Movie Preview: Hoot

Go ahead. Go ask your parents who Jimmy Buffett is. When they give you a weird look, you can inform them that Jimmy is making a movie, and you would like to go see it. (It's rated PG in case they ask.) The movie is called Hoot, and it's the story of about a boy who moves to Florida from Montana and winds up discovering a threat to a a population of local owls. Along with his friends, he stands up to land developers, politicians and some fairly clueless police officers to protect the birds and keep the adults from making a big mistake. With music by Buffett, this looks like a fun summer movie with a great message about sticking to your beliefs and helping the environment.
Check out the trailer and clips from Hoot

The official site for the movie

Picture courtesy of Yahoo! Movies

-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
Is there a movie you'd like me to review? Let me know!

The Tribeca Film Festival-Family Festival

New York is many things to many people, but to legendary actor Robert DeNiro it is where his home and his heart is. Because of that, and his love for both films and filmmaking, DeNiro and partner Jane Rosenthal began what has now become a premiere event in film. The mission of the festival is to enable the international film community and the public to experience film in a new way, and it was founded to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute to the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan. A noble idea, but there's more to it. Running in conjunction with the main festival is a family festival that features some of the newest and critically important movies for children and families alike. There are also many other family events such as a street fair, and events that showcase the short films of kids, along with tours of the studios of artists in the area. The idea is to get kids excited about creating, no matter what the medium. Family films will also be brought to young paitents at local hospitals suffering from long term illnesses.

Check out the Tribeca Kids Corner At the link, there is a letter you can download and send to festival organizers. Tell them how much you appreciate an event that celebrates family films!

The Festival runs until May 7th. Go to the official website for more details.

Picture courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. (And in case you're wondering, that would be Mr. DeNiro.)

-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
Is there a movie you'd like me to review? Let me know!

Movie Preview: X-Men: The Last Stand

Your movie reviewer is a great big nerd when it comes to certain movie franchises. This is one of them. While movies have an unfortunate habit of getting worse when a sequel is made, the X-Men series is a triumph to the comic book genre. Each movie has been a solid adventure, and they've all been relatively clean save for language and some hard core action. One of the things I also like is that the movie has some of the world's best actors starring in it. Sir Ian McKellan, who was nominated for an Oscar as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, joins Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, and Halle Berry in reprising their roles and there are several new additions of characters from the comic books. Check the trailer out and mark your calendars. X-Men: The Last Stand opens May 26th.

Trailers for X-Men: The Last Stand

Picture and trailer links provided by: Yahoo! Entertainment

-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
Is there a movie you'd like me to review? Let me know!

Newsies

-Directed by: Kenny Ortega

Starring:
Christian Bale, David Moscow, Luke Edwards, Max Casella

In the grand history of Disney movies, Newsies was a bit of a flop. Many, MANY people never even knew about it until they caught it on cable or one of the devoted fans pointed it out to them. Speaking for myself? I was one of the latter. I had a friend who sat me down one day, informed me this movie would blow my mind, and proceeded to prove herself right. This film is what a musical movie should be, especially one by Disney. It's filled with catchy songs, and some surprisingly good dancing. Even by the newest Batman, Christian Bale.

Bale is just part of a quality group of young men who headline the movie, and across the board you can count on some interesting performances that dig down deep into your heart. You like these boys, rebels though they are. You want them to find the happiness they talk about, and you want their dreams to come true. For a musical, there is sometimes the problem of a lack of connection to the characters but Newsies is not a movie that has that shortcoming. With a Disney touch to it, you're entertained and you're given what's seen as a classic Disney theme. If you do the right thing, and you have some faith in yourself...anything is possible.

If you're able to get a DVD copy, I'd encourage you to also check out the special features. There's two behind the scenes clips, audio commentary, and some history behind the real Newsies. With "Newsies, Newsies, See All About It", you're treated to some background on the boys in the movie, the work they put in, and how they felt doing something based in real life. It's a fantastic way to connect with the actors, and learn more about the movie making process. In "The Strike: The True Story", you're able to learn more about the Newsies strike and some of the key players in it. I'd encourage anyone who watches to pick up books related to the strike as well. Nothing like learning while being entertained.

All in all, Newsies is a rare gem in the Disney library. You get to hear some amazing music, and get drawn into an interesting story that's handled well. Thanks to the Jen reader who asked me to review this film and share it with everyone.

(Is there a movie you absolutely LOVE and want me to talk about here? E-mail me and let me know!)

jennuntch@yahoo.com

-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri