Category Archives: Feel Good For All

2007, Feel Good For All

The Martian Child (2007)

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From NetFlix:

In this film based on a David Gerrold novel, John Cusack stars as a
recently widowed science-fiction writer who adopts a 6-year-old boy
to quell his loneliness. The catch? The kid ( Bobby Coleman) claims
to be from Mars. At first, the new dad doesn’t pay much attention to
the boy’s story, but when an odd series of events occurs, he begins
to believe his son may be telling the truth in this film co-starring
Amanda Peet and Joan Cusack.

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This is NOT science fiction. My all-time favorite movie about a child is “Dear Frankie”. If you have not yet seen “Dear Frankie”, I urge you to do so. However, “The Martian Child” is probably the most gentle movie about a child that I have ever seen. John Cusack plays a widower who does the most wonderful job trying to bring the boy into a normal interaction with the rest of the world. It is sort of a model about how to raise a sensitive and unusual child.

1997, Feel Good For All

My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

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From NetFlix:

Food writer Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) panics when she gets word that her longtime platonic pal, Michael (Dermot Mulroney), is finally getting hitched, to a debutante named Kimberly (Cameron Diaz). With assistance from her gay companion (Rupert Everett) — and to the accompaniment of Burt Bacharach tunes — she sets out to sabotage the wedding and make a last-minute play for her man. James Newton Howard’s score received an Oscar nomination.

Julia Robert’s classic effort to sabotage her friend’s wedding. Did you
ever see an entire restaurant break out into song ? Definitely a feel-good.

1995, Feel Good For All

Babe (1995)

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From NetFlix:

Director Chris Noonan’s tale of precocious piglet Babe’s (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) struggle to fit in and become a champion sheepherder won the hearts of audiences and critics. Nominated for seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture), Babe won the Visual Effects Oscar, and everything from farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) to the multitude of farm animals to the humble, edgy script is remarkably appealing for kids and adults alike.

One of those feel-good movies that everyone should see before they die.

1999, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All, Spanish

Butterfly (1999)

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From NetFlix:

At the onset of the Spanish Civil War, a sheltered boy (Manuel Lozano) in rural northern Spain forms an indelible bond with his kindly leftist teacher (Fernando Fernán Gómez), who imparts his love for nature to the young student. Director Jose Luis Cuerda gentle and nostalgic drama, based on the short stories of Manuel Rivas, was nominated for 13 Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscar), winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Beautiful, sad story of friendship between young boy and devoted teacher at time of Spanish civil war. Inspired by a book called “La Lengua de las Mariposas” (Butterfly’s Tongue). Shows the destructive split in Spanish society during the Spanish Civil War. The ending could be hard to take. But I call this a “feel good” because the interplay between the boy and the teacher is beautiful. Really a masterpiece.

1982, Animated, Feel Good For All

The Dark Crystal (1982)

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From NetFlix:

In this fantasy adventure, the Dark Crystal — which served as the font of balance and truth — cracked 1,000 years ago, beginning an age of chaos. To restore order to the planet, Jen, the last of the Gelfling race, begins a quest to find a missing shard and heal the crystal. If he doesn’t complete his mission before the conjunction of three suns arrives, the evil Skeksis will rule forever. Muppets creators Jim Henson and Frank Oz co-directed.

Jim Henson, of muppet fame and now deceased, created this
puppetry masterpiece. The detailed scenes (especially the swamp)
were marvels to look at. It was NOT a popular success. It is not
animation. You have to be in the mood for a slow moving masterpiece.
In fact, watching the turtle-like wisemen lumbering along sets the tone.

I wonder if some of the scenes might not actually scare really small
children.

2003, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All

The Station Agent (2003)

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From NetFlix:

When his only friend dies, a young dwarf named Finbar McBride
( Peter Dinklage) relocates to an abandoned train station in rural New
Jersey, intent on living the life of a hermit. But his solitude is soon
interrupted by his colorful neighbors, which include a struggling artist
( Patricia Clarkson) coping with the recent death of her young son and a
talkative Cuban hot dog vendor ( Bobby Cannavale).

This is a true, eccentric, and warm independent film. For me, so far, it is Peter
Dinklage’s best.

1999, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All

The Winslow Boy (1999)

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From NetFlix:

When Arthur Winslow’s (Nigel Hawthorne) 14-year-old son (Guy Edwards) is expelled from the Royal Naval College for stealing, he launches a long and costly effort to clear the boy’s name. But in the process, the determined father may destroy his family. With clever dialogue, director David Mamet’s drama — based on a play by Terence Rattigan — makes strong statements about the relative virtue of right and wrong when appearances mean everything.

NetFlix fails to mention other actors such as Jeremy Northam and Rebecca Pidgeon (who had 2 children with the playwright David Mamet).

This movie is not only engaging, but visually it is wonderful to watch.
This is a feel-good for everyone.

2007, Animated, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All

Ratatouille (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Brad Bird (The Incredibles) co-directs this Oscar-winning Pixar offering, following the antics of a passionate rat named Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) who yearns for a sip of the good life. Growing up beneath a five-star Parisian restaurant owned by a famous chef (Brad Garrett), Remy inherits a taste for fine food. But his culinary ambitions only anger his practical father, who wishes his son could just eat garbage like everyone else.

This Disney film, “Ratatouille”, is just not your mother’s Disney.
Times have changed. I suppose it’s OK for children,
but it is really an adult film. What child cares about
the intricacies of cuisine ? How do you explain to
a youngster why the only female cook in the restaurant
take a can of mace from her handbag when the cook’s
illegitimate son comes on to her ? (“Mommy, what’s in
that can ?”) And to find the real heir to the restaurant
the lawyer uses a DNA search. (“Mommy, what’s DNA ?”)

For me the film started out a bit slow, but stick with it.
The ending is a bit maudlin, but after all, IT’S DISNEY!

The only objections I have to the film are as follow:
o There is NO nudity!
o There is NO explicit sex!
o There is NO violence!
o There is NO profanity!

Considering the above objections, who in their right
mind would want to see such a film ?

2006, Feel Good For All, Sports, Underdogs win

We Are Wallace (2006)

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From NetFlix:

After a plane crash takes the lives of most of Marshall
University’s football team, new coach Jack Lengyel
(Matthew McConaughey) must rally the surviving players and
a grieving community to victory. Based on true events, this
inspiring drama follows Lengyel and his assistant coach
(Matthew Fox) as they try to renew Marshall’s football
program and help the close-knit West Virginia town find
new hope. David Strathairn and Anthony Mackie co-star.

You’ve seen this movie before in many guises. Nonetheless
it is always a warm feeling seeing an underdog finally win.

2006, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All

Miss Potter (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Blending lush animation sequences with live-action drama, director Chris Noonan constructs this biopic about the personal life of beloved children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Featuring the Academy Award-winning Renee Zellweger as the title character and co-starring Emily Watson and Ewan McGregor, the film traces Potter’s private life as well as her contributions to literature such as the timeless “Tale of Peter Rabbit.”

Every now and then you see a movie that fits its genre perfectly. “Miss Potter”, the life of Beatrix Potter, is such a film. Renee Zellweger is Beatrix and Ewan mcGregor fits the role of Norman Warne to a tee.

Warning: this movie is a tear-jerker at times.

This movie is for everyone, children invited. No violence, no sex. It is also the blooming of a Victorian protected daughter into an independent creative artist and environmentalist.

Don’t Miss It.