Homeschool Fiction

Due to the Popularity of my Top 10: Favorite Movies and Television Shows We’ve Seen in 2007 post, I’ve written one for 2008.  This year’s list was a lot more difficult to create than last year’s since we didn’t see as many fantastic movies this year.  However, everything on this list is excellent.

Top 10 Family Favorite Movies we viewed in 2008 (not all came out in 2008):

Nim’s Island;  This movie is the best I’ve seen in a really long time.  It’s also unique in that it appeals to all ages and interests.  It has action, adventure, mystery, intrigue, fantasy, and even romance.  I love it and highly recommend it for all age levels.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; I’ve heard many negative comments regarding this movie and I don’t understand where any of them are coming from.  This fourth installment of the popular Indiana Jones series fits right in line with the rest. It completes several storylines from earlier movies and it shows us what becomes of Indy as he grows older.  Sure, there is a bit of the supernatural, but there is in all the movies if you think about it.  All in all, I think this one is my favorite of all four and I highly recommend it.

Kung Fu Panda (Widescreen Edition); This one was a real surprise to me.  I wasn’t expecting to like it at all, but I ended up loving it.  It’s quirky and fun.  We loved it so much at the dollar theater that we bought the DVD — the special features are pretty cool!

The Gods Must Be Crazy Series (The Gods Must Be Crazy / The Gods Must Be Crazy II); We’ve had this DVD in our closet for over a year, but could never quite get up the nerve to watch it.  Once we cleaned out the closet and put the first disc into the player, we all stopped what we were doing and sat mesmerized for the entire movie.  These two movies are wacky, hilarious, and a wonderful cultural immersion like we’d never seen before.  We all loved them both, and then loved learning about the main character’s real life online.

Mamma Mia! The Movie; Only our 12 year old and my husband and I saw this.  It does contain a few adult themes, but I’m sure my younger daughter would love this movie, too.  The music is great (of course) and the setting is gorgeous.  I haven’t bought it yet, but I hope to in the near future.  After you’ve seen it once, it’s a movie that could play in the background while you do housework.  The music is fun and uplifting and will really keep you going.

Tinker Bell; I thought this would be gimmicky since Tinkerbell isn’t a new character to Disney.  I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet this movie is.  We all now adore Tink and think she is a fantastic character.  My younger daughter is so enamored with this movie that she has redesigned her just-about-to-be-painted walls to reflect the Tinkerbell movie.

Barbie Princess Collection (Barbie & The Diamond Castle, Barbie as The Island Princess, Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses); Barbie and the Diamond Castle came out this year, but I’m mentioning them all because they are all wonderful films.  The stories are good, the quality is superb, and even the songs are great — if only they were easy to find on CD or mp3.  While it’s true that my youngest daughter loves these the most in our family, none of us has minded when she’s wanted to watch these.  They are great!

Alex Rider – Operation Stormbreaker (Widescreen Edition); I’d never even heard of this movie that my husband found.  Wow were we surprised when it instantly became one of our family favorites.  It’s sort of a cross between Lara Croft and Agent Cody Banks, but better than either.  If you are looking for a kid-friendly action adventure about a kid, this is your movie.

Enchanted (Widescreen Edition);A fairy-tale come to life, a la a twist like Kate & Leopold.  This had the potential of being poorly done, but it wasn’t.

Nancy Drew; I’m a Nancy Drew fan all over again…  This actress does a wonderful job at remaining true to the original Nancy Drew, but living in today’s world.  The story is great, too, of course, or I wouldn’t be recommending it.

Related Articles:

• Top 10: Favorite Guy Movies Viewed in 2008
• Top 8: Favorite Guy Movies Viewed in 2009
• Top 10: Favorite Christmas Movies 2007
• Happy Valentine’s Day! Top Ten Favorite Romantic Movies
• Top 10: Favorite Movies and Television Shows We’ve Seen in 2007

By: Lisa