Video of the Moment: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

From the time he could stand upright and piece together simple chemical compounds, Flint Lockwood was determined to become a famous inventor. The only problem was that all of his great ideas tended to end up in disaster. His spray-on shoes wouldn't come off. His hair unbalder prompted hair to grow everywhere. His ratbirds were ... well, ratbirds.

His mom was always encouraging, but since she passed away it's been just Flint and his dad, Tim. And they don't communicate very well. Tim tries to connect with his son, but he's just not able to fathom all that science nonsense. And Flint never could understand a fishing metaphor.

So the two are acting like a rheostat under an electromagnetic pulse, meaning they don't know whether to fish or cut bait, meaning they're just at a loss. Then Flint hits on an idea that'll surely make his dad drool! It's a device that reconfigures the molecular structure of water, turning it into ... food. Why, it's just the kind of thing that would prove to his dad, and the world, that Flint Lockwood is a great inventor.

All Flint needs is a few thousand gigajoules of power to jump-start the process. But when he connects his water-to-food machine to Swallow Falls' power generator the contraption launches itself into the sky—after destroying half the town in the process.

Another invention gone haywire. Flint feels like such a loser. And the whole town pretty much agrees with him.

That is, until it starts raining cheeseburgers.

Positive Elements

Flint grows up in a very loving family. As a kid, when one of his experiments backfires, Flint is terribly embarrassed and demoralized, but his mom prods him out of his funk by giving him encouragement and speaking of her love for him and her belief in him. Flint's dad has the same feelings deep inside, but can never seem to express them properly. So, later, it's a big deal when one of Flint's inventions ends up translating Dad's thoughts into eloquent words of love and support.

Another father in town, Earl the police officer, repeatedly expresses love for his child, as well. In fact, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is one of those rare movies that casts dads in a very positive light, showing fathers who face intimidating difficulties to protect and aid their children.

Flint meets an intern weather reporter named Sam, and finds her very appealing. He's especially drawn, however, to the insightful intellect that she works hard to keep hidden in favor of a "dumb blond" pretty exterior. Flint helps her see that her "nerdy" but bright side—thick-lensed glasses and all—is an important part of who she is.

Flint's dad points out that he doesn't think people should get everything they want. That food and treats raining down from the sky will cause greed and laziness and won't be good for people. As things progress, the film illustrates, and Flint learns, that his father's words are full of wisdom.

Using the town's mayor as a foil, we're shown that seeking fame and fortune shouldn't even be a hobby, much less an occupation. Flint discovers, too, that only by trying to invent things for the right reasons (not for recognition and glory) can he truly be happy and fulfilled.

Spiritual Content

The food falling from the sky is called "manna from heaven."

Sexual Content

Flint creates a Jell-O palace that features a topless (but obscured) Jell-O statue of the Venus de Milo.

Violent Content

Some broad cartoonish crash-and-boom is on display through large portions of the film. For instance, when Flint connects his water-to-food machine to the power generator, the contraption starts rocketing its way around the streets, dragging Flint behind. It plows its way through a newly unveiled theme park and sets a giant fish bowl rolling through the crowds, causing explosions and the park's complete destruction. People are sent flying in all directions and Flint smashes face-first into a stop sign. The fish bowl eventually shatters on top of Flint.

A food flood and spaghetti and meatball tornado are two more high-action disasters that take their toll on Swallow Falls, sending people screaming for the hills and jumping into the ocean. Inside a giant scoop of ice cream, kids are flung through the air. And there are a few painful looking bits, such as when Sam plops down on a pier and accidentally smashes the heels of her feet into Flint's eyes as he hides below on a ladder. One character is swallowed whole by a giant roasted chicken.

Sam swells up something fierce from a peanut allergy and Flint falls into a chasm lined with sharp peanut brittle spikes—but we never really fear for their safety.

The police officer tackles people. And he slaps Flint across the face.

Crude or Profane Language

The mayor laments being stuck in "this h---hole" of a town. Somebody says "jeez" and "holy crabballs." And there are a couple of exclamations of "gosh." Kids put the labels "nerd," "freak" and/or "four-eyes" on young Flint and Sam.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Diners have glasses of wine on their tables. When Sam has an allergic reaction, she's injected with epinephrine.

Other Negative Elements

When the kids in town join in on a ice cream snowball fight, Flint's monkey friend throws little dark brown balls that Sam quickly realizes aren't made of ice cream.

When Flint considers taking his father's advice and turning off the food machine, the mayor takes on the role of devil's advocate and seductively whispers in Flint's ear, saying, "Keep it on and be great or turn it off and ruin everything—and no one will like you." During a smashing meatball storm, a guy climbs through a broken window and steals a TV. (Then Flint's walking, remote controlled TV climbs into the window and steals a man.)

The town's one big business is a sardine plant that features a picture of the owner's son, Baby Brent, in a diaper on its company logo. That's not negative, but this might qualify: The adult Brent shows up at a town event and strips to nothing but a diaper to mimic the old photo. It's not the only time he runs around wearing just a diaper, either.

Earl is a muscular guy who wears tiny shorts as part of his police uniform. In a moment of peril, the camera shows a close up of his backside as he flexes his buttocks and leaps into action.

Conclusion

When I first saw the trailer for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the thing that came to mind was cheese. And not the parmesan kind, either. To say that I was then pleasantly surprised when I actually watched the movie is an understatement. Sure, it has its share of cartoon violence, goofiness and lame humor—and lots of parents aren't going to want their kiddos running around yelling "h---hole" at the top of their lungs just because they hear the mayor say it.

But there's something else in the air around here too. And it's not just pancakes.

"We tried to do as progressive a version of a mainstream family movie as possible," co-director Phil Lord told the L.A. Times. "We tried to push the envelope in every area that people could stomach and deliver the craziest movie the studio would allow. We still wanted all the things that make a movie a hit—it had to make you feel something, have lovable, likable characters."

And that last part is where this cheery, animated smorgasbord—which is loosely based on a very popular children's book that is, as we speak, being read to scores of schoolchildren by scores of schoolteachers—lays out a satisfying spread. Amidst all the outlandish fried chicken cloudbursts and ice cream snow storms, there are some very winning thoughts about making wise choices. There are entertaining encouragements to resist the world's narcissistic expectations and the lure of fame. And there is a heartwarming affirmation that, in spite of miscues and failings, a loving family is more valuable than just about anything—even the prospect of never-ending room service from the skies.

God's Pharmacy

This is absolutely amazing - and makes perfect sense!!



It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye.... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red.. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.


Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.



Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries



Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.



Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells.. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.



Psalm 46:10 - 'Be Still and Know that I AM GOD'
Please don't break this even if you only send it to one person. Look at the date when this was started. Thanks


NOTICE AT THE END, THE DATE THE CANDLE WAS STARTED.
GONNA GIVE YOU GOOSE BUMPS.

I am not going to be the one who Lets it die. I found it believable.



This candle was lit on the 15th of September, 1998.

Someone who loves you has helped Keep it alive by sending it to you.

Don't let The Candle of Love, Hope And Friendship die! Pass It On To All Of Your Friends and Everyone You Love!

I received this today for the 1st time and I hope it comes back someday again.

Please keep this candle alive!

A Remarkable Parrot

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother. The first said: "I built a big house for our mother."

The second said: "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."

The third said: "You remember how our mother enjoys reading the Bible. Now she can't see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot recites it."

Soon thereafter, their mother sent out her letters of thanks.

"Milton," she said, "the house you built is so huge. I live only in one room, but I have to clean the whole house.

"Gerald," she said, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home so I rarely use the Mercedes. And that driver is so rude! He's a pain!"

"But Donald," she said, "the little chicken you sent was delicious!"

5 Bogus Diets That Will Do More Harm Than Good

With obesity as one of our top killers, it is no surprise that Americans are scrambling for any kind of weight loss help. Unfortunately, in this eternal struggle to be thin and healthy, people end up looking for salvation in all the wrong places. Instead of relying on exercise and following the credo "everything in moderation," we turn to miracle solutions, diet supplements, and calorie deprivation. The results are the following bogus diets that may work in the short term, but may also cause severe harm to your body over time.

1. The Cabbage Soup Diet

The title is self explanatory: the dieter's survival is based on a constant intake of cabbage soup. Even on the Cabbage Soup Diet website, red flags are evident. The first being the opening words on the homepage, warning that the diet should not be used long term and that followers of the Cabbage Soup Diet have felt light-headed, weak, and have suffered a lack in concentration. The second red flag appears in the suggested seven day menu. Each day, the dieter is instructed to "stuff themselves" with a different food group. How about a little "moderation?" The third warning lies in the "Health" section of the website, warning the dieter that the diet lacks "complex carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals," all of which are necessary for your body to function properly.

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2. The Grapefruit Diet

The Grapefruit Diet functions the same way as the Cabbage Soup Diet; both are only successful because they deprive the body of calories, but at the same time leave out essential nutrients that keep you alive and healthy. The Grapefruit Diet claims to allow the dieter to eat a wide array of foods that they would not think possible, but as long as you follow your meal with half a grapefruit, you will lose weight. This claim is both startling and far-fetched. As predicted, and mentioned on the website, the Grapefruit Diet is dangerous. The Grapefruit Diet website suggests that the diet may lead to dehydration due to the low amount of calories and high levels of caffeine involved. The restrictions in this diet also make it an incredibly difficult and unlikely regimen to follow.

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3. The Hallelujah Diet

Developed by Rev. George Malkmus, the Hallelujah Diet is mainly comprised of organic raw fruits and vegetables, and the miracle worker of this diet: barley juice. Because the Hallelujah Diet strictly prohibits meat and dairy, the barley juice is meant to fill that vitamin and protein void with its high nutrition content. While not necessarily depriving the dieter of essential nutrients, the Hallelujah Diet's highly restrictive nature makes this diet hard to live on and therefore, not ideal.


4. The Martha's Vineyard Detox Diet

The regimen alone explains why this diet is both dangerous and bogus. The diet is meant for the short term, "lose 21 pounds in 21 days," where the dieter survives on highly nutritious cocktails, a short list of raw vegetables, and soup. According to the itinerary for the Martha's Vineyard Detox Diet Retreat, dieters enjoy a breakfast of "detoxification cocktails." Hourly cocktails follow until lunch when an assortment of raw juices are available. Dinner is slightly more filling, with the option of nutritious soup. The bottom line is that surviving on nutritious cocktails and juices will only deprive your body of the nutrients it needs. Also, the minute you begin to eat normally again, the weight will pack back on.

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5. The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet

Once used as a cure for Scurvy amongst American soldiers, apple cider vinegar is now used as an appetite suppressant amongst dieters. According to various evaluations of the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet, the diet touches that fine line between a dangerous and regular diet. The most dangerous part is the apple cider vinegar itself, which when taken in the recommended doses of 3 tbsp gets dangerously close to the point of damaging your stomach due to its high acidity. However, the diet's regimen includes eating in moderation and daily exercise, which is most likely why people lose weight on this diet, not the apple cider vinegar. It is still unclear as to whether or not the vinegar actually assists you in losing weight at all, apart from making you so sick that you don't want to eat anything at all.

Movie of the Moment : Paranormal Activity

Some people have bad dreams. Some even have night terrors. But both of those would be a welcome break for Katie. Since she was 8 she’s had what amounts to an evil spirit siphoning off her slumber.

Nobody else has actually seen this thing or shared in Katie’s horrors. But she’s convinced that a demonic boogieman burned her house down when she was a kid. And since then she’s suffered with nightmares and had a recurring sense of a shadowy figure lurking at the foot of her bed.

Of course, the now twentysomething Katie neglected to mention any of that to her boyfriend Micah before he moved in. (How do you bring up the topic of a demonic entity that lounges around in your bedroom?) Even after he finds out, though, her knucklehead beau doesn’t seem to mind all that much. To him, the stories are just a great excuse to go out and buy a cool video camera so he can try to capture shadowy thumps and bumps in the night. Not that he really believes in any of this stuff.

Katie, however, believes. And she gets a bit frantic after a visiting psychic reports that negative energy or attempts at poltergeist communication could make things worse. So Katie begs Micah to drop the late-night videoing.

It’s too late.

Micah’s already recorded the bedroom door moving all on its own at 2 a.m. And he’s getting excited. He’s determined to "solve the problem." So it’s full steam ahead on the paranormal express.

Positive Elements

In spite of some of his goofy choices, it’s apparent that Micah has strong feelings of protection and love for his girlfriend. As their situation becomes progressively more dangerous, he puts his wellbeing (and eventually his life) on the line to stand by Katie and save her from her spiritual stalker.

Spiritual Content

The whole premise of Paranormal Activity revolves around dark supernatural happenings taking place in a young couple’s home. The frightened pair never turns to the church or God for help, however. Instead, Micah and Katie consult a professional psychic who professes to be an expert in hauntings perpetrated by "human spirits."

The psychic says he quickly senses that the threat is demonic in nature. And that’s when he warns Katie not to "encourage" it by giving it any attention. He strongly states that using such "communication" tools as Ouija boards might have disastrous results.

Katie listens and takes the advice to heart. Micah doesn’t. He pledges to obey Katie’s new rules about dealing with the demon, and his oath ends with, "So help me God!" But he's already borrowed a Ouija board, so the damage is already done. (Its pointer ultimately begins to move on its own and it bursts into flames.)

Katie talks of praying as a child that the demon would go away. Almost catatonic, she clutches a small wooden cross so tightly that her hand bleeds.

Sexual Content

Katie wears a number of formfitting tank tops and T-shirts (with lightweight shorts) in and out of bed. She reveals cleavage on a number of occasions. Micah wears a T-shirt and boxers to bed.

Early on, Micah tries to tempt Katie into performing a striptease and having sex with him on-camera, but she refuses his advances. He does fire up the camera after having sex—he is shirtless and she has the sheet pulled up over her chest. We see them kiss several times. They spoon as they sleep. Micah zooms the camera in on Katie’s clothed backside as she walks up a staircase. And he tries to peek into the bathroom with it as she’s sitting on the toilet. (She slams the door.)

A few illustrations in a book on demonology are of horned creatures with bare female breasts.

Violent Content

Doors bang and heavy things thump and crash through a variety of jump scenes, but the violence connected to all the smashing and screaming is, with one exception, out of the camera’s frame. That exception involves Micah being picked up and thrown through a door.

In other cases we see the results of the offscreen thumps and shrieks. After being dragged out of the room by an invisible presence, for instance, Katie lifts her shirt to reveal teeth marks on her lower back. We also see her in a T-shirt covered in blood.

Crude or Profane Language

Close to 40 f-words. A dozen s-words. "D‑‑n," "a‑‑" and "h‑‑‑" pop up. God’s and Jesus’ names are each misused about a half-dozen times. (God’s is combined once with "d‑‑n.")

Drug and Alcohol Content

None.

Conclusion

Back in 1999 a little independent horror flick called The Blair Witch Project took moviegoers by surprise. That shaky-handed, one-camera pseudo docu-thriller was presented as an amateur movie project made by three students who supposedly disappeared during its making. The film itself was mediocre. But the viral popularity that sprung from its groundbreaking use of the Internet—including a Web campaign that suggested the footage it contained was the real deal—made the little film into a mega-blockbuster.

Paranormal Activity has very clearly pulled its filming and distribution strategy from that same successful playbook.

Reportedly shot by writer/director Oren Peli in his own house on a miniscule budget of only $15,000 (Blair Witch came in at $60,000), the mostly ad-libbed piece was created in a week. When the big studio boys picked it up, they were intent on re-shooting something more polished for the theatrical run. But after test-screening the original, the audience’s gasping reaction changed their minds.

That led to midnight-only showings of the pic in a handful of college towns. And Internet blitzes on Facebook pages and Twitter. Voilà, box office gold scraped from the sheer face of the cultural cliff. Impressed, an executive from a rival studio told Deadline Hollywood, "Look out, cuz there’s a freight train coming, and Paramount is going to make a TON of cash on this pickup. Cuz they ain’t spending anything on it, and who knows where the ceiling is!"

Considering the fact that this slowly paced, one camera, low-budgeter eschews CGI special effects for long minutes spent watching the two central characters sleep (Coming next summer! Grass grows in Vermont!), its preternatural popularity may seem totally unbelievable. In fact, on paper it feels, er, yawn-inducing at best.

But the simplicity of the presentation somehow works as it plucks at viewers’ primal fears. The claustrophobic feel of a little tripod-bound camera watching two defenseless people—separated from the evil supernatural happenings around them by only a thin cotton sheet—delivers a very visceral creepiness.

That doesn’t, however, translate to: "Wrangle up the whippersnappers, Ma. We’re goin’ to an old-time skeery flick!" Because in spite of the lack of Saw-style gore, this is still a pretty messy R-rater. We are dealing with demonic stuff here, after all. And the frequently exploding f-bombs are dropped with the careless abandon of a world war.

Would Hitchcock, were he directing now, have laced The Birds with bombastic obscenities like that? I can only hope not.