Agent Cody Banks

Remember that kid from Malcolm in the Middle?  Well by the early 2000's he was in his prime and trying his hand at the action genre.  Agent Cody Banks is a teen CIA agent sent to stalk? a teenage girl (Hillary Duff) to gain intel on her scientist father and foil a diabolical plot.  I reckon that Agent Cody Banks follows the spy/Bond genre very well but unlike today's Bond, Banks is a heap more fun.

Rating:  We like action/comedy movies and this one was a lot of fun.  Good plot, great characters and some potty humour; an entertaining evening was had by all.

Naughty bits:  There is a lot of fighting but it's mostly cartoonish, however one scene in particular our kid did NOT like (spoiler alert) which was when the bad guy came to a rather grisly end.  It was a little graphic and scary but didn't last long (long enough for her though).  I was annoyed by the treatment and tarty dress code of the female spy; I guess in that way Agent Cody Banks was more like a Bond movie than it should be.  The language is pretty clean.

Snacks:  Pistachio Ice Cream

Family In-quotes: "Eat your burger"

Related Goodies:
Spy Kids
How to be a spy
The art of spying

Cool Runnings

The summertime outdoor theatre was showing Cool Runnings so this week's movie was decided for us.  We gathered our lollies and blankets, headed down to the park and settled in.  About ten minutes into the movie it started to rain so we gathered our things and raced out of there yelling "Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! COOL RUNNINGS!" and watched the rest back home on the comfy couch.

Cool Runnings [very loosely] tells the story of the 1988 Winter Olympic's very first Jamaican Bobsled team.  It doesn't end as you would expect such an underdog type movie to end but that's refreshing and not disappointing actually. 

Rating: There was a lot more talking in this movie than we remembered but it was still fun to watch the first time.  The characters are colourful and charismatic and there are some good one liners in there.

Naughty bits:  This movie is as clean as the freshly driven snow unless you object to calling yourself a "bad ass mother"

Snacks:  A hard boiled egg (kiss it first)

Family In-quotes: "You Dead?" "Ya Mon"

Related Goodies:
The true story which inspired the movie
The Bobsled song inspired by 2014 Jamaican Bobsled team
Footage of the 1988 Jamaican Bobsled team (some of which was used in the movie!)

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Long before unexpected hit District 9, South Africa was making some great movies; for example The Gods Must be Crazy.

And long before the Mockumentary was a thing The Gods Must be Crazy was killing it.  The movie starts with what appears to be a nature documentary which quickly develops into three story lines that weave through each other towards an epic climax.  There are moments of quiet humour as well as some of the best visual/slapstick gags I've ever seen.  The kid thought those parts were pretty hilarious too. And for the bonus round there are some good opportunities to teach your kids about African politics so I guess you could also call that a win?

Rating: We really enjoyed The Gods Must be Crazy and we will be keen to watch it again in a little while.

Naughty bits:  There is an undies shot and some National Geographic boobs plus hostage drama and gun violence but none of the violence includes blood and gore.

Snacks:  A nice cool bottle of Coca Cola

Family In-quotes: "Oeyoeyoeyoeyoeyoeyoey..."

Related Goodies:
The Happiest Bottle

Matilda

This 90's adaption of the classic Roald Dahl novel is soooo much fun.  It stars an adorable Mara Wilson with hilarious performances by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman and Pam Ferris as Mrs Trunchbull is amazing!  She totally steals the show.

I think this movie really captured the over the top craziness of Roald Dahl's stories.  A younger child may be a little frightened by Mrs Trunchbull and her outrageous punishments (and her creepy house) but older kids (ours included) will just find it funny.

Rating: If you are a fan of Roald Dahl you will enjoy this adaptation.  Repeated viewings may be too much for an adult but the kids will probably want to see it again and again.

Naughty bits:  There are some mature themes (murder and adoption) and some cartoon violence but it's mostly as tame as Miss Honey.

Snacks:  Chocolate cake

Family In-quotes: "Chew your food; you're an animal!"

Related Goodies:
The new BFG movie has been announced but the old one is still pretty cool
Roald Dahl

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

 After listening to the audiobooks (and starting to read the books) of the Narnia series we reckoned our kid would be ready to watch the movie.  I think director Adam Adamson captured the magical atmosphere of my imagination's Narnia although the movie moved along a little slowly.

Our kid felt like the movie depiction of Narnia lived up to her imagination too and she enjoyed it but she really didn't like the scene where Aslan is killed by the White Witch (plot spoiler) and she couldn't watch it. 

Rating: Worth seeing the movie if you are fan of the books but I think we will leave it for a good few years before we watch it again.  Too slow for repeat viewings.

Naughty bits:  There are some mature themes (war/oppression), violence and scary animal moments but no sexy-time concerns.

Snacks:  Turkish Delight

Family In-quotes: "Come on, humans. While we're still young!"

Related Goodies:
Narnia wiki
BBC Narnia mini series

Camp Nowhere

We had never heard of this 90's comedy of errors until Uncle Peter recommended it.  The kid decided his description sounded pretty exciting so that's what we sat down to this week.  It stars one of the worst movie kid hairstyles of all time, a young Andrew Keegan (10 things I hate about you) and weirdly both Christopher Lloyd and Thomas Wilson from Back to the Future.

Camp Nowhere tells the story of a group of kids who decide not to go to the summer camps their parents have chosen, but instead to sneakily start their own.  Hilarity and hi jinks ensue before things turn to custard (as they often do) but the end is not as painful as it could have been.

Rating: We enjoyed Camp Nowhere although I found it a little slow.  Parents may also find it a little far fetched but this was all part of the fun.  The kid thought it was cool, probably because a whole summer without parents sounded amazing.

Naughty bits:  There is quite a bit of teen kissing at the end but very little coarse language and no violence.  The video below shows what we do when we see kissing in a movie.  Our cousins taught us this silly thing and the kid loves it.

Snacks:  Lima beans (jokes!!) or toasted marshmellows/smores

Family In-quotes: "Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I can't act stupid"

Related Goodies:
Demi Levato's Camp Rock

Freaky Friday

We love 90's/early 2000's Lindsay Lohan and here she is in another remake of a classic movie; Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis.  These two actors are so good that we didn't even notice the transition when they "swap" bodies.

This sweet story of body swapping and familial understanding is full of hilarious comic moments and crazy antics.  The sideline story of the confused almost boyfriend also has some truely classic moments.


Our kid liked this movie and had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that the actors were playing the opposite character for most of the movie!  Love that movie magic.

Rating: You will probably only want to see this every so often but when you do you will still find the jokes pretty funny

Naughty bits:  There are some difficult family issues and teen romance, maybe a curse word or two but this baby is about as clean as 90's Linsay Lohan.

Snacks:  French Fries or Chinese takeout

Family In-quotes: "This morning was good.  But then I got up."

Related Goodies:
Jamie Lee Curtis' cosplay escapades
Another body swap movie: Tom Hanks in Big

The Princess Bride

If you haven't seen The Princess Bride yet and you want to know what it's about then I think the movie itself sums it up nicely:


Grandpa: "When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you.
The Grandson: Has it got any sports in it?
Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
The Grandson: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake."

And stay awake you will; for the first viewing, and the second, and the third and...  you get the idea.  I had a school friend whose family watched this movie so many times they had the whole thing memorised.  You may never become that much of a fanboy but your children's pop culture education is seriously lacking if you fail to show them The Princess Bride, so get on it already! ;)

Rating: This is essential viewing!

Naughty bits:  No naughty bits or course language.  The only bad thing to watch out for is Prince Humperdink's haircut

Snacks:  Pineapple lumps or your favourite chocolate covered snack

Family In-quotes: You will eventually reference this entire movie but we seem to use this one most often "It's possible pig"

Related Goodies:
See Cary Elwes as one of my favourite bad guys in Ella Enchanted 
Other notable Rob Reiner movies: The Sure Thing and This is Spinal Tap (both not suitable for the kids though)

Sky High

If your kids, and perhaps you, enjoy tween superhero fiction novels then you are sure to enjoy Sky High.  Sky High is an exclusive high school for teens with superhero powers.  It fits pretty nicely into the "teens at school" genre of movies but has a lot more humour/silliness than you would expect and the twist of superheros thrown into the mix.

The dialogue was pretty clever and at times hilarious and there were some good running gags too.  Also a cameo by everyone's favourite voice actor; Tom Kenny. 

Rating: We had a lot of fun watching Sky High and we could probably watch it again in a year or two.   It's pretty cheesy but in a good melty way.

Naughty bits:  There is cartoon violence, some very mild language and teenage kissing (gross! haha!).  This is Disney so it's about as clean as The Commander's Cape.

Snacks:  Caffeine free, diet orange soda (just kidding, who would want to drink that!)

Family In-quotes: "it was tough man, T.U.P.H"

Related Goodies:
Tim Allen's Zoom which came out the year after (how does this happen?).  It's OK but not as good as Sky High
The book Sidekicks

Space Camp

Remember 2013's smash hit Gravity?  Did you know that Gravity is actually a remake of an earlier movie; Space Camp?  Well, except that Space Camp was about teens sent up to space by accident (or was it?) and a cheesy robot, but apart from that they are exactly the same movie!!  OK you got me, there are very little similarities except for the fact that every time humans go to space everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.

 Starring every boy's crush from the 80's Leah Thompson, that guy from the OC and a young Joaquin Phoenix, Space Camp is a fun ride with over the top performances and tense moments.  Here's hoping Gravity doesn't enjoy the same kind of obscurity that Space Camp has.  Oh boy, it's seriously hard to find!
 
Rating: Pretty slow for the first half but things heat up and get pretty intense in the second half.

Naughty bits:  A couple of swear words is about as bad as it gets

Snacks:  Space icecream and spaceman candy

Family In-quotes: "In space, anything is possible"

Related Goodies:
The real Space Camp
Nerdist interview with Leah Thompson (pretty clean)

Groundhog Day

I think just about everyone has a soft spot for ol' Bill Murray and Groundhog Day is one of his classics.  He stars as a cantankerous weather reporter sent to a small town overnight for their annual Groundhog Day Festival.  The twist is that the day repeats over and over again until *spoiler alert* he has redeemed himself.

This movie is another good example of "movie magic" and will amaze your kids and spark much discussion.  It is a little slow to start though.

Rating: It holds up to repeated viewings and it hasn't aged too badly (except for Andie McDowell's wardrobe.  That waistcoat!!). It's a great introduction to Bill Murray and perhaps will be a gateway to his entire back catalog for you.  Although much of that catalog is not so suitable for kids.

Naughty bits:  There are some mature themes (sexy time references, drink driving) and a bit of course language.

Snacks:  Flapjacks

Family In-quotes: "Am I right or am I right? Or am I right? Am I right?"

Related Goodies:
Bill Murray Stories
Ghostbusters (we will watch when our kid is a bit older)

Back to the Future Trilogy

So the internet went bonkers over Back to the Future this year seeing as we had finally reached the future: 21 October 2015.  With a long weekend also looming we decided it was a good a time as any to sink our teeth into the classic trilogy.

The three movies chronicle the adventures of Doc Brown and his buddy Marty McFly through time.  Their friendship is strong and unique; a beautiful bromance.  Your kids may find the twists and turns through time hard to follow (as I do!) but that's all part of the fun and there is plenty of action to keep them amused even if they don't exactly know what's going on half the time.  In fact we had forgotten just how fast paced these movies are.


My husband and I were so excited to watch these movies again but we weren't sure if the kid would feel the same.  Well she turns to us at the end of part 1 and says "let's watch number 2 right now.  It's a long weekend, we can stay up".  So that was a thumbs up then.


Rating: Essential viewing!

Naughty bits:  There are some mature themes (sexy time references, drinking), quite a bit of course language and some violence.  It is rated PG but note that this is a 1980's rating which can often be more risque than today's PG.  I would put it as a PG13 and see if your pre-teen is mature enough for it.  Our kid is 9 and she wasn't worried about any of the violence/language but your child may be more sensitive.  IMDB has a good section outlining the potential areas of concern which I found really helpful in trying to decide if it would be OK.

Snacks:  Pizza Hutt and Pepsi

Family In-quotes: "Great Scott!"

Related Goodies:
Buy your own power lace Nikes
Back to the Future Minute podcast.

Mrs Doubtfire

When the late, great Robin Williams passed away in 2014 we (like many) talked about his movie legacy and one of his movies we most wanted to share with our kids was Mrs Doubtfire.  It's a bittersweet comedy about a family broken by divorce and a dad willing to go to any lengths to be with his kids more.

As an adult the mother seems unreasonable and extreme which was an annoying but unfortunately essential movie trope, however our kid didn't pick up on that and really enjoyed the movie; especially all the cross-dressing hilarity.

There are some mature family themes here so if you think your child is not ready for these then best to wait till they are older.

Rating: It's a good one to watch once in a while and it hasn't aged too badly. It's a great introduction to the humour of Robin Williams and perhaps will be a gateway to his entire back catalog for you.

Naughty bits:  Like I said there are mature themes (sex references) and a bit of course language.

Snacks:  Takeaway from a fancy joint a la Mrs Doubtfire

Family In-quotes: "Hellooooo Poppets"

Related Goodies:
What if Adele was Mrs Doubtfire?

The Parent Trap

 The Parent Trap is the sweet story of a pair of twins who did not know each other existed until they meet at summer camp.  They then devise a scheme to trade places to meet the other parent.  Putting aside the messed up premise that the parents would not tell each child about their other parent you can revel in the fun chaos that ensues.  Young Lindsay Lohan is awesome and super cute!

While this movie does have a few annoying tropes we enjoyed it and it was amazing introducing our kid to "movie magic".  Her head was blown from her shoulders as she tried to wrap her brain around the concept that the twins were played by one actor.  We had great fun after the movie reenacting some of the scenes to try and show how it was done.

This is probably more a movie for girls but make the boys suffer through it and they can pick next time!
 
Rating: Good fun but will probably get on your nerves after repeated viewings.

Naughty bits:  She's as clean as the camp director's whistle.  Some complicated family relationships to explain perhaps?

Snacks:  Smores, campfire style

Family In-quotes: "Honey, you never looked better"

Related Goodies:
The Original Hayley Mills version

Star Wars Trilogy

We start with the classic of all classic movie trilogies.  Yes the Star Wars Trilogy (episodes 4, 5 and 6).  We have also shown our kids the first three but for the purposes of this post we will only talk about the originals.

I won't go into the plot as you probably already have a fair idea of what Star Wars is about but suffice enough to say that if you like space, suspense, action, comedy, a little romance and robots then you'll probably have a great time.

I recommend picking a long weekend and do this as 3 night movie marathon!

Rating: Essential Viewing.  Your pop culture education is seriously lacking my young Padawan if you miss seeing this trilogy.

Naughty bits:  She's as clean as C3PO after an oil bath but younger viewers may be a bit frightened by the Emperor or the few jumpy bits.

Snacks:  Something Chewy

Family In-quotes: We seem to use "Tell your sister... you were right" far too often.

Related Goodies:
The Star Wars Minute podcast (clean for all the family)
The TV series: Star Wars Rebels

What we're about

One day we decided it was time to educate our kid in movie history.  Mostly from the 80's on as those were the days of our youth but we will be visiting one or two from an earlier era.  Every Friday night we curl up on the couch with some tasty snacks and relive old memories and build new ones.

This blog records what we've watched for my old brain!  and maybe helps save you some time mining through the myriad of cinematic choices out there.

Our kid is nine so we have chosen our movies based on that.  Some of them will be suitable for younger viewers but some not so much so we'll leave that up to your own discretion.

So break out the popcorn and enjoy!