The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming

Movie: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966), Not Rated

Date Watched: October 24th, 2009

Star Your Parents May Know: Carl Reiner, Alan Arkin, Brian Keith (Uncle Bill from Family Affair), Theodore Bikel


Recommendations: 4 stars

Treats Served: My mom was mean enough to not serve us anything.

Summary: A Russian submarine lands accidentally off the coast of Gloucester Island, MA. All the Russian soldiers want is a boat to pull the submarine off the sand bar and leave peacefully. It was the time of the Cold War and the Russians were worried that they would start World War III. Instead of leaving quietly, the soldiers create disturbances on the tiny island.

Even though the Russians only meet a family and and old lady, rumors start spreading quickly and people become confused and panicked.

This funny (not hilarious) movie shows what happens if you spread rumors. It's almost like the game "telephone." You pass on a message and each next person usually mixes it up a little until it gets completely changed. The people of this island go crazy. An old guy who used to be in the Navy started an unorganized army. Others meet at a bar to discuss how to fight back, but they end up drinking instead. One drunk guy goes to get his horse to warn the town people that "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming," except he couldn't catch his horse.

This wasn't a laugh out loud movie, but it was still funny because the people were all so stupid.

Watch the preview and you decide.

My Joke: Do you get beer at a sand bar?

Patchy's Comment: What a bunch of dorks.

Planet of the Apes AND Beneath Planet of the Apes

Movies: Planet of the Apes (1968), Rated G and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Rated G

Date Watched: October 3 and 18th, 2009

Star Your Parents May Know: Charlton Heston



Recommendations:
Planet of the Apes = 4 stars
Beneath the Planet of the Apes = 4 stars

Review:
Monkeys riding horses with guns? People in cages like animals? This the world that Astronaut Taylor crash lands on 2,000 year after he takes off from earth. Taylor finds the apes are in charge of the planet and humans are the animals. The apes speak English and the humans are mute. When Taylor yells, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!," the apes are stunned. (Watch this scene.) The leaders want to kill the dangerous stranger. The scientists, who are chimpanzees, want to study him. Taylor needs to escape the apes and return to earth. He flees with Nova, the mate they gave him. They find the secret only a few apes know.

The story continues in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. A new astronaut, Brent, also crash lands on this planet in search of Astronaut Taylor. He also discovers Nova and that the apes rule. Brent escapes the apes and finds himself in another city underground. This city is ruled by evolved humans who speak into your brain. The apes and the evolved humans both want power. Brent, Taylor and Nova find themselves in the middle of it. As we know from the first movie, power leads to disaster.

I thought both movies were really good. These movies were rated G, but they should actually be PG because there is a lot of shooting people and blood. The main characters in both movies were very interesting. They were very dramatic and to me that made it more realistic. They were always strong and not too scared. The scenery and the apes looked really fake, which made it weird and like the old-fashioned movies, which they are.

I think I'm going to watch the other sequels even though they don't sound too great, but you can watch the trailers and decide.

• Planet of the Apes Trailer
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes: Trailer and watch the whole movie from your computer

Patchy's Comments: He doesn't brush his teeth (referring to Charlton Heston). Re: First movie: This is kind of like the first one.

Dumb and Dumber AND Dumb and Dumberer

Movies: Dumb and Dumber (1994), Not Rated and Dumb and Dumberer (2003), PG-13

Date Watched: September, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels


Recommendations:
Dumb and Dumber = ★★★★★
Dumb and Dumberer = ★

Review: Two nitwits, in a truck that looks like a sheepdog, drive halfway across the country, to give a woman back a lost briefcase. What they don't know is that there is money in the suitcase and two villains are after them. Dumb and Dumber is filled with hilarious scenes like Harry's tongue getting stuck to a ski lift, Lloyd's karate fight with a chef, and Harry's diarrhea explosion.

My favorite scene was when Lloyd and Harry sneak extremely hot peppers into the villain's sandwich. He falls on the ground in pain and asks for his pills. Lloyd and Harry get mixed up and feed him rat poison instead.

The way we found out about Dumb and Dumber was my dad was going to rent it, but he got mixed up and rented Dumb and Dumberer. Now, Dumb and Dumberer is not funny or funnierer. It is the story of Lloyd and Harry when they're younger. It wasn't good because they tried to make it funny and it didn't work. The story wasn't really interesting and the jokes didn't make me laugh.

Let's hope there's never a Dumb and Dumbererer.

Go out and rent Dumb and Dumber, but stay away from Dumb and Dumberer. But watch the trailers and you decide.

Dumb and Dumber Trailer

Dumb and Dumberer Trailer

Here's also a funny clip from the first movie. It's like Tom & Jerry.

Captain Courageous

Movie: Captain Courageous (1937), Not Rated

Date Watched: May 30, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore

Recommendation: ★★★★★

Treats Served: None

Review: Captain Courageous, made in 1937, is a black and white film about a spoiled rich boy, Harvey Cheyne, who gets "rusticated" (expelled) from boarding (sleep away) school for lying and threatening his classmates and a teacher. Harvey's father thinks that Harvey's bad behavior is because he isn't a good father and he has no mother.

To teach Harvey how to be not so creepy and improve their relationship, his father takes Harvey on a cruise...on his own cruise ship. At the very beginning of the trip, Harvey falls of the boat and is rescued by fisherman, Manuel (Spencer Tracy.) Harvey is welcomed onto Manuel's big fishing boat and expects to be treated like a king. He is very mistaken.

Sever months later when the ship gets back to land, Harvey and his father find each other again. Harvey is a better kid now because of his relationship with Manuel. Manuel taught him to fish and he taught him what a good relationship is like. Life on a fishing boat is not like boarding school, so Harvey learned how different people live.

This movie teaches that relationships are important and that you should trat people nicely even if they're different. Freddie Bartholomew does a terrific job of playing the creepy Harvey.

For the next couple of days at my house, whenever I didn't listen, my mom said I was a creep just like Harvey.

I think you should watch this movie. But watch the trailer and you decide.

The Express

Movie: The Express (2008), Rated PG

Date Watched: April 25, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Dennis Quaid, Charles Dutton

Recommendation: ★★★☆☆


Treats Served: Popcorn

Interruptions: First David came and lay down on the couch and talked. Then my mom made him watch the movie. About 10 minutes later, Julia came in asking if she could watch the movie. About a half hour later, we stopped to make popcorn. David left. And Julia and I threw popcorn in the air and tried to catch it in our mouths. Then he came back about 30 minutes later and made Julia leave. Oh, and Hanky meowed the whole time.

Review: The Express is the true story of the short life of Ernie Davis, who became the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. Ernie lived his early childhood with his grandparents until his mom came and got him. He moved with his mom to upstate New York and became the star of the high school football team.

This was a hard time for African-Americans because they weren't treated equally. They couldn't use the same bathrooms as whites. They couldn't stay at the same hotels and they couldn't go to the same restaurants.

It was a hard time for Ernie too. His teammates and people outside of football were mean to him because he was black. Ernie tried to ignore them, but when he couldn't, he outran them. He got his inspiration from Jackie Robinson and his grandfather. When Ernie attended Syracuse University, he learned from Jim Brown, another African-American football player who attended Syracuse.

It was good to learn about Ernie Davis. Even my dad didn't know who he was. I have heard about these times, but this was the first time I actually saw it. It was hard to watch. And my mom said what they were going to say right before they even said it. She said the movie was "predictable."

There were three similarities to Breaking Away. First, Dennis Quaid was in both. Second, they were both about sports. And third, they were both about struggles between two types of people competing against each other.

I think you should watch this movie. But watch the trailer and you decide.

Patchy: Wasn't interested at all in the movie.

Breaking Away

Movie: Breaking Away (1979), Rated PG

Date Watched: April 11, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Dennis Quaid and Jackie Earle Haley (bad boy in Bad News Bears and Little Children)

Recommendation: ★★★★★

Treats Served: Swedish Fish
.

Summary: Breaking Away is about Dave Stohler, a local teenager, who wants to be a champion bicyclist. He pretends to be an Italian college student, but he's really a local boy who just graduated from high school. It's Dave and his lazy friends versus the rich college kids.

Review: Breaking Away is one of the best movies I've seen so far. It was inspiring, interesting and even funny. The lesson I learned was "don't give up." Dave was an amazing bicyclist and very determined. During one race, his favorite Italian team cheats and makes him lose. He goes home, rips down all his bike posters, and temporarily gives up. With the help of his friends and family, Dave decides to compete in a college race. But it's really his confidence that makes good things happen for him.

The movie made me want to compete in a bike race and try to do my best.
However, the movie wasn't all that serious. Dave's relationship with his father, Raymond, wasn't very good, but it was funny. Dave spoke Italian all the time -- even when he spoke English, he spoke in an Italian accent. This drove his father bonkers. His dad thought Dave was always happy and said things like, "When I was his age, I was tired and miserable." Then when Dave becomes tired and miserable, his dad says, "I didn't want him to be this miserable. A little is all I asked for."

There was great Italian opera too!

Watch the trailer and you decide.

Patchy's Memorable Quote: Referring to Dennis Quaid, "Does he have a hair do?" Here's a picture. What do you think?

Parent Advisory: One or two inappropriate words and high romance advisory.

Tom Sawyer

Movie: Tom Sawyer (1973), Rated G

Date Watched: April 2, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Jodie Foster, Johnny Whitaker (Family Affair)

Recommendation: ★★☆☆☆

Treats Served: MoonPies from Jake. (Every month, Jake's grandfather sends him a box full of goodies. This month he got Moon Pies and Cheetos. Jake's mom snuck some MoonPies out for us so she doesn't eat them.) Read about the birth of MoonPies and how they were named.

Summary: Based on the book by Mark Twain, this musical adaptation is about an adventurous Tom Sawyer who gets in trouble almost every time he leaves his house. Tom Sawyer witnesses a murder and it puts him in danger.

Review: About five minutes into the movie they started singing. This is when I figured out it was a musical. I thought it was going to be one of those other boring musicals and it kind of was. It wasn't filled with singing and there was no dancing, but when I read the book I didn't think there would be singing.

The movie used most of the adventures that the book had, but not all. I didn't expect Tom Sawyer to have red hair.

My mom and dad are sort of teaching me what some words in the movie mean. These are the ones I am learning:

Philanderer: someone who flirts with women who are not their wives.
Tom's "fiance" Becky calls Tom a philanderer when she finds out he was ''engaged'' to someone before her. This is funny because they are 11 years old!

Uncouth: rude and uncivilized.
Tom's Aunt Polly called his friend, Huckleberry Finn, uncouth because he never wore shoes, smoked a pipe and never washed.

Cavort: to hang around and have fun with.
Aunt Polly doesn't like Tom Sawyer cavorting with Huckleberry Finn because she thought he was a bad influence. I would like a friend like Huckleberry Finn because he's adventurous.

If anyone wants to borrow my kid's version of Tom Sawyer, I recommend reading that, but not watching the movie. Watch the trailer and you decide.

Patchy's Favorite Part: "When the girl be friends with the boy and when the boy and the other boy be friends again." (Patchy is talking about when Tom Sawyer becomes friends again with both Becky and Huckleberry Finn.)

That Darn Cat

Movie: That Darn Cat (1965), Rated G

Date Watched: March 29, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Dean Jones, Roddy McDowell and the uncle from My Three Sons (William Demarest)

Great Music: "That Darn Cat" by Bobby Darin. Listen here.

Recommendation: ★★★★☆

Treats Served: Pizza and Pam's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Summary: A bank teller, who is kidnapped, slips her watch on a cat hoping for someone to save her. The cat's owner, Patti, discovers the watch and its message. She goes to the FBI and they take on the case by following "That Darn Cat."

Review: Yet another animal movie. While this cat doesn't talk like last week's Shaggy Dog, they both help catch outlaws.

That Darn Cat is a darn cat because he lives for food. "DC" opens doors, tricks dogs, fools people to get any kind of food like sandwiches, dog food, milk and a duck. My cat (who is not a darn cat) used to be the most amazing cat. He could jump incredibly high and some open doors. Now he's almost 18 years old and he lives for scratchies and human food, such as pork and chicken soup, really any kind of meat.

Here are some more funny parts of the movie. One time when the FBI agents were following DC, he went through a window which was the same house where the agents set up their command post. The agents busted into their own headquarter! The FBI agent in charge of the case (Dean Jones from Blackbeard's Ghost) was allergic to cats. So, every time he was near DC, he sneezed.

One of the other funny people in the movie was an old lady who lived next door. She was always snooping around. She looks out her window and even takes her husband's hearing aid to listen in on the neighbor's house. Her husband even calls her "Snoopy."

There's also lots of slapstick humor like food in the face and doors smacking people in the face.

I recommend this movie. Watch the trailer and you decide.

Here are some pictures of cats we know.


Patchy's Favorite Part: When the cat knocks the bad guy down the stairs.

The Shaggy Dog

Movie: The Shaggy Dog (1959), Rated G

Date Watched: March 20, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Fred MacMurray from The Absent-Minded Professor, Tommy Kirk from Swiss Family Robinson and Annette Funicello

Recommendation: ★★★★☆

Interruptions: Patrick
Film Recommended by: Skip, Father of Mabel. See Mabel here:

Treats Served: Spaghetti
We were going to have the famous cookies by Pam (Mabel's mom), but we didn't have time to make them. I haven't really met Mabel because Skip and Pam put her in the back room so she doesn't bite anyone.

Summary: A teenage boy turns into a shaggy dog and he catches spies.

Review: There were lots of funny parts in this movie. First the family has weird names: Wilby (the boy/dog) and Moochie (the little brother.) Second, the dad (Wilson) HATES dogs, which causes problems when his own son turns into a dog.

When Wilby turns into a dog, it is hilarious. His hair starts growing and turning gray, his nose becomes a big round, wet ball, and then he becomes a dog. A professor explains to Wilby that he is a "shape shifter." My dad tells me shape shifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore thats involves physical changes between human form and that of an animal, plant or object. I read about shape shifters before in Harry Potter. (One example is Sirius Black who can turn into a black dog named Padfoot.)

Here's what Wilby is like when he's a dog: he speaks like himself, he brushes his teeth, puts on pajamas and goes to the bathroom in a toilet. He doesn't turn into just any dog, he turns into the dog of the new neighbors. This is good because he can go into their house without suspicion....and it turns out that the dad is a spy.

I'm not going to tell you what happens, but Wilby's dad ends up being a dog lover.

Watch the clip of Wilby's dad finding out that he has a four-legged son...and you decide.

Patchy's Favorite Part:"The one when he turns into a dog."

The Absent Minded Professor

Movie: The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Rated G

Date Watched: March 14, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Fred MacMurray from My Three Sons and Double Indemnity

Recommendation: ★★★★☆

Treats Served: Pizza from Pizza Plus.

Summary: A forgetful science professor comes up with a new energy called Flubber -- rubber that flies. His college is going to be closed down because it was running out of money. He tries to use his invention to save the college and to impress his girlfriend.

Review: I thought that the movie was interesting because Professor Brainard came up with a new energy by accident while he was experimenting when he was supposed to be at his own wedding. It also had some funny parts. One of the funny parts was when Mr. Hawk (the man who was trying to steal the invention) put flubber on his shoes and started bouncing and couldn't stop. So the fire department came and tried to get him to stop bouncing, but it didn't work, so the football team tackled him.

This movie reminds me of other movies. First, it reminds me of Blackbeard's Ghost because mysterious things happen. Second, it is like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because there is a flying car. Third, is my mom's movie, Earth: The Sequel, because it was about creating new kinds of energy just like this movie.

This was a good movie so I think you should go out and rent it.

Watch the clip of the incredible flying rubber that bounces higher each bounce... and you decide.


Patchy's Favorite Part: The flying part.

Blackbeard's Ghost

Movie: Blackbeard's Ghost, 1968, Rated

Date Watched: Saturday, March 7, 2009

Stars Your Parents May Know: Dean Jones (from The Love Bug), Peter Ustinov and Suzanne Pleshette

Recommendation: ★★★★☆

Treats Served: Chocolate pretzels

Guest: Sam D.


Summary: Steve Walker moves to town to become the new college track coach. He goes to live at the hotel where the famous pirate Blackbeard died. After saying a magic spell, Blackbeard appears again. He mainly causes a lot of trouble, but then he saves the hotel from bad guys who were trying to close it.

Review: I thought "Blackbeard's Ghost" was going to be a scary movie, but it turned out to be really funny. Sam D kept on saying "this is the funniest movie in the world." Only Steve Walker can see Blackbeard's Ghost. All Blackbeard does is drink rum, misbehave and get Steve Walker into trouble.

Picture this: bad guys getting flipped over in the air...by nothing, a bottle of rum floating around and a motorcycle going fast with no driver. But Blackbeard's Ghost is the cause of all of this. And Steve Walker always gets the blame.

I recommend this hilarious movie.

Watch the clip and decide for your self.

Patchy's Favorite Part: The girl in the painting.

<--- Patchy

The Apple Dumpling Gang

Movie: The Apple Dumpling Gang, 1975, Rated G

Stars Your Parents May Know: Don Knotts, Col. Potter from MASH

Date Watched: Saturday, February 28, 2009

Recommendation: ★★☆☆☆


Treats Served: Chinese Food from Red Hot Szechuan and Gummy Bears from Russ & Daughters, courtesy of John Andrus.


Interruptions: 2 -- The DVD had scratches and my mom had to take it out and rub toothpaste on it. Our 18-year-old cat, Hanky, yowled the whole movie.

Summary: A man gets tricked into caring for three orphaned kids who find a huge gold nugget and then everyone in the old Western town wants to adopt them.

Review: I really wanted to see this movie because Don Knotts was in it and the other movie with Don Knots (The Incredible Mr. Limpet) was great. In the first five seconds I was already laughing. Theodore (Don Knotts) hid behind bushes from a guy riding on a horse and he took out his gun and his gun broke. After this, there weren't many funny parts. It was not a really good movie because nothing really happened.

One of the few things I liked in the movie was the sound effects. One time, one of the bad guys cracked his partner's back and it made a big cracking noise. And another time, the ladies from the town were trying to get a hold of the little girl because she found the gold nugget and there was a big ripping sound when they ripped her dress when they were pulling her.

I didn't really like this movie, but watch the trailer and decide for yourself.

Patchy's Favorite Part: The bad guy part.

Swiss Family Robinson

Movie: Swiss Family Robinson, 1960, Rated G

Stars Your Parents May Know: The oldest kid, Fritz, played by James MacArthur, went on to star as Danno in Hawaii 5-0.

Date Watched: Saturday, February 21, 2009


Recommendation: ★★★★★

Treats Served: Heather's Chocolate Chip Peanut
Butter Oatmeal Cookies...Click here for recipe And fudge (see below).

Interruptions: 1 -- Annie & Julia bringing fudge.

Summary: A family gets shipwrecked near an island and they make a home there out of tree houses and they make friends with animals and battle pirates.

Review: I've always wanted to live in a tree house with trap doors and pulleys. Becoming friends with a zebra, monkey and elephant would be extra great. That's what happens in Swiss Family Robinson. This was the best movie I've watched on Movie Night so far. There was always something exciting happening like when the older boys got attacked by an anaconda in a dark swamp and when they captured an ostrich and tried to ride him...and kept falling off.

My favorite character was the youngest boy, Francis. He seemed like six. Francis liked animals a lot. He catches and befriends a baby elephant, a monkey, two Great Danes (dogs) from the ship, and an ostrich. One of the brothers always thought that Francis' ideas were stupid, like hanging meat over a covered pit so the tiger would fall in. His trick actually worked and some of the pirates fell in.

We can't find a trailer for this movie, but I think you should definitely go and rent it.

Patchy's Favorite Part: When the pirates felled off the rocks on the mountain.

Dr. Dolittle

Movie: Dr. Dolittle, 1967, Rated G

Date Watched: Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Recommendation: ★★☆☆☆

Treats Served: No treats. We ate scrambled eggs and honey toast while watching.

Summary: This movie is about an animal doctor who can talk to animals who escapes jail and leaves England to find the Great Pink Snail. We watched the original, not the one with Eddie Murphy.

Review: This was a very long movie. It was 151 minutes. If you don't mind Dr. Dolittle talking to animals for 2 hours and 31 minutes, then you'll like this movie. I, however, thought it was boring.

There were some good parts though. Dr. Dolittle's pet monkey cooked everything for him. He danced with a "push me pull you," which is a two llamas stuck together with two heads and no bottom. He also dressed up a sea lion as a girl.

I don't really recommend this movie, but watch the trailer and decide for yourself.

Patchy's Favorite Part: The one with the two llamas stuck together and the jail part too.

The Incredible Mr. Limpet

Movie: The Incredible Mr. Limpet, 1964, Rated G

Stars Your Parents May Know: Don Knots

Date Watched: Saturday, January 10, 2009

Recommendation: ★★★★★

Treats Served: Popcorn

Summary: A man who loves fish so much turns into a fish. He goes on to help the American Navy and the United States win World War II...as a fish.

Review: This movie, starring bug-eyed Don Knotts, is really incredible! Part of it is animated and the other part is with real people. It takes place in Brooklyn: Flatbush, Coney Island and under the sea. I recommend this movie because it is very funny and sort of stupid. Can you imagine a regular man who turns into a fish and can still speak to humans? Mr. Limpet looks like a nerdy person with big round glasses. When he's in animated fish form, he still has glasses and has big, shiny white teeth.

See?

My favorite characer is Crusty, the crabby crab. Mr. Limpet tells Crusty he's originally from Flatbush, so the crab calls him "Flatbush" for the rest of the movie. When Mr. Limpet is a fish, he tells the Navy where the German submarines are so they can blow them up. He becomes a hero and gets married to another fish, named "Ladyfish."

Watch the trailer and you decide.

Patchy's Favorite Part: Can we watch it again?

Spaceballs

Movie: Space Balls, 1987, PG

Stars Your Parents May Know: Mel Brooks

Date Watched: Saturday, January 3, 2009

Recommendation: ★★★☆☆


Guests: Aren (9) and his brother Will (4)

Summary: A funny version of Star Wars where a princess escapes her own wedding and gets captured by the bad "Spaceballs" and the "Lonestarr" (Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo character) has to save her.

Review: It wasn't a very appropriate movie for Will and my brother Patchy. My mom says it wasn't even appropriate for me and Aren too. But I thought it was really funny and I understood half of it. There were lots of "weenie" jokes. There was a bumper sticker on Princess Vespa's ship that said, "I love Uranus." The final battle between the Lonestarr and Dark Helmet started out like this:

The "Schwarz" is a different version of "the Force"...as in "May the Schwarz be with you."

If you convince your parents to rent the movie, I think it's a good way to spend my time (but my parents don't.) So... Watch the trailer and decide for yourself.

Patchy's Favorite Part: The one with the princess' bent nose.

Parental Advisory: Oops. Should be PG-13 unless inappropriate jokes are your style of parenting...And don't invite someone else's four-year old over to watch too!