see the movie review of Titanic

Joanne:
Nell Minow is an avid movie fan, so writing "The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies" was great fun. She wants to give hopeless parents an informative, friendly guide to help them choose appropriate movies for their children. It covers over 500 family-oriented movies that even teach children about courage, growing up, and values. What better way to teach your children life lessons with yummy snacks and great movies?

I'd like to welcome Nell Minow to the cyber-interview.
Thank you for joining me, Nell.

Joanne:
"The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies" is very complete.
How did you compile over 500 movie descriptions?

Nell:
I love movies, and have always watched as many as I could.   Back before the days of VCRs I used to set my alarm clock to get up in the middle of the night whenever a special movie was going to be on the "Late Late Show" and seek out obscure art house movie theaters.  I studied film history in college and got to see a lot of great movies that way.  But just as important in learning about movies was the summer I spent sick in bed with mononucleosis when I was 16, when my parents rolled an old black and white portable into my bedroom and I watched two or three movies a day.  In my senior year of high school and in college, I reviewed movies for my school newspaper, which was great training.

When I decided to write the book, I planned on including only 200 movies, but there were so many I loved that it got up past 500 very quickly.   If I didn't have a deadline to meet, it could have been even more!   I did try to watch as many of them again as I could, so that I could take notes and think about them from a parents' point of view.  But that was the fun part of writing the book!

Joanne:
What inspired you to write this book?

Nell:
I loved sharing special movies with my parents and sisters when I was growing up, and now sharing some of those same movies with my own children. I used to go to the video store, and on my way to the "classics" section, I would see parents standing in front of the "new releases" shelf, with helpless, glazed looks in their eyes.  Many of my friends, knowing that I knew about movies, would call me up and complain, "I thought 'The Nutty Professor' would be great for my six-year-old!"  Parents I knew felt booby-trapped and angry about what their kids were being exposed to.  And even kids complained to me that they thought they were seeing inappropriate material.

I first wrote about sharing classic movies with kids in Family Fun Magazine in 1994, and I began my Movie Mom website in 1995.  That led to the book.

Joanne:
What are your favorite movies?

Nell:
Tough question!  But I'd have to say that "The Philadelphia Story," "His Girl Friday," "To Have and Have Not," "National Velvet," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," and "Some Like it Hot" are among my very favorites, and most of the rest are in the book!

Joanne:
What is your movie snack-of-choice? : ) 

Nell:
Popcorn! With lots of salt and real butter.

Joanne:
What do you think of contemporary movies and where do you think they're going?

Nell:
I feel a bit like the beginning of "A Tale of Two Cities" when I think of movies --  "it was the best of times; it was the worst of times."

It is a dreadful shame that movies have become so raunchy and gross.  It is an even worse shame that they are so irresponsible in the messages they give our kids about sex, violence, alcohol, and drugs.   On the other hand, we have come a long way from the casual sexism and racism of pre-1970 movies, and movies are able to address a broader range of human experience more honestly than they once were.   And every year brings us some movies that illuminate our world, inspire our spirits, and touch our hearts.  I feel lucky to live in an era of movies like "October Sky," "The Iron Giant," and even "Galaxy Quest," which I thought was hilarious!

Joanne:
Do you have any plans to write another book?

Nell:
Right now, I am working on updating my second book, a very serious book about business and finance, originally published in 1996.  My writing about movies and parenting is focusing on shorter pieces -- a monthly column for Child Magazine, a weekly column for Family Wonder (http://www.familywonder.com), and some other magazine and newspaper pieces. I hope to get to do a second edition of the Movie Mom book in a couple of years, and I've already got a list of 150 movies I'd like to add!

Joanne:
Thank you for your comments, Nell. I would like to show you an excerpt from Nell's book which is her review of the blockbuster movie, Titanic

Titanic
1997, 195 min, PG-13, 12 and up
Dir.: James Cameron, Leonardo DeCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Gloria Stuart
Excerpted from The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies  with permission from the author. All rights reserved. ©1999 Nell Minow

see the movie review of Titanic

The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies
by Nell Minow

This book is designed to help parents of kids from ages 2-18 manage the media onslaught. It includes more than 500 superb movies available on video, movies that offer more than mindless explosions, casual sex, and racial and gender stereotypes--movies that exercise the mind and spirit and bring the whole family closer together.

Joanne's Movie Reviews:
"Star Wars Episode 1
The Phantom Menace"
hosted by Joanne Spataro
Charlotte Observer Movie Critic
movie review
& Now get the film on video
Twentieth Century Fox and Lucusfilm presents "The Phantom Menace". The long-awaited prequel to "Star Wars: A New Hope", explains how generous Anakin Skywalker became the greedy Darth Vader. Young Obi-wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his master Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) are Jedi knights. Find out more.

Movie Review:
"Anna & the King" (1999)
by Joanne Spataro
Movie Critic, the Charlotte Observer
How could one woman shake the very foundation of a Siam monarchy? "Anna and the King" is a powerfully mature film based on an English schoolteacher's experiences in faraway Siam. In 1862, widowed Anna Leonowens (played by Jodie Foster) visits Siam with her son, Louis (Tom Felton). Find out more and see the official site, hear the soundtrack and get the original book written by Anna.

Meet the Critic
Lawrence Toppman
hosted By Joanne Spataro
Larry has been writing for the Observer for twelve years, and twenty-three years in various publications. He has loved movies ever since he was a little kid. I learned about what qualities make a good movie to him, how he finds his job rewarding, and what he snacks on in the theater (the answer may surprise you).