Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, A Family Friendly Movie

National Velvet

If you have never seen National Velvet, you really should lay your hands on a copy and set aside a couple of hours to watch it. Released in 1944 when Elizabeth Taylor was just 12, it is a heartwarming story of a young girl who wins a difficult horse in a lottery. She then runs across a wayward youth (Mickey Rooney) who knows how to train horses. Together they get the horse ready for the Grand Nationals in England.

Grab a bowl of popcorn and watch this movie with your kids or grandkids. If you have a horse lover in the bunch, they will be sure to love National Velvet. This movie is very well priced at Amazon and a perfect stocking stuffer for a person who is crazy about horses.
It is interesting to see the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor in a movie where she is young and innocent, and also the young Angela Lansbury who plays Velvet's sister.

For the dedicated horse movie fan here is another way to purchase National Velvet. It comes here packaged with 3 other classic horse movies.

Classic Horse Favorites: 4 Film Favorites (Black Beauty / The Story of Seabiscuit / National Velvet / International Velvet)

PONYO: A Top-Rated Movie For Young Children

Anyone who is looking for an excellent movie choice for young children need look no further than Ponyo.  A masterfully animated Japanese film from Hayao Miyazaki and Disney and the Studio Ghibli, it is a lovely and gentle movie, perfect for gift giving.

Sometimes, however, a movie alone seems a little lacking in the gift giving sense and, in this case, Disney has solved the problem for us by providing a beautiful Ponyo DVD and plush gift set.

The Ponyo gift set includes the two-disc special edition DVD and a plush Ponyo. If you've seen the movie, you will be able to understand how wonderful it will be to actually own a plush Ponyo.



Click here to read my full review of Ponyo.
Click here to order your Ponyo DVD Plush Gift Set from Amazon.

The African Queen on DVD and Blu-Ray

Looking for a classic movie with both romance and edge-of-your-seat adventure? Look no further than The African Queen, one of my top favorite movies of all time. Starring two of Hollywood's legendary best actors, Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, this movie is a must-see and a must-have to add to your DVD or blu-ray collection.

The African Queen is now available on DVD and blu-ray (release date March 23, 2010 but already a bestseller). The blu-ray commemorative box set contains the fully-restored version plus multiple extras including a new "making of" feature, collectible packaging including a second disc audio CD of the original Lux radio broadcast of The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart and Greer Garson, Katharine Hepburn's out-of-print memoir about the making of The African Queen, and more.

I'm not going to reveal how the scruffy, ill-mannered steamboat captain and the snooty spinster end up together. Instead, I'll just tell you that the story alone is worthy of a five-star rating and the acting by this legendary couple deserves more. Choose your preferred DVD version of The African Queen, watch it, then come on back here and tell me how much you enjoyed the movie, too. If you're a Bogey or Hepburn fan, or even if you're not (yet), I'm just sure you'll love it.

Quick Links:
The African Queen (Commemorative Box Set - Blu-ray)
The African Queen (DVD)