Posts Tagged ‘films’

Taking your children to the movies can be a real horror show when they’re autistic, have Sensory Processing Disorder, or are otherwise sensitive. The boom of the Dolby sound system, the dark, the intense visuals; all of these can combine to turn even the mildest movie into a nightmarish experience for kids and parents. If you’ve ever spent time cowering in a lobby with a hysterical child while everyone else enjoys the show, you’re not really eager to repeat the experience.

Take your sensitive child(ren) instead to Sensory Friendly Films, a monthly children’s film screening presented jointly by the Autism Society of America and AMC Entertainment. Each month at this special screening, AMC turns the sound down, turns the lights up, and temporarily flings its “Silence Is Golden” policy into the trash can. Audience members can get up, dance, sing, hoot, or race right out the door, and no one in the tolerant audience will bat an eyelash.

There are screenings across the country, but the two Bay Area locations are AMC Van Ness 14, 1000 Van Ness Avenue (at O’Farrell Street), San Francisco; and AMC Cupertino Square 16, 10123 N. Wolfe Road (at Vallco Parkway), Cupertino; 408-871-2262. The next screening will The Tooth Fairy on February 6 at 10am; tickets are $4-6; see autism-society.org for more information.

Dear God, it’s been hot. So very hot. And it seems like no one in the Bay Area has air conditioning, not me, not you, not the grocery store where the lettuce is as limp as the streamers tied to the fans blowing the hot air around. You know where it’s nice and cool? At the movies! Cinemark Theatres sweetens the deal with the Summer Movie Clubhouse, 10am screenings every Monday and Tuesday for just a buck a show (or $5 for the whole 10 movie series).

This week’s movie is Space Chimps; I hear it’s pretty meh but: air-conditioning! Two whole hours where you won’t have to get anyone milk! The cavalcade of films continue until August 17-18, when things wind up with Open Season. Save a seat for me at CineArts at the Empire, 85 West Portal Avenue in San Francisco. Call 415-661-2539 or visit cinemark.com.

The Oakland Parkway dropped its venerable Baby Brigade nights in summer of 2008, leaving Oakland parents without a public space in which they could watch a movie, eat a pizza, and parent all at the same time. But see! The Baby Brigade didn’t die, it just moved. It’s now at the Cerrito Speakeasy, which, if you haven’t been there before, is housed in the beautiful vintage Cerrito Theater that was restored by the same couple that owns the Parkway.

Each Tuesday during the early-evening shows, you go into the wedding cake of a neon-fronted theater, you order a sandwich, you watch a movie, and you don’t worry so much if your infant emits a squawk or two. You can even order a beer; which we all know is great for nursing. It’s so much fun that you’ll be sad when your baby ages out.

Tomorrow night’s fare is Revolutionary Road at 6:30, upstairs is Waltz With Bashir at 7. Both are excellent, well-reviewed films, one about abortion and the dissolution of a marriage, the other an animated tour through the horrors of war. Maybe you’d better turn Junior’s eyes away from the screen while the show’s on; you don’t want him writing to Kindertrauma in 17 years.

Cerrito Speakeasy Theater is located at 10070 San Pablo Avenue (at Fairmount Avenue) in El Cerrito, call 510-814-2400 or visit cerritospeakeasy.com.

Yeah, I thought it was a great idea to rent The Secret of Nimh for my sensitive two-year-old daughter. Talking animals! What could go wrong? Cue dark-and-creepy scenes of lab rats being experimented on…and she watched the rest of the movie from my lap.

Why oh why didn’t I consult Commonsense Media before I rented? The San Francisco-based organization runs a sort of Consumer Reports for kid media, and would have told me that The Secret of Nimh contains animal-torture scenes. I will never again rent my kid a video, buy a game, or watch a TV show without checking Commonsense Media’s highly specific, darned high-quality reviews. In fact, I may stick to their lists of recommended media picks. Let’s see, I’ll start with Smart Movie Girls and then move on to Best Movie Moms…