1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Wow! What a fun movie. The boys insisted that we see this one in the theater (they really want to show their approval of the Chris Pratt doing Mario’s voice) and I’m so glad we did. We went to our favorite movie theater–Icon Cinema–and it was more packed than I’ve ever seen. I love when folks are excited to see a movie and then the movie itself delivers on the hype and expectations. There was much applause from our theater at the end. I think they did a great job depicting this beloved video game–the story was great, the animation was great and I thought all the voice actors did a fantastic job (you can’t go wrong with Jack Black who voiced Bowser and added all of his signature comedy to the character). It’s rated PG (you can read the parent guide here).
2. A Man Called Otto. I read the book and loved it and Super Rockstar said he was interested in seeing the movie. We both really enjoyed it. It has Tom Hank playing Otto (named Ove in the book version–not sure why they changed it for the movie) who is a grumpy old man that is constantly aggravated with his neighbors and pretty much anyone he encounters. As the story unfolds, we learn that his wife passed away 6 months earlier and he no longer wishes to live. He tries many times to end his life, but every time– something happens to thwart his plan. Also, he is drawn in by a relentlessly kind new neighbor that moves in across the street and forms a friendship with him. It’s a very sweet, touching story of a grieving man coming full circle to re-discovering purpose in life. It’s rated PG-13, but I would caution against kids watching–the scenes where he is attempting to end his life are not graphic but could be disturbing to kids and teens (you can read the parent guide here).
3. The Chosen. If you have not seen this series–I highly recommend it. It follows the life of Jesus ministry as it began–we get to see how he chose his disciples and so many stories from His miracles and parables come to life. There are three seasons to enjoy and you can stream them for free on the Angel Studios App (which you can also cast via Airplay, Chromecast, Roku, etc. to your TV_. It is so, so good and is rated TV-PG (you can read the parent guide here).
I would love to hear our opinions and any suggestions you may have of what to watch.