COLLEGE ROAD TRIP

My little guy is on spring break this week, so today, we headed off for the movies. I thought he might want to see Horton Hears a Who, but he said, "We could see College Road Trip!" Ok, I thought, why not? Might be kind of a funny movie!

This is story of an over-protective father (Martin Lawrence) who's having a hard time letting go of his "little girl", who is heading off for college. (It kinda made me think of Father of the Bride). The daughter, Melanie - played by Raven Symone - wants to attend a college thats far from home; but dad wants her to stay local. Symone is adorable - of course she makes me feel OLD, since I used to watch her as little "Olivia" on the Cosby Show. Anyway, the movie is about the road trip that Dad takes her on to check out different colleges. For one, he can't stand the thought of her going by herself. PLUS, he thinks he's gonna talk her out of going to the college of her choice. The sum of it is, that he has to let go of his baby, and the movie is his journey to get to that place. It's a clean (rated G) film, kinda silly, and a little funny. We both had some out-loud laughs, and I had a few tears in the end. Donny Osmond plays the goofy father of a goofy daughter; a couple of characters that Dad and Melanie keep running into on their trip. (Kinda like the Gornicke's from RV!) While I enjoyed Donny's character, the daughter's part was like nails on a chalkboard! Ugh! And there were plenty of dumb scenes, too. Like when Symone sings Double Dutch Bus on the tour bus - it seemed kinda thrown in to showcase her singing. Or the scene where the pet pig ruins a wedding reception (think cake in the face; sliding across a reception table trying to catch the pig, the pig running into a pig-on-a-platter, etc).

Still, it was a light- hearted comedy, and a good clean movie to take your seven-year-old to. Don't bother buying the DVD when it comes out, but if you have nothing better to do when your little ones are on spring break, go ahead and see it!

MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM

Dustin Hoffman is one of my favorite actors - so I was glad to buy this DVD for my son! It didn't really hold his attention all that much, but I enjoyed it! I had already heard from a couple of people that it was "a nice, believe-in-yourself" kind of movie. And that's exactly what it was.

Hoffman plays Mr Magorium, who runs the Wonder Emporium, a "magical" toy store. I mean, it's not just a cool toy store, it really is "magical", with live fish mobiles, a door with a dial that changes which room you're about to step into, and a store book that contains the specific toy a customer is looking for...no, not a picture of that toy, the actual toy! (Mr. Magorium has been running it for over a century, if that helps drive the point across!)

Natalie Portman plays Molly Mahoney, the store manager, who is also an aspiring musician, but feels like she just doesn't have the "sparkle" to do anything really great. But she loves Mr. Magorium and believes in the magic of the Emporium.

Zach Mills plays Eric, a hat-collecting little boy who doesn't make friends too easily, but enjoys hanging out at the Wonder Emporium.

Jason Bateman plays Henry, the accountant who is hired to get Mr. Magorium's affairs in order, because he is ready to move on. To die. And he wants to leave the Wonder Emporium to Mahoney. (Henry, by the way , does not believe the toy store is "magical".)

But Mahoney isn't ready for Mr. Magorium's departure. (And neither is the store, we discover, because it's throwing a "tantrum"!) So she sets out to show Mr. Magorium that he cannot just leave! She shows him all the things he'll miss if he leaves. He thinks she's just giving him a great "last day".

He talks about departing for heaven, but it's handled in a simple enough way for kids to understand. (rated G) And he departs happily, knowing he has lived a wonderful life. Mr. Magorium says its time for his story to end, and time for the next one to begin.

One of the cutest parts was when Eric decides to try to make friends and he goes to Henry, who is busily "accounting" in the glass office. Eric holds up a sign that says "Hi". Henry replies with a wave. They continue to show each other "notes" back and forth until finally Eric asks if Henry wants to play checkers when he's done working, to which Henry replies, "I never stop working".

It's a cute story, one that says that magic will happen when you believe it exists, and when you believe you can make it happen. MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM didn't make me laugh out loud nor did it make me cry. But it was a nice, cozy movie to curl up and enjoy with my family!

ATONEMENT

Set in England in 1935, ATONEMENT is the story of a 13-year-old girl, Briony (Saoirse Ronan), who changes her family's lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. It is a beautiful and tragic film, filled with so many lovely elements. The dramatic musical score (which, by the way, won an Academy Award) lent an air of storytelling by incorporating the rhythmic clicking of a typewriter in various scenes. An important element, since Briony was an aspiring writer, and also since it was a typed letter that changed the course of many lives. Visually, the film was elegant and dramatic, with the country estate giving us some of the most beautiful shots, and later, the war images that were very graphic and gut wrenching. Masterfully done, ATONEMENT made me feel a quiet sadness when it was over.

The pivotal scene of this tale is the one by the fountain - first shown from Briony's perspective, then again, as it actually happened. Briony observes her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightly) and Robbie, the housekeeper's son, (James MacAvoy) arguing by a fountain. She then sees Cecelia strip to her underwear, at which time Briony looks away. When she looks again, Cecilia is climbing out of the fountain. Cecilia and Robbie exchange words, then Cecelia storms away. Because of her youth, and maybe because she possesses the vivid imagination of a writer, Briony is confused by what she sees, so she misunderstands. In her naivety, she can't possibly know the sexual tension that exists between Robbie and Cecilia. What actually happened at the fountain was much different. Later, Robbie writes a note of apology for what really happened. But as he goes through several drafts trying to word it just right, he writes a sexually explicit letter - not meaning to give it. When he finally pens the perfect apology, he gives it to Briony to give to her sister. However, soon he realizes that he's given Briony the the wrong letter - the explicit one. But it's too late - she's gone. Briony, being curious, reads it. She pieces that together with the fountain incident, and decides that Robbie is some kind of "pervert". That evening, at the family's dinner party, Robbie and Cecelia meet, and admit that they are in love with each other, which leads to a passionate rendezvous in the library. As luck would have it, Briony walks in on them. Later at dinner, the family discovers that two young children are missing, and the guests all set out to search for them throughout the estate. In a remote corner, Briony stumbles upon her cousin Lola being raped by someone. She isn't sure, but thinks it must be Robbie - because of the letter, because of the fountain incident, and because she saw him on Cecelia in the library. She accuses him, he is arrested, and their lives are forever changed.

As I was watching James MacAvoy, I was thinking that he looked like a young Russell Crowe. Just then, Macy leaned over and whispered, "He looks like a young Russell Crowe". We couldn't place what movie we'd seen this young man in before, but soon discovered he is Mr. Tumnus! Yes, he played the fawn in NARNIA! (By the way, Macy recently went to see PENELOPE and he is in that too!)

At the end of the movie, we see Briony (played by Vanessa Redgrave), as an aged woman, living with the guilt of what she's done. We discover how she is "atoning" for her wrong. Does this final action redeem her? I go back and forth on it. Nothing could make up for what she did. But there was nothing she could have done to change things at that point in time. Maybe it was the only kind thing to do, since there was nothing else she could do.

I highly recommend this movie, which was based on an Ian McEwan novel of the same name. It was 2hrs and 3min long, rated R for language; some sexuality (no nudity); and graphic war scenes (the wounded soldiers in the medical unit).

Beautifully done, beautifully told.