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Forgotten Film Gems: The Boy Who Could Fly
The Boy Who Could Fly deserves to be recognized alongside E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Stand By Me as one of the best coming-of-age films of the 1980s. It’s that good. I gave director Nick Castle...
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Pleasant Surprises: Ernest Goes to Camp
Ernest Goes to Camp perfectly captures childhood in a way I’ve never seen another film pull off. I loved this movie as a kid because it spoke to me on a very personal level. That might sound strange...
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Why Uncle Buck Is an Almost Impossible Film to Categorize
Uncle Buck is so many things that they all seem to cancel each other out, making it extremely difficult to fit the film into a single category or genre. I’ve always liked it, but I’ve never been able...
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9 Variations on the ‘Nanny Fixes a Family’ Movie Plot
I’ve written about Mary Poppins and Uncle Buck recently, and those films got me thinking about their niche within the wider comedy genre. These are movies that follow what I call the “Nanny fixes a...
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How The Boss Baby Won Me Over
Everything about The Boss Baby appeared to be designed to repel me. By the time the movie hit the 17-minute mark, I was just about ready to shut it off because I thought I knew exactly where it was...
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My Oddly Specific Love of Little Big League
1993 and 1994 were special years for me. In 1993, there were two great baseball films aimed at kids: The Sandlot and Rookie of the Year. And the next year there were two more such films I remember...
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What Makes Rock Biter Such a Memorable Character?
Last week I was in a lot of pain, and a couple of my fingers were taped together, which made it extremely difficult to type. I saw an orthopedic hand doctor on Wednesday, and he took one look at my...
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Charlie’s Test in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
I started feeling an irresistible urge not long ago to write about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but I didn’t know why at first. I started obediently writing whatever thoughts came into my...
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Who Was The Road to El Dorado Made for?
I remember hearing about The Road to El Dorado in 2000 during my senior year of high school. It looked too juvenile for me. However, I did hear that it had some adult stuff in it, like characters...
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The Man Upstairs
As a father, I’m in uncharted territory. For more than a decade I’ve been raising a bunch of young children, but that is changing. I officially have a teenager now. My eldest son is a good soul, which...
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