by: Wendy Jane Henson IN THEATERS, ON DVD, AND FROM TV ON DEMAND: Wendy Jane Henson has lived in Tualatin since 1992. A former college instructor in creative writing and theater arts (PCC, Marylhurst, and PSU), she is a published author with articles and two books in print, a screenwriter and playwright, and a former producer and director in educational and non-profit theater.

KIDS AND FAMILY 2014, 1hr 47 minutes, Rating: PG, Common Sense Rating: 7+ Some sequels are actually better than the original film. Others make you wonder what the producers were thinking. Dolphin Tale 2 fits somewhere in between. Based on actual events and a true story, the first film follows the rescue of a real dolphin named whose prosthetic tail saved her life and made her a celebrity. The second installment retains the original cast of Harry Connick, Jr, , and . Nathan Gamble again plays Sawyer, the bright young man whose bond with Winter is at the heart of both films. While the second film is a bit overdone, it, too, is based on actual events. Admirably, it emphasizes themes of relationships, spirit, and determination in the face of loss. For me, the last 15 minutes were the best, showing actual footage of the real people doing the real work on which the film is based. COMEDY TAMMY 2014, 1 hr 38 long, painful minutes, Rating: R, Common Sense Rating: Don’t let your kids anywhere near it. If you remember the warmth and sweetness of Debbie Reynolds as Tammy, you won’t find even a tiny glimmer of it here. Mean-spirited, foul-mouthed, sniveling and just plain stupid, this Tammy would have trouble scoring points with anyone. Worst of all, in an era when actors like Camryn Manheim and Brooke Elliott project smart, empowered images of large women, McCarthy portrays them as the hapless backwash crap of the earth. Turned off by the first McCarthy film I reviewed, the trailers forTammy made me hesitate. Still, I hoped I would find some kind of saving grace in this film. I was wrong. Camryn Manheim has been quoted as saying, “You can either destroy your spirit or you can accept and love yourself just the way you are.” She was right. DRAMA BELLE 2014, 1 hr 42 minutes, Rating: PG, Common Sense Rating: 11+ If you are a fan of historical drama, BELLE is your cup of tea. If you like insightful stories about brave women who break social barriers, the movie is a must-see. Inspired by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, played by beautiful Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the story deals with the natural daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay and Maria Belle, an enslaved African woman in the West Indies. Sent to England to be raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield and his wife, Belle encounters endless insults and derision from people of noble social standing. Alternately shunned and treated as a prize for men wanting to move up the ladder of aristocracy, Belle fears she will never find love. When she meets a man who despises slavery, she finds more than love. She becomes a catalyst for change that ultimately will end slavery in England. Sometimes profound and often inspiring, this is a film parents and most older children can enjoy.