Barbie: Princess and the Popstar: I got to watch this while babysitting the other day. Barbie movies, and sadly I have seen quite a few, are very formulaic and this was no different, magical items, pets that talk to each other, pretty barbie girls and villains. It made me decided that I don't want barbie to be a part of the lives of any children I might have.

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain: Yes, that is a very long title and yes that is the title. It's set in Wales near the end of WWI, a preface at the beginning said that so many people in Wales have the same last name that they call them things like Morgan (the last name) the goat (the identifying name), I believe the title had something to do with this. Anyway, these two Englishmen have been sent to make a map and survey the local mountain, if it's not 1000 ft or more, it's a hill not a mountain. The mountain is discovered to be a hill and the town decided to make it tall enough to be considered a mountain. A cute movie about rallying a community.

The First Grader: This movie was heartbreaking but also really beautiful in parts. This is not a movie for everyone, there were parts where I was covering my ears and looking away. A man who's name I probably would misspell if I tried, is 84 and living in Kenya when free education for all is announced. The man turns up at the primary school near him to get enrolled. He's turned away because he's too old and because he doesn't have the school supplies. The next day he shows up with school supplies but is told that he needs a school uniform and that he should just go home and enjoy what time he has left. He gets himself a uniform and the headmistress lets him into the school. The movie is about his journey and the repercussions of his being allowed to attend school. There are also flashbacks to his past, his family was killed by the British, he is of the Mau Mau tribe and they rebelled against the British and helped win independence for Kenya. (Flashbacks are often violent because terrible things happened, this movie is based on actual events.) This movie made me appreciate so much about my own life and somewhat guilty that I sat through many class periods bored out of my mind, rather than full taking advantage of them.