Category Archives: Movies in Bed
Movies in Bed: Men in Black
Post by Mark T. Locker.
It was a moment of great excitement when I realized that my kid was old enough to appreciate the 1997 alien comedy, Men in Black. If you haven’t seen this movie, I’m surprised. But, there are worse ways to spend a blistering hot summer evening.
With what one could call an all-star cast of Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, and more, it’s a funny take on the 90s comic book series.
Jay is a streetwise NY cop who has an encounter with an unusual individual. He comes to learn this individual was an alien, which leads Jay down a path to discovering the Men in Black, a secret semi-governmental organization dedicated to keeping a quiet peace between earth and its otherworldly visitors. Kay, who intervened in his investigation, invites him to join. And so Will Smith becomes the young cheeky counterpart to Jones’s clipped, no-nonsense philosophy. Together they set out to determine why aliens are fleeing and where a hidden galaxy is so they can get to it before the bug in human skin (D’Onofrio) can get to it.
It’s a fun, silly, action-filled movie. There is some strongish language, but nothing too terrible. Good movie for a lazy Sunday in bed.
Movies in Bed: Ernest and Celestine
Post by Mark T. Locker
Are you looking for a good family-friendly movie that isn’t riddled with product placement and CGI and won’t have you obsessively checking how many minutes are left in the film? Check out the adorable animated movie Ernest and Celestine and rejoice. Based on a series of French-language picture books by Gabrielle Vincent, the movie tells of the relationship between Celestine, a tiny mouse who just doesn’t fit in with her mouse kin, and Ernest, a misfit bear.
In the French and Belgian tradition, mice are the ones who find children’s teeth and replace them with gifts. Such is little Celestine’s lot in life, a life she is not well suited to. Ernest, meanwhile, performs music for money but is told that it’s not allowed. Due to desperation, he finds himself at odds with the law. When he finds Celestine trapped in a trash can, he nearly eats her but she convinces him to let her live. However, colluding with the outlaw bear has brought Celestine into trouble as well. Despite being brought up to fear bears as vicious killers, Celestine learns that Ernest has a kind and warm heart. Two lost souls who never knew they needed each other are brought together in the most unlikely way and together they learn to love themselves for who they are.
It’s a refreshing movie with charmingly simple animation and a sweet story it would be hard to dislike. Good for all ages.
Movies in Bed: Wet Hot American Summer
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Summer’s here, folks! My kid’s last day of school was yesterday. Let the era of summer camps and family vacations commence! Summer always puts me in the mood to watch this classic summer camp comedy with an all-star cast. Even better, Netflix is reviving the movie with a series of episodes based on the movie, coming July 31. What better way to prepare than by watching the movie?
Janeane Garofalo plays Beth, director of Camp Firewood. It’s the last week of camp and she is trying to get everything off to a smooth finish. With a staff made up of Michael Ian Black, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper, you can only imagine how it is going to work out.
This hilarious pokes fun at all the summer camp movies out there while still being a great movie in it own right, not relying on a running gag to make it awesome. Some of the humor is edgy and may not be appropriate for younger audiences. But if you are looking for something that will keep you laughing from beginning to end, this is a great choice.
Movies in Bed: Loose Adaptations of Picture Books
Post by Mark T. Locker
Ever since my son saw the trailer for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day he has been obsessed with the idea of watching it. He has been alone in that camp, I’m afraid. But when I saw it on the reshelving cart at the library, I couldn’t leave it there. So the weekend was mostly spent with him asking if we could watch it yet.
In my mind, what better way to get some extra sleep than to let him watch it when he got up at the crack of dawn on a holiday? Only, he gets so excited that he has to share every little thing that cracks him up. So, when the baby did some funny thing or another, he comes bursting into the room to tell me all about it. So I figured, okay. I’ll sort of watch with him and spare Mom from being constantly disrupted. And so we watched this together, about 7 a.m. on a day off.
Despite my condition, I didn’t hate it as much as I could have. It was totally harmless, family-friendly and silly as can be. I guess the premise is that Alexander has a terrible day (the one discussed in the picture book by Judith Vorst) and his birthday wish is that his family have a terrible day so they can understand that it sucks. Well he gets his wish and the the movie is full of bad things happening to everyone. In the end, I suppose they learn about the value of family and of not giving up.
There are a few well-known actors in this, namely: Steve Carell; Jennifer Garner; and Dick Van Dyke. If you are keen on slapstick and the kind of movie where everything goes wrong and you can handle lots of cringe-worthy moments, it’s a good cuddle-up-and-watch kind of movie.
Movies in Bed: Hot Fuzz
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Last week, I reviewed the third installment in the “Cornetto Trilogy”, three movies whose only relations to each other are the main actors and passing references to Cornettos, which, as far as I can tell, are the UK equivalent of the Drumstick ice cream cone. Having carried on about Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made me want to revisit the other movies in the “trilogy”. First up was Hot Fuzz, mainly because it’s available on Netflix.
Nicolas Angel (Simon Pegg) is one of the best cops in London but he’s a bit uptight and a bit of a killjoy. So when he is transferred to a sleepy bucolic village, he is less than enthused. When he discovers his partner Danny (Nick Frost) is the same man he arrested for trying to drive drunk, he is beside himself.
Things begin to change when a series of murders, crudely disguised as accidents, begin to occur. Nicolas is the only one to smell something fishy but when he gets Danny in his corner, dark secrets of this sleepy town begin to come to life.
Hot Fuzz is a fun, action-packed full-blown cop movie, with winks and nods to plenty of genre movies, like Bad Boys II. You can tell they have a bigger budget and are having fun shooting and blowing up as much as possible. There are a few violent scenes which are almost cartoony but if you are squeamish, be ready to cover your eyes. Overall it’s a funny and exciting movie and a good way to begin your weekend.
