The Story of the Weeping Camel: **** 1/2 (four-and-a-half stars)

James (age 6): **** 4 stars. There was a funny part. One little four year old kid asked for television. And his Grandpa told him a story, and he was like, "Uh, Grandpa, can you tell me a different story, I already heard this." And the Grandpa just walked away, and didn't tell him another story. There was a gross gross part that I really wanted to be over with, and didn't want to see. It was when the baby camel was born. Oh, there was that other gross part. When they cut off the fur of the mama camel, that was really gross, because we saw the flesh under-the-fur part and it was really gross and slimy. That's it. There was another funny part. At somebody else's house when the little four-year-old kid snuck and didn't eat his dinner, and just watched the television. And then, when he got his television in the end.

Jupiter (age 4): *****5 stars. Can we keep this movie forever? I just liked it. The baby camel.

Justice (age 2): *****5 stars. (Justy snoozed through the first half of the movie.) Ta ta. That means "five stars."

Popi:***** 5 stars. I thought it was an adorable documentary. The filmmakers really let the subjects be. There was no narrative or voice-over, no sense that the cameras were intruding in the subjects' lives. Most of the shots were long and sustained, often of the environment, which taught you to cast a patient, thoughtful eye over this four generation family in the Gobi desert. The scene in which they played the music to the camels was truly magical. I think it's an over used word, but it felt like magic had transpired.

Mama: ***** 5 stars. They should call this the story of the weeping Mama because that's what I did. I loved watching this beautiful family live their lives.

While the kids were in the baths tonight, Jupiter said, "Mama, some families don't have sinks."
"Well, Jupey," James added, "Some families don't have houses."
Jupiter mused over it and then said, "Some families don't have baths."

I've been working on instilling appreciation in them for every little luxury we have and it's sinking in in it's own way. It seemed fitting that fifteen minutes after the kids baths, with them bundled up in their robes and slippers, we watched a movie about a family that doesn't have sinks or bathtubs--we even see the young son get his bath in a metal tub.

So strange how I envied their uncluttered lives. I must admit,when the family sends for a musician to come play his violin, so the mother camel would stop rejecting her baby, I chalked it up as a ritual akin to the grateful tossing of milk east, west, south and north, or the laying of foodstuffs on a ritual altar in the middle of the desert. I didn't expect what happened next. This documentary left me marveling at the interconnectedness of humans and animals, and mothers and babies, as well as the universality of music and emotion. I just couldn't get over what an amazing film this was, and I loved experiencing it with my kids. The little boy in the documentary does get his TV in the end. It would be easy to think of that as a corrupting influence on that families sweet, pastoral existence--but I'm the one with the Mom-blog about movies, and family night in front of the TV.

High School Musical **** 1/2 stars

James (age 6) ****1/2 Four-and-a-half stars. I don't know why, I just liked it. There was only one funny part. When he was like, "Oh, I baked some cookies," and she was like, "Ew!" She means here, Sharpay, and the guy who likes to cook--what's his name? Sharpey was my favorite character because she doesn't like the new girl. That's it.

Jupiter (age 4) ***** e stars. Google stars. I liked the pre-K parts. The pre-K parts are at the very beginning when they sing together. (Jupiter has a singing class as a part of her pre-school program.)

Justice (age 2): ***** Google. (Justice, though admittedly sick with a fever and flu, watched the entire movie.)


Popi:***** This mega-monolithic tweener cultural phenomenon was only vaguely on my radar. Fellow movie night fan, Andy recommended it. Had I seen this as a high school student. I would have called it "High School Snoozical," because all things that were supposedly made for me seemed to speak nothing of my experience. But as an adult, I loved it. I love its formula, its use of proven conventions, its crisp pacing, I loved how it was unafraid to make traditional story-telling moves, like coincidences, unlikely outcomes, and even flirt with stock characters and decide instead of exploiting them, to earn them. Which I think it did. But the characters who feel trapped by their circumstances, even if it's being a basketball star or a super scholar, are always compelling. There was destined love hidden in plain sight. The movie was fueled by naked enthusiasm and all the characters seemed truly normal. Normal in body type, normal in experience, and this isn't about the Juilliard bound super talent. These are normal kids finding something great within them. I like that story better.

Mama (age 40): ***** I love musicals. I have always loved them. When I was 17 and driving my Mom's Toyota Cressida to the beach, wearing my pink plastic sunglasses, and pink frosted lipstick, it was "Man of la Mancha" in the tape deck, or "Jesus Christ Superstar" or "Camelot." Even though I couldn't sing at all, when I was ten, I dreamed of being the lead in "Oliver," "Annie," and later "Grease." It never worked out for me, but I look forward to raising my daughters, and yes, son, on musicals.

While the songs in "High School Musical," were of the fluffiest variety--completely unmemorable yet managing to make you feel like you'd heard them all before, it didn't stop me from completely enjoying this movie. On the surface "High School Musical" is about a male athlete and female scholar finding each other through music, but it's really about being gay, a stadium pounding celebration of gayness. What's not to love about that? Adam and I laughed out loud, every time the brother/sister diva duo, Sharpay and Ryan, came into a scene, always looking looking peeved that there were others journeying toward the personal revelation of the power of musical theater. "High School Musical," with its wholesome brand of embracing yourself and those who are different from you might just help jump start my kids early on the way to that personal revelation.

Scooby Doo and the Goblin King ** 1/2 stars

Pat: (0 stars) That's the worst movie I've ever seen--an abuse of Scooby Doo legacy. Was it ever going to end? Atrocious. (I'm sugar coating that.) But James was on my lap and seemed to love it, so I hung in there. I did fall asleep from sheer boredom.

Mama: This movie was unwatchable.
I'm not a purist, and I actually like updates, often more than the original. In fact, I love the new 1991 Scooby Doo series. It's clever and self-referential, with cultural commentary and catchy pop songs during the chase scenes--really enjoyable stuff. However this shameful excuse for a movie, created in 2008, and chock full of big names including Hayden Panatierre, Jay Leno and even Lauren Bacall, was the worst family night movie we've come across so far. Why did Casy Kasem, the voice of Shaggy for 38 years, agree to this script? If he had opted out, it never would have been green lit. I should have known when there was a fairy on the cover of the DVD case. What offended me to the core about this movie was the way it broke the rules of the Scooby Doo universe, whose bible demands that all ghosts, demons and abominable snow men are revealed to be hypnotist con-men in costume, misguided scientists with out-of-control robots or greedy employees with holographic machines.

This is how I dealt with it. I watched my kids watch the movie.
I remember when they were infants, how I used to just stare at them. We called it baby TV. They were so adorable and fascinating, such strange little creatures, that I could just watch them with rapt attention. So tonight, I watched Jupiter with her perfect profile, sit on Adam's lap in her glow-in-the dark dinosaur pajamas. Justice, though squirmy let me scoop her bangs to one side. And James in his bathrobe, the whole heap of him, sprawled out on Grandma Pat's lap, the TV's light flickering in his eyes.

James: Trillion Stars (*****) It was one of the best Scooby Doo movies I've ever seen. I like it because it is so cool. My favorite, favorite, favorite part? Well, there's a part when Scooby and Shaggy are locked up in the castle, and there was this guy who was locked up in the dungeon. That was funny. I liked the headless horseman, and his horse and I loved the part when they stole that thingy from the goblin king and he used magic to get it back. THere was a part that was so funny, and it was when they traded the fairy for the goblin sceptre. And the guy who had the goblin scepter turned the goblin king into a goose and a goblin king but a bit scarier. I loved the skull train part. And when Jack the jackolantern had his candle burn down so he got killed.

Jupiter: 81 stars (*****) Hmm. I liked when Scooby Doo was bobbing for apples, and he came up with a mouth full of apples. Hmm. It was funny when Scooby Doo jumped down Shaggy's shirt and pretended to be a werewolf. I liked the fairy, but not the girl with snakes for hair--scary! It was funny when Scooby Doo and Shaggy were locked up in the dungeon and they talked and chatted and the fairies came and helped them and Scooby Doo and Shaggy came and thanked them and hugged them and the skeleton was like, "Thanks a lot."