Summer means three things in our house: school's out, the beach is in, and of course, it's time to savor the studio blockbusters! Here's what you can look forward to in the next three months:
"Up" Will Raise Your Spirits: Pixar's dazzling animated tale debuts this weekend after having opened the Cannes Film Festival to ecstatic reviews. In this tale, a grumpy elderly man ventures into the sky in a hot air balloon to embark on the journey he never experienced when his wife was still alive. With state of the art technology and stunning visuals, Up is a heartfelt love story about living life to the fullest. Whether the film inspires you to visit an air and space museum, plan a grand adventure of your own, or pick up a forgotten hobby, Up is a wonderful reminder that the passions we cultivate in life make us who we are. Up (May 29, PG)
History On The Big Screen? Night at the Museum 2: Battle at the Smithsonian beat out all the competitors at the box office last weekend, and this romp through the hallowed halls of the world's greatest natural history museum offers families a wonderful way to connect to the past. Our kids were captivated by the cutting edge 3D IMAX experience, and we were thrilled to find ourselves in conversations about Amelia Earhart and ancient immortalized pharaohs as we drove home. (In theaters, PG)
Speaking Of Sequels: X Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek represent the big, tent-pole films of the summer and are fun for kids who are old enough to manage the action sequences (all are in theaters and rated PG-13). The proliferation of sequels in the summer line-up made us feel a little nostalgic, so we shared with our kids that Star Trek was our favorite TV show from the 70's, and have stacked our Netflix queue with movies like The Terminator and Galaxy Quest (a fun send up of Trekkies) so we can keep our kid's film history knowledge up-to-date.
And That Was Just May: June and July promise more silver screen stimulae, from wizards -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17, PG) -- to dinosaurs Land of the Lost (June 5, PG-13) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1, PG). Kids with funny bones will line-up to see Eddie Murphy as a man whose daughter's imagination is fueling his success at work Imagine That, (June 12, PG) and inevitably Jerry Bruckheimer's guinea pig commandos will make your kids squeal in G-Force (July 24, PG).
August Looks Classic: Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki has a new film about a goldfish princess who yearns to be human, Ponyo, (August 14, not yet rated) and Roberto Rodriquez (Spy Kids) has a new fantasy adventure called Shorts (August 7, PG) about a magical rock that grants wishes. Finally, we're pumped to see the Meryl Streep and Amy Adams pairing about Julia Childs and a young chef who cooked every recipe in her famous cookbook; Julia and Julie (Aug 7, PG-13) is really for adults, but we too need something to look forward to!
Dreaming big and adventuring with gusto are sure to be the messages of this summer, if the buzz on Up is any indication - we hope your summer will be filled with both!
Want to receive monthly Teens Off the Couch eBlasts? Click here or email us at info@kidsoffthecouch.com
