First, let me offer a couple of insights into my personal thinking.
One of my earliest, most vivid memories is from when I was six-years-old. My family was moving across country from Virginia back to California. My mom was taking a picture of me in front of our house on Smoketown Road. I remember thinking to myself, "I want to look sad in this picture, maybe then we won't have to move." Of course, that idea was quite a stretch, my family moved, and we have had over 30 years in California (although we've moved more than a couple of times since that move). Moving is a huge deal for a young person. You leave behind your friends and the life you know. You start fresh, you make new memories, but there are so many emotions.
I am now in my late 30s and have two young children of my own. I experience an enormous range of emotions with them. We have our ups and downs. We experience, joy, fear, sadness, anger, and disgust. Oh...this is starting to sound familiar. We actually, in my opinion, experience even more than that, but those five certainly work together and cause a different group of emotions and experiences. Think things like excitement and anxiety, for example.
With these two important facts of my life in mind, I knew I had to see
Inside Out.
Both of my children expressed a strong desire to see it as well. In fact, it was what my younger child, Miss Hollywood, chose for her birthday movie. So, we set a date to see it. And then...we set a second date to see it in another place at another time. Yes, folks, we saw the movie twice in one week.
First, the movie:
This movie nailed it! Those thoughts from moving across country as a young girl, yep, I can relate. But beyond that, this was the right movie, at the right time, to see with my children. They both picked their favorites. CD loves Anger. Miss Hollywood loves Disgust (mostly it's the pretty dress and gorgeous eye lashes). I found this interesting. It actually offers you a glimpse into who they are and the sorts of things they experience. We watched as memories crumbled and changed and the main character changed with them. We learned that joy can come from sadness. We learned that anger, fear, and disgust all play a vital role in who we are and what we do. And, we saw that at the end of the day, things change, people change, and our reactions will be important to each step along the road of life.
Inside Out opened up a dialog with our small family not once or twice, but multiple times.
This is a must see. Regardless of how old you think you are or how "grown-up" for that matter, you need to see and experience
Inside Out for yourself. When you do (if you see in the theatre), be sure to be on time because....
There's this great short:
I absolutely, positively loved Lava. By the second viewing, of course, I could sing right along. I shared the song with my parents as soon as I could. It brought tears and joy and laughter.
...I lava you...
Second, the experiences:
The first viewing of
Inside Out was at our local theatre. It had been ages since I was there last until I took CD to see
Pitch Perfect 2 for his birthday movie. The Galaxy Luxury Theatre in Riverbank is top of my list of where I will see movies now. In fact, by summer's end, I had seen six movies there. That's more movies in the theatre than I've seen in the last ten years combined! Seriously.
Galaxy offers reclining seats which goes over well with everyone. They have an app and you can become a Rewards member and the rewards are worth it. (I saved on my children's treats when we went to see
Max.) they also offer pizza, delicious sausages, beer, wine, Icees, and a great variety of candy in addition to the usual suspects of soda and popcorn. I enjoy this theatre and I will see more movies there, I am certain.
The second viewing of
Inside Out was at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. This offered a completely different and fun experience. This marked my first time seeing a move there. It was a great family experience (except for the costumed folks outside who lured my children in with promises of photo opportunities and balloon animals then turned and asked me for money, but that's another story). There was a live show that include 3D effects before the trailers,
Lava, and
Inside Out. It tied to the
Inside Out storyline. The snacks are very reasonably priced and afterward, you can go next door for an ice cream or other sweet treat at the Ghirardelli shop. This allowed us to visit a fourth Ghirardelli shop in the great state of California.
So, what's the bottom line? Well, here it is. As I said, I saw six movies at one theatre this summer and I am going to give you a few snippets on each as I lead to my bottom line.
Pitch Perfect 2: This was fun to see with my music-loving son. Admittedly, there were some parts that were less appropriate, but I think most of them went over his head. He was in it for the singing and only loosely followed any semblance of plot. It was a fun watch, but certainly you'll want to be careful in deciding whether or not it's right for your kids.
Jurassic World: CD loved Jurassic Park. We watched it at home and in a couple of places I said, "Look away," and he did. He was excited at the idea of a new Jurassic movie coming out, particularly because I talk about it so much (I used Jurassic Park as a teaching tool in my seventh grade science classes the last two years). Still, I don't remember him asking to see it. Preemptively, I went to see it with a friend. I was quiet about what I was going to see so as to avoid having CD ask to see it. That was the right thing to do. Miss Hollywood scares somewhat easily with fictional stuff and CD internalizes the things that "could" really happen. And there are more than a few things neither one of them is ready for right now. CD can watch it at home, with me, in about a year. I know some parents who have taken their kids and loved it and it was wonderful. If you have super sensitive kids as I do, though, skip it for now. Watch it on your own and decide for yourself if/when your kids are ready for it. By the way, in case you didn't already know this...suspension of disbelief is huge here. The science is inaccurate and there's a woman who runs all over the island in heels. (I have a hard time walking the school hallways in heels at times.)
Max: This was a fantastic family movie. Three generations saw it together and we each loved different things about it. But, be warned, it's quite the emotional ride. Miss Hollywood was ready to leave at one point and I had to hold her hand and reassure her through it. This movie's title character is a war veteran, a German Shepherd Dog named Max. Did you know that dogs can experience PTSD? And there's even more. The storyline is interesting and what's not to love about a beautiful German Shepherd?
Terminator: This is the worst movie I saw all summer. Wait. Let me say it differently. This was the most disappointing movie of the summer. I held such high hopes for it. I was excited when I saw the trailer. Then...(**spoiler alert**) It blows the whole timeline out of the water, opens the door for a new series of sequels, and left me rubbing my head wondering if I'd been lied to all these years. Yeah, it was ok. There's a good chance I will see it again at home at some point in my life. I didn't ask for my money back. I just found it...frustrating.
Magic Mike: Go with your girlfriends. Leave the kids at home. Enjoy. That is all.
Alright, so that bottom line I mentioned above...here it comes.
Inside Out offered something for everyone. I saw it twice in the theatre without hesitation and I would totally see it again. I saw some really good movies this summer and shared great movie-going experiences with some of my favorite people. This ranks at the top of my list. I will purchase the DVD when it comes out because I look forward to watching it again...and again... Everyone I have talked to enjoyed it and got something different out of it. It was great for the kids, great for my mom and her sister, and great for me. Our experiences in viewing it were all unique (my mom went with her sister and a couple of cousins at a completely different time than I went with the kids) and that tells me even more that it was the movie that was that wonderful. It is truly a family movie. In an age when it is hard to gauge whether or not a movie is right for the whole family, this one stands out as a definite YES! I strongly recommend everyone see it. Or...see it again. And remember, I LAVA YOU!
The kids and I have camped before, but it has always been in a group camping situation. This summer, we set off on our own. The three of us headed to Pinnacles National Park (the newest NPS) for two nights of camping awesomeness. Mostly. Somewhat. Well, it was...an experience to remember.
I had followed all bear protocol. The food was in the food locker. We only had the car open because we were putting away the tent bag and ready to get sleeping bags. We did everything right. Except, we underestimated the curiosity of this raccoon. The kids got help from some neighboring campers (a few folks from a fantastic Boy Scout Troop from the Riverside area) and we teamed up to 1) get the masked crusader out from the car and 2) scare him out of our camp. By the time we were done, the sun had set and so had our appetites. We nibbled on a few crackers, were thankful for the very late lunch we had and put ourselves to bed.
