Alert! Classic Kids/Family Movies that are New to Netflix

Just in case you haven't seen or heard Netflix is streaming three classic kids/family movies that you might be interested in.

-Babe

-Balto

-Balto 2: Wolf Quest

Legally Blonde and Nine Other Girl Power Movies that are Perfect for Valentine's Day

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I'm not against Valentine's Day, but sometimes it communicates to people that they aren't complete if they aren't in a romantic relationship.  This is, of course, a problem if you're single, like I am, because the day can leave you feeling lonely and inadequate.  However, I also think it's a general cultural problem as well.  Telling anyone (single or coupled) this, is to encourage them to seek/retain a romantic relationship to the destruction of other things, such as other types of relationships (familial relationships, friendships, etc) or their own abilities and dreams.  It can tell people that it's better to take on traits to impress potential/current partners than it is to be your vivacious, intelligent, outspoken, etc. self and single.  (I think of the intelligent woman who "plays dumb" to impress a man who likes feeling more intelligent than the person he dates.)  I would imagine that men experience this pressure, but I know from experience that many women do.  Many women see their worth as being wrapped up in their significant other or lack thereof, and I wish it weren't that way.  

In light of my dream that women will not be valued based on their relationship status, I've rounded up a list of 10 movies that include romance, but also feature a female protagonists who can use their particular brands of strength to move mountains, destroy stereotypes, and change the world.  I think they're perfect for both satisfying the "love" aspect of Valentine's Day and encouraging women to remember that they're capable and valuable regardless of whether or not they have a love interest.  To help you quickly find what you want, I've divided them into the following three categories: Live-action, Animated, and Teen Movies.  So please, grab a friend or a boyfriend/husband, or just a comfy blanket and watch one of these for Valentine's Day.

And guys, I'm sorry I'm leaving you out with this list.  You deserve a list of films about men who don't need romantic relationships to be valuable, but I don't think I know enough about being male to put together anything meaningful.  If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them in the comments, though.  If I get enough suggestions, maybe I'll compile them into a post, too.  


LIVE-ACTION MOVIES

Legally Blonde (2001)  

When sorority president Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is dumped by her politician-in-training boyfriend, she enrolls in Harvard Law School to prove that she is exactly the kind of girl who will help his career succeed. She ends up proving that she is an intelligent, capable woman who needs neither a man nor her valley girl persona to help her take on the world. I love watching the main character ditch the sorority girl stereotype and become a Harvard Lawyer, which still managing to keep her flair for the feminine and flamboyant because it shows that women can be whatever they want to be without sacrificing their personalities.  I also love this movie because the romance element, though present and very sweet, is played down; it seems that the creators are trying to prove that Elle, and by extension all of the female viewers, shouldn't define success by their relationship status because there are more important markers, including their careers and moral strength.   Information from IMDB page, available HERE.

Flash Music Recommendation: Collide by Skillet

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Hey everyone, I'm just writing a quick post to share an album that has really been resonating with me - Collide by Skillet. For those of you who are new to the band, they are what I think of as a Christian cross-over band, which means that their music has definite Christian themes in it, but they often aren't so obvious that secular stations refuse to play the songs.  (Other bands that fall into this category that you might recognize include Thousand Foot Krutch and Switchfoot.)   Their genre is really hard to nail down.  Some of their albums feel more rock, some of them more metal; some of them you could even argue venture into symphonic metal.  I would put this 2003 album (iTunes) right at the intersection of hard rock and metal.

 That is probably why, in the past, I haven't liked is quite as a couple of their albums that are a little newer - Comatose and Awake, in particular.  Comatose is more musically complex than Collide, drawing on vocal elements of metal, but still relying heavily on electric cello and violin.  Awake, on the other hand, is a bit less "hard" and more hopeful.

Four Reasons to Pull WarioWare, Inc Mega Party Game$ for Gamecube out of the Attic (Hint: Because it Might Just Make you a Better Gamer)

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In 2004, when Nintendo's WarioWare, Inc Mega Party Game$ hit the shelves in the US, there was nothing quite like it. What made it unique, and what still sets its franchise apart, is its micro games. They are miniature games of 4 seconds or less, that ask you to quickly and accurately complete tasks ranging from the sports-based to the truly bizarre (Mario Wiki). The game has both a single player mode, requires defeating sets of 25 micro games (including a boss level) and a multi-player level, which is equipped to handle up to 16 players at a time in some instances..

I loved this game as a young teen and recently pulled it back out to test it, wondering if I'd still enjoy it. I wasn't disappointed. It's fun and I highly recommend for four reasons, that I explain below.

It upends what we think of as worth making a video game about.

Very often, games are about things that seem “important” or exciting - saving princesses, winning races, building cities, winning wars, obtaining money or glory. That is not the case with WarioWare. The bulk of the focus is on those micro games, which are not long enough for performing the traditional tasks, and so, instead depict the mundane or even bizarre. They ask you to a pick nose, brush teeth, shave a head, drive a nail, and many other things that you probably never expected to do in a video game. This is fun, because it's different, and also because it's a bit philosophical. It begs us to consider if the small things deserve more attention. Should I be pondering the significance of my morning cereal bowl? When was the last time I actually paid attention to a head of lettuce?

An Animated Movie About the Nuts and Bolts of an Unjust Society: 20th Century Fox's "Robots"

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Call me weird, or whatever other adjective you like, but I really love it when movies or TV shows make a broader social/cultural/political point. Yeah, I want to be entertained, but most of the time I also want to feel like I've walked away from a piece of media with a little more perspective on life. That's why I love that Doctor Who practically screams about the value of the everyday person and that Marvel's Agents of Shield uses Daisy/Skye's powers to symbolically discuss how people relate to their own emotions. I was thrilled, then, to re-watch Robots (I was a young teenage last time) and discover that, despite being an animated movie with the requisite eight-year-old humor, it is solidly about socio-economic issues (such as corporate responsibility, the flaws in the medical industry, etc.). I'm recommending it this week because its totally entertaining, but still uses an imaginary setting to help its viewers better understand the world they live in. In this post, I'll begin with a synopsis of the movie and then dive into a couple of the topics I found most interesting.

Synopsis 

This 2005, 20th Century Fox movie (Rotten Tomatoes) follows Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by Ewan McGregor ), a poor robot with a huge dreams – to sell his latest invention to Bigweld Industries, a corporation owned by Bigweld (voiced by Mel Brooks), who is dedicated, above all, to making every robot's life better. However, when Rodney gets to the city, he finds that Bigweld has retired and a young executive named Mr. Gasket (voiced by Lowell Ganz) has taken the company's reigns. Mr. Gasket's aim is not to help disadvantaged robots, but rather turn them into scrap for profit. Rodney and his friends, including Fender (voiced by Robin Williams), Piper (voiced by Amanda Byne), and Lug (voiced by Harland Williams) must stop Mr. Gasket's nefarious plot before they all go to the chop shop.

Alert! Christopher Reeve Superman Movies Now on Netflix

Happy New Year! 

In case you haven't heard, Netflix (the U.S. version, at least.  I'm not sure how it works in other countries) is streaming all four of the Superman movies with Christopher Reeves starting today. 
-Superman
-Superman II
-Superman III
-Superman IV Quest for Peace

They've also included Superman Returns, a 2006 movie with a different lead actor. 

I really remember liking the first couple movies, so I think this is exciting. 

Are you interested in a post about one/multiple/all of these films?  Please let me know in the comments.  

Start your New Year with a Show that Promises Hope for all of Man(Woman/Child/Android/Klingon/Non-carbon-based life form) Kind – Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1

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For the less cynical of people (I wouldn't technically include myself in this group), the New Year is synonymous with a fresh start. It inspires resolutions for better health, better habits, better relationships, and better lives, in short, hope for better. For me, no TV show epitomizes this hope quite like Star Trek: The Next Generation. Admittedly, I've only seen the first season (I'm not really a Trekkie, though, after watching this season, I'm seriously considering becoming one. I've even created a Star Trek board on Pinterest.), but it alone draws us deeply into a world that is advanced, actually exist, though one can hope), but because the creators of this show have a beautiful dream for a beautiful existence, and dreams reflect people's values and goals. There is hope for a world in which people, despite their mistakes, hope for and strive for the things that are right and good. To me, that hope is what makes this retro show the ideal series with which to start the new year. Stick around and I'll explain a few reasons why the values and achievements of this brave new world inspire hope for a better future.

not only technologically, but socially and culturally, too. The Federation, which is an alliance of different planets and races, represents incredible understandings of medical science and psychology, as well egalitarianism and value for life, to a degree that would have been unprecedented during the late 1980's when this show first began to air, and is is still unprecedented today. As I watch the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise journey across the galaxy under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his right-hand man, Commander William Riker, I feel hopeful for the future. Not because I necessarily think that the future will evolve the way it does in the show (somehow I doubt that Vulcans will actually exist, though one can hope), but because the creators of this show have a beautiful dream for a beautiful existence, and dreams reflect people's values and goals. There is hope for a world in which people, despite their mistakes, hope for and strive for the things that are right and good. To me, that hope is what makes this retro show the ideal series with which to start the new year. Stick around and I'll explain a few reasons why the values and achievements of this brave new world inspire hope for a better future.

Three Reasons to Watch “Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas” This Year

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Growing up, there were two Christmas movies I have to watch every year: Tim Allen's The Santa Clause“The Santa Clause" and this one, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. There's no point in talking about “The Santa Clause' since stations play it on TV every year. However, since Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is less common, even though its on Netflix, I thought it would be fun to talk about three reasons why I recommend this fun kids movie to kids and adults alike. Background This 66 minute Disney film, which premiered in 1999, is divided into three separate stories that are united by narrative sequences and a musical finale.

In the first segment, “Donald Duck Stuck on Christmas” the selfish Huey, Duey, and Louie's wish that it was  Christmas everyday is granted, but turns out to be a lot less fun than they imagined. In order to return to normal life, the boys must find the true Christmas spirit and a little love for others.

In the second segment, “A Very Goofy Christmas,” the grumpy neighbor, Mr. Pete, convinces Max that Santa Clause isn't real. Goofy tries, but with his typical clumsy flair, still fails to prove that St. Nick exists, that is until he gets a little help from a friend.

The third story is based on O. Henry's “The Gift of the Magi,” and follows Mickey and Minnie as they strive to afford gifts that truly express their love for each other.

I admit that the premises of each of these stories is a bit cliché, but the execution is fun, nonetheless. There are three reasons I think you should watch this move this year, whether you're a kid or not.

It's as Good as You've Heard - Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Since the broadcast of it's sequel “The Legend of Korra,” Avatar: the Last Airbender seems to have spiked in popularity. Pinterst is jam packed with posts about its characters. Tumblr is host to hoards of gifs, images, and jokes, based on the show. And I must admit that I was skeptical. How could a little kid's show live up to this level of popularity? Surely, everyone was seeing it with nostalgia-colored classes, enjoying a trip back to their childhoods when they thought about the showing. My sister finally talked me into watching it, and well, I was wrong. It was as good as they see it is, maybe better. I'm here to tell you that it really as good as people say it is.

Background:

This Nickelodean animated fantasy series, which played from 2005-2008, is 62 episodes long and is broken into 3 books. It's rated TV-Y7, which surprises me because it's fairly heavy in the violence category. However, there is no blood, gore, etc. There is, of course, no bad language, and little to no crude humor. However, it takes a lot of elements from Eastern religion, so viewers who might find that offensive should be aware.

The Plot:

This show is set in a world divided into four nations – the Earth kingdom, the Fire Kingdom, the Air Kingdom, and the Water kingdom. Select people from each kingdom can bend, or control, their respective elements. The Avatar, who is the only person who can learn to bend all four elements, 9is entrusted with the job of keeping balance, safety, and peace in the world. Our TV show opens when a brother-sister duo from the Water kingdom, Katara and Sokka, discover 12-year-old Aang, the latest reincarnation of the nearly immortal Avatar, frozen in the ice. He emerges into a world that is 100 years older and now at war; the Fire Nation has been conquering each of the nations. He and the brother-sister duo set out to help Aang to learn to bend all four elements, so he can stop the Fire Nation before they take complete control.

Revisiting Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for PS2

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I'm not sure how long I've had Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for PS2, but until recently I had played it little. In fact, I don't think I even completed the first world, Traverse Town. I'm not sure why; perhaps the time just wasn't right. However, I set my PS2 up and pulled the game out, and now

after a couple of weeks of playing it, I'm excited to finally review the game for you. In this review, I'll provide some background information on the game before talking about its story line, game play, graphics, music, and major theme. Finally, I'll end with my recommendations (spoiler alert: I strongly recommend this game) and links for buying online. Before we begin, I think a disclaimer is in order, though. I am a casual gamer, so my perspective on the game may be pretty different than that of someone who is more serious and experienced.

A Blast from Christmases past: “Nick Picks Holiday” Review

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While I was nosing around Wal-Mart a couple days ago (doing a little grocery shopping, a little gift shopping, a little window shopping), I came across this beauty : “Nick Picks Holiday,” a DVD of seven old school Nickelodeon Christmas episodes for just under $4. In tribute to the hundreds of happy hours I spent watching Nicktoons when I was a little kid, I had to pick it up and make its review the post with which I launch my blog. I'll begin by giving you the basic run down on the DVD. Then, I'll talk briefly about each episode before summing up with my thoughts on the product as a whole.

Product Specifications: According to the description on the back, it is 172 minutes or 2 hours and 52 minutes long. That being said, a significant portion of that time is taken up by beginning and end credits. The collection first hit shelves in 2006 and, unsurprisingly, is not rated.