Last night – or was it only this morning – I was at the Paramount waiting in line with my 14-year-old for our turn to see the last Harry Potter movie.

We thought we smartly arrived at 10:30 to get in line and into the theater.

I have a rueful “ha” for that one.

The end of the line snaked towards the back of the building and ended somewhere on the north end of the block near Chestnut. The line to go in did not start moving until after 11 pm. We would not get a chance to get concessions before the movie.

Luckily, we were around people willing to talk to us. One woman talked about how she listened to the audio books and how great the voice actor was at creating the different voices. Her husband cautioned me not to reveal any spoilers as she had not finished the 7th book yet.

So we talked about all of the costumes we saw – Hagrid, Bellatrix, Mad-eye and, of course, Harry. Girls wore costumes with touched of the Gryffindor colors, wizarding robes were all over the place. Mr. Mad-Eye had a flask on him.

I should have asked to see his sneak-a-scope. Opportunity lost.

A couple who had been behind us came back down the line and I motioned them over so they could be in their rightful space. They had been smart and went off for concession snacks. (BTW Dennis,  thanks for the Lemonade. I owe you one.)

Once we got in and found our seats – at the very front – we waited about 20 minutes before the movie started. That was enough time for me to get in the line for the ladies’ room.

The crowd cheered when the trailers started. We roared when the movie started with little pre-amble. As the movie rolled along and hi-lights from the book were hit, we cheered or were silent as need be.

What I can say about the movie is that the Hogwarts we knew will be destroyed. It will be fantastical and heartbreaking. Professors will do spells they have always wanted to do and your heart will break as the dead bodies pile up as if this was a Shakespearean tragedy.

If that was true, the ending would be bleaker than it is. But this movie – and the book – wants us to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite all that is terrible right now, it will get better.

As we waited outdside, I noticed 8-, 9- and 10-year-old children in line to see the movie. Let me be blunt and state I am not sure this movie is for them. The theme is about the horrors of war, about good struggling against an all-encompsing evil. The worst of the death scenes take place with a divider between us and the victim. But the sounds, the thumps, the attacks are unmistakable.

Let this movie wait for them to grow up a little bit. In case you think I am being cruel to your kids and not my own, let me disclose that my 10-year-old daughter is desperate to see this movie. She is on the seventh book as we speak. But so far my opinion is that I want her to wait a year or two before she sees it and several years before my 6-year-old can get a look.

Was the movie worth all of the tears I cried, the late hour in which I came home with my son and the inability to sleep until 5 am?

There is no other answer than “Yes.” I would do it again. In fact, I want to see this movie again. There is so much that I have missed. And, perhaps, I am not ready to let go of Harry just yet. If I see the movie one more time, he will not be out of my life completely.

Then again, I still have all seven books.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

With the Easter holiday just around the corner it is time to pull out all of those classic light and fluffy Easter  movies.

I bet you are thinking “what classic light and fluffy Easter movies?”

Exactly.

The only one that comes to mind immediately is Easter Parade starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. Perhaps there are some TV animated movies but none come to mind as a “must-watch.”

This year that has all changed.

This year we have Russell Brand starring as E.B. in Hop which opens on Friday, April 1st. As it turns out, the live action/animation mix is a family pleaser.

E.B. is the son of The Easter Bunny. He is afraid of never being good enough for his perfectionist but loving father (Hugh Laurie). Plus, E.B. has a dream to be a drummer in a band. So the night before he is to be crowned as the new Easter bunny, E.B. runs away from home.

Meanwhile, Fred O’Hare (James Marsden) has been given an ‘intervention’ by his family who are tired of his slacker ways. He has been out of work for a year and cannot find a new job because nothing is ever quite right for him.

It is during this period of change that the two young seekers find each other. And freak out. Somehow these two work out a compromise and begin to really like each other.

Back home, trouble is brewing. E.B.’s disapperance has been noted. The chick who is second in command, Carlos (Hank Azaria) has decided it is time for a regime change. Will E.B. get his chance to shine? Will he save the island? Will Fred figure out what he wants in his life?

While there are times I wished this movie could move just a little faster, there were other times I was totally and completely won over by E.B. He is not a bad bunny, just a little self-absorbed and needing to learn a few lessons the hard way. Fred, on the other hand, got on my nerves. Can James Marsden play anything besides goof (Enchanted) or super serious (X-Men)?

I have to admit I was taken aback when I saw that Brand was going to be in this family movie. With Brand, I think of a comic who is willing to take things as far as they will go in an adult sort of way.

He was Aldous Snow, the ‘hip’ rock star in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He returned as the same rocker in need of career rehab in Get Him to the Greek. Why in the world would I think that this man is capable of the restraint needed for a family movie about the Easter Bunny?

The answer is that I have also seen Brand in Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler and as the voice of Dr. Nefario in Despicable Me. Brand uses restraint in regards to language but his characters are funny and relatable, especially with kids.

The adults can relate to E.B. who is terrified to work under his father’s shadow. Kids will laugh at the jelly bean joke and the chase scenes and the pink berets. All will be taken in by the sweetness of the story and the feel-good moments. It may not be a classic but Hop is certainly a movie you can watch again and again.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t some forced moments here. Or that there were times characters needed to say things that were not said, that some of these characters needed to act in a way most of us would. 

If your goal is to find light-hearted, feel-good fare for the Easter season that the whole family can watch, Hop is the movie for you.

(Two and a half-stars)

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

One of the suggestions I hear all of the time about how to keep a marriage going is to make sure you get a regular date night.

That can get pretty pricey, pretty quick. Just the babysitter alone is bad enough. Then there is the meal and the movie and the gas. But recently the husband and I discovered that some of our favorite restaurants offer a deal for two people having a meal together.

One of our older friends tells me that the deals I am about to talk about are too pricey, that I am not being frugal enough. I guess that might be true but I also know what a meal in a restaurant  that is not a diner or a chain can cost. These deals, well, are real deals.

Because I like seafood, we went to Red Lobster for my birthday. As we opened the menu we found a deal that allowed us to have an appetizer or dessert and two entrees for the price of $30. This was great! It allowed us to have entrees we like as well as each of us to order a drink and share a dessert. We were full but not so stuffed or burdened with food to take home.

Imagine our surprise when we went to LoneStar for Valentine’s Day and discovered another deal like this. The page included in the menu showed a number of choices of entrees for $25. We could order an appetizer or dessert as well as two entrees. My husband loved his meal and I had smothered medallions that were quite tasty.

I know Applebee’s has done this in the past and I am sure other restaurants do it as well. Please drop a note below to let the rest of us know where else have you gotten a great deal for two.  

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

Some things just get my goat.

Last week, the Daily Journal ran a poll about taxing soda pop. Some people in our government thing that they can tackle the obesity rate in our country by making things like soda more expensive.

I was reassured that 79% of the people who responded to the poll said “No, pop should not be taxed to fight obesity.”

Do we have to legislate for stupidity? As one responder said “why does everyone have to be punished for the actions of a few?” It makes me wonder if we are still in high school.

Here is what I know about the matter. Every list of quick fixes for weight loss talks about cutting soda from your diet. One writer stated that you should make it a special drink but not a daily thing. As a person who did just that, I know that giving up soda not only allowed me to lose weight, my rosacea improved as well.

There are a ton of good reasons why we, as people, should not drink as much soda as our country does. The lack of nutritional content, the caffeine content, the road to obesity and diabetes that it leads to are facts we have all heard. And yet the scary thing is that a 1997 USDS study shows we drink 1.6 cans of soda. That was 14 years ago. I wonder what the rate is now.  

The truth of the matter is we have tried this ‘taxing’ tactic for years. With liquor, with cigarettes. And it does not work. But if we want to continue on this same route, we should put higher taxes on games systems such as Wii and Xbox.  Do the same for DS systems, gameboys and all of their games. After all, these things lead to physical inactivity. Shouldn’t that be high on the list of  things to be taxed in the fight against obesity.

Have we not figured out that we can not regulate for stupid? That the way to work on obesity is getting gym and recess back into schools. That eating right might include soda as a special thing like punch. That it might mean parents have to be parents to their kids as well as themselves.

And that is the hardest trick of all.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

One of my favorite genres of movies is the romantic movie, specifically romantic comedies.

 I love movies that make me laugh and cry. If I have not been reduced to a bucket of tears or laughing until my sides hurt or both, it has been a wasted viewing.

 As Valentine’s Day moves rapidly closer, I humbly put out my list of perfect romantic movies. Just rent them or order the movies from your favorite outlet because catching these movies on TV might mean dealing with some nasty editing jobs so stations can get all of their commercials in.

 My list is more than ten movies. I wrote out a list of ten before looking at the AFI list of top 100. After that is when I realized I forgot a few deserving entries. Once you read this list, please comment below to add other great romantic movies that need to be mentioned.  

 1. Casablanca (1942) is iconic in style and glorious in its storytelling. We, as a society, know so many lines from this movie. “This is the start of a beautiful friendship.” We say them without thinking. We know the heartache of finding true love and giving it from Humphrey Bogart. We know the desperation of a woman caught between two good men with Ingrid Bergman.  Also stars Paul Henried, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S.Z. Sakall and  Dooley Wilson.

 2. Scarlet O’Hara may be the best known and best loved heroine who is perhaps the most selfish and self-serving character I have ever come across. But Gone With the Wind (1939) is beautiful in depicting the world of the south, before and after the Civil War.  We are swept away with Scarlet’s love for Ashley Wilkes and her marriages to three different men for survival.

 3. New York is the truly the third co-star of When Harry Met Sally…(1989). Here we meet thirty-something singles who have known each other for years, starting with a drive from Chicago to New York City. They debate whether men and women can be friends and try to prove it over the years. New York becomes the backdrop for their friendship and romance, making one want to visit the city. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan have great chemistry and comic timing which makes the movie great.

 4. An Affair to Remember (1959) find us on a cruise with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. They fall in love despite having others in New York waiting for them. So they make a plan to clean up their lives, to make things right so that they can be together in three months time when they will meet at the top of the Empire State building. Before you even start the movie, make sure to have a box of Kleenex around.

 5. I admit the storyline is a bit preposterous. A woman who has had a heart transplant meets and fall in love with a handsome widower. Then it turns out, the new heart came from his wife. However, the performances in Return to Me(2000) work above that premise to make you laugh, cry, fall in love and want to dance. Minnie Driver and David Duchovny play their parts in an understated manner that makes the emotional scenes stand out. The cast is rounded off by Carroll O’Conner, Robert Loggia, Jim Belushi, Bonnie Hunt and David Alan Grier.

 6. Moonstruck (1987) is a masterpiece. Each scene whether it features Cher or doesn’t is simply magnificent. The story is about a 30ish widow who finds true love with the brother of her fiancé. She also finds out her father is having an affair while her mother deals with the truth and must decide what to do. Olympia Dukakis and Vincent Gardenia star as Cher’s parents. Nicholas Cage and Danny Aiello play her suitors.

 7. Forget Paris(1995) was written and directed by Billy Crystal. Most romantic comedies deal with the start of love but this one deals with keeping love going once the initial flames have died off. Debra Winger may not seem like a natural comedian but here she bounces off of Crystal perfectly. Cynthia Stevenson along with Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, Joe Mantegna and William Hickey Jr. shine as the supporting players.

 8. Ever since I saw The Princess Bride(1987), I knew it was one of the most perfect movies in the world. Robin Wright stars as Princess Buttercup who is being forced to marry the evil prince. What she doesn’t know is that her true love, Wesley as played by Cary Elwes, is still alive or that she is a part of a larger plan to start a war. Directed by Rob Reiner, this movie also stars Many Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon, Fred Savage and Peter Falk.

 9. One of those movies that has never seemed to get the credit it deserves is Roxanne (1987) starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. Playing on the Cyrano story, this time it is set in a mountain resort town with Martin as the large nosed fire chief. Hannah stars as an astronomoner  staying in town for the summer. However, she falls for the new firefighter who is not so smart and needs the chief’s help to woo Hannah. Watch the scene in which Martin must come up with 20 insults. It is a classic.

 10. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) is one of those love stories that is crazy and impossible. A young widow in the form of Gene Tierney rents a house that is haunted by the ghost of a Captain, played by Rex Harrison. She and her young daughter love the house and defy the Captain by staying there. As time goes on, the widow and the captain grow close until a living suitor comes along.  It is a movie that is sweet and loving, featuring Natalie Wood and George Sanders.

 11. Being a big Jane Austen fan, I have to include the latest adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (2005) starring Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth. I find myself being drawn to the characters as we see a different side of Matthew MacFayden’s Darcy. The scene I may love the best is the proposal scene that takes place in the rain. She is turning him down and, yet, they want to kiss each other.

 So now it is your turn. Add to the list.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

A few months ago a friend told me I needed to see the show Parenthood.

This TV show on NBC is based on the movie starring Steve Martin and  Mary Steenburgen. However, the show is not the movie. Some characters are different. The younger brother can no longer come in and out as the gambler. So he is a musician that has been unable to commit to the relationship that produced a son – until now. The younger sister is a lawyer and steady while the older sister followed her musician husband until she could no longer stand his substance abuse problems.

One thing that remains is the oldest brother who is rock steady with a loving wife, a changeable workplace and problems at home. Their son has been diagnosed with a high functioning form of Autism and their honor-role daughter has fallen for a young man who is too much of an adult in their eyes despite his youth and basic goodness.

Because it is episodic, characters get to be richer, deeper. Issues can be delved into beyond the quick moments of explanation. This show takes on Asperger’s, inter-racial dating (two couples), work life, commitment and relationships at all levels.

Starring Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Erika Christensen and Dax Shepard as the four (oldest to youngest) Braverman adult children, we see siblings who get along sometimes and sometimes thinks the other is a pain in the butt. This family talks over and under and through each other in conversations that sound like something that would happen in my house. When the newest spouse joins the family, her sister-in-law says welcome to the “house of crazy.”

The parents are played by Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia who face their own challenges as a couple. Both have strayed and are trying to work through that issue to keep the marriage going. That they still love each other is certain but communication can be problematic – for the talker and the listener.

Actually, there is a lot of that going around as well. But I love watching how these people work it out, how they talk about their relationships and work things when change is in front of them but it is scary and messy. Change is scary and messy. We muddle through it sometimes. The Bravermans seem to be experts at muddling through.

That is why on Tuesday night, I look forward to seeing them muddle through the messy details of life – sometimes winning and sometimes not. Just like I do in my life.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

Like many people this year, I decided to work on my diet and exercise habits.

 I already walk in the afternoon and have cut or limited various bad foods from my diet. So now I am looking to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet while increasing my level of exercise.

 The latter has been helped by my cable company. Instead of watching another episode of Ruby on the Style Network, I am looking through the ON Demand Sports and Fitness category to get to Exercise TV.

 Here I have found some interesting workouts. Two weeks ago, I tried a Back 2 Bollywood with Sarina Jain. While I loved the leg and arm work, my shoulders protested the constant movement. I still do it whenever I get the chance. My 9-year-old daughter asked to join me for that one. She ended up only watching.

 I have also tried some of the yoga workouts and various dance work outs. As much as  love kickboxing with Denise Austen, I did not like it so much with the guy on this system who was trying to make my body go in positions that are possible for more flexible people than myself.

 My biggest surprise has been doing Latin dances with Jennifer Galardi and Billy Banks. I know it is hard work but doing it to a dance makes the work out more fun. If I have to workout, the least I can do is find ways to make it fun. How can it not be fun when you are doing the Cha-Cha or Salsa moves. Suddenly, I feel as if I could be a contestant for Dancing with the Stars.

 But only in my living room.

 How are you finding ways to make exercise fun this year and are you seeing any good results yet?

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

When I was a child – back in the days before cable – every Sunday featured “Family Classics” on WGN.

 We loved these movies. It might be a Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland musical, Errol Flynn saving England from Prince John or a pirate movie. Lassie would try to get home or we would journey to the center of the earth.

 No one TV station does that these days. The Family Channel might show some Disney movie on a Sunday afternoon or Nick or TBS. None of them do it consistently. That means taking the situation in your own hands.

 If I was to have a “Family Classics”  movie time, I thought about what movies would I show. My list ends somewhere around 12 movies but I bet there are more that I have forgotten about. After you read this list, tell me what else should be on here, tell me what is missing.

1. Ramona and Beezus is a great film about a little girl with a lot of energy. Sadly, this energy and fun attitude tends to get her into trouble. And yet we laugh and understand her emotions. Joey King is perfect as Ramona while Selena Gomez, John Corbett and Bridget Moynahan round out the family who are sometimes irratated, sometimes astounded by Ramona’s antics.

1. How To Train Your Dragon shows how scared a young boy can be by his prey and how that prey can turn into a friend. The animation is wonderful in this movie as a young Viking boy learns what makes a dragon tick and uses that to save his village. Extra benefits? Gerard Butler gives voice to the dad and Craig Fergusson plays his teacher.
2. One of the best series of movies ever made is Toy Story. All three are great and speak to children and adults. The story hinges on the realtionship between cowboy, Woody and spaceman, Buzz. These buddy films always go into an action-adventure resue that makes the last final moments thrilling.
3. National Treasure stars Nicholas Cage as a history geek who decides to steal the Constitution of the United States in order to save it from another thief. It is believed to contain a map to the greatest treasure of the world that has been collected. Justin Bartha and Diane Kruger team up with Cage while Sean Bean is hot on their trail and Harvey Keitel is the cop determined to land someone in jail.
4. Aaron Eckhart won my heart in The Core, a movie that dares to travel to the center of the earth in one of the scariest and silliest set-ups ever seen. Because various experiments have slowed down the Earth, Eckhart and some scientific friends must figure out how to get the Earth rotating properly once more. Also stars Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo and Stanley Tucci.
5. Kung-Fu Panda is a heap of fun I never expected. Jack Black gives voice to a panda who wishes to be a kung-fu master. Instead, he is slinging soup at his father’s restaurant. When he is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, it will take a lot of work to make this roly-poly panda into a warrior or will it? Also starts the voices of Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan.
6. Another Nicholas Cage movie, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice surprised me at it being watchable and entertaining. Cage is a master sorcerer searching for the heir to Merlin’s power. He finds it in Jay Baruchel, a science student who does not realize his power. Set in New York, which allowed some great shots of the city. Also stars Alfred Molina.
7. Treasure Planet might be simply another version of Treasure Island but this fun little gem allows us to explore space while dressed as they did in colonial days. Joseph Gorden-Levitt gives voice to our Jim Hawkins who idolizes then distrusts John Silver, voiced by Brian Murray. Also stars Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce and Laurie Metcalf.
8. Lassie gets a new treatment every few years and I like the latest one that stars Peter O’Toole as the Duke who must own the beautiful collie. When tough times force her family to sell Lassie to him, it is her determination to get home to be with the boy she loves. Jonathon Mason stars as Joe and is joined by Samantha Morton, Peter Dinklage and John Lynch.
9. Those stange sounds you hear in the attic might actually be a monster. Aliens in the Attic never stops being fun as the younger members of the family discover aliens who are trying to take over our world. Maybe it is when Grandma (Doris Roberts) is turned into a ninja or Ashley Tinsdale stops being a pill or Dad is trying to make things right with his son. The movie will win you over even when things seem ridiculous.
10. Tarzan never stops being good. This animated clasic by Disney tells a story about an orphaned human baby adopted by gorillas. When he is discovered by a human exploration party, the boy suddenly realizes why he is different. As in all Tarzan movies, there is treachery to be found. But the ape man has more wits about him than most realize. Great score by Phil Collins and voice work by Tony Goldwyn, Glenn Close, Minnie Driver and Rosie O’Donnell.
11. There always needs to be a great cowboy and horse story and Hildalgo fits the bill. Purported to be based on a true story (debunked like crazy), Viggo Mortenson stars as a cowboy with the Buffolo Bill Wild West Show who is offered a chance to run an endurance race. He must go to Saudi Arabia where he is seen as an infidel and his mustang, Hildalgo, is considered inferior to the Arabian Stallions. It plays like a serial and is great fun, even in the serious bits.

 Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

I did not know her personally. I only ever saw Odessa Beals at the Paramount Theater whenever we went there to see a movie. She was the one person I continually saw there that I remembered year after year. We would chit-chat over the years. I once asked how long she had been at the Paramount and found it had been six years at that time.

 I will miss her. 

Odessa passed this past week, her funeral was on the 4th. I found out when her obituary ran in the Daily Journal on January 1. I saw her at the top of the page and thought the woman looked familiar. I did not recognize her out of the setting I have always seen Ms. Beals. My hope is that a life of peace has opened its doors to her as I would anyone else. 

There she was with a listing of family (Two sons, two daughters, 10 grandchildren, a great-grandchild) and friends. The obituary talked about she was respected by co-workers, a hard task when most of your co-workers are teens. I was also surprised to find she was 58. I would have taken ten years off, easily. 

Odessa was a small part of my life as I was in hers. We passed, said hello, exchanged money and tickets. She smiled at my cute kids and we all moved on to whatever came next. But I could count on seeing her there. Not anymore will that happen. 

I will miss you, Odessa. God’s speed to your new life.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

New Year’s is a time of celebration, for wearing funny hats and eating tasty snacks.

New Year’s is when we celebrate the end of one year and the start of another.

Maybe you do it at home alone, maybe your house is the partycentral.

This year, New Year’s falls on our weekly pizza night. If we were going somewhere we would just switch things around and have pizza and movie night on Saturday instead.

However, we are planning to go ahead and have our pizza night. Then we will pack everyone up and go over to Perry Farm by Exploration Station to watch New Year Fireworks at 9 P.M. They last for a short time but it is a great way for younger kids to bring in the new year.

Our family has done this in the past and enjoy watching bursts of colors in the sky despite the freezing cold weather. We normally pack up hot drinks, extra blankets and make sure the kids are dressed warmly.

This year, the predicted temperatures will be much warmer. Day time temperatures could be in the 50’s. Lows are expected to be in the 30’s. I think I will pack rainwear before we head out to see the fireworks.

Then we will go home and watch more fireworks on TV.

How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve with the family?