1.Downton Abbey. I watched this series on my own WAY back when it was first airing on PBS. I loved it and even got to see the first movie when it came out. With the second movie releasing recently, I mentioned to Super Rockstar that I wanted to eventually see it. A few days later, he just happened to be meeting a friend for lunch who told him how he had watched the entire series with his wife and absolutely loved it. So, I was thrilled when Super Rockstar said he wouldn’t mind watching the TV series and then the movies after. We just finished season 2 and he is HOOKED. I am loving it because he is on the edge of his seat—not knowing what’s going to happen next (he only knows that many characters are killed off because so many have joked about it over the years). I had forgotten so much and am so glad to be re-watching it. It’s rated TV-PG, but I’m not sure that I recommend for kids—there’s a lot of adult situations and includes at least one homosexual character with a kissing scene in the first season. It’s a delightful historical drama from the early 1900’s centered around a magnificent home—Downton Abbey–the Crawley family and their wonderful variety of house servants. I love that it has included in several historical moments—including the Titanic, WWI, the Spanish Flu and much more.
2.Free Guy. We have watched this movie several times now and absolutely love it. It’s about a character named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) playing a bank worker and his rather routine– every day is the same–life in Free City. What he doesn’t know is that he is an NPC (non-player character) in a video game. The whole movie goes back and forth to real life—the creators of the game and folks playing the game—to the game characters and the interactions in this world as Guy has become aware that there is more to his life than he realized. It’s rated PG-13. There’s a lot of foul language, some inappropriate humor and some violence (you can read the parent guide here).
3.Detective Pikachu. This is another Ryan Reynolds classic. He is the voice of Pikachu in this awesome movie that makes the whole world of Pokémon come to life. My younger son, Grayson, is our resident expert on all things Pokémon. It has his very enthusiastic seal of approval. I think it is so cool that they came up with such a great story that includes all the favorites and makes them such a part of every-day life. The story line is that Pokémon are everywhere, and most folks have their own–as kind of a pet of sorts. A character named Tim has found out his detective father has died and when he goes to the city to collect his things, he encounters his Dad’s Pokémon, Pikachu. He also discovers he can understand him. The two find themselves both playing detective as they uncover the mystery of what happened to Tim’s dad. It’s just a great, fun, clean movie. It’s rated PG and I think kids of all ages (especially those that love Pokémon) will love it (you can read the parent guide here).
I would love to hear our opinions and any suggestions you may have of what to watch.