Movie Review by Jack Silbert
If a family trip to Tomorrowland at Disney World or Disneyland isn’t in the cards this Memorial Day weekend, will a visit to Tomorrowland at the multiplex suffice? (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
OK, OK, I was two weeks late seeing this, I apologize, the weather has been rough and maybe, just maybe, I was catching up on grown-up movies from 2014 that weren’t actually released until 2015. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
First off, kudos to Peter Jackson for getting the word “the” into his movie title three times. That’s only two fewer “the”s than armies! (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
I’ll admit it: I was a little skeptical. Was Marvel scraping the bottom of the barrel, looking for even more superheroes to build a movie franchise around? (more)
This film is aptly named. You get a whole lot of the character Maleficent in the film of the same name. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
There’s no baseball fan quite like a young baseball fan, poring over rosters, statistics, and transactions, living and breathing the game. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
When I saw the recent trailer for Mr. Peabody & Sherman, it broke my heart just a little. The original segments on Jay Ward’s 1960s Bullwinkle TV show were so smart, so clever. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
Finally—a nasty dragon! Between the Shrek series and How To Train Your Dragon—even going back to Pete’s Dragon and magical Puff—I’m worried that recent generations of kids don’t have the proper awe and respect for those fire-breathing baddies. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
If you have a well-worn Mary Poppins DVD at home, and chapter-book-reading kids, Saving Mr. Banks may be the perfect movie for your family. (more)
Media Darlings is very proud to be one of only 533 bloggers to present the first peek at the trailer for Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn. (more)
Disney-Pixar’s Fourteenth Feature – 2013
Movie Review by Jack Silbert. Let me get a little continuity issue out of the way. (more)
Better Than Good: “The Great Gatsby”Film Review by Maggie Hames
Books and movies are different in just about every way media CAN be different. (more)
Too Many Irons In This Fire: “Iron Man 3”Movie Review by Jack Silbert
On the off-chance that your family hasn’t seen Iron Man 3 yet, I have a controversial suggestion for you: Don’t go. (more)
Talkin’ Baseball: “42”
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
It might still be too chilly to bring the family to the ballpark. (more)
The Crummy and “The Croods”
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
I wish I hadn’t watched the credits. (more)
Finally I See the Emerald City! “Oz the Great and Powerful”
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
With Great and Powerful comes great responsibility. (more)
Escape to “Escape from Planet Earth”
Movie Review by Maggie Hames
At its essence, Escape from Planet Earth is a sibling rivalry story. (more)
Looks Aren’t Everything: “Beautiful Creatures”Movie Review by Jack Silbert
First of all, they’re not witches, they’re Casters. And not those roll-y things on the bottom of ottomans, either. (more)
Profile by Jack Silbert
My friend across the hall refuses to see any movie until she’s read the book that it’s based on. (more)
Life is inherently unfair. (more)
This is an extraordinary film, well worth seeing, especially if you’re a fan of musicals in general. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
And so we return to Middle Earth, back to an ancient time when Liv Tyler was still famous. (more)
Lincoln brings to life our sixteenth president with an uncanny naturalism that is almost disconcerting. (more)
Rise of the Guardians by Dreamworks is a fun and frosty treat for younger kids this holiday season. (more)
Disney’s Fifty-Second Animated Feature – 2012
I was literally in the dark when this film opened last week, put in the dark by Hurricane Sandy. (more)
At its core, Tim Burton’s black and white, stop-motion animated film (in 3D yet!) is a simple, moving tale of the relationship between a boy and his loyal dog. (more)
The Hotel Transylvania is an oasis of sorts. (more)
Disney-Pixar’s Fifth Animated Feature – 2003 (Original Release) 2012 (3-D Release)
About a year ago, Disney announced it would re-release a collection of its most popular animated films in 3-D. (more)
Film Short Review by Regina Robbins
What’s Millie to do? She’s a pillar of her community, loved and trusted by her neighbors, and especially by the members of her church. (more)
You know what’s wrong with this world? According to Norman of the animated film ParaNorman, people just don’t listen. (more)
The Odd Life of Timothy Green feels like a fable, a fabulous tale set in a storybook town. (more)
The Wimpy Kid bunch is back for another go at milking the cash cow, er, I mean the bunch is back with another pre-tween/full-on tween “comedy.” (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
Many griped that it was too soon to do another Spider-Man movie series. (more)
This just in from Disney/Pixar, an Independence Day gift to us fans of Brave: (more)
If you’re alive in the United States right now, you’re aware that Disney/Pixar has released a new film called Brave and it’s already a hit. (more)
The Central Park Zoo is a very small, very urban zoo. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
With 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson unequivocally proved he could make a film for children. (more)
In March when I reviewed this year’s other Snow White film, Mirror Mirror, I mentioned that I completely understand an actress’s desire to play Snow White’s Wicked Queen. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
Right off the bat, I must give credit to the filmmakers for the bold retro move of just adding a number to the end of the sequel’s title. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
The Avengers smashed the all-time box office record for its opening weekend—more than $200 million—so there’s a good chance your kids have already seen this movie. (more)
There’s an innocent, wonderfully unawares brand of daftness that operates throughout The Pirates! Band of Misfits. (more)
Movie Review by Jack Silbert
I dig monkeys. I love monkeys so much that, even though I know I’m really talking about chimpanzees most of the time, I still call them monkeys. (more)
The Three Stooges by the Farrelly Brothers
I kinda can't believe I'm writing this. (more)
The film opens as a father watches home movies of a sweet baby boy who grows into a happy toddler before our eyes. (more)
If you’ve visited this site, you may already know how much I love and admire Walt Disney’s 1937 classic film, Snow White. (more)
I’m such a fan of the stories of Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, that I’ve lost patience with the stream of film directors who profess to love Geisel’s work as they dance on his grave. (more)
This is Media Darlings’ first Academy Award season and we’ve begun what we hope will become a yearly tradition. (more)
I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s Academy Awards season. Offered for your consideration: the greatest family films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. (more)
Cartoon Review by Jack Silbert
I wasn’t planning on seeing Journey 2: The Mysterious Island right away. I hadn’t seen Journey 1, and, you know, didn’t want to get thrown off by the undoubtedly multi-layered plot. (more)
With the success of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo—winning a Golden Globe for Best Director and now several Oscar nominations—Scorsese conquered a genre nobody suspected was on his “to do” list: the family picture. (more)
Disney’s Thirtieth Animated Feature – 1991 (Original Release) 2012 (3-D Release)
As a woman, a feminist, and as the mother of a little girl, I must say I’ve always loved Beauty and the Beast. (more)
Film Review by Jack Silbert
It would be entirely too easy to refer to this movie as the “gospel Glee.” (more)
Film Review by Jack Silbert
In my lifetime, there have been many notable horse movies: International Velvet, Black Stallion, Phar Lap, Sylvester, and Seabiscuit quickly come to mind. (more)
Documentary Review: Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey directed by Constance Marks
How does a puppet (and for that matter, a puppeteer) get to be a superstar? (more)
Film Review by Regina Robbins
There are many reasons that Hugo is a major film event. (more)
My Daughter’s First Trip to the Movies
My local cinema has a summer program: every Wednesday and Thursday, you can bring your kids to the movies—for free. (more)
Documentary Review
A wise woman once told me that for parents, the days are long but the years are short. (more)
Film Review: "Hop"
I can make my review of Hop short and sweet: don’t go. Not, “don’t bother to go; it’s lame,” but rather, you should not bring young kids to see this movie. It delivers an anti-merit message that’s disheartening to say the least. (more)
Film Review: "The Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules"
The critics generally agree that the film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules, is a disappointment. Mind you, it’s currently number one at the box office. The popular book series and first film that grossed over $62 million in 2010 vitually assured an audience for a sequel. (more)
