Why Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old is a Doc Worth Seeing
What a Christmas present. My daughter gifted me the other night with tickets to see the five-year passion project of director Peter Jackson. (The Fathom Event played Dec. 17 in about 500 theaters, and it’ll be in theaters again tomorrow, Dec. 27.) And I just had to type out a quick blog to say … […]
What’s New and Streaming for Families This December
It’s beginning to look a lot like … December. And when you’re not out shoveling the drive or trying to coax the dog to get his business done so you can cut short your wind-whipped walk, you might just be wondering what family-friendly movies are streaming this month. So slip on your snowflake jammies and […]
Game Goods 2018: Bob Hoose’s Year-End Picks
Here we are once again, sleighing our way into the Christmas season and waning days of 2018. And so our minds naturally turn to … why, video games, of course! Well, my mind is turning that direction, anyway, since it’s the time of year when I compile a short list of games that can sit […]
What’s New and Streaming for Families This November
Elections, family gatherings, brisk winter weather, thankfulness and food. Such are the joys of November. Well OK, politicians, icy roadways and some prickly family members may not always make you joyous, but November has ways to warm your heart nonetheless. And that’s especially true when your blanket is comfy, the cocoa is rich and there’s […]
What’s New (?) and Streaming for Families This October
The leaves are falling, the air is a-chillin’, and pumpkins are grinning out their scraggly-toothed, candle-backed smiles. Yep, it’s October. And as we pull on our sweaters and reach for our rakes, we’re also making plans for those nights when we can gather the family together to enjoy a fun show or movie. So what’s […]
What’s New and Streaming for Families This September
We’ve enjoyed Labor Day, National Cheese Pizza Day, National Teddy Bear Day. Man, September is zipping past us at the speed of that last, fleeting summer vacation day. And we still haven’t talked about what’s on the streaming services that might be fit for your families. So let’s get to it already. There are, once […]
What’s New and Streaming for Families This August
Here we are in sticky August: the Dog Days of Summer. Few of us want to go charging about in the blazing heat of the day—especially if you’re wearing a fur coat and running around with no shoes. (Y’know, like a dog.) So as you follow Bowser indoors to lounge about in a bit of […]
Mom Says: An Apple iOS 12 a Day
So, you were passing by the watercooler at work or standing in the church lobby before the service, and you heard someone say that Apple is introducing some new features for the iPhone that parents will be really, really happy about. And you were wondering if that’s true. Well, let me confirm that, yep, it […]
About Show Dogs …
We’ve recently gotten feedback on Facebook and Twitter regarding our review of the movie Show Dogs. I was the one who reviewed the pic, so, if you just happened to be wondering why this silly kid’s movie is suddenly so controversial on the Focus Facebook page, I thought we should talk for a moment or […]
The Clanging Cringiness of Musical.ly
We’ve all heard about Facebook and Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Certain apps and social media platforms are as ubiquitous as, well, the smartphone you’re probably clutching in your hand right now. But kids flock to some apps that we parents are sometimes woefully unaware of. The Musical.ly app may be one of those. On the […]