The Adventures of Tintin

Ridiculous?  Yes.  But definitely a lot more entertaining that all the weird random nonsense in that Christmas Carol movie.

The Last Starfighter

Ambassador Enduran: "Eons ago, our ancestors created our great frontier, a barrier of energy encircling the peaceful systems of the universe and forever shutting out the scourge that lurks beyond.  Fellow Rylons, because of a dark betrayal, our frontier will soon collapse.  So we turn to you, starfighters, and to navigators.  For of all the billions of creatures in the Star League, only you few have been found to possess the ... gift.  You, and you alone, stand between us and the black terror of the Kodan.  Victory or death!"

I wanna be a starfighter.

The Secret World of Arrietty

An uncommon movie - watching it is actually a pleasure.  So many movies resort to extremes to hold our attention: extreme emotions, extreme violence, extreme over-the-top humor, ridiculous explosions and nonstop action, extremely strained relationships, extreme tension and angst, grit, drugs, sex.  Ok, I admit, a little reality isn't always a bad thing, but how about a movie that is just beautiful?  Don't you just love those?

Take The Secret World of Arrietty, for instance.  For starters, it's rated G.  You fall in love with the characters immediately, especially Arrietty and Sean.  The animation is gorgeous.  You wouldn't believe the music, either.  The sounds are breathtaking.  When Arrietty explores the inside of the house for the first time, we sense her feelings of wonderment and uneasiness through the heightened, eerie sounds of the dark kitchen.  Throughout the movie, we are sucked into her world as we hear the sounds of people, animals, rain, and wind as she would hear them. 

I loved it.  I was swept away by the sights and sounds, the stories of lost paradises and lost dreams.  We never see Sean's mother, but I thought her story was one of the most interesting.  I love the way Arrietty's father does everything he can to help his family.  I like the way that Arrietty respects her mother and helps her whenever she can.  An adolescent female character who doesn't whine, complain, or resent everyone around her?  Perish the thought!  That's not the kind of drama people are looking for in a movie!  I love the part when the mother comes outside to find Arrietty hanging the laundry out to dry in the recently arrived sunlight after the rainstorm.  Paraphrased:

"That's so good of you to hang the clothes out in the sun," she says to Arrietty.

"Or maybe I just had a smart mama who taught me well!" Arrietty responds.

I'd love to have the Blu-ray of this.