New on DVD: Unstoppable and Superman

There are two good options for your viewing pleasure this week, one that just might change lives.

Unstoppable

Thriller

The Gist: Two working stiffs show up for their shift at the railroad. It’s not going to be an ordinary day. It’s going to be a  “oops…someone sent an out of control train full of toxic chemicals toward an unsuspecting town” kind of day.

The Ups: It’s not complicated. There’s a train. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine need to stop it. Within that framework, the movie delivers suspense and thrills and little hat tip to ordinary schlubs who turn out to be extraordinary. It’s…excuse me for this…a great ride.

The Downs: If you’re looking for deep, profound, meaningful, and quiet, this ain’t it.

The Verdict: Watch it. Enjoy it. Make popcorn with lots of butter.

Be Aware: Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and  peril and some language. There’s crude language throughout, but not many obscenities.

Waiting for ‘Superman’

Documentary

The Gist: Urban kids (and their hopeful, hard-working parents) who want a good education are at the mercy of arbitrary lotteries for the few slots available at decent schools. This documentary follows five children and their families as they decide to risk aiming for a better life and wait to find out if their name is on the list at a good school. It examines the system that put them in this circumstance and asks why we can’t do better than this.

The Ups: You think education politics is boring? Not when you focus on the ones it affects the most: the children. On the list, there is hope and a future. Off the list, probability of ignorance and poverty. This movie will make you cry.

The Downs: No downs.

The Verdict: Watch it, watch it with your children. Let them see how many advantages they have. Let them – and you – get some passion for making the world better.

* SixSeeds partner Micheal Flaherty and Walden Media were involved in the production of "Waiting for 'Superman,'" but did not influence this review.

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