Sunday's media madness...

Very rarely does a movie sequel come out that is a enjoyable as the first movie to spawn the remakes but before the holidays I watched Nanny McPhee Returns and really liked it, OK maybe not as much as the first one because I already knew the lessons and the premise of the story, but it was a joy to watch non the less.  If you haven't seen the first on I am not going to give out any spoilers.

In the first of the movies, Nanny McPhee; "A nanny reveals ways of making children behave that are much more effective than a time-out in this fantasy comedy based on the "Nurse Matilda" books for children by Christianna Brand. Near the dawn of the twentieth century, Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) is a widower who must tend to his business as an undertaker while looking after his brood of seven children. Brown's offspring are a singularly ill-mannered lot who have managed to drive away 17 different nannies when their father arranges for one Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) to help out with the children. McPhee is an strange looking woman with a large nose, protruding teeth, and pock-marked skin, but it isn't long before the kids realize she has magical powers and isn't afraid to use them to help keep them in line. While the children aren't taken with McPhee's insistence on such things as saying "please" and listening to their elders, it becomes clear everyone has bigger things to worry about. Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) has insisted that if Mr. Brown cannot find a new wife within a month, she'll take custody of one of the children and cut off Brown's inheritance, and while Brown and the widow Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie) seem fond of one another, his ineptitude in courtship seems to insure he'll never get her to the altar. But while the Brown Children realize Nanny McPhee is a formidable opponent, she can also be a valuable ally as they learn to make use of her talents by being better children; they also discover that as they behave better, she begins to look less frightening. Emma Thompson, who played the title role in Nanny McPhee, also wrote the film's screenplay." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

I was able to find a new DVD copy of this movie at Movie Mars for only $9.14 with free shipping, if you would prefer a Blu-Ray version I found the lowest price of $12.48 plus $2.99 shipping for a total price of $15.49 at Import CDs.

The second movie, Nanny McPhee Returns, "A struggling mother receives some much-needed assistance tending to the family farm and raising a group of spirited children while her military husband is fighting overseas in this sequel to the whimsical 2005 fantasy comedy Nanny McPhee. Mrs. Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) lives in a scenic valley with her two daughters and one son. They each understand the importance of working together as a family, and things are going remarkably smoothly for the rural quartet until a pair of spoiled cousins arrive for an extended stay, effectively turning the quaint little farm into a virtual zoo. As the situation quickly getting out of hand, Nannie McPhee (Emma Thompson) suddenly appears on her doorstep claiming that she can bring a much-needed sense of order to the out-of-control household. In time the mysterious helper does just that, using powerful magic to teach her young charges the importance of getting along, and gradually winning their trust in the process. But when the piglets escape from their sty, the contentious kids must work together to recover the family farm's most valued assets, or risk losing everything their father worked so hard to build before he went off to fight in the war. Rhys Ifans and Maggie Smith co-star." ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

I was able to find a new DVD copy of this movie for $18.99 with free shipping from Justuffexpress, if you would like the Blu-Ray version I found it at Amazon for $24.49 with free shipping if you order over $25.00 or are a member of Amazon Prime.

I hope everyone has a wonderful relaxing Sunday!

C.Q.