Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

Our 13-year-old youth film critics really loved this film. Here’s what they have to say:

X-Men First Class is an epic adventure revealing the origins of the X-Men Saga.  It is set in the 1960s at the beginning of the Space Age and at the height of the Cold War.  Russia and the U.S.A are on the brink of a nuclear war, endangering the whole world.
 
Before they took the names of Professor X and Magneto, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) were two youthful mutant men just discovering their powers. They search for other mutants, like themselves, to recruit so they can band together and stop a very great threat to the world.

X-Men First Class answers a lot of questions that have interested many fans since X-Men came out, such as:  how did Charles get put in a Wheelchair, how they got their names Magneto and Professor X, and how the X-Men got together in the first place. 
 
The acting in this character driven movie is great and was cast really well, especially Kevin Bacon as the evil Sabastian Shaw and Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique. There are a lot of psychological parts during the movie, and it’s not just comic book action. You really can get the emotional depth. This movie had messages in it. Mystique in this movie started out not liking herself at all, trying to cover up who she was, she was ashamed of who she was.  By the end, though, Mystique learns to except herself and before she leaves says, “Mutant, and proud!” This means that you should accept yourself and be who you want to be.
 
The action scenes in this movie were very well set up and suspenseful, you couldn’t have the movie or the storyline without it. This movie was pretty violent, has a lot of fighting, and some traumatic scenes (like when the nazi Schmit shoots Erik’s mom right in front of him.)  It also has a little explicit language and a couple of sexy scenes.  Rated PG-13, I would not recommend it for kids under the age of 13.
 
Over all, I think this movie was the best one yet in the X-Men Saga.

Reviewed by Jonah Menegaz, age 13
 

Hair, the musical, was such a huge hit when I was in college that I, and my college roommate, Christine Lahti took off on a road trip to New York City to audition for the road company. We made one wee mistake in that we arrive one week early, and had to get back to Ann Arbor for finals so we couldn’t stay. Oh well….

I’m delighted to hear that Hair is being released on Blu-Ray June 7th. If you’ve never seen it. This is a fun romp you’ll enjoy and it so exemplifies the social-political movement of the 60s. Fresh off the farm, Claude Bukowski (John Savage) arrives in New York City to join the army, but he’s quickly swept up in the counterculture when a group of hippies introduce him to their psychedelic world…and a beautiful rich girl named Sheila (Beverly D’Angelo). When the group’s leader (Treat Williams) tries to keep Claude out of Vietnam, the consequences are shocking for everyone involved.

Happy Anniversary to our friends at NCircle Entertainment, the DVD distributor of children’s programs such as The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!, Sid the Science Kid, Pocoyo, and WordWorld.  Whether it’s learning about ABCs and 123s, photosynthesis and metamorphosis, or the importance of being kind to others, NCircle’s family of mostly preschool shows offers hundreds of hours of enriching viewing for growing young minds. 

“Our core mission is providing quality programming that helps kids learn while entertaining them,” said Debbie Ries, senior vice president and general manager. We believe today’s moms know NCircle is a name they can trust – and we’re gratified that our numbers are bearing this out!”

Later this year, NCircle will be releasing the 2011 Academy Award-nominated short film, “The Gruffalo,” narrated by Helena Bonham Carter as well as the Australian series, “The Fairies.” Established in 2006, NCircle currently distributes more than 300 DVD titles primarily geared to the preschool audience. Congrats! Keep up the good work.

Check out our new review of KUNG FU PANDA 2 by 14-year-old Gabriella Chu featured on KIDS FIRST! AOL Kids page.

http://kids.aol.com/2011/05/27/kids-first-review-of-kung-fu-panda-2/

I love this! PBS Kids is offering a collection of summer programming to help make education fun. Starting on May 23, PBS KIDS has ten weeks of themed programming that emphasize literacy. Each week features reading-related episodes from a different PBS KIDS series. Here’s their line up:

    * SID THE SCIENCE KID – “Weather Week” – starting May 23
    * ARTHUR – “Arthur Author Week” – starting May 30
    * CURIOUS GEORGE – “Country Monkey Week” – starting June 6
    * DINOSAUR TRAIN – “World Tour Week” – starting June 13
    * SUPER WHY – “Family Story Week” – starting June 20
    * MARTHA SPEAKS – “Martha Summer Fun Week” – starting June 27
    * THE ELECTRIC COMPANY – “What’s the Story? Week” – starting July 4
    * WORDGIRL – “WordGirl’s Ludicrously Literate Library Week” –  starting July 11
    * WILD KRATTS – “Wet Kratts Week” – starting July 18
    * THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! – “Cool Cat Week” – starting July 25

So, don’t just piddle away your summer eating popsicles! Use that good ole TV as a “stealth” learning device. Why not. If your kids thought of it first, they would.

Along with the themed episodes, PBS KIDs will have more toolds available online, on-air and via partnerships with iVillage and JetBlue Airways. For details, go to http://pressroom.pbs.org/Programs/PBS-KIDS-Summer-Reading-2011.aspx

In conjunction with the DVD release of the feature film Gnomeo & Juliet coming out May 24th, here’s an outrageously fun event that that the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association (the organization that turned a weekend chore into a national competitive sport!) pullec off last weekend. Riders dressed as the film’s iconic red and blue feuding gnome families raced for the right to be crowned the winner and present The Berrien County Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmers with a donation earmarked for agricultural education in Berrien County schools. I grew up in Michigan and when I read this, I could imagine my former countrymen pulling off this nutty event. It’s been a long winter there.

The world of lawn mower racing gathers new mowmentum as this high octane sport continues its complete season of lawnmower races across the country with 140 sanctioned races in 37 states.  Featuring seven classes of mowers, participants will compete against one another for the right to be named turf titan!

And, in case you haven’t seen the film, Gnomeo & Juliet, is tryly a fun, animated comedy the entire family will love. See our review by 7-year-old KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Ny’Asia Bell.