Jess the critic

Okay, so I broke down and went to Blockbuster. I'm trying this month to not spend anything more than necessary. We're still working on it. I don't rent movies that often, but we do borrow them from the library, except lately there's nothing new that I would like to watch or is in watchable condition. So off we went to Blockbuster. I got Penelope and Nim's Island and the girls got My Little Pony (like from when I was little) and Dora.

Penelope is adorable. A large part of the problem with watching movies is being a Christian. If I didn't follow God, I could watch whatever I wanted. Not so much if you are a Christian. So for Penelope, there is magic. She's under a curse. Concerning sex there are no scenes or allusions to it concerning the main characters. I don't know if they got married at the end but they are obviously a couple in a non-PDA sort of way. Two side characters we are told do have pre-marital or extra-marital affairs. One is somewhat necessary to the plot and the other is unnecessary. There are two innuendos, one very blatant and you just wonder where it came from. The other isn't as obvious and while you know what it means, you just wonder why. Penelope is trying to guess what instrument Max plays while her parents watch. Her mother asks what they're doing and the father replies "She's trying to find his instrument." to which her mother asks isn't the man supposed to do that. The is a good bit of beer drinking but no drunen acts of stupidity. There is also a glossed over suicide/feticide that prompts the curse. Of course, it being a secular movie, the Lord's name is used inappropriately a few times and there are a small handful of damns and hells, probably like 4 or 5. There is a scary drawing. But over all it is a really cute adult movie (though I did let the girls watch it knowing that right now it will go over their heads and that they had missed a good bit of it, though if I buy it I won't generally let them; mainly I was watching it and didn't want to turn it off). Unfortunately this is what movies include and this is a pretty clean movie. There just aren't that many really good, cute Christian films. I'm a little tired of 1800 West stories. It can be a little off pace at times, a little jumpy. But I probably will buy it. That plus, I hate to admit it, James McAvoy is pretty cool and I've liked the roles he's done that I've seen. And Christina Ricci is a nostalgia piece to me. I remember watching Addams Family when I was little (I have no clue what my parents where thinking).

As to Nim's Island, it was okay. It is a child's movie, but that's usually what I end up watching since they're usually cleaner than adult movies. Nim is a bit disrespectful to her father, but it's more like she's used to being equal with him. I have kind of been there and so can understand. It's not acceptable, but it is better than her being openly rude and defiant. At one point Jack says thank you to Mother Nature. There are misuses of the Lord's name and again a few cuss words. I just think it's odd that two movies with the same rating (they're both PG) can have such a varied content. Penelope I would have put as PG13 with the infidelity/pregnancy implications, but I also don't want my 13-year-old to think that situations like that are acceptable, even if they are now normal.

My Little Pony wasn't that good, and Dora was Dora. I f you see the movies or have seen them let me know what you think.