That'll Do, Pig

Week of April 17-23, 2010

Pick of the Week:
Babe: Pig in the City (1998 G - HBOFM Fri 4/23, 9:00am)
The Babe films are two of my favorite movies (yes, favorite movies, not just kid movies). And the sequel couldn't have surprised me more. Taking the original characters from the sweet little pig movie and throwing them into a surreal cityscape inhabited by a dysfunctional animal circus family, it's dark and sad and and tense and beautiful and complicated and loving and ultimately uplifting. Just what life and art - and family movies - should be about.

Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979 G - HMC Friday 4/23, 7am)
(AKA Spaceman in King Arthur's Court)
This is not great cinema, but your kids won't mind. Loosely based on Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, it's got space travel, an android twin, jousting, and a goose. It harkens back to a time when Disney movies weren't based only on the Happy Meal toy and the Christmas release.

Ratatouille (2007 PG-13 - ABCFM Saturday 4/24, 5pm)
I'll watch anything Brad Bird does (The Incredibles, Iron Giant). This engaging story about a rat who loves to cook should be in your DVD collection, but tivo it if it's not. I sort of resisted this when it was in theaters, cause it looked a little trite. But it's a great story with real drama and great characters and wonderful performances including Patton Oswald as a rat with a big talent and heart to match.

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975 PG - Starz Sunday 4/18, 8pm)
As one of the two movies I saw with my dad when I was a kid, this pick is a little self-indulgent nostalgia for me. But it's a great aviation drama with fantastic stunt flying -- before CGI made everything easy. It's a buddy movie with Robert Redford as a barnstormer. It may be a little slow for the little fellas, but it's a great film.

Aliens of the Deep (2005 G - HDNMV Saturday 4/24, 4:45am )
Growing up wanting to be either an astronaut or a marine biologist, this documentary hits a sweet spot that I get to continue to explore with my kids. Even though we missed it in 3d IMAX, it should hold up fine in HD.