At one time the record-holder as most popular movie ever made, can Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial still win over a modern 11-year-old kid watching it for the first time today? That’s the big question we address in the latest episode of the Film at 11 podcast. This week’s movie choice comes by viewer request,… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 14 | E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
I may have made a mistake in this week’s Film at 11 podcast. I had several last-minute changes of mind about what movie to watch with my son Thomas, until I eventually settled on Jurassic Park. Mind you, this is the kid who found Gremlins a little too scary, and I thought it would be… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 13 | Jurassic Park (1993)
After the rather challenging and stressful experience of recording an entire episode with both of my 11-year-old sons, our Film at 11 podcast now returns to its regular, more manageable one-on-one format. This week, I introduce my son Joseph to Penny Marshall’s classic fantasy Big, which remains as delightful and charming today as it was… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 12 | Big (1988)
It’s doubles all around! To mark our milestone eleventh episode of the Film at 11 podcast, I have subjected both of my 11-year-old sons (yes, both of them!) to not one but two versions of the twin-swapping comedy classic The Parent Trap: the 1961 Hayley Mills original and the 1998 Lindsay Lohan remake. Who better… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 11 | The Parent Trap (Double Feature)!
For our Film at 11 podcast this week, I made my 11-year-old son watch the 1980 Flash Gordon for the first time, and he seems to have come away totally baffled by the movie. I think I may have broken his brain a little with this one. To be fair to Thomas, I may not… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 10 | Flash Gordon (1980)
The inspirational classic The Karate Kid was first released to theaters in 1984, but I don’t believe I caught it until the following year on VHS or cable, right about when I turned 11. Of course, the movie became a cultural touchstone for anyone of my generation at that point. In this week’s Film at… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 9 | The Karate Kid (1984)
Avast, ye scallywags! For our latest adventure in film exploration, my son and I take to the high seas with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. In the new episode of our Film at 11 podcast, we review the movie from both perspectives – a parent who hadn’t watched the movie… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 8 | Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
Making a smart movie about dumb characters is no easy business. Overplay their dim-wittedness and the characters become unlikable. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure has always, for me, threaded that needle very skillfully, to deliver an endearing comedy about a pair of lovable doofuses. In this week’s Film at 11 podcast, I take one of… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 7 | Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
For our Film at 11 podcast this week, my young son learns a valuable life lesson from watching the 1984 sci-fi adventure The Last Starfighter, which unambiguously delivers the message that playing video games is the most important skill any kid can ever learn and may literally help save the universe. As a parent, I… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 6 | The Last Starfighter (1984)
In this week’s episode of the Film at 11 podcast, I sit down with my son to watch the very kid-friendly baseball flick The Sandlot. It was a first-time viewing for the both of us. Afterward, we share our thoughts on the movie from both a parent’s and a Fifth Grader’s perspective. I was 19-years-old… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 5 | The Sandlot (1993)
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