By Diane Emeott

About 220 CrossFit athletes from all over South Florida put their bodies to the extreme test at the 2015 “Deer Games” at Deerfield Beach Aquatic Center and Deerfield Beach Middle School track on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The games were hosted by CrossFit Deerfield Beach, a warehouse-style gym at 905 SE 1 Way that incorporates gymnastics, metabolic conditioning and weight training in their distinct style of fitness training. CrossFit Deerfield is reportedly one of the oldest CrossFit gyms in the area, coming up on four years.

“The response was overwhelmingly positive. We are already planning the 2016 Deer Games,” said Gabriele Schlicht, co-owner with Steven Wang, of CrossFit Deerfield Beach.

She added that this year was the first year they opened the event to the public from Miami to West Palm Beach.

“The previous two years, it was only our members,” she said.

Swimming

The daylong competition began with 12-minute team relays in the pool from 8 to 9:45 a.m. (Deerfield Beach Aquatic Center was closed to the public Saturday morning to accommodate Deer Games.)

Each team was made up of two men and two women. Workouts were created for four different skill levels – Beginner, Intermediate, RX (advanced) and Masters (over age 40).

“People just like to get together to compete. Everyone is here from a different gym,” said Shane Moser of Palm Beach Gardens.

Track

At 10 a.m., athletes walked over to the track, where they spent the rest of the day. The first track and field competition took place at 10:15 a.m.

By 4 p.m., the athletes were still going strong in the beating, hot, 89-degree sun with 77 percent humidity. The workout included jumping pull-ups on the bars, wall balls (throwing balls against the wall), ab-mad sit-ups, 200 hand-release pushups, four rope climbs and a partner carry across the field and back.

Vendors set up tents around the track, to sell T-shirts, food and to give out more information about CrossFit. Spectators and supporters lined the bleachers and were watching the games from tents they had pitched for shelter from the sun.

Athletes

“Most of the athletes here workout five or six days a week,” said Danielle Burger.

“They [CrossFit] usually announce the workout [for a competition] a few weeks out – so you have time to practice with your team,” Burger continued.

Ann Feldman explained that most CrossFit gyms are inexpensive warehouses where you get more workouts for your money.

“Most of them don’t have air conditioning,” she added.

“The CrossFit concept started out of someone’s garage,” said Danielle Sheley.

Crossfit Deerfield

Coach Sean Sporn, who has been coaching at CrossFit Deerfield Beach for 3 ½ years, said their location has double bay doors that open and “killer fans” to get a good cross-breeze, as well as all new equipment. Workout sessions are at 5:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. – plus one beach workout per month on Hillsboro Beach, and one pool workout per month at Deerfield Beach Aquatic Center. For more information, go to www.crossfitdfb.com or call 754-227-5658.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy opens tomorrow at the Living Room Theater on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton. This two-hour documentary observes two children whose fathers were Nazi War Criminals. Now senior citizens, the two live vastly different lives with contrasting philosophies. This film is a serious documentary that asks the question, “Is it character or environment that shapes one’s destiny?”

With a lighter tone, Look Again plays this Friday afternoon at Cinema Paradiso-Hollywood (CP-H) and Sunday evening at the Cinema Paradiso-Fort Lauderdale (CP-FTL) as part of the 30th Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLiFF30). On the verge of incompetent suicide, Amit (Anand Rajaram) receives special glasses from his guardian angel. These glasses allow Amit to see other people’s good or bad auras. Told with a light touch, Look Again concludes like an Aesop’s Fable about prejudice. Director Daniel O’Connor is expected to be in attendance.

Since he had so much fun last year, George Hamilton returns to party with FLiFF. The actor will be seen in Silver Skies, a dramady about seniors being forced to move from their housing facility. Along with Hamilton, film creators Jack McGee, and Nestor and Rosemary Rodriquez, will attend this centerpiece film to be shown at the Sunrise Civic Center Nov. 13 at 7:15 p.m. (It will also show in CP-H on Nov. 14)

FLiFF’s Volunteer Coordinator Janet Schwartz and Membership Director Irwin Levenstein are sponsoring a showing of the 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde, in tribute to Estelle Parsons. Having been awarded a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this film, Estelle Parsons will receive the FLiFF Lifetime Achievement Award. Film historian Foster Hirsch will conduct an onstage interview with Parsons to discuss her movie, television (Parsons played Beverly Harris on Roseanne) and academic career (teaching at Columbia and The Actors Studio). The screening begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Sunrise Civic Center with the Parsons-Hirsch interview and party scheduled afterward.

Cinema Paradiso will become Mel’s Drive-in Diner this Saturday night when Candy Clark accepts her Lifetime Achievement Award. Clark portrayed Toad’s (Charlie Martin Smith) love interest in George Lucas’s second film, American Graffiti, which was produced by Frances Ford Coppola. Like Parsons, Clark has an outstanding resume of film and television work. She has worked with Golden Age legends like Robert Mitchum, John Huston and Jeff Bridges, yet has remained viable on contemporary television shows like Criminal Minds.

To get a handle on all the films and festivities at FLiFF 30, call 954-525-3456 or visit the website www.fliff.com.

The whine of the Rolls Royce engine and oscillating whooshing sound from the four-bladed Bell 407 police helicopter hovering above echoed throughout the apartment complex’s hallways. Red and blue strobe lights danced upon the once dark and silent walls before gunfire had shattered the stillness of the evening.

“Over here,” called a first responder. “Look closely,” he said while pointing toward the lower abdomen of an adult male sprawled upon the ground being worked on by paramedics.

“You see these two small punctures?” said the first responder. “That’s where he was shot.” I had to almost squint; I’d never seen a shooting victim, nor had any clue what real gunshot wounds looked like. But there they were: what appeared to be two stab wounds by a No. 2 pencil.

Wasting little time, the victim was prepped for transport. A polite and calm paramedic looked over at me and said, “Wanna ride in the back with us to the hospital?” I needed to remain with the first responder I was shadowing for the evening, but I couldn’t help but notice the medic’s collected demeanor. For him, two bullets robbing a man of his pulse was simply another day on the job. He and the crew couldn’t let the reality of the situation distract them from their mission: saving lives.

I never learned the fate of the shooting victim, but I did become well-educated on the many other tragedies law enforcement personnel encounter during my many nights riding with the police, specifically drunk driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “In 2013, 10,076 people died in drunk driving crashes,” and another “290,000 were injured” because of intoxicated drivers. One DUI Task Force sheriff’s deputy told me that, statistically speaking, 1 in 4 drivers after 10 p.m. in Palm Beach County are driving impaired.

I recall one night, while heading east on Forest Hill Boulevard, the deputy I was riding with noticed a van ahead crossing the lane markings. We kept our distance monitoring the driver’s behavior—all being recorded by the dash cam. With enough probable cause to make a legal stop —suspicion of driving under the influence — the deputy switched on the trademark red and blue strobes. A quick yelp of the siren helped the van’s driver recognize he was our target, which caused him to pull off the road and stop just prior to the I-95 overpass.

Cautiously approaching the driver’s side, the deputy quickly realized his suspicion was accurate. Accompanying the driver was an aging prostitute — her skin wrinkled and leathery-looking, undoubtedly from years of smoking. While the moment was heartbreaking, I remember the wise advice of the seasoned DUI Task Force deputy, “No one gets to make a choice that could rob someone else’s right to live.”

And that’s where my deep sense of gratitude resides —knowing that each day, police officers and deputies make the exact opposite decision that drunk drivers and other criminals make. Police initiate numerous choices that often put themselves in harm’s way so that no one is robbed of their right to live. Christ says in John 15:13, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend”— the citizens, in their case. Without a doubt, those behind the badge embody the United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer motto: “So others may live.”

So, dear officer or deputy, thank you for putting on the uniform daily. For knowing you’ll be second-guessed, have your food sometimes [spit in], and be bullied by the talking heads on television and trolls on social media. For rushing into the situations everyone else is running from. For often being the face of humanity, sacrificially serving your community, while the poor choices of a few of your brothers and sisters allows for a complete vilification of your chosen profession. Thank you for choosing to go to a “normal day on the job,” which really means guys like me and my fellow citizens are able to rest peacefully knowing, because of you, we may live.

C.J. Wetzler is the NextGen pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach. Before transitioning into full-time ministry, CJ was a commercial airline captain and high school leadership and science teacher. For questions or comments he can be reached at cj@deerfieldfirst.com.

By Gary Curreri

First-year Deerfield Beach football coach Jevon Glenn can cross one thing off his team’s bucket list.

In dominating fashion, the Bucks returned to district prominence with a convincing, 38-0 victory Friday night over visiting Piper to secure the top spot in the District 11-8a standings.

Deerfield Beach (8-1, 5-0) will tackle Cardinal Gibbons this week in its final regular season game before hosting district 12-8a runner-up Plantation in the first round of the Class 8a playoffs.

“It is a huge win bringing the championship back home to Deerfield,” Glenn said. “We wanted to make sure we took care of that first and foremost. This shows me that they will get up for the challenge.”

The Bucks, which finished 4-6 last season and missed the playoffs for only the second time since 1998 – the other time was in 2011– have outscored the opposition 300-85 and the lone blemish on the team’s record is a 33-15 loss to perennial state power Jacksonville Bolles five weeks ago.

“We came out ready to go and we are maturing,” Glenn added. “We are not as good as we are going to be and we haven’t peaked out yet. That is a thing that I am very proud of and very excited about, that we still can get better.”

Piper (8-1, 4-1) literally handed Deerfield Beach (8-1, 5-0) its first touchdown when the Bengals tried a running play on a 4th and 15 play from its own 15 on the first drive of the game.

The Bucks took over and wasted little time making it 7-0 as Giavante Evans ran for 10 yards, and one play later senior quarterback Teddrick Moffett went around left end for the score with 9:57 left in the first quarter. It was the beginning of an onslaught as Deerfield Beach made it 14-0 on the first of two touchdown runs by Kobe Farrish.

Moffett found wide receiver Cavin Ridley on a 42-yard scoring play at the end of the first half to increase the lead to 28-0. By the end of the third quarter, the Bucks had forced a running clock following a Jefferson Souza 22-yard field goal and 24-yard TD pass from Moffett to Alton Allen.

“This is a big win for us,” Ridley said. “It is a district game and we worked hard in practice. We just came to dominate and that’s what we did.”

Ridley was surprised to see Piper go for a first down early in the contest that swung the momentum.

“Respect is nothing when you are a rival team, so you have to earn your respect,” Ridley said. “So we just came out and we fought.”

Tornadoes move on

The Pompano Beach high school girls volleyball team won its Class 5a regional semifinal with a 25-17, 25-14, 25-23 victory over visiting Archbishop McCarthy on Saturday. Cassidy Bonito led the way with 31 assists, 19 digs, 9 kills and three blocks, while teammate Jasmine Souverein-Reisert added 7 kills, 5 blocks, and three digs.

By Dave Montalbano

The 30th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, which runs Nov. 6-22, opens with three opening night films on Friday, Nov. 6: Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” at 7 p.m. followed by “Jaco” at 9 p.m. at the Hard Rock Live, and “Boat Builder” with Christopher Lloyd at 8 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso in Ft. Lauderdale.

Jaco a one-time screening at the Seminole Hard Rock, is directed by Paul Marchand and produced by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo. This documentary examines the short life (36 years) of this Oakland Park resident who was called “The Best Bass Player who Ever Lived.” The Jaco Pastorius Park Community Center is named after him. Marchand, Trujillo and the Pastorius family is expected to attend.

Don’t miss The Boat Builder also on Friday with actor Christopher Lloyd (known for films like “Back to the Future”) in attendance to receive his Lifetime Achievement Award. Since his debut film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he has amassed over 40 years of acting credits. The film is sponsored by make-up artist to the stars, Cyndi Boyar.

Also sponsored by Boyar, and Havana Air, is “3 Days in Havana,” showing on Saturday at the Cinema Paradiso in Hollywood and Sunday at Cinema Paradiso-Ft. Lauderdale. Actor Gil Bellows (known for “Ally McBeal,” “Shawshank Redemption,” etc.) will be here. With overtones of Sir Alfred Hitchcock and Film Noir, Bellows (who co-directed with longtime friend Tony Pantages) portrays a man who, while having a drink at a bar, suddenly gets sucked into Cuba’s primitive underground economy. This Spanish film with English subtitles will include a Cuba Libre pre-party on Nov. 8.

On Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, actress Loretta Swit will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at Cinema Paradiso, prior to the screening of the documentary, Never the Same, the Prisoner of War Experience. That evening, there will be a “M*A*S*H”-themed party at Villa di Palma, with some proceeds from ticket sales going to Swit’s charity, Ayla’s Acres, a No-Kill Rescue Organization for Pets. The film is also sponsored by Cyndi Boyar, who is a Hillsboro Beach resident.

More about FLIFF next week. For details, visit www.fliff.com.

The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers debuts at the Regal Shadowood Theatre in Boca Raton tomorrow. The film reviews tensions with Egypt and the 1978 Camp David Accords brokered between Egypt and Israel by President Jimmy Carter. Oscar-winning actors Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz serve as the voices of Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin, respectively.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

When I was a kid, what I hated to hear most from growns up were sentences that began with, “When I was a kid.” Such beginnings were sure to garner wide yawns, and something akin to, “Yeah yeah, yeah!” and an under-the-breathe, “So what?”

Nonetheless, I’m about to write nostalgically about one of the things I miss most about the time “when I was a kid.” Back in “the day,” believe it or not, we never knew who either political party would nominate for president and vice president until the actual convention. We would sit by the radio, and in latter days, actually watch the proceedings on our black and white TV screens. And the build up time prior to the conventions was only a few months – certainly not years.

Several big-wig politicos would take turns approaching the microphone in a tremendous arena filled with musical bands and balloons, and straw hats and signs, and people mostly wearing some kind of symbolic red, white and blue accessory or garment.

Traditionally, a male homeboy from the state of the nominee, in a sonorous voice, would “nominate” a presidential candidate, followed, by an expanded résume of qualifications – talk about yawns. Then came the “seconders” of the nominee, and more yawns. Often, there were several nominees —yawns to the max.

But the part that I most loved to hear and watch was the state by state roll call that took forever: “A-L-A-B-A-M-A” to ‘W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N.” The delegates from each state having voted the previous night “in caucus” for its own nominee, would have one “proud” representative announce the winner of that state, accompanied by another yawnie speech. Until it became obvious that one nominee had the majority of the votes, we would sit there in suspense not really knowing who the winner would be. And by “W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N,” of course, it was all anti-climactic. Also, it was getting late. But the entire procedure was repeated for the nomination of vice president, who was not – in those days – necessarily the selection of the presidential nominee.

Much of the old hoopla has been preserved, except for the suspense part. Delegates still go nuts at conventions and whoop it up with a bit too much booze and attention to other people’s spouses.

Now we are witnessing the most obscene expenditures on presidential campaigns in our entire history, with so much more spending to come. Families are still struggling to keep themselves together, and, next year, we will witness yet another twin obscenity when the two political parties will party hearty, performing acts of shameful theatrical redundancy ostensibly to nominate two (four!) who have already been nominated.

When I was a kid, some folks had to sell apples on the streets. When I was a kid, we had a war to lift us out of our economic gloom. But “having a war” doesn’t work any more, nor does having two or more wars.

But the one sure thing is – while families are starving we’ll still have a bunch of people making whoopee, while giddy, with hope for the future.

When we are born from a male and female union we are given life. Life includes things such as health and intelligence (physicality), which is part of our ‘nature’ – things beyond our control. As we grow up, the world around us nurtures us (spiritually); many things are directly affected by this including our knowledge and our emotions. Nature and nurture can affect our future. We will be given choices in everything we do, and the choices we make will or will not be inspired by our nurture or our nature. The outcome can be positive or negative, but, one thing all our choices will have in common is, no matter the person, their parents or their upbringing, we make the final choice. We didn’t choose our nature or nurture, but we do chose to use the nature and nurture either as an excuse or as a reason for the choices we make. We can choose to do the opposite of what our nature and nurture dealt us.

If you had every excuse in the world to be the worst type of person in the world because of your nature and nurture, what would you choose?

Here is what one person did.

Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger has the ultimate skeleton-in-the-closet, and he’s not shy about sharing it.

He was born in 1958 and was raised Catholic in Germany. As a young boy, he admired his father, Major Arthur Wollschlaeger, who was a tank commander in World War II and awarded the Iron Cross by Adolf Hitler.

Dr. Wollschlaeger said, “My father was a hero, I had no doubt. The fact that he was a Nazi didn’t mean anything to me because I was a child.”

But as he got older, he had questions that his dad didn’t answer. He was determined to know the truth. So, as a teen, he took a trip to Israel.

“What I learned about the Holocaust shocked me, not only from the fact of history I didn’t know, but also the contrast to my father’s stories of heroism. That was not a hero,” he said.

About his father, he said, “He admired Hitler during the war. The treatment of the Jews … he never used the term ‘murder,’ never used the term ‘extermination.’”

Dr. Wollschlaeger admits his attraction to the Jewish faith was driven by his discovery of the truth.

“There’s no question that my initial step towards Judaism was motivated by guilt and shame as a young German. How could that happen? How could my people do that?” he said.

He turned his guilt into conviction, and, ultimately, action. Seven years after starting his spiritual search, he converted, became an Israeli citizen and joined the Israeli army.

“I felt comfortable in a family of choice, the Jewish community, versus a family of origin, which rejected me,” he explained.

Over the years, his relationship with his father deteriorated.

“He was bitterly disappointed that his son betrayed him, the son whom he wanted to raise to be a good German,” said Dr. Wollschlaeger.

He moved from Israel to South Florida more than 20 years ago, where he now practices medicine. He hopes the next generation never forgets. He has taken his daughter to the concentration camps, which he calls “the entrance to a man-made hell.”

Dr. Wollschlaeger said, “We, as human beings, have the capacity to do tremendous good and do horrific and horrible things.”

But, it is rare to have both so uniquely intertwined in one family’s history.

Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger will be speaking Tuesday, Nov.10 at the Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort. R.S.V.P. at Chabadoflighthousepoint@gmail.com or www.JewishLHP.com.

Rabbi Tzvi Dechter is the Director of Chabad of North Broward Beaches located at 4081 N. Federal Hwy., #100A, Pompano Beach, FL 33064. For all upcoming events please visit www.JewishLHP.com.

The words you speak every day carry more power than you realize. They have the potential to take your life – and the lives of those around you – in either a positive or a negative direction. To use your words for good, you must first begin focusing on certain categories of words while working to eliminate others from your vocabulary altogether.

Specifically, decide to create a habit of speaking words of praise and encouragement. At the same time, choose to steer clear of any kind of gossip or complaining. When you do, you will see a positive difference in your life and in the effect you have on other people. Here’s a quick look at each of these types of words to help you get started:

Praise – Words of praise shift your attention away from selfishness and toward God’s goodness. Try starting every day by praising God for who He is and for the blessings in your life. Let those words settle into your heart and become part of the wellspring you speak from for the rest of the day.

Encouragement – Everyone needs encouragement. As you begin speaking from a God-focused heart, encouraging words will come naturally. You will begin seeing other people as God sees them, which will make you want to use your words to help them grow in that direction. When you stop focusing on others’ shortcomings and, instead, become a source of encouragement, you are cooperating with God in building them into the people He wants them to be.

On the negative side of the equation, there are two major categories of words that can sabotage your life and your relationships. Speaking these words is like ingesting small, daily doses of poison:

Gossip – Gossip, in all forms, is destructive. Not only does it tear others down, it also deteriorates people’s trust in you. When you gossip, you are engaging in an activity that has no possible end result but harm. Others are hurt, and the noxious words seep into your soul, creating internal toxicity.

Complaints – Complaints become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you feed the small irritations in your life with words, they will grow into more substantial problems. The energy you spend focusing on them gives them heightened potential to derail your best life.

Nelson Searcy is the founding and lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. Sunday services are held at 9:30 and 11 a.m. www.bocajourney.com.

By Gary Curreri

Eighth-year Pompano Beach volleyball coach William Strachan loaded his schedule this season with perennial state powerhouses and the strategy has seemed to play off.

Pompano Beach moved to 15-11 on the season with a 25-14, 25-14, 25-23 victory over visiting Suncoast in Tuesday night’s Class 5A regional quarterfinal as senior setter Cassidy Bonito led the way with 6 kills, 30 assists and 35 digs.

It marked the second consecutive district championship for the Tornadoes and fourth title in the past five years. It was runner-up to Cardinal Gibbons in 2013 after also winning in 2011 and 2012. Tara Brannen also had 9 kills, 6 digs, 3 assists, 2 blocks, while Jasmine Souverein-Reisert had 8 kills, 6 blocks and 4 digs.

“I purposely played a brutal schedule,” Strachan said. “I basically played anybody I thought was going to be good. We didn’t schedule St. Thomas Aquinas, but we played them twice. We played Merritt Island and Bishop Kenny. The reason for it is that we had a lot of young players come in and we wanted to catch them up to speed.”

Pompano Beach was knocked out in the Class 5A regional final last year by Merritt Island in four games. The Tornadoes will play Archbishop McCarthy on Saturday in the regional semifinal and the winner of that will likely get Merritt Island in the regional finals.

Strachan hoped for a .500 season when the year began. He said Bonito has played a large role in the team’s success.

“I may be biased, but I think she is the best setter in Broward County,” Strachan said. “She is just a really strong, physical player, with really soft hands and nice ball control when it comes to setting.

“Her volleyball IQ is tremendous. She sees a lot of things that young setters don’t see so she is able to run a more effective offense.”

Bonito, 18, of Pompano Beach, said the team did graduate a lot of players from last year’s team, but saw the potential as the season wore on.

“We have a lot of freshmen that came in and stepped it up defense-wise,” Bonito said. “We really did try and fill the spots and practiced as a team to get that bond we needed.”

Bonito also took on more of a leadership role this season. The team captain was new to the school last year after transferring from West Broward. It also helped her adjust to the new players, something she will have to do when she leaves for college next year.

“There is a lot of pressure, very much so,” Bonito said of still looking for a school to play at the next level. She wants to major in education. “I believe that I am a good contributor, especially as a setter. Every team I have been on I have been a captain, or in a leadership position. I am very cooperative and get along with anybody. Off the court, you have to be a student first and I also believe that is important. That’s a positive.”

Deerfield looks to lock up title

Deerfield Beach (7-1, 4-0), which failed to make the postseason last year, can win the District 11-8A football title with a victory over visiting Piper on Friday.

It would also ensure a regional quarterfinal home game against Plantation, while the loser would travel to Flanagan. The Bucks have outscored the opposition 262-85 and the lone blemish on the team’s record is a 33-15 loss to perennial state power, Jacksonville Bolles, four weeks ago.

Senior quarterback Teddrick Moffett is a dual threat having rushed for 227 yards and 8 scores and passed for 1,047 yards and 14 TDs. Deerfield Beach manhandled Monarch, 34-0 last week, while Piper topped Coral Springs, 34-8.

Piper (8-0, 4-0) has clinched its first playoff berth since 2003 and has outscored the opposition this season 171-90.

“The kids got a chance (during the summer) to go out and compete against the best in the country and they realized that we have some of the best talent too,” said Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn, whose team also defeated nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, 6-3 earlier in the month. “If we continue to put it all together we have a chance to be special this year.”

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Given that Halloween falls on Saturday this year, this will be a big weekend for Trick or Treaters. While this weekend seems devoid of movies featuring Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi or Lon Chaney Jr., AMC is bringing back modern classics from the past four decades, including Halloween, Friday the 13th and Chucky incarnations. Only the Hallmark Channel’s Good Witch movies and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown seem to be geared towards family viewing.

Goosebumps has been successful at the current box office because it works as a family motion picture. Based on author R.L. Stine’s series of children’s books, Goosebumps provides plenty of jump scares mixed with humor and teenage character growth.

Dylan Minnette portrays Zach, a new kid on the block who recently lost his dad. His sidekick is Champ (Ryan Lee), who is often nicknamed “Chump” because he is such a goofball. The two befriend Hannah (Odeya Rush), whose weird father speaks with an accent that sounds like a mixture of Alfred Hitchcock and Basil Rathbone. Hannah’s father harbors a secret; he is R.L. Stine (Jack Black) and he has created an army of monsters through his literary creations.

Goosebumps is fun, much like the film Bud Abbott and Lou Costello meet Frankenstein. While Jack Black is over-the-top (Black also voices “Invisible Boy” & “Slappy,” the mastermind ventriloquist’s dummy), Ryan Lee steals the show as a scaredy cat.

Crimson Peak, a Gothic romance with ghostly overtones, is not family fare. After losing her mother when she was a child, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) believes in ghosts. Ghosts repeatedly warn her to “Beware of Crimson Peak,” but Edith does not comprehend their meaning.

Enter Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleson) and his serious sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain), two English aristocrats in need of American finance. When tragedy strikes her father, Edith goes to live in England in the Sharpe’s mansion, which is sinking into the red clay of the land.

Written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, Crimson Peak is similar to his previous productions, The Devil’s Backbone, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and The Orphanage. Sadly, the narrative of Crimson Peak bogs down with dullness, despite some good performances by the stellar cast and some eye-catching cinematography that will be studied by artists for many years to come.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!