Hocus Pocus

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: July 16, 1993

DVD Release Date: June 4, 2002

Plot 411: Three witches are reawakened on Halloween and seek to absorb the lifeforces of children to remain immortal.

Review: I remember this movie being a lot of fun, but I honestly haven't seen it in a long time so I don't know if it holds up. The basic premise is that three witch sisters, Winnie (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy), were sucking the lifeforces out of children in the 1600s and were killed for this during the Salem Witch Trials. They cast two last spells though - 1) one to bring them back to life if a virgin ever lit a black-flamed candle in their home and 2) to make a meddlesome boy named Thackery Binx (Sean Murray) live for eternity as a cat. Three hundred years later Max (Omri Katz) lights a candle and unleashes the witches. They have one day to absorb the lifeforce of Max's little sister Dani (Thora Birch). The rest of the movie is a cat and mouse game between Max and friends and the witch sisters. Who wouldn't love a little bit a magic, some singing and the love between brothers and sisters? This was a really great family fantasy/adventure movie and funny as hell too. I gotta say that I watch NCIS rather frequently but didn't realize that Timothy McGee was in Hocus Pocus till I looked it up. Wow, look how far he's come. Even Sarah Jessica Parker was a surprise. I'd forgotten about her too.

Watch It: And root for the witches because other than wanting to suck out your soul, they're not that bad.

Skip It: If you've got young children. Most of this movie isn't too scary, but there is a zombie character that has his mouth sewn shut that's kind of freaky.

Beaches

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: December 21, 1988

DVD Release Date: August 13, 2002

Plot 411: Two girls from entirely different backgrounds meet one summer at the beach in Atlantic City and become lifelong friends.

Review: As children, aspiring performer CC (Mayim Bialik) and little rich girl Hillary (Marcie Leeds) meet on the boardwalk. Despite their difference they instantly become friends and keep in touch with each other throughout the years through letters. As adults, they meet again (Bette Midler as CC and Barbara Hershey as Hillary) when Hillary moves to New York on impulse. They become roommates and really get to know one another. However, a love triangle begins when the women are both attracted to a director with whom CC is working. This, and other life events, cause the women's relationship to be strained. They have an on-again-off-again friendship until a major life event causes them to pull together once again and support one another. This movie has it all and is so perfectly heartwrenching that it'll make the toughest guy shed some tears. The musical score is great as well, but it is really the performances of the leads that make this movie work. The friendship between CC and Hillary is so strong that it is almost a living thing, and like every relationship it has its moments of strength and weakness. Like the theme song, "that's the glory of love."

Watch It: With a box of tissues handy and the expectation that tears will fall.

Skip It: If you've got somewhere to be and don't want people staring at your puffy, red eyes.

Then She Found Me

Rated: R

Movie Release Date: May 2, 2008

DVD Release Date: September 2, 2008

Plot 411: A woman's life falls apart as she goes through a divorce, falls for a student's father and makes contact with her birth mother.

Review: I didn't really like this movie at all. It's not that I hated it, but it was just so underwhelming to me. While there were some funny spots, they were few and far between. The plot was really too thin to work with, even for season vets of the screen. (This movie stars Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick.) Things go from bad to worse and there just doesn't seem to be enough time between let downs to fix the previous problems.

Watch It: If you can't get enough of Colin Firth's hulking walk. He does a lot of it in this film.

Skip It: If you're anyone else.

Trailer: