LilSugar

Gnomeo & Juliet: Family Film Tops the Clever Chart

Heather Maddan — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:29:05 PST

Go gnome this weekend! I'm not a fan of watching movies more than once, but I've already seen Gnomeo & Juliet twice (Disney flew me down for the premiere). And I can't wait to take my kids and see the animated musical again from their perspective. As a mom, I take a chance every time I head to the theater with my three children - ages 6, 4, and 1 - and cross my fingers that my littlest guy sits still. If any film can create the glue to keep him in his seat, it's this movie. Based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this quirky 3D version involves British garden gnomes, Elton John cameos, and an upbeat soundtrack, but it also artfully delivers the message that love conquers all in a more positive and age-appropriate fashion than the penned original. Gnomeo & Juliet does so by being clever.

The highlights of this movie are all in the details - from the clinking sound that occurs when the adorable gnomes touch to a well-choreographed, romantic ninja scene. The film fully embraces the entire family because as much as it caters to children with its animated eye candy, there's also plenty of over-their-heads innuendo to keep adults laughing heartily. I don't want to give anything else away, but if you're looking for a feel-good and engaging family flick, buy tickets.

Celebrity Families Have Bieber Fever at the Pop Star's Film

Heather Maddan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:43:51 PST

Lots of stars come out when Justin Bieber sings! The teen heartthrob took to the stage on the big screen yesterday with everyone from Will.i.am to Heather Locklear in the audience for his Never Say Never 3D film premiere. But it was also a family affair with lots of celebrities bringing their kids to see the pop star's movie. Check out pictures of those who attended.

Flamingo Kids: Think Pink With This 2011 Tot Trend Prediction

Heather Maddan — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:44:11 PST

Kids will be thinking pink this year with flamingos! I'm predicting that the wading birds, known for standing on one leg, will become a child favorite once Disney's Gnomeo & Juliet (which stars Featherstone, a most memorable flamingo) debuts on February 11. From a ridiculously cute costume to sunglasses and a game, I've gathered up some of the best tot-friendly finds currently on the market. Check them out.

Emily Blunt Loves Jaws and James McAvoy Favors Goonies

Heather Maddan — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:22:02 PST

How much does your favorite movie say about you and your childhood? Emily Blunt and James McAvoy are animated in the family-friendly film, Gnomeo & Juliet that hits theaters February 11. But, at a recent press junket (Disney flew me down for the event), the actors divulged their all-time favorite flicks. Some bloggers did a double take when Blunt announced that a mechanical shark is the star of her pick. She said, "Jaws - I've seen that movie 30 times. It is, I think, a perfect movie - a genius movie, (and has) amazing performances. It's by far my favorite movie." McAvoy's selection involves the search for One-Eyed Willy. He said, "My favorite movie is The Goonies. It's a great kids' film. Get your kids watching it please - it's fantastic." People often have a soft spot for films they saw at an impressionable age - which one do you hold dear?

5 Reasons to See "The Kids Are All Right"

LilSugar — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:56:26 PST

"The Kids Are All Right" won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes tonight! Here are 5 reasons why the film deserved the award.

You know those "mom" moments when you step back from your own life and see your spouse, your children, and all the chaos unfold as if you're watching a movie? Well, The Kids Are All Right is exactly that . . . only the parents are lesbian couple, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), and their kids Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) are coming of age and want to meet their biological father, sperm donor Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Without giving too much away, here are five situations that all moms can relate to in the movie. Hire a babysitter and go see this brilliant film before it's nominated for Oscars.

Interview With Lisa Cholodenko Writer and Director of "The Kids Are All Right"

LilSugar — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:40:00 PST

Hooray for "The Kids Are All Right" winning Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes tonight! Take a look back at my July interview with the the writer and director.

"Moms, I want to meet the sperm donor." It's a conversation that will take place in more and more households as children born with the help of science come of age. Lisa Cholodenko, the writer and director of The Kids Are All Right, explores it on the big screen. And, in the future, she and her partner will likely have the talk with their own son, who was born through artificial insemination. (Interestingly enough, Cholodenko's writing partner, Stuart Blumberg, was a sperm donor in college.) We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions at the San Francisco junket.

LilSugar: When creating Mark Ruffalo's character, Paul (the sperm donor), how did you decide to make him this man who gets the call (about meeting his kids) and says, OK? There weren't pinnacle moments in his decision making.

Lisa Cholodenko: I think at a certain point after you get the kind of basic idea, you have to figure out what stays and what goes. At a point in the writing process and long deliberation, he was a more favored character and took 20 pages instead of five pages to figure out and then you said, well let's get the show on the road - what's the plot? Where are we going with this? Is it about him deliberating or is it about the meeting and the impact on the family? You are sculpting this beast and you don't really know where it's going to go and slowly kind of the real story emerges and you realize how much you have to trim here and there to get it moving. So it was get the show on the road, what's the shorthand of this guy, how can we get there, and say enough about him and give him the due diligence that he needs to get sympathy for the character.

LS: Wine is sort of seen as an acceptable way for a mother to drink. What made you decide to write Nic's drinking in and have wine be her vice?

LC: It just seemed like something that would be a good detail for that character. This person (Nic) who is really trying to keep things together - like suffocating and choking herself, and self-control and what not, and also felt like it was funny because it gave us a lot of for comedic moments and also played into the kind of irony. It's a drug like anything if you get sauced every night. But, also that it was a kind of a shorthand to show that here's this person who's probably actually really having a lot of feeling and anxieties that she's trying to clamp down and in a certain way have her be kind of an acceptable lush or whatever was a way to show that she's pretty vulnerable.

Would You Break the Law to Save Your Child's Life?

Heather Maddan — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:00:06 PST

Are laws meant to be broken when your child's life is at stake? Inhale is a phenomenal film that explores the lengths that law abiding citizens and parents Paul and Diane Stanton (Dermot Mulroney and Diane Kruger) take to try and save their ailing daughter Chloe's (Mia Stallard) life as she waits for a lung transplant. The movie is incredibly difficult to watch at points as it explores illegal organ trafficking, but the flick also poses an intense ethical question. What would you do?

Surviving Loss: The Tear Inducing Rabbit Hole Trailer

Heather Maddan — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:00:24 PDT

Just the thought leaves a lump in a mother's throat. It's impossible to fathom how parents deal with losing a child, but they do - they survive. In John Cameron Mitchell's latest film, Rabbit Hole, Becca and Howie Corbett (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) cope with the unexpected death of their young son. It looks to be a compelling film; when it hits theaters in December, will you go see it?

Waiting For Superman: Interview With Davis Guggenheim

LilSugar — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:00:00 PDT

Quality education isn't guaranteed in America, but it should be. Davis Guggenheim follows five students and their parents as they try to navigate the public school system in Waiting For Superman. The poignant film exposes what the director calls "a system that's built for adults, but not really (one) to serve the kids." I recently interviewed the director while he was in San Francisco.

LilSugar: Is this film "Superman"? You bring up some of what people already know and much of what they don't in the documentary. Did you make this movie with the intention to save the public school system, or did it evolve as you were filming?

Davis Guggenheim: What's amazing about public education is that everyone wants great schools. It's not like they are going to argue about that. The problem is people (over time), they give up because they think it's too complicated or it's impossible to fix. And, I'm trying to make a movie to get people to care again and to believe it's possible and to fight so every kid can get a great education.

LS: Are parents who choose to send their children to private school exacerbating the problem, or helping because then there is then less competition to get in the good public schools?

DG: I take my three kids to a private school and I drive past three public schools on the way and it haunts me because the kids in my neighborhood aren't getting what my kids have. What about those kids, don't they deserve what my kids are getting? And, I also feel like my kids are missing out - they aren't going to their neighborhood school. I'm part of the problem and sort of creating this double system where some kids get a good education and some kids don't. I started the movie saying I'm part of the problem. I'm lucky and I think that has to change. I've seen parents go to extreme measures to find a good school for their children and it shouldn't end there. You should say I'm going to do what's right for my kid and go the extra mile to help other kids. My wife and I went to our public school and we offered our help and want to be good neighbors so we keep going back. We aren't going to fix our schools until everyone is outraged and demands that all of our schools work.

To see the length of time Guggenheim believes it will take to solve this problem,

LS: Watching the portion of the film about the rubber room (where teachers sit and do nothing all day) and the lemon dance (where bad, tenured teachers are traded) was infuriating. A viewer leaves the theater wondering how they can help. There seems to be money, but it's in the wrong places. There seems to be people who care, but their hands are tied. How can someone make a difference?

DG: A movie is really great for bringing people together. You can go to our website and pledge to see the movie. You can actually bring your group to see the movie and you can discuss the issues within that group. You may disagree with parts of it (the film), but a movie can really focus people and say - this is urgent and it affects you. We're kinda stuck in a rut right now and the first step to fixing our schools is to see the movie. That's not that hard.

LS: The documentary talks about the decline of the school system and how many presidents (over decades) have allowed the country sit in this mess. How long will it take to get out of it?

DG: Change can happen really fast. Before WWII, we could only make a couple planes a year. And when we all got excited and committed, we made thousands of planes a year. And when there's political will in America - America's kinda slow to react. In history, we didn't really want to deal with WWII and then when we did, we jumped right in. We've been not wanting to deal with our schools and if we could jump right in - the solutions are there. (We need to create) a next generation of great teachers, our best and our brightest - development them, encourage them, pay them. Then reform the schools and tear down the bureaucracies and put the money into the hands of principals. Train principals to do a great job. If there's a will, it can happen fast.

America Gets Schooled: Is Your Child Getting the Best Education?

LilSugar — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:00:00 PDT

Kids are back in class, but are you happy with your child's education? Parents want the best for their children so some responsibility falls on moms and dads to make sure that the public (and private) schools in America provide kids with a bright future. The country's success depends on it. How do you feel about the system?

Check back on Lil for our interview with director of Waiting For Superman and father of three Davis Guggenheim.