Emma Thompson in "Nanny McPhee"
courtesy of Universal Home Entertainment
"Move Over Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee Is Here"

A lot of us grew up on the "Mary Poppins" movie and were fascinated by the nanny with the magical bag and wonderful voice. Well move over Mary Poppins, there is a new nanny in town and her name is "Nanny McPhee." Emma Thompson plays Nanny McPhee, a woman who comes to care for the children of a widower played by Colin Firth.

This nanny is a sight to see with her warty face and snaggle tooth, but she has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. As you watch the movie you come under her spell and the film is an absolute delight. Ms McPhee might not sing like Mary Poppins but she sure does work a magical spell. 

Watch this one with your children and have a supercaliphragilistic good time.

Diane Keaton is one of my favorite actresses and she seems to get better and better with age. Her latest movie on DVD is "Surrender Dorothy." This is a movie about a woman who loses her only child (Alexa Davalos). She goes to visit her daughter's friends and ends up staying longer than expected. This is because she learns more about her child, the longer she stays with the friends. 

This is a funny, emotional film that explores loss and the power of healing. Keaton is wonderful as the grieving mother and Tom Everett Scott is quite good as one of her daughter's closest friends. Don't let this movie slip by, watch it!

Kellie Martin stars in "Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend" on DVD. This is a "Murder She Wrote" type film with Kellie playing a bookstore owner turned sleuth. She has three authors arriving at her bookstore for signings, and one of them ends up dead. It is up to Samantha Kinsey (Martin) to solve the case.

The movie is easy to watch and fun to get involved in. It isn't overly complex, just a lightweight way to solve a crime. Clarence Williams II and Nina Siemaszko co-star. This is a simple way to get an evening's pleasure.

Another movie worth watching just for the lighthearted fun of it is "Eight Days A Week." This one stars another All-American girl, Keri Russell. Currently Ms Russell is co-starring with Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible 3" but a few years ago she made this film. In it she plays a girl next door who is the object of a nerd's fixation.

To convince her of his love he camps out on her yard. While there he sees her neighbors doing a lot of things that he didn't expect. Since it is an R rated movie some of the things he views are pretty raunchy. So if you like things a little risqué' you might want to watch this DVD, and if you are a Keri Russell fan you know you want to watch it.

Do you remember that TV series about a family of dinosaurs who talked and acted like a modern family? It was called "Dinosaurs" and it had a cult following. Now you can watch seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. This Jim Henson production was ahead of its time with its wicked sense eof humor and its piercing dialogue.

The Sinclair family is the core of this tale about domesticated dinosaurs. They get into all kinds of sitcom situations and they always manage to come out on top. Plus they always have something funny to say about everything. So get these two seasons worth of "Dinosaurs" plus the DVD extras. It is a great way to have laughs galore.

Also out on DVD is "Delicatessen." This bizarre French film concerns cannibalism, and it's a comedy! It takes place in the not so distant future when there is a scarcity of meat. A butcher has a clientele of eccentrics to whom he serves cannibalistic meals. A clown gets hired by the butcher without knowing he is intended to be the main course in a future meal. The only thing that keeps him off the chopping block is the butcher's daughter, who falls for him. Sound weird, well it is.

Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Dominique Pinon and Marie-Laur Dougnac star in this film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It isn't your every day movie but it is different enough to be entertaining in a crazy way.

"Tales From the Crypt Presents 'Ritual'" is a chiller involving voodoo and evil. This film stars Jennifer Grey, new nose and all, as a doctor who moves from New York to Jamaica. Once there she finds her new patient thinks he is under a voodoo spell. She tries to convince him otherwise but finally becomes convinced there may be some logic to his madness.

Tim Curry and Craig Sheffer co-star in this thriller. It is sure to put a chill in the air even on a hot summer night.

 

 

 

 

 

©2006 Jackie K. Cooper

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