Coraline

Lots has been going on, but it's a lot of it is chaotic, annoying or depressing, so I don't feel like talking about it right now. (although I did skip over some good stuff, So I should go back and post about that at some point)
What I do want to talk about is the movie Coraline. We went to get ice cream at Coldstone Creamery next to the Imark in alabaster and then went to see Coraline. I skipped doing a lot of fun stuff this weekend because of a lot of reasons, most of which have to wo with the first setence of my post, and I was very annoyed about this. However, I can say that I definiteively had a very good weekend. Coraline is a great movie. It's one of those movies like Labyrinth or Matilda or Princess Bride that is clearly family friendly but actually has elements of a good movie. The movie pulls you in from the start and gets you right into Coraline's world. The story is about a little girl who has what she would consider less than ideal parents and an alternate reality that she falls into where parents are perfect, there is always cake, and mothers sew you sweaters with stars on them rather than buying you grey school uniforms. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to give it away, but this is another brilliant piece of work both from Neil Gaiman and Henry Selik. So far, every well known movie written by Neil or based on a Neil Gaiman novel has been a brilliant bridge between the land of "child friendly" and truly engaging, high quality movies. Neil does for movies what Lauri Berkner does for music.
Whether you have kids, are a kid at heart, or are a curmudgeonly 30 year old who just wishes the neighborhood kids would "get off his lawn", you should absolutely go see this.
Also,if you like Coraline, or any of the movies I mentioned above, you should check out Mirrormask. Great writing, a great abstract fantasy art style, and amazing puppetry from the henson company: you couldn't ask for much more.
Another note: While Neil's movies have tended to be family friendly (the ones i know about anyways), not all of his books are. Coraline is a great older children's or preteens book, and stardust would be great for an adolescent or high schooler, but keep "American Gods" to read yourself. This should go without saying, but make sure you preview books before you give them to your kids.