The Oscars were recently awarded. I haven't seen any of the major winners other than Big Hero Six, our copy of which was purchased yesterday and it is awesome. We have family movie night most Friday nights. Disney is a frequent choice. Since Pakistan, Disney has been pretty perfectly aligned with our family psyche, delivering winner after winner.
Summer 2012--Katie finally got some much deserved rest and relaxation after a year as a single mother. I promptly ran the kids to the theatre to watch The Avengers. Thus began my at times divisive reputation as "the fun parent."
Spring 2013--Brave arrived in Egypt about 6 months after its U.S. release. It was the first movie we watched in a Cairo theatre, so the experience included cultural enlightenment about talking during movies, intermission, and projectors that break. It took two attempts to see the movie all the way through.
Spring 2013--Wreck-It-Ralph came to us via iTunes about month later and immediately took over as the most-frequently-viewed-and-quoted movie in our library. "Just because I am the bad guy doesn't mean I am a bad guy."
Summer 2013--Oz Great and Powerful got us across the Atlantic ocean twice. Excellent airplane movie. In my view, an underrated gem. "Greatness? No, something better than that. Goodness."
Summer 2013--Monsters University provided Henry's birthday theme and activity. He was not disappointed.
Spring 2014--Frozen. We saw it. We sang it. Caleb and Henry loved it but quickly stopped admitting as much.
Spring 2014--Our spring break in Rome included a theatre viewing of Captain America: Winter Soldier because duh.
Spring 2014--Winter Soldier's success in captivating the family's imagination prompted catch-up viewing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase I and Phase II through Thor: The Dark World. The family that geeks together...
Summer 2014--Maleficent and Planes Fire and Rescue got us through the summer. One of those entertained both parents and children while the other only entertained the children. Can you guess which was which?
Fall 2014--Guardians of the Galaxy is now a family all-time favorite.
Fall 2014--Million Dollar Arm provided excellent Friday night home movie uplift and cultural diversity talking points. It's like Slumdog Millionaire light. Kind of.
Winter 2015--Big Hero 6. "I go front. I go back. I go inside out. And then I go front and back." Also, any movie that makes my kids really want to study science is all right in my book.
Winter 2015--Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day is fun, okay. Just get over your ego and admit that Steve Carrel chasing a kangaroo is fun. More excellent Friday night movie material. We even ended up talking about positive ways to respond to adversity.
Then I look ahead to Marvel Phase III, Star Wars VII - IX, Indiana Jones reboot, and I realize Disney is going to continue dominating our entertainment agenda for a long time.
