First Word

Rating: ***** Another delightful film just in time for the holidays. Saving Mr. Banks was a wonderful distraction during the bustle of last-minute Christmas shopping. It is a must-go but mostly for adults. It's not really geared toward children so don't get that confused. The movie chronicles the 20-year "courtship" of Walt Disney to get the author of Mary Poppins to give him the film rights to her books. The prim, proper and uptight Mrs Traverse is so married to her books and story she won't budge an inch. It is only after her financial needs necessitate she sell the rights that she reluctantly gives in and flies to the U.S. to help write the script. Mrs. Traverse isn't an easy sell, and the movie depicts through flashback the psychology and reason why she won't give up her stubborn need to have the story produced down to her every specification. Sweet and endearing, it was fun to see the world of 1961 Disney and Disneyland back in its early era....

Rating: ***** I'm not a huge fan of animated film, but I take my nine-year-old daughter to the ones I think I can actually sit through and not get too bored. Frozen was one such film. My daughter begged for weeks in advance of its release, so I obliged. The misleading perception is that it's a film about a talking snowman named Olaf, but it's really about two princesses and their relationship. A friend of mine scoffed, "The snowman looked stupid so I didn't want to see it," and while the snowman is a part of the film he doesn't even show up until about halfway through it. The film opens with the two sisters playing together and enjoying the older girl's magic powers to create snow and ice through her hands. Upon an unfortunate accident that nearly kills her little sister, the older girl is moved into isolation (her powers are predicted to grow) to protect the other sister. This results in the older sister "colding" herself off from the...