Take the kids to a big-screen rerun

In an attempt to prove that there is more to discuss besides illegal immigration, 50-meter swimming pools and April Fools’ jokes, here’s a topic everyone will appreciate.

Several Sundays ago, movie director Peter Bogdanovich wrote an excellent op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times about the current crop of movies and why we are going less and less to see them in theaters.

The bottom line for Bogdanovich: Better stories would help bring back the crowds.

On our way home from New York last week, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how many families are turning to old movies to watch at home because family-friendly new movies are hard to find and the ratings do not always tell the whole story.

What is rated PG-13 today could easily have been rated R a decade ago.

The families mentioned in the article are turning to old movies because the parents can be sure that the level of sex, bad language and violence is not amped up, the way too many pictures are today.

That Hollywood has not caught on to this phenomenon is amazing. After all, one look at the top end of the highest grossing movies of all time shows that most of the films to which we flock are family or near-family films.

The top 10 includes “Titanic,” the three “Lord of the Rings” movies, three “Harry Potter” movies, “Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park” and “Shrek 2.”

“Shrek 2” came in sixth.

Right after the top 10, the list gets even friendlier and includes “Finding Nemo,” “Spiderman” and “E.T.”

Yes, there is violence in some of these movies, but it is fantasy violence, and there is a difference between that style and the type in, say, “The Godfather.” I’m not advocating that parents allow younger children to see the bloody battles in the “Lord of the Rings” movies, but it is true that they do process fantasy violence differently.

But the common thread running through all of them is that they are just great stories.

The point of all this is to let you know that a local theater has heard the cry for these older pictures and they are showing them on the big screen every Wednesday night.

They’re not always family-friendly, but they are always really good movies.

A couple of months ago, I missed the chance to see one of my favorite movies, “The Shining,” on the big screen.

But tonight, you can see, “Back to the Future.” Even better, next Wednesday night on the big screen you can see “Casablanca,” arguably the best film ever made.

That is followed up on May 3 by a screening of one of the best comedies ever made, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

There are more great movies coming up. To see these movies on the big screen, you need to go to the Edwards Cinemas South Coast Plaza 3 theaters at 1561 Sunflower Ave. in Santa Ana. It’s between Bear and Harbor, across the street from the Nordstrom store at South Coast Plaza.

Not all of the Wednesday night movies are family-friendly and they start at 8 p.m., which is late for a school night.

But summer will be here soon, and with kids out of school, the starting time will be a moot point.

Why go to the theater when you can rent these old movies and watch them at home?

Two reasons. First, the popcorn is better there. Second, the huge screen makes these movies even better.

For parents interested in pre-screening movies, I’ve found a good website. Visit www.commonsensemedia.org.