When I first moved to New York City, I was shocked to find out there are no bargain matinees at movie theaters in Manhattan. For a young man starting college and having neither income nor allowance this was a horrible turn of events. Back in Connecticut, I was working at a multiplex and seeing movies for free. Now, not only did I have to pay for them, I had to always pay full price. And considering full price was even higher than back home, I needed to find work.

Eventually I got a job at an art house theater downtown. Soon, I realized one of the reasons the city might not have discounts in the daytime. People went to the movies in the late morning and the afternoon! A lot of people, in fact. I somewhat remember being told the main reason for the lack of bargain matinees is the higher rents and/or taxes in Manhattan, but I figured the substantial amount of daily moviegoers could have also been a factor. While it seems fine economically to offer a price cut in the suburbs, where fewer people are able to attend those matinee shows, it makes sense economically to charge full price in the city that doesn't sleep, where a good percentage of the population doesn't operate on a 9 to 5 work schedule.

Ah, Mother's Day. The one day a year when Mom gets to chill and take it easy, and everyone else gets to shower her with love, affection, and gifts. Whether you're a mother yourself, or you're just in this world because you have one, what better way to spend Mother's Day weekend than by kicking back with one of these memorable Mother's Day flicks?

Dear James,

You asked whether having kids makes me view kid flicks differently, and whether having kids makes reviewing a family film easier. To answer the first part of your question - to be honest, I'd have to say that my perspective on movies in general is inexorably affected by being a parent, especially when a film concerns parent-child relationships in any way. I remember bawling my eyes out when I took my then 2 1/2-year-old daughter to see Tarzan while I was pregnant with my older son; the whole "You'll Be in My Heart" sequence just tore me up. It's interesting that you used your niece's reaction to Finding Nemo as an example, because the opening of that film was upsetting to me as well. It's kind of a Disney thing to do in the mother within the first minutes of the film, though; I suspect it must be in the Disney Bible somewhere that the change that kicks off the movie should involve the death of a parent. That's a much scarier to most kids than the mythical boogie-man.