pre-Teens will get a kick out of the flick, especially
if they have never seen Back to the Future
or Chronicle
, which do it better. You might wish time travel were real so you
could get your money back for your high-priced theater ticket, but the movie is perfect
to play at a sleepover when kids are only half-watching it.
Uplifting Theme:
·If you
could travel back in time, what would you do with that power?
* During a concert, attendees can write with chalk on big boards to answer the question: "Before the world ends..." What would YOU write?
·
Things I liked:
·When I was in college, I dated a guy who attended MIT. It was fascinating to watch the games he and
his genius frat brothers played in their spare time.
In a Nutshell: Wow.
Talk about sensory overload. The
special effects are amaze balls. I went with some friends to see this in 3D at
a Galaxy DFX theater which enhances the sound and offers those awesome
reclining chairs. One of the ladies I
sat with said she had to close her eyes several times because she couldn’t take
it all in. I wonder if you get a free
vomit bag with your ticket when you watch this in those Dbox motion chairs.
This fantasy adventure feels like a visit to the cantina
scene in Star Wars with crazy aliens coming together to fight over power and
the ownership of planet Earth. One of
the scenes looks like it actually could have been filmed on Star Wars’ Naboo. The
script is messy, but the costumes, set design, make-up, and CGI are extremely
creative and impressive, surely eating up most of the reported 175 million
dollar budget. The Wachowski brothers (one
of them is now female) brought us the epic The Matrix
magic, but have now created a
story that mere earthlings can’t quite comprehend. Even still, it’s an entertaining ride if you
don’t mind the odd moments.
Uplifting Theme:
·“It’s not what you do. It’s what you are.” – Stinger Apini (Sean
Bean)
·What would you do with your time if you had an
endless amount of it? What price would you be willing to pay to get more time?
·There is an awkward exploration of capitalism,
greed, and morality.
Things I liked:
·If you like action, this movie includes the
non-stop variety.
·I LOVE LOVE the hover boots that make Channing
Tatum look like he’s ice skating through air.
I hope I can buy a pair on Amazon soon.
·Beautiful aerial views of Chicago.
·There is a somewhat humorous attempt at explaining
crop circles and dinosaurs. I always
wanted to know the scoop on those two things.
Now I know.
·I loved the see-through floor on Balem Abrasax’s
space ship.
·I didn’t know Tuppence Middleton was so pretty
when I first saw her in The Imitation Game.
Her character as Kalique Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending
looked obviously fake
in the beginning, so I was glad when we got to see her true beauty later
on.
·There was so much to see that I would like to
study some of the images frame by frame.
·The gay robotic bureaucrat scene was odd,
disturbing and funny at the same time.
Things I didn’t like:
·Mila Kunis plays Jupiter Jones who falls in love
with Caine in less than 30 seconds. It’s
embarrassing how quickly she throws herself at him. Caine, by the way, is played by a blonde
Channing Tatum. He goes shirtless for a
longer than necessary and the blonde scruff makes you wince just a little bit. Two good-looking people should create sparks,
but their romantic dialogue falls flat.
·One of the guys I watched the movie with noted
that the musical score by Michael Giacchino was too overpowering. That could have been because we were in a
sound-enhanced screening, so it’s hard to know if others will experience the
same effect.
·There were some attempts at humor, but not
nearly enough successful ones. Want to
see a sci-fi fantasy flick that will make you laugh out loud a LOT? Guardians of the Galaxy!
·Mila Kunis’emotional range as Jupiter Jones is
pretty small in this movie. Even after her entire world is shaken, all she can
muster is a “Holy Crap.” Years ago I
took a jungle tour of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. The tour guide’s name was Jupiter. He explained to us that it was because he was
so “far out.”
·I adored Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything and hope he wins an Oscar to go with his Golden Globe for it, but his performance in this film
was odd and vacillates between monotone whispers and screaming, with nothing in
between.
·The elephant man alien appears out of place in what
should be serious dramatic moments.
·SPOILER ALERT: There is an icky Soylent Green
moment.
·Why were there so many bald women in this movie?
·There is so much going on in the action
sequences that it’s often hard to figure out exactly what’s going on.
Interesting lines:
·“Technically speaking, I’m an alien, and from an
immigration perspective, I’m an illegal one.” – Jupiter
·“Off the record, I will tell you that you are a
man of rare courage and I pray that your aim is true.” – Diomika Tsing (Nikki
Amuka-Bird)
Lines that make you
sneer:
·“Men
do not like smart women.” – Jupiter’s uncle
·“My mom says true love is just a fairy tale for
little girls.” – Jupiter
·“I will never complain about the DMV again.” –
Jupiter
·“I am not your mother.” – Jupiter
“No, my mother never cleaned a toilet in her
life.” – Balem Abrasax
Tips for Parents:
·Some profanity, but no F-bombs.
·You see the naked backside of a female and male
in two different scenes, as well as a girl in her tiny underwear. (She has amazing abs.)
·There is a short orgy scene, but you don’t see
details, other than faces.
·There are sexual innuendos, lots of violence
(some bloody), and evil motives.
In a Nutshell: This heroic fantasy epic produced by
Legendary Pictures hit movie theaters in France last month after almost a year’s
worth of delays, but its United States release isn’t until February 6. It feels like a mash-up of every underdog
apprentice who fights dragons and witches story you’ve ever seen. It’s
fairly entertaining, but not truly memorable.
Uplifting Theme:
·Loyalty vs. betrayal
·If you dump your witch girlfriend, you’ll have you-know-what to pay for later.
Things I liked:
·There is a lot of morphing from various creatures
into other creatures.
·Oscar-nominated Julianne Moore spends most of her time in front of a green screen and is often overpowered by all the CGI going on around her as the powerful Mother Malkin.
·There’s a nice little twist towards the
end. I love twists, although this one
didn’t surprise me.
·Much of the movie is filmed in front of a green
screen, although there are some beautiful landscapes captured in British
Columbia.
·Some of the shape-shifting was cool.
·There is some humor that allows the film to not
take itself so seriously.
Things I didn’t like:
·Jeff Bridges growls like a crusty, old pirate
with a drunken accent that’s often indecipherable. What’s with his billy-goat underbite? Now
that I think about it, that’s about the only character he has played during the
past several years.
In a Nutshell: Inspired by a true football story
and the book with the same title, viewers are reminded that there are more
important things in life than winning some game. I always love it when movies based on
true stories include footage from the real people at the end of the
film. A clip of the real “Coach Lad”
plays while the credits are rolling at the end, which explains the movie’s main
idea. He says “Growing up is
painful. It’s not easy. But that’s
what our program is about, in case you haven’t figured it out. It ain’t
about the football. It ain’t about scoring
touchdowns. And it ain’t about the
winning streak. It’s about a
program moving you in a direction that will assist you and help you grow
up…so when you take your place out in the world and out in society and out
in our community you can be depended on.”
Uplifting theme:
There’s no “I” in team.
It’s not about how you
fall, but how you get back up that matters.
Coach Lad always reminded
the players that he didn’t expect them to play perfectly, but to give a
perfect effort.
Things I liked:
I was
impressed with the coaches who had each of the players write down training
goals and game goals on “Commitment Cards.” They reviewed them together before each
game so that the teammates could help each other. What a great idea for success.
The movie briefly spotlights a teen couple who take a “purity pledge” to save themselves for
marriage.
It was
refreshing to see a coach and players freely talk about prayer and divine
purpose, although critics say Coach Lad's pre-game pep-talks sound more like Christian sermons. It's entirely appropriate, I think, since the players attend a Catholic school. Besides, some high schools’ religion is
football!
I
thought it was significant that the movie showed an obsessed dad (overacting
Clancy Brown) who was really hard on his quarterback son (The Hunger Games
Alexander Ludwig), saying “I want that record!” When he became abusive, the coach warned
“He’s not going to get it with a broken rib.” Later, the dad yells to the coach’s wife (Laura
Dern), “Your husband is costing my son his record!” to which she wisely,
and softly says “My husband is turning your son into a man. You’re the only person who doesn’t see
it.” While raising 4 sons, I saw a lot of obnoxious parents act like jerks
towards their kids and their coaches.
I thought the movie did a pretty good job pointing out that there
are more important things than “the game.”
Sports can do a great job helping kids develop truly important
qualities like sportsmanship, dedication, discipline, teamwork, etc. Those characteristics are much more
important than any score.
Things I didn’t like:
I’ve
always liked three-time Golden Globe winner Laura Dern ever since I first
saw her in Jurassic Park
. She has a certain rasp to her voice, but in this movie, her voice sounds even more hoarse and I wondered if she was fighting a cold the entire time. She was recently nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in Wild
.
Some
may not be interested in the crunching violence of football. Hey, this is a football movie.
It's a good football movie, but it's not the greatest. See my list below for other football flicks that I thought did it better.
Interesting lines:
“Love means you can count on me in good
times and bad.” – Coach Ladouceur
“Juniors,
did you hear that? That is a
perfect commitment card: big goals that stretch his abilities, but are
doable when giving the perfect effort.” - Coach Ladouceur
“We’re
not asking you to be perfect on every play. What we are asking of you and what you
should be asking of each other is to give a perfect effort from snap to
whistle.” - Coach Ladouceur
“Family
isn’t just blood relatives. It’s
anyone who loves you unconditionally.” – Coach Ladouceur
“Don’t let a game define who you
are. Let the way you live your
lives do that.” – Assistant Coach Teddy Eidson (Michael Chiklis)
“It’s
not about the record. It’s about
the team.” – player
Funny lines:
Do you
know why they call me Buster?” -
football player on the Long Beach Poly team
“Cuz you’re stupid enough to let
them?” – De La Salle High School Spartan player
Tips for
parents:
I
appreciated the many situations where the players and coaches could have used
profanity, but softened their words with substitutes like“heck”, etc.
This is a safe movie that the whole family can watch together. It includes many teachable moments that can spark good family discussion.
Did you know?
De La
Salle High didn’t win again until their 4th game,
when they played Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, CA. They didn’t even play Long Beach Poly
that season, as depicted in the movie.
Film
producer David Zelon loves inspiring sports comeback movies, such as Soul Surfer
, which he previously produced.
The
entire movie was shot in only 41 days in New Orleans.
Laura Dern's parents are actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern.
If you liked this game, here are some other football “feel-good”
movies that I think you may enjoy even more:
, “the fruit bowl of California” and you’ll look at the plentiful
produce in your grocery store differently.
Hopefully, you’ll look at Mexican Americans, especially “pickers”, in a different
way too.
.
or Chronicle
, which do it better. You might wish time travel were real so you
could get your money back for your high-priced theater ticket, but the movie is perfect
to play at a sleepover when kids are only half-watching it.
, The Terminator
, Looper
, and the entire Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]
movies while discussing time travel.
magic, but have now created a
story that mere earthlings can’t quite comprehend. Even still, it’s an entertaining ride if you
don’t mind the odd moments.
looked obviously fake
in the beginning, so I was glad when we got to see her true beauty later
on. 
In this role as Coach
Ladouceur , it sometimes feels like he’s still playing Jesus in his most acclaimed role in The Passion Of The Christ Definitive Edition
. 
Alexander Ludwig), saying “I want that record!” When he became abusive, the coach warned
“He’s not going to get it with a broken rib.” Later, the dad yells to the coach’s wife (Laura
Dern), “Your husband is costing my son his record!” to which she wisely,
and softly says “My husband is turning your son into a man. You’re the only person who doesn’t see
it.” While raising 4 sons, I saw a lot of obnoxious parents act like jerks
towards their kids and their coaches.
I thought the movie did a pretty good job pointing out that there
are more important things than “the game.”
Sports can do a great job helping kids develop truly important
qualities like sportsmanship, dedication, discipline, teamwork, etc. Those characteristics are much more
important than any score.
. She has a certain rasp to her voice, but in this movie, her voice sounds even more hoarse and I wondered if she was fighting a cold the entire time. She was recently nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in Wild
.
, which he previously produced.
moment.