Category: Family-friendly

  • Hugo (2011)

    Given Martin Scorsese’s prodigious love of film, it is hardly surprising that he made a mash note to the medium that has so dominated his life. To some extent, Scorsese’s entire catalog has been a love letter to movies, immersed as he is in the singular possibilities of cinema. What is unexpected, however, is that…

  • The Ant Bully (2006)

    The animated kids’ movie The Ant Bully begins with scrawny, little Lucas Nickle (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen from TV’s Avatar: The Last Airbender) suffering a wedgie at the hands of the neighborhood bully. “What are you gonna do about it?” Lucas’ tormenter asks rhetorically. “Nothing, ’cause I’m big and you’re small.” Almost immediately after…

  • Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

    Eleven-year-old Akeelah Anderson wants to be like other girls, but blending into anonymity isn’t easy when you’re brilliant. She shrinks when she makes perfect grades and is mortified when labeled a “brainiac.” Despite all her efforts, Akeelah is unable to fit in. The girl can’t help it; she’s smart. Her chief talent is a gift…

  • The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)

    If it didn’t happen to be true, you might dismiss it as feel-good fantasy. But part of what makes The Greatest Game Ever Played so appealing is that this is a real-life Cinderella story tailor-made for classic drama. Based on the 2002 book by Mark Frost (who also wrote the screenplay adaptation), the film details…