The Weekend

section is often used to give the citizens of the county

some suggestions of what to do for entertainment and

recreation.

This week's

suggestion is: Stay cool, rent movies. The heat has been

unbearable and moving around too much just makes it

worse. When you head to your video store, check out these

wintery-themed films.

For the

kids, consider any of "The

Mighty Ducks" trilogy. The films deal with a

ragtag group of kids who play hockey. Along the way their

hockey skills and their social skills improve. The films

are rated PG but are fairly tame and acceptable for

children over 6. Also for kids, check out "Alaska ."

The film focuses on a brother and sister who traverse the

Alaskan wilderness searching for their father. There is

plenty of adventure to go along with the beautiful

scenery. " Alaska " is rated PG.

My

recommendations for older kids begin with the film " Better Off Dead ." The

movie stars John Cusack as a young man whose girlfriend

has dumped him. He considers suicide but soon meets a

foreign exchange student that helps him believe in

himself again. It is a funny movie and the climax

revolves around a skiing competition, which is what you

want to see when it feels like it is 110 degrees outside.

"Better Off Dead" is rated PG.

My other

recommendation for the older crowd of younguns is " Gremlins ." The film

takes place in a small town during Christmas. A young man

receives an exotic animal as a pet and when it gets wet,

mayhem ensues. There is plenty of snow and Christmasy

good cheer to keep your spirits cool.

"Gremlins" is rated PG-13 and may be a little

too intense for some viewers.

For adults,

my wintery-themed film selections are " Smilla's Sense of Snow "

and " The Long Kiss Goodnight ." Smilla is

about a half Inuit woman who attempts to solve the

mystery surrounding the death of a boy in her apartment

building. The film is set in Greenland and Iceland and is

chock full of plot twists. Julia Ormond and Gabriel Byrne

both star in the film, which is rated R. There is not

much questionable material but it would probably bore

younger viewers.

"The

Long Kiss Goodnight" is pure action, penned by the

king of the action film, Shane Black (Lethal Weapon). The

film focuses on a housewife, played by Geena Davis, in

Upstate New York around Christmas. She has had amnesia

and when she starts to remember her former life, she

remembers she was a covert CIA operative. She teams up

with Samuel Jackson to prevent a terroristic attack and

rescue her daughter. The action is first-class, the

script is snappy and there is lots of snow and ice. The

film is rated R and with good reason.

There are

plenty of films in your video store that have winter

settings. These are just some of my favorites. These

films are all available at your local video store and can

even be purchased, either new or previously viewed.

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