At the Movies with Robert’s Sister: UP

It’s been tough deciding on the first movie to review! Since my reviews are geared toward the caregiver my criteria for the movies are:

1. The movie has to be easily accessible for home viewing;
2. The movie has to be cheap;
3. The movie has to be inspiring, funny, thought-provoking or pure escapism (or all of the above if that’s even possible);
4. The movie can be watched by the caregiver, co-caregiver and/or caree – I’ll definitely note if there’s some reason a caree shouldn’t watch a particular movie;

Sprinkled throughout the reviews, will be those that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture! I will also occasionally even review a newly released movie – once I can get to the theater.

Since Richard and I haven’t yet found an aide to stay with Robert, we recently had a “date night” at home.  This involved me getting Robert to bed (after some Rocky Road, of course), having him watch regular television instead of the recorded shows (because Robert can work a remote even less proficiently than I can) and then me running upstairs with the dogs to snuggle in to watch a movie with Richard.

Instead of popcorn next to my seat, I had two dogs and a video monitor to keep an eye on Robert. Richard was standing and stretching his aching back and in control of the remote. 

I think we had frozen yogurt but it’s a little hard to enjoy that with a fifty pound puppy sticking his nose in the cup saying, “Whatcha got, mom? Whatcha got, mom? Whatcha got, mom?”

We debated what to watch on our date night: Continue with our streak of watching documentaries?  Find another series to dive into?  Watch a regular movie? (At this rate, date night is going to be over before we decide!)

As Richard scrolled through the movies I remembered a movie I had heard was terrific and I hadn’t yet seen: UP.  

I can hear you asking incredulously – what? You haven’t yet seen UP??  No and I have no idea what I was doing in May 2009 that made me too busy to see such a gem.

Several sources had mentioned what a heart-warming and inspiring movie it was. I also knew it had either won or been nominated for Best Picture. I wasn’t far off – UP was nominated for Best Picture but lost to The Hurt Locker.  UP did win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.  

I knew I needed to see this critically acclaimed, popular and sweet movie but when deciding if this should be my first review, I wondered if I should admit I hadn’t yet seen it!

Of course, I have to be honest so there you have it – I saw UP for the first time a few weeks ago and it lived up to everything I had heard about it.

I was in love within the first five minutes. Two young kids share a love of adventure, fall in love as they grow up, get married and have a shared dream of future adventures.  Of course, life sometimes has a way of changing our dreams and hopes for the future.

Caregivers know this as well as anyone.

The main character, Carl Fredricksen, voiced gruffly yet poignantly as only Ed Asner can, wallows in self-pity and bitterness for a while but then sets off on an adventure to honor his and his wife’s dreams.  

An adorable, earnest and persistent boy (as well as a few unusual animals), join Carl on a wild and at times, treacherous, adventure.  Only after overcoming adversity and coming face to face with his hero, does Carl come to the realization that sometimes our best dreams have been under our noses all along.

I highly recommend this movie for the caregiver and their caree and give it five scoops of Rocky Road ice cream (out of five).

UP can be found on Amazon for $3.99 (for a 3-day rental) or $8.99 to purchase. 

Richard and I have Netflix and ordered it online for $3.99.

I also have one copy of the DVD to give to the first person to comment that they would like a copy! 

UP is rated PG and is a Disney and Pixar production.  It is directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and lasts 96 minutes.  For a full list of credits, please visit here. 

We're “Going” to the Movies!

I love movies! When I was younger I really wanted to be an actress and even had opportunities to be an extra in movies being filmed in our city.  It was such fun watching the process, being involved in the process, the multiple takes, the energy of the production and just everything about it. 

Watching a really good movie is just as exciting and if I had my druthers, I would stick around to the very last credit just to honor every single person who worked on the movie.  (Staying to the end is always dependent on how many people are trying to climb past me to get out, who I am seeing the movie with and whether it was a long movie and I have to use the restroom.)

It’s complicated.

Replicas of Academy Award statuette in a gift store
in Hollywood (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My dad loved going to the movies too. Seeing a movie together was usually the most enjoyable times we had together.  I didn’t have to muster up patience to listen to his conspiracy theories or about his latest escapades that involved choices he was making in his life (most of which I didn’t agree with).  We could watch a movie together and then talk about the impact it had on us and what we liked and didn’t like about the movie.  We mostly enjoyed the same type of movies: action or thought-provoking or inspiring.  I cannot watch horror or gory movies so we avoided those. 

We liked movies so much we both decided we wanted to see every Academy Award winning Best Picture movie.  Dad saw a lot of movies but we didn’t even come close to polishing off the list of 85 movies (those who know me have no doubt in their minds that I have a spreadsheet listing these movies). 

Seeing all of the Best Picture winners is still on my Bucket List but so is seeing other movies that are meaningful, powerful or just pure escapism.  I’m not really a movie snob but I do have one rule:

BE QUIET!  Please don’t talk during a movie (whether at home or in the theater – even during previews)!

Now that Robert lives with us it is a little more difficult to go out to the movies.  Robert has mobility issues plus he doesn’t usually have much warning when he needs to use the restroom. It makes being able to watch a movie without interruption a little challenging.

Richard and I have decided to watch movies at home (we’re on a documentary kick right now) and I hope to check off a few more Best Picture movies from my list.  I also want to watch a movie or two with Robert if I can ever tear him away from Jeopardy or his new favorite show, Family Feud (admittedly, that show is addicting for some reason).

Caregivers and their carees need entertainment and many times it needs to be cheap! It’s not easy to take a family to the movie theater with the expense of tickets, popcorn and drinks.  I sneak in water or soda (shh! Don’t tell!) but I’ve yet to try sneaking in popcorn.

Watching movies on DVD or through Netflix is a great option for caregivers and their carees.  It’s home-based, the snacks are cheaper and mobility problems are no longer a consideration.  Since availability of family restrooms is always a consideration of mine, the bathroom at home is close, available and the movie can be paused if needed!

I think it would be fun to review movies that caregivers can watch at home with (or without) their caree for either free or fairly cheap as well as the occasional first release movies in the theater.

Watch this space (or www.caregiving.com) for the occasional movie review!  I’m not a professional reviewer but I do love the movies and will give a “regular person” review of the movies. 

I look forward to “going” to the movies with all of you!