Movies

Just about all my home-cinema showings have been childrens' films lately.

MONSTERS INC

This is, by far, my favourite children's film to have been released in the last five years. Sully and Mike are compelling characters. The script's timing is flawless. The jokes are actually funny! (The CGI animation, btw, is amazing! Watch the snow gather on Sully's fur in the Himalayas.) The story is compelling enough. It helps if you have a three-year-old daughter who is your world, granted.

"No, they're lemon... Really!"

Watch it. You don't necessarily need kids. OH... and see if you can find Nemo when you watch it. Really.ICE AGE
Watched Ice Age with the kidz last night. The poor field-mouse was great fun. I had a hard time feeling anything, though, for much of the remainder of the movies. The characters were flat. The formulaic attempts at pulling heart-strings were haltingly executed.

That said, there are two moments that stand out. Great imagery. Great timing. Great mood. The first was when Manny (the wooly mammoth) grabs the human baby from the mother and the two speak with their eyes. The second is the still-shot of Manny -- when you see him from ground level looking up at his face -- when he recalls a family tragedy.

My three-year-old could not sit still through the movie. I had a hard time too.

PRINCE OF EGYPT

One word: boring. Okay, two words: "boring" and "shallow." Except for one moment: the very beginning of the movie was -- at least to this dad -- extremely moving. If you turn the movie off after 5 minutes, then you will have seen a powerful film. If you leave it on, it's ruined.