Everything But Horror

Opening in Theaters: Can humans and animals live together in peace without driving each other crazy? Or eating one another? Good questions both, and they are both addressed, if not completely answered, in My Penguin Friend. The first question adults might ask, though, is different: why bother to see a movie so clearly aimed at children? Indeed, the poster shows a cheerful Jean Reno locking eyes with an adorable penguin in his arms, with a beaming young child delightedly showing her approval.

Now Streaming: In the 1960s, I watched Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color every Sunday evening on our family's black-and-white (?!) television, often in the company of my older brother and younger sister, with my parents hoving around the house. It was there that I caught my first early glimpses, I believe, of Disney's True-Life Adventures series of documentary shorts and feature films, which were produced during from 1948-1960.

Turning 11 can be traumatic for anyone. Tola, however, is not just anyone. Voiced by young Nigerian actress Simisola Gbadamosi, Tola is bright, cheerful, and smart. She bounces around on her hoverboard inside the luxurious family home -- located in Lagos, Nigeria, on an island reserved for the wealthy -- with boundless energy, making preparations for her birthday party with the assistance of a household robot, similarly equipped with the power of flight.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Columbia Pictures) The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Studios) Elemental (Walt Disney Studios) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount Pictures) Ruby Gilman: Teenage Kraken (Dreamworks) Rally Road Racers (Viva Pictures) Lonely Castle in the Mirror (GKids) The summer movie season stretches from May 5 through September, according to Box Office Mojo, which means a few days remain for the box office totals to change a bit, but I think the summary...

Now Streaming: Known for terrorizing a family with demon possession, William Friedkin, who recently passed away at the age of 87, never directed a movie that was targeted at the younger demographic. To be fair, I've never seen The Brinks Job (1978), nor Deal of the Century (1983), the latter of which I actively avoided upon its initial theatrical release, owing to its goofy reputation.

Now Streaming: As much fun as watching someone else’s kids play a video game. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is not something I would usually choose to watch on a Saturday afternoon, but here’s the thing: film critics are beholden to advance screenings and paltry payments, if any, so the luxury of catching up with new releases in theaters is often much more limited than you might imagine -- it's expensive to watch multiple movies in a single month -- which means that some (many?

Now Streaming: Harrison Ford began flight training in the 1960s when he was living in Wisconsin, where he attended college, but he couldn't afford to continue the lessons. After he moved to California, began his acting career, and eventually made a mark as smuggler and starship pilot Han Solo in Star Wars (1977), Ford played non-starship pilots in two succeeding films, Force 10 From Navarone (1978) and Hanover Street (1979). Both films are set during World War II.

Now Streaming: The newest animated series from Disney debuted on their Disney Plus streaming service yesterday, which means you need to watch it today, for fear that it may be gone tomorrow, and you might therefore miss out on seeing ten blasts of refreshing entertainment.

Alan Arkin recently passed away at the age of 89, after a remarkable career that began in the late 1950s. I first saw him in Norman Jewison's The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966).

Now Streaming: As plucky heroine Annie says early, "You're safe here. That's what people say before they die." The first animated production in the so-called MonsterVerse is also its most family-friendly, which doesn't mean, however, that children of all ages should be invited to gather around the television and watch the eight-episode series.