We needed something to distract the small people with until bedtime, and a hailstorm meant going to a park wasn’t an option. So the husband went to check out Red Box. Which, by the way, is nifty and convenient. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium sounded like a good choice for kids – who wouldn’t love Dustin Hoffman and Jason Bateman with Natalie Portman?

It turned out to be far more of an adult movie than we ever expected, but they watched it anyway. I think the animals and magical toys enthralled them and probably the deeper themes went over their heads. This is a movie about growing up without forgetting what you believed and knew to be true as a kid. Wonderful stuff for everybody, especially writers who might be in the “what was I thinking to try to write a book” stage.

Best line: “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.”