In between the time when the People's Choice nominations are announced and the Oscars are handed out, I always have to play a lot of catch up.

It seems like there are always great movies I've missed and actors and directors whose names I've seen, but whose work I haven't. This year is no different. By the time the Golden Globes rolled around, I realized I'd seen most of the movies praised for animation and special effects and just a few of films up for top awards.

It's not that I live in an entertainment vacuum. I just have different priorities than the more cultured film buffs.

With two kids under 13, movies tend to be a family affair, and I'm pretty content living in a happily-ever-after world for most of the year. At the end of the day, I'd just as soon use my free time — with or without the kids — to escape from real-life drama to do something fun.

Around this time of year, though, catching up on the "best pictures," both nominated and ignored, seems about as fun as anything else. Once you have a list in hand, it starts to feel like a game — albeit one that requires you to absorb one depressing scene after another.

For the past few weeks, I've been so immersed in cinematic drama that it's no surprise that some of the napkins I'd grabbed to wipe away popcorn grease were used to wipe away tears. What is surprising is that it happened recently during "Hotel for Dogs."

Like "Snakes on a Plane," the movie my 5-year-old dragged us to last weekend pretty much spelled out the plot in the title. It's about a hotel for dogs. The best thing about the movie is that they use trained dogs and don't make them talk. The worst thing? There really wasn't anything wrong with it, besides being predictable.

It made absolutely no sense that after watching some of the most compelling dramas released in the last year — mostly with dry eyes, I might add — I ended up tearing up not just once, but twice, during blatantly manipulative heart-wrenching and heart-warming scenes.

My kids, I should mention, were unmoved, but that doesn't matter. The important thing is that we all left the theater with smiles on our faces.

Now that I've been sufficiently impressed by great dramatic performances, compelling screenplays and dazzling effects, I'm ready to let the kids start leading the way again, even if it means that the funniest thing about their picks is that I end up laughing at myself for being moved by trite tear-jerking scenes.