I had never seen “The Game” so I was happy to see this film pop up on one of my streaming services. Starring Michael Douglas at the height of his powers along with the always entertaining Sean Penn, the film had star power along with a very intriguing story.

Nicholas Van Orton (Douglas) is a successful and wealthy banker who seems to have everything. He looks like Gordon Gekko but Douglas plays him without the cockiness and bluster. He’s a straight-laced guy living a very comfortable life. His brother Conrad (Penn) is the opposite as we learn quickly when Nicholas meets Conrad for lunch. Their conversation sets up the contrast between the characters, and then Conrad offers up an odd birthday gift. He wants Nicholas to take part in a personalized, real-life game. Nicholas is skeptical but then reluctantly agrees to accept after looking into it. And then things spin out of control.

The story has so many twists and turns that it’s sometimes hard to keep up. The audience is often left guessing as to whether Nicholas is truly experiencing a game or if it’s all real as his life spins out of control. The end of the film is over-the-top, with a final plot twist that will surprise most viewers.

Yet the movie is flawed. It’s difficult to explain this in detail without giving away the ending, but too many of the details don’t add up. It’s too hard to believe the story. We’re used to suspending disbelief in fantasy films like superhero movies or ghost stories, but the setup here is grounded in the real world.

Still, the movie is brilliantly shot and paced. I didn’t realize this was a David Fincher film until the closing credits. It makes sense, as the entire feel of the film fits his style. But Fincher admits he probably should not have directed this film due to problems with the story, particularly in the third act. His wife told him not to take on the project but he didn’t listen. The frenetic ending of the film delivers plenty of entertaining twists and action, but you’re left asking yourself how this is all possible.

While the film is far from perfect, the performances from the cast make up for the problems with the story. Douglas is brilliant as you would expect. He’s able to handle such a wide range of emotions without ever overacting. Events if the events around him seem far-fetched, his reactions always come across as authentic. Penn dials it up and delivers a manic performance that fits the character. He’s perfect for this role, even if this is far from the best performance in the film. Deborah Kara Unger is fantastic as Nicholas’ love interest. It’s surprising that her career fizzled after this film. James Rebhorn delivers his usual great performance as he convinces Nicholas to give this crazy idea a try.

Do I recommend this movie? Yes. It’s a fun ride from a brilliant director featuring great performances from a stellar cast. But the film has issues that will leave some viewers less than satisfied. You’ll probably enjoy it if you can get past some of the unbelievable sequences and treat this as a suspenseful popcorn movie. Just don’t ask too many questions . . .

I’m not sure what possessed me to watch this film. I must have been pretty bored when I scrolled through the film options on Amazon Prime to land on this one. I do enjoy older films, and the cast here is fantastic so it seemed like a reasonable choice.

Sadly, I wasn’t too impressed. I came away thinking that a film like this probably derailed Alan Alda’s film career after his incredible run on M.A.S.H. It was very hard back then to make the jump from TV to film, and Alda was certainly typecast at this point. Unfortunately, his character here is just a less funny version of Hawkeye.

The movie isn’t terrible, but it wasn’t very funny, and wasn’t that the point? The cast featured Alda along with Carole Burnett. One would expect plenty of laughs. Rita Moreno, Jack Weston, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis and Bess Armstrong rounded out the cast. Again, there’s plenty of talent here, but something’s missing.

The underlying story had promise (see the original trailer here). Three couples traditionally go on vacation with their friends every new season. They’re all very close. Jack (Alda) and Kate (Burnett) are a couple. We learn early on with the first vacation that Nick (Cariou) isn’t very happy with his wife , Anne (Dennis). Then on the next vacation he shows up with a much younger woman, Ginny (Bess Armstrong), and the others struggle to come to terms with this. We see these relationships evolve as they go through more vacations together with each new season.

Given this setup and the talent in the cast, there are so many opportunities for funny situations, but the script just doesn’t deliver. Claudia (Moreno) and Danny (Weston) are the third couple and Danny’s character was written to provide laughs, but his whining just comes across as annoying.

Naturally, we get all of the cliches you might expect from this situation. Nick and Ginny are having lots of sex, and the other couples have to overhear them when they’re stuck on a small boat. This should be a funny scene, but instead we get to see just how annoying and bitter Carole Burnett’s character Kate can be. This would make most men either forego marriage or start thinking of ways to find their own younger playmate. It’s a waist of Burnett’s considerable comedic talent to give her so little to work with here. Also, Rita Moreno is always sexy but somehow her character offers little in the way of sex appeal with her role.

What we do get is way to much of Alan Alda being Alan Alda. Perhaps this would have been tolerable had he brought along the writing team from M.A.S.H., but all we get is endless talk around the awkwardness of the situation facing these couples.

It seemed like everyone in the cast, particularly Weston and Alda, resorted to overacting to make up for the weak script.

By the time we get to the last vacation, tensions are running high, and we get the inevitable drama that leads to some level of acceptance. But by this time I barely cared.

Let’s take a look at some of the best wholesome movies that you should watch while you are at home in isolation. Additionally, we’ll also list the places where you can stream them.

You do not have to read news related to the pandemic every hour of the day. In fact, that could be counterproductive. Instead, the more important thing is to stay happy during these tough times.

That leads us to the fact that you can’t really go to the cinema for the foreseeable future. However, you can still turn your home into a happy place for yourself.

With streaming options such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix along with a ton of other streaming services (some of which are even free such as TubiTV and Crackle), you will never run out of choice. You can either run these apps on your Smart TV or mobile device, If you don’t have either then you can get a media box like an Apple TV or a Firestick (cheaper option) which will convert your old school TV into a smart TV. There are many tricks to get tons of kids channels on a firestick, you can find these tips at sites like firestickblog.com.

So for the next couple of weeks or so (of course, it depends on whether or not the government in your area has re-opened the economy), you should lessen the amount of time you spend on reading news and enjoy some of the best wholesome movies that you can watch with your kids.

The movies that we will mention in this guide will no doubt take your mind off the pandemic for a while at least.

So let’s get to it.

Missing Link

The movie probably deserved an Oscar or two but judging by the number of people who watch the Oscars this year, who really cares. Missing Link could not win an Oscar because that went to Toy Story 4 (and you know that when Disney is involved, your movie is going to win something big). Missing Link is developed by Laika and this animation house has a strong pedigree of great animated movies.

The studio has previously introduced animated movies such as The BoxTrolls, Paranorman and Coraline along with Kubo And The Two Strings. The stop-motion adventure though is more ambitious when compared to anything else that the studio has done before. Not only that, it is also not that kooky. As for the plot, the movie revolves around a Victorian explorer (voiced by Hugh Jackman) who travels the world and about (a second character) BigFoot (as the name suggests, a somewhat anxious but gentle) voiced by none other than Zach Galifianakis. Both of them try their best to travel from their homeland (America) to the Himalayas.

The clay models in the movie have been rendered magnificently and the whole take of the movie is not only unique but also refined. Some may consider this story as a classic but Missing Link has enough original content to throw your way that you will definitely feel refreshed after watching it.
Expect to spend around 90 minutes to watch the full movie on Netflix.

Fantastic Mr Fox

Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl are always ready to amaze people with their work. But they really outdid themselves with Fantastic Mr Fox. Or more specifically, the animated version of Fantastic Mr. Fox. It has become a cliché to say that a given movie was a piece of magic, but it wouldn’t be cliché for this movie.

The entire movie is handmade and that makes each frame look gorgeous. The voice acting from the likes of Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep and George Clooney really help the film glow.

Expect to spend around 90 minutes to watch the full movie on Amazon Prime Video.

Rango

This movie has a Western theme and takes place entirely in an animated desert. It stars a big-name Hollywood actor Johnny Depp. Gore Verbinski (the director of the film) really allowed Johnny Depp to come into his own in Rango. The pair had worked with each other before but not on a project like this.
As for the plot, the movie focuses on a Chameleon pet and its experiences in small places around a desert. We won’t name any movies to compare this with to help you understand this movie better because there is nothing quite like it. Your kids will enjoy this movie from the first minute to the last.
Expect to spend around 120 minutes to finish the movie on Netflix.

It’s been over 35 years since the release of “Blood Simple,” a film noir classic where we were introduced to the brilliance of the Coen Brothers as a director/producer team. It’s now streaming on HBO and is definitely worth your time. If you’ve seen it before, you’ll know this film is always worth a re-watch. And for newcomers you’ll get to see many of the techniques the Coen brothers used throughout their amazing career.

The film is set deep in the heart of Texas, with a jealous saloon owner who wants to kill his younger wife and her lover. He hires a cheap divorce detective to do the job, but the detective has other ideas, and things unravel from there.

The film makes the viewer uneasy from the start. You know there’s trouble ahead, and the story delivers. There’s violence and plenty of twists and turns in the story. It has some very funny moments, which becomes a signature element of the Coen brothers. The dark humor adds to the fun for a film that is a must-see for film noir fans. The story and plot twists work well here due to attention to detail. You believe that all of this is plausible, which is critical to this type of story.

Siskel & Ebert discussed loved the film at the time, and as Siskel points out he’s usually tough on films with extreme violence.

In this clip, Joel and Ethan Coen are interviewed about “Blood Simple” soon after its release, discussing the cast and the making of the film.

I was struck by the performance of a young Frances McDormand, who was naturally brilliant in the film. She got the part after her friend Holly Hunter couldn’t take the role. Here a great clip where she discusses the film. She’s part of a brilliant cast led by Dan Hedaya as Julian Marty and veteran character actor M. Emmet Walsh as Private Detective Loren Visser.

The film launched the career of the Coen Brothers. Here’s how Bullz-Eye.com described their career:

Making their debut with a thriller (1984’s “Blood Simple”) and naturally fearful of being typecast, the Coens quickly set out to establish that they will never make the same movie twice, following “Blood Simple” with a screwball comedy (“Raising Arizona”), a gangster movie (“Miller’s Crossing”), and, well, whatever you want to call “Barton Fink.” By this time, everyone knew what ‘a Coen brothers movie’ meant (even if they had no idea what their next story would be), and while they had their choice of the cream of the crop, the Coens continued to fill their movies with actors, not movie stars. If one actor happened to be both (Paul Newman, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt), well, that was a bonus, but they clearly have a fondness for character actors. It is not a coincidence that John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, John Mahoney, Richard Jenkins, Charles Durning and Stephen Root have all appeared in multiple Coen brothers movies.

Check out “Blood Simple” for a brilliant crime thriller and check out the original trailer.

Being able to spend time with your loved ones on a regular basis is important. Having a bond with their parents helps many kids feel more comfortable discussing issues when they arise. A great way to bond with your children is to have a family movie night at least once a week. Use the guide below to learn a few tips for creating a night that your kids are sure to love and look forward to each week.

Choose Movies from Today or from the Past

When you watch movies on a Bundle with DIRECTV, you will be able to choose from a large variety of movies, rather than just a few that a theater is showing. There are Pay-Per-View movies available that your family can choose so that they can see the latest and greatest movies that are available. You can also choose from a large variety of movie channels that show movies from the past, such as old comedies, musicals, or even children’s shows.

Ensure a Movie is Ideal for Everyone in the Group

When you search for a movie for your family to watch, you will be able to read a description of the movie and the rating of the movie to determine if it is appropriate for your family. You do not have to search multiple websites on your phone to find out the information you need like you would if you wanted to find out about a movie before buying tickets to a movie theater.

Choose the Movie Your Family will Watch in Advance

If there is a particular movie that you and your family are interested in watching together, you can search for it on the DIRECTV app. You can set the device to record the movie when it plays so that you and your family can watch it at your leisure. This allows you and your family to watch the movies you really want to watch when you want to watch them.

Enjoy the Snacks that Your Family Really Loves

When you go to a movie theater, your family will be limited on the snacks that they are able to enjoy to the ones that are offered at the movie theater. When you have a movie night at home, you can create any snacks that your family loves. This provides you with opportunities to make healthier snacks than those that you would find at the theater or a larger variety of snacks. Consider creating cookies, salads, or even smoothies for everyone to enjoy.

Stop and Start the Movie as Needed

When you watch a movie at a movie theater, you will miss parts of the movie if you or your children need to use the restroom. When you watch the movie at home on your television, you can start and stop the movie as needed so that no one has to miss any important scenes. This can also be great if anyone falls asleep during the movie because they can rewind to the place they last remember and finish the movie at a later time. This allows everyone to be able to fully enjoy any movie your family watches.

Having a family movie night at home will save you a lot of money. Going out to a movie theater can be very expensive when you consider the cost of tickets, snacks, and drinks. Having a movie night makes choosing and enjoying the movie easier for everyone.