No More Excuses

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE movies. I love going to the movies, playing them at home, watching them dozens of times - they're a fabulous way to escape. For as much as I enjoy movies, however, I don't watch everything. I do my homework first.

It started quite a few years ago when my sister and I rented the movie "Confidence". We watched about ten minutes before turning it off (I didn't know it was possible to drop the f-bomb that many times in ten minutes). We were able to swap the movie for another one, but after that incident I decided that I didn't want any more surprises.

Enter the internet.

There's no reason for anyone to see a disappointing movie anymore. If your favorite actor is in a new movie, go the homepage and find the director. Then search for the director and see what kinds of movies he/she's done (you can get a list at The Internet Movie Database: www.imdb.com).

If you're still uncertain, you can get the whole scoop at movie review websites. I'm a big fan of Focus on the Families Plugged In Online: www.pluggedinonline.com. The website's focus is to find family friendly movies, so there aren't a lot of films that they endorse; however, I'm not looking for their endorsement. I like that they present thorough details as to what's in the movie (Positive Elements, Spiritual, Sexual, and Violent Content, Profanity, Drugs & Alcohol, and Other Negative Elements).

I've read many reviews for movies that weren't endorsed as family friendly, but that's okay - I still watched the movie because I wasn't looking for family friendly. I've also read some reviews that have made me decide not to see a film (because there was too much swearing or violence). If there's anything listed that I know I won't enjoy, then I simply avoid it.

I say all of this because of an opinion that I recently read about the new Robin Hood movie. The woman was upset and offended because of the sex and violence in the film. It shocked her to see how the screenwriter had interpreted the story and how the director filmed it.

Really??

Lady, it's Ridley Scott and Russel Crowe! Do you remember the film "Gladiator"? Yeah, well, that was them. And have you read the story of Robin Hood? That time period in history - do you know what life was like? Scott doesn't make Disney movies, and I don't think I've ever seen Crowe in a family flick.

I wasn't really interested in the movie BECAUSE I knew Scott and Crowe were involved - they make good movies, but not generally the kind that I watch. After hearing five rave reviews, however, I went...and loved it!

This movie was not typical Scott/Crowe (in my opinion). They had plenty of opportunities to show explicit sex and violence, but they didn't (except with the bad guy who, if you ask me, deserved the ickiest violent scene).

So anyway - that's my plug. Don't whine about what you saw in a movie - there are a dozen great sites online that will help you figure out if it's something you'll enjoy. If it still surprises you, then we'll talk.