DreamWorks Pictures’ “War Horse,” director Steven Spielberg’s epic adventure, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. “War Horse” begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.

The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse—an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure. “War Horse” is one of the great stories of friendship and war— a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is currently on Broadway. It now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history.

My Thoughts

War Horse is the story of keeping your promises.  This story tells the life lesson on how through love and destruction you have to keep moving forward. The story begins with Ted Narracott sacrificing his farm to purchase a beautiful thoroughbred colt. He saw something in the horse that no one else did, except for his son. His son Albert names the horse Joey and trains the thoroughbred to work in an attempt to raise the money needed to save their farm. When their crops are flooded, the father is forced to sell Joey to Captain Nicholls in the Calvary. The horse manages to live through World War 1 miraculously and against the odds.

This famous novel was turned into a dramatic movie with the direction of Steven Spielberg and Dream Works Production Company. This story has been reproduced as a novel, children’s stories, as a play and now as a movie. The movie was filmed in England and the scenery is breathtaking.

The story has many parallels about the cost of caring for one another. That is the theme throughout the movie, no matter how things turn out you always keep your promise to take care of others and see them through as best as you can. Each inner story didn’t always end positively, it was World War I there were many lives lost.

I recommend the movie. This is a Steven Spielberg movie however there were several scenes where the computer generated images were not very believable in the war scenes. The acting in a few scenes seemed staged; however emotion is evoked throughout the movie. In fact at one point I grabbed the arm of the person sitting next to me as a result of the dramatic scene.  I liked the movie because every relationship represented was showing one taking care of another. This message is spoken between humans and the animals. It is World War I and yet despite horrible odds Albert and Joey go through the gates together.

Terri

Dexter Morgan spends Season 5 atoning for the death of his wife Rita. He committed to being a part of her children’s lives, and entered into a deep, passionate relationship with Lumen, unlike anything he’d ever had before. But Dexter’s need to kill overpowers his desire for human connection. And now that one person knows the truth about him, and a few others are close, how much longer will America’s favorite serial killer be able to keep his dark side a secret?

• Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, C.S. Lee, Lauren Velez, Desmond Harrington, James Remar, and David Zayas
• Blu-ray SRP: $67.99
• DVD SRP: $49.99

My Thoughts

This is my absolute favorite show so I was on pins and needles waiting to see what this season would hold after last season’s shocking ending!  Season four ended with the horrific murder of Dexter’s wife Rita and his discovery of her body in the bathtub and their infant son sitting in a pool of her blood on the floor.  It doesn’t get more chilling or dramatic then that so I was intrigued to see where the writers could possibly take it from such a dramatic ending.  Thankfully, the writers of Dexter did not disappoint!

For those who haven’t followed the show, Dexter works for the police department in Miami as their blood expert in the crime lab.  Ironically, he is also a serial killer.  While it seems like a shocking twist that his career choice and personal choices are in conflict with each other, it actually makes a lot of sense!  He sees the absolute worst of people on a daily basis and has made it his life’s mission to kill the evil people in the world.  His own traumatic childhood helped to produce his “dark passenger” as he calls it.

Every season has a main target that Dexter wants to kill and this one was no different.  Twelve girls have been raped, tortured, murdered and dumped.  Victim number thirteen escapes in part thanks to Dexter and he finds himself with a partner with an even deeper motivation than he.  Lumen wants to seek revenge on those that tortured her but doesn’t know who they are.  She wants Dexter to help her find them because she witnessed firsthand what he is capable of.

For the first time Dexter is working with someone who sees him for who he truly is and accepts him anyway.  Not even his sister who he is closet to in the world knows of his secret.  As a cop at the same precinct, it is simply not an option to let her know.  He and Lumen grow close as they work together to find these men and hunt them down one by one.

His guilt of Rita’s death combined with his natural human desire for companionship trouble Dexter and he constantly questions to wisdom of allowing Lumen in.  For the first time we really see Dexter longing for human companionship and love.  Even his relationship with Rita could never pass a certain level because she didn’t know of his dark side. Lumen sees it, accepts it and wants to be a part of it.  This season shows a more human side of Dexter that keeps him likeable and even admirable in spite of his undercover killing habits!

This was a great plot this season and held all the usual suspense, twists and turns.  Dexter is brilliantly written and one of the few shows I feel has maintained the same level of greatness and integrity throughout the seasons.  Typically for me around season 3, shows start to lose some of their initial draw.  My ONLY criticism is that the ending was just a little bit less exciting and suspenseful then the previous seasons.  This seems to contradict my previous statement but I still feel it was a season equal to the others except for the last episode.  It still held the unexpected turns and climactic ending but really, after last season, it would have been hard to top!  This one the writers smartly did not try to top it dramatically, but instead left it more open leaving you in great anticipation for the next season – which I am!

Lindsey
Review Crew

SNOWMEN is a humorous and heartfelt coming-of-age story about three unlikely heroes and the winter that changed their lives forever. After a surprising discovery in the snow catapults three small-town boys into the spotlight, the best friends hatch a plan to be remembered forever by setting a Guinness World Records^® title. Along the way, the trio battles schoolyard bullies, unites their community and discovers that – while fame may be fleeting – true friendship lasts forever. From the producers of The Passion of the Christ and The Ultimate Gift, the film stars Bobby Coleman (The Last Song, Martian Child), Ray Liotta (Wild Hogs), Bobb’e J. Thompson (Role Models), Josh Flitter (Ace Ventura Jr.) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future 1-3, Who Framed Roger Rabbit).

SNOWMEN won Audience Award honors at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival, was named Best Feature Film at the 2011 SPROCKETS Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth, and won the Heartland Film Festival’s Truly Moving Picture Award. The Dove Foundation and the Parents Television Council also gave the film their seals of approval.

My Thoughts

I sat down to watch this movie with the IE Twins…thinking that we’d be watching a movie about a bunch of kids building snowmen and trying to be a world record…and we did.

But, Snowmen is a lot more then just that. It’s a movie about loyalty, friendship, dreams, truth, faith and the desire to be so much more. To leave a legacy that will be remembered for eternity. Wow, who doesn’t want that, right? I mean…we all want to be remembered for something more then just “breathing”.

We enter the movie with Billy as the narrator who shockingly confesses to us that he dies at the age of 10. Immediately my girls were panicked and I thought “Oh no, here we go again”…you see they have a habit of watching anything that scares them from either behind the couch or with the head stuff into the cushions a la “ostrich” style.  For some odd reason this was not the case…and they stuck through the entire movie with me…without one once of fear.  There were a few moments throughout the movie that made my girls jump but over all…nothing was scary about the movie.

You immediately bond with the three boys…Billy, Howard and Lucas…you can see and feel the depth of their friendship even at such a young age and sincerely long for their victory in whatever they do. These are good boys…yes, they have a few missteps and bad decisions in their future and life…but those moments make them real.

As a mother I loved that I didn’t have to worry about curse words, nudity, drugs or questionable behavior. Snowmen is a tale about growing up and learning to make wise choices. Ultimately with the moral that the best legacy we can live is one of a good life, great friends and being there when you are needed.

Christine

The IE Mommy

You Know You’re From Suburgatory When…

1) Your dog’s haircut is more expensive than yours.

2) The drinking fountains offer sparkling or still.

3) The school cafeteria serves tuna tartar.

4) The majority of medical procedures are elective.

5) “Brunette” is a dirty word.

6) The top three industries are tanning, spandex and peroxide.

SUBURGATORY Premieres Wednesday, September 28 at 8:30|7:30c on ABC

Link Up!

Official website http://abc.go.com/shows/suburgatory

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/SuburgatoryABC

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/SuburgatoryABC #Suburgatory

Single father George only wants the best for his sixteen-year-old daughter Tessa. So when he finds a box of condoms on her nightstand, he moves them out of their apartment in New York City to a house in the suburbs. But all Tessa sees is the horror of over-manicured lawns and plastic Franken-moms. Being in the ‘burbs can be hell, but it also may just bring Tessa and George closer than they’ve ever been.

Tessa (Jane Levy) and George (Jeremy Sisto) have been on their own ever since Tessa’s Mom pulled a Kramer vs. Kramer before Tessa was potty trained. So far, George has done a pretty good job of raising Tessa without a maternal figure in their lives, but suddenly he’s feeling a little out of his league. So it’s goodbye New York City and hello suburbs. At first Tessa is horrified by the big-haired, fake-boobed mothers and their sugar-free Red Bull-chugging kids, but little by little, she and her dad begin finding a way to survive on the clean streets of the ‘burbs. Sure, the neighbors might smother you with love while their kids stare daggers at your back, but underneath all that plastic and caffeine they’re really not half bad.

Emily Kapnek (Hung) writes and executive produces this bitingly ironic single-camera comedy that combines Juno’s heightened reality with Father Knows Best’s heart. Tessa and her Dad may be out of their element, but at least they’ve got each other. When you descend into Suburgatory, it’s good to have backup.

My Thoughts

I was sent a code to access a special preview screening of  SUBURGATORY…which I just finished watching. What are my thoughts? Well, I  kind of have mixed feelings.

There were some very funny one liners and comparisons to life in New York vs. life in the Suburbs. I had to chuckle (loudly) at the innuendos of the all the moms in the neighborhood…working out, drinking Red Bulls and bringing over casseroles to their neighbors…because well, frankly, I can relate to that aspect. I know people that do just that!

Jeremy Sisto creates an adorable father figure that you can’t help but want to help. As his teenager is turning into a young women it is clear he is lost and unsure of how to proceed. The helpless, confused yet playful manner in which he portrays dad, George, will make Jeremy “and” George lovable to women of all ages.

Jane Levy brings to mind images of Molly Ringwald in 16 Sixteen Candles. Not sure if it’s the red hair only or the constant eye rolling but she portrays her confused, irritated character well. You can tell that Tessa isn’t a bad kid just very opinionated and very New York.

The casting is well done and the comedy of the show definitely had me laughing. I don’t know if all the episodes will be like this one but it was fun first show.

One the other hand…I have to share that there was a lot of adult humor and frank language. Using loose terms for vagina, the b***** word and other similar phrases  made me cringe. It was a little frustrating as one minute I was laughing out loud and then the next I was thinking “Did they just say that”?

This is clearly not a show for children, or in my opinion, even teenagers. I would rate this as a strictly adult show.  There are a lot of sexual innuendos being implied toward George by his “oh so blond” neighbors so it’s probably safe to assume that those encounters will be explored in future episodes.

If you are a fan of television shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives or Modern Family then you are going to love Suburgatory. As for me…I truly enjoyed my sneak preview but it’s not a show that I feel is appropriate for me to watch. I would have loved it if the writers stayed with the comical, ironic and family side of the story but when they moved over to  the racey…well, that just left me out.

Care for your own sneak peak? Leave a comment that you are interested in viewing and I’ll send you a complimentary code to view Suburgatory before everyone else!

Christine

The IE Mommy