Django Unchained: Tarantino surprises, as usual

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 14 February 2013 13:58

As we savor Oscar season — and the best films of the year fill theaters — the Reel Dad checks out the nutritional value of the nominees. This week’s pick is Django Unchained, a nominee for five Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Few look at the world the same way as Quentin Tarantino.

No matter what this director may view, he sees beyond the traditional setting, situation or moment. He takes what is and magically translates it into what could be. And he makes us believe in the journey, no matter how improbable the destination may be.

Amour: Moving examination of aging

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 07 February 2013 13:34

As we savor Oscar season — and the best films of the year fill theaters — the Reel Dad checks out the nutritional value of the nominees. This week’s pick is the family drama, Amour, a nominee for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay and Foreign Language Film.

No matter how we may try, we cannot stop the passage of time. Every year we experience reduces how much time we can anticipate. Yet no matter how quickly our lives may pass, some chapters seem to put life on hold.

Quartet: An entertaining visit to a retirement home

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 31 January 2013 13:37

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help you choose what to watch. This week’s pick is a new film from first-time director Dustin Hoffman, Quartet.

Senior citizens are having a good time at the movies. One the hits of 2012, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, tells the touching story of seniors who support each other through changes in their lives. The legendary Jane Fonda returns to the screen as a senior who chooses to move in with her friends in All Together and Michael Haneke’s meaningful Amour, about two retired music teachers, is an Oscar nominee for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Film.

Joining this slate of movies about seniors is Quartet, the first film directed by actor Dustin Hoffman. This entertaining visit to a retirement home for professional musicians may not develop its characters as effectively as Marigold Hotel or offer its leading lady as many moments as Fonda receives, or offer the insight of Amour into aging. But this tasty movie snack offers marvelous actors moments to shine, even if the film never challenges the mind.

The Impossible: Moving family drama

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 24 January 2013 13:39

As we enter Oscar season — and the best films of the year fill theaters — the Reel Dad checks out the nutritional value of the nominees. This week’s pick is the family drama, The Impossible, for which Naomi Watts is a Best Actress contender.

Silver Linings Playbook: A romantic comedy gem

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 17 January 2013 13:59

As we enter Oscar season — as the best films of the year fill theaters — the Reel Dad checks out the nutritional value of the nominees. This week’s pick is the romantic comedy from writer/director David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook, nominated for eight Academy Awards.

Throughout our lives, we sometimes learn to love the people we love in spite of who they are as much as because of who they are. And the more time we share, the more we realize how essential patience, tolerance and humor can be to a successful relationship. It isn’t always enough to love someone; sometimes we have to learn how to live with their realities, too.

Zero Dark Thirty: Kathryn Bigelow creates movie history

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 10 January 2013 11:54

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help you choose what to watch. This week’s pick is a new film from Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty.

Some movies are so vast in their landscape and ambitious in their reach that they become pieces of history. The movie year 2012 will be remembered for three lasting films that define moments in our national past. Joining the exceptional Lincoln and Argo in this trio is Zero Dark Thirty, a work with power so significant that it will last for generations.

‘The Schumies’: honoring 2012’s films

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Friday, 04 January 2013 11:47

As film critics around the world name the best of 2012, “The Schumies” honor the most nutritious achievements of the movie year!

Baked to Perfection: Lincoln

At a time in our world that demands real leadership, director Steven Spielberg reveals what it takes for a leader to look beyond himself to bring out the best in his nation. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Daniel Day-Lewis explores the President’s mind and heart during a defining moment in our history, strongly supported by Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.

Cream of the Crop: Argo

As the news from the Middle East fills today’s blogs and broadcasts, director Ben Affleck recreates a critical moment of daring, clarity and ingenuity during the Iran crisis that began in 1979. With care and detail, Affleck reminds us that only when we learn from the past can we prepare ourselves for the future.

Cooking with Gas: Django Unchained

Leave it Quentin Tarantino to ring in the New Year with a wildly entertaining romp through the pages of history. In an outrageous tribute to iconic Western films from Hollywood’s past, this creative director delivers a stunning and ultimately moving commentary on the impact of slavery before the Civil War.

Bursting with Flavor: Les Misérables

For everyone who loves this show, the magnificent movie version beautifully honors the original novel by Victor Hugo, celebrates the splendor of the stage production and reinvents the musical film for a new generation. Hugh Jackman is dynamic as the honorable Jean Valjean; Anne Hathaway breathtaking as the tragic Fantine.

Succulent Sensation: Beasts of the Southern Wild 

With life on a Southern delta as a location, and events surrounding a major storm as a catalyst, this lovely films examines how one child learns to save herself, protect her father and nurture the people she cares for. The film also proves that, when the right people are in front of and behind the camera, the budget is irrelevant.

Bringing Home the Bacon: Silver Linings Playbook

The ever-talented director David O. Russell breathes new life into the romantic movie comedy with this delicious dissection of a most complicated relationship between two almost-lost souls. Look for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence to be in the hunt for Oscar nominations for their stunning performances.

Calorie-Free Popcorn: Skyfall

Just when some wondered if James Bond still matters at the movies, Skyfall breathes new life into the franchise. Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes brings an energetic pace and depth of characters rarely seen in the series to a most exciting roller coaster ride that ranks with the best of Bond on screen.

Proof Is in the Pudding: The Master

With this devastating study of self-destruction, director Paul Thomas Anderson proves he is a master cinema chef who dares to challenge with a unique mix of celluloid ingredients. Like the most nutritious films, this fascinating work prompts meaningful discussion of how people behave, what they deny and what lessons they learn.

Slice of Life: Moonrise Kingdom

At its heart, Wes Anderson’s comedy helps us experience how people react differently to the emotional wilderness that even the best-intentioned families create. The writer/director also reminds us that, even when parents do what they think is best, a child surrounded by love may still hurt noew and then.

Re-heatable Favorite: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Like an enjoyable evening with old friends, this film greets us with familiar faces, comforts us with predictable conversation and moves us with a sincerity of spirit. And even though it may all feel a bit familiar, the film welcomes us with open arms. You may want to visit this hotel many times.

Bitter Aftertaste: Anna Karenina

Rather than prepare us for the inevitable tragedy of the story, or move us with complex characters, the movie makers stage the classic story in an exaggerated, theatrical manner that emphasizes the superficiality of the narrative. What may have creatively appealed to them results in a movie as confused as its heroine.

The Movie Menu

What’s on your family’s movie menu this week? Choosing what films to offer is a lot like planning what meals to serve: You want to savor something you will enjoy at the same time you nourish the mind, heart and body. These nutritional movies are available this week on cable for you and your family.

The history of the United States is a fascinating story of brave people daring to conquer new lands. And while there are thousands, perhaps millions of individual tales to mark the evolution of this country, one film captures the essence of the American spirit that shaped this land. How the West Was Won is second best to traveling in time to experience, almost first hand, what early Americans faced as they settled our nation.

This film, showing Saturday at 5 p.m. on Turner Classic Movies, introduces your family to the challenges of the brave men and women who ride the rapids of the rivers, cross the country by covered wagon, fight in the Civil War and, ultimately, defend the new land against criminal elements. Throughout their struggles they define what we commonly label “the American Spirit,” a magical combination of hope, determination and grit, defying the odds to survive and even thrive in an unforgiving wilderness. You will feel their struggle, sadness and joy as they make the new land their own.

Centering the narrative on one family, the fictional Prescotts, helps the film focus its narrative twists and turns on one group of people. Through their ambitions, disappointments, ends and beginnings, we see the evolution of the land through the eyes of illustrative characters on the ground. And we are reminded that nothing came easily in the new land; everything accomplished in America was acquired from hard work, determination and a refusal to ever give up. This is an essential film for families to share.

For unforgettable fun at the movies, Raiders of the Lost Ark is hard to beat. After all, we all wish, at moments, we could be adventurous enough to get the most out of every moment. That’s what Indiana Jones tries to do every time he searches for a rare antiquity. Of the possible characters for an adventure film, this seemingly dull professor may seem the least likely candidate to be the hero. Students in his college archaeology class likely consider him an ordinary oddity with a passion for old rocks. But, because we are at the movies, we know this guy offers more than meets the eye. And, in Raiders, he immediately lets us know that nothing will get in the way of his sense of daring.

This tasty cinema adventure plays with all the things we can and cannot hide. In a perfectly crafted opening, Indiana’s intentions are simple: deliver an antique figurine to a museum at his college. To do that, he must out-run a giant bowling ball, avoid being killed by a slew of poisonous arrows, navigate a squishy floor, outfox an angry tribe of natives and deal with a snake in an airplane, just as the opening credits conclude. The sequence perfectly establishes the film’s balance between real danger and reel heroism as it whets our appetites for what may happen next. And this all happens while the credits roll.

What makes Indiana such an interesting character — and an effective foundation for the story — is he never loses his sense of humor or takes himself too seriously. There is always something going on in his mind. He’s an ordinary guy who happens to land in some extraordinary places and we’re lucky enough to go along for the ride. By making the character vulnerable, capable of fear and heartache, the Spielberg and Lucas create an everyman who quickly connects with an everyday audience. We believe in Indiana from the start. Even when he is tossed into a cave of snakes (which he hates) we know he will think of something. And when he is tied to a stake in the finale, though the outcome doesn’t look promising, we have faith this guy will not let us down. Look for Raiders on Spike at 7 p.m. Friday.

Serving nutritious movies can be as easy as turning on the television. And be sure, as you watch together, to share what you observe, question and consider. Watching movies together can prompt valuable family discussions.

Les Misérables: A moving and meaningful musical

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Friday, 28 December 2012 11:28

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help you choose what to watch. This week’s pick is the new film version of the stage musical Les Misérables.

For everyone who loves the musical Les Misérables on stage, the wait for its transfer to the screen is over and the verdict is in. This magnificent movie beautifully honors the original novel by Victor Hugo, celebrates the splendor of the stage production and reinvents the musical film for a new generation. This is a must-see of the holiday season.

Reflections on movies and children

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 20 December 2012 12:11

Some days we simply need to hug our children.

As we search to understand how a day like Dec. 14 could happen in our part of the world, we savor every opportunity to let the children in our lives know what they mean to others, what their futures hold and how we treasure their presence.

One way to hug our children is to share a movie.

Hyde Park on Hudson: Enjoyable visit with FDR

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 13 December 2012 11:48

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help you choose what to watch. This week’s pick is a new film about Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park on Hudson.