Movies to See Instead of Going to the Theater

I'm always a fan of a good movie and usually the summer and Christmas movie runs are eagerly anticipated around here but this year? Pretty disappointing. There isn't really anything I'm particularly interested in seeing--certainly not Robert Downey, Jr. butchering Sherlock Holmes as dramatically as Stephanie Meyer butchered vampires and werewolves. Apparently the pen is definitely more destructive than the wooden stake and poor Bram Stoker must be rolling in his grave.

But ah me, it's just as well--tickets are nearly $10 and there are only a handful of films that could possibly qualify as being worth that kind of money.

SO . . . we'll be watching movies at home this Christmas and enjoying a comfy sofa and popcorn that doesn't cost $17 per ounce of buttery goodness.

The hardest thing about watching movies at home, however, is that with six people in the room it's hard to find things that are appropriate for all. So today I'm listing some of the movies that we all enjoy for a family movie night together. Some of them are good for younger children but most are things I'm comfortable letting my 10, 13 and 15 year olds see. If you have any recommendations of your own please let me know because I'm always on the lookout.

1. The Guns of Navarone
Not for small children but if you happen to have a teen boy in the house this is a must-see. Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn form part of a World War II special-ops team assigned to destroy the gigantic guns guarding the Greek island of Navarone in time for the British to come to the rescue of the doomed prisoners.

It's one of my favorite macho war movies, right up there with The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape (also great films) and while not everyone in the house is a war movie aficionado it's still a great movie. Suspenseful and well-acted as you'd expect with a cast like that. No rating on this one because it was made in 1961 though it is in color, don't worry. If I try to throw a black and white classic at them it's complete and total anarchy, I do know my limitations.

2. Castaway
I'm partial to Tom Hanks movies with the kids because so many are clean and well-made. We watched Joe v. The Volcano the week of Thanksgiving which is quirky and odd but strangely appealing. Probably because Meg Ryan has some lines to hoot over.

"I have no response to that."

But I digress. The subject is Castaway, the movie that takes Robinson Crusoe to the level of reality television and succeeds marvelously. My boys like it for the adventure angle and my girl likes it for the romance (plus adventure). It is rated PG-13, which you can't dismiss lightly, but it's for intense action sequences (like a ginormous plane going down in a scene that rivals the train wreck in The Fugitive for intensity--man I nearly went into labor with Grace right there in the theater when I saw that for the first time. Not a good movie to see while 9 months pregnant.) Otherwise it's clean.

3. Silverado
Another manly movie. I like westerns okay, it's not as if I'm haunting Clint Eastwood or anything, but this . . . THIS movie is a favorite. The cast is all-star: Danny Glover, Kevin Costner, Brian Denehy, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, John Cleese, Scott Glenn and others I can't quite recall right now. All westerns are essentially the same--guns, shooting, revenge, injustice followed by eventual justice, the savagery of nature and the savage nature of men--and this one follows the formula wonderfully.

Again, it's PG-13 so it's not good for small kids, but it's rated that for the shooting that goes on and the cowboys do occasionally have colorful cowboy mouths but it's not heavy stuff and my boys loved the movie.

4. The Man Who Knew Too Little
If you're a Hitchcock fan you'll recognize the pun in the title and it ought to give you an idea of the fun you're in for. Bill Murray can be sooooo funny and this is my favorite movie he's made. It's full of hysterically quotable lines and funny scenes that we'll still laugh about.

Murray plays a dingaling guy (which I know is a given) come to visit his brother (Peter Gallagher) in London as a surprise. The surprise comes at a bad time so the brother unloads Murray for the night by buying him tickets to an experimental theater show called "The Theater of Life" where people can pay to participate in a scripted spy caper--kind of a live-action version of choose your own adventure.

The only problem is (and there's always a problem, right?) Murray gets twisted around and gets himself involved in a real spy caper, thinking it's fake and he bungles through as only Bill Murray can. Rated PG.

5. Apollo 13
See? Another Tom Hanks movie. Told you I liked him (but then who doesn't?).

You probably remember this film about the 1970 Apollo 13 moon voyage where the famous "Houston, we have a problem" line was uttered but if you haven't seen it you must. A great movie and historical films are always good for talking about afterward and inspiring further study. I'd also recommend Spartacus, A Man for All Seasons, Amadeus, Ghosts of Mississippi, Gandhi and Memphis Belle as good historical movies and I'm sure there are plenty more that I just can't recall right now.

Rated PG

6. Operation Condor
James Bond is always fun but Jackie Chan is even more fun (unless we're talking Casino Royale, then forget it, James Bond is definitely better).

The problem is, Bond isn't exactly the greatest role model for children and you know what I mean. Try Jackie instead--and while there's plenty of punching and dodging and kicking and bullets flying it's not gory and you won't see him with a martini or a babe in bed. Other martial arts movies tend to take themselves way too seriously but this one is played for the comedy (I still do not get Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger--what was up with that flaky ending???)

Operation Condor is his best movie, while some of the others are fun they tend to fall into this tumble mess of Hong Kong city scenes and dubbed second-rate actors. It's PG-13 for the action.

7. Sky High
Okay NOW we've got movies for smaller kids though the great thing about this one is it's enjoyable enough that adults can watch it too. The premise is that this kid is the child of two superheroes and just like Harry Potter gets called into Hogwarts at age 11 this young super guy gets to go to the high school for super heroes: Sky High.

Honestly? It's Kurt Russell's funniest role and the lines actually get you chuckling. There are sappy kid movies that are a drain to sit through and then there are those that take pity on us as parents and give us something we can enjoy too.

As with all Hollywood successes the film inspired a knockoff called Zoom which stunk. Don't bother with it, stick with this one and enjoy. Rated PG.

8. The Kid
The movie where Bruce Willis made his transition from hardened NYC cop fighting super bad guys to sensitive leading man not afraid to show his vulnerability though the real star of the movie is the kid himself. The boy who plays Bruce's younger self with all his lisping, chubby cuteness.

Bruce goes back in time to meet up with his younger 10 year-old self to determine why his life hasn't turned out quite the way he'd originally intended and of course goes through all that self-discovery, repentance and resolution that you'd expect from the screen writers guild.

Again, a movie that's good for adults and kids alike, rated PG.

9. Secondhand Lions
Don't be fooled and think that because this is possibly the sweetest most endearing movie ever made that it's just for kids or that it's all cheese and sugar. With Michael Caine and Robert Duvall you can expect that it's a first-class production and it is a fabulous movie for the whole family.

A boy on his way to being a man is foisted on his elderly uncles living in the middle of the Heartland. The men are eccentric but wise and full of stories and advice that is just what the boy needs and just what we need to keep us watching and chuckling and enjoying ourselves when we watch it.

I don't know why movies like this are considered "family" movies, they ought to just be considered "excellent" and leave it at that. I see no reason why they should be shoved off into a separate category merely because they're devoid of offensive material. End of tirade.

Definitely an A movie, rated PG.

10. Willow
Another Ron Howard film and a favorite from the 80s. Not at good as Lord of the Rings but then what is? And while it's not as good it's funnier, which I do appreciate--thanks Ron.

I've tried to hit all sorts of genres with this list and here's my nod to fantasy, this mini epic (is that an oxymoron?) follows our heroes (including Val Kilmer) as they try to save the world from the evil queen while rescuing the child of which it has been prophesied that salvation would come. Got it?

Watch the brownies, they're a crack-up. And while the costumes, set and cinematography aren't exactly Peter Jackson it's a fun movie that gives you plenty to enjoy--rather like The Princess Bride. Rated PG.

11. Without a Clue
If you're going to mess with Sherlock Holmes then THIS is how you do it. Take notice Robert Downey, Jr--Michael Caine takes on the role with Ben Kingsley as the ever-present Dr. Watson but the twist is that Holmes is a complete idiot and Watson is the brains of the operation. Holmes, an out-of-work actor, is hired by Watson to increase his street cred with the guys at Scotland Yard and things go off from there.

Great comedy, AND it includes the bonus of having Ed Rooney (remember Ferris Beuller?) playing Inspector Lastrade, the only man possibly as stupid as Holmes himself.

Rated PG. And if you like this you might try Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Caine and Steve Martin, another classic comedy that I love love love which is also PG.

12. The Rookie
Sports movie? Check. This one's good though there is also Rudy, Remember the Titans, Rookie of the Year, Cool Runnings and Little Big League as well, depending on the age you're trying to entertain. Oh, and Invincible is pretty good too--though that's for older kids.

I like sports movies well enough, they're all pretty much the same, and this one follows the tracks with reliability.

Rated G though and I have to at least give it a mention--when was the last time they made a G movie at all, let alone one that adults could sit through as well? You kind of have to go back to the Disney princess era for that.

13. Ever After
Speaking of Disney princesses, here's the girliest movie on the list and it's a great one. Ever After is the live-action Cinderella story, told with plausibility as if you were trying to explain how it could have really happened.

Drew Barrymore is fun, the clothes are beautiful, the movie is romantic without being saccharine and I give it two thumbs up. It's rated PG-13 for "brief intense language" but honestly? I can't remember ever hearing anything at all like that--I must have missed it because it seemed squeaky-clean to me.

It even has it's fun lines and chuckles too.

14. Galaxy Quest
Can you tell I'm more inclined to a movie if it's funny? This one is great, it's really a spoof on Star Trek and it cracks me up.

Tim Allen, that guy from Monk, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Richman--great cast, funny lines, clever scenario, it's all there and if you haven't seen it you're missing out.

Oh, and it also has that guy from the Mac commercials (I don't know his name) that makes Macs look cooler than PCs. He's in it.

Though I warn you, you'll never look at Gilligan's Island the same way again (inside joke--watch the movie). Never. Rated PG.

15. Nicholas Nickleby
And my nod to period movies. This one is touching, sweet, well-made, and thoroughly a thrill. And while it has those typical moments of Dickensian squalor and abject human suffering it's not a bad movie to watch together because you can then talk a bit about what you saw. My kids got pretty choked up over the plight of poor Smike.

I'm talking about the 2003 version with Anne Hathaway and Allen Cummings and the rest of the fabulous cast. And if you like period movies then there's always of course Pride and Prejudice and the whole Jane Austen collection but this one is probably the best for younger kids. Just an opinion.

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