2014: Bonus: The Nut Job

The Nut Job

Genre: Animation, Comedy

Main Players: Voices of : Brendan Fraser, Katherine Heigl, Liam Neeson, Will Arnett

General Gist:  A group of squirrels venture to the city in an attempt to save their park animal friends' community from starving over the lack of nuts saved for the winter.

Tiff's Take:
My kids were excited to see this movie and we decided to make a family event out of it which is always fun.  I usually don't mind going to kids movie.  I tend to enjoy them for the most part as much as the kids.  This one, however, was not one of those movies.

I'll start by saying, we just got a new kitten and it's a little like having a new baby.  We haven't been getting real good sleep lately so I was, well, a little sleepy.  A kids movie should wake you up and keep your attention, right?  Folks, I seriously couldn't keep my eyes open during this movie.  I thought about blaming it on the kitten but I think this one was just that boring.  The characters weren't real dynamic, the story line was weak and it just wasn't that funny.  Kids movies are suppose to be funny.  What gives?  You would think with the actors involved in this that it would be better but it just wasn't.  As an adult I definitely would not recommend this one.

My kids on the other hand said they liked it.  But I think if they get popcorn and treats they'll like anything.

Tiff's Rate: Rent It - Only for the kids' sake.

Deb's Take:  
I was excited to get pre-screening tickets to this movie because it was at a new theatre that hadn't done screenings before.  I was also excited because for kids movies they usually give 4 passes, allowing more of my family members to attend.  This time I took my son and one of his friends as well as meeting up with Tiff's family.

I usually am a fan of kid's movies.  I like how the writer's often throw in humor for the adults.  The kids get hung up on the natural laughs, (burps, farts, falls) while the parents get some of the more adult aimed jokes.  This movie was so unimpressive.  For the amount of children in the theatre, I would expect tons of laughs, giggles and excited voices.  I think I only remember two moments of laughs, from anyone.  The movie was boring.  The story line was ok, but there was a sub story line that was unnecessary.  (my son even said he thought it was a weird sub story).  There was very little humor, the story lines were weak, it was slow and boring, and  I actually was having a hard time staying awake.  From a kid's perspective, my 13 year old and his friend said it was ok, but they really just liked that fact that they got to go to a movie.  This was one movie I could have lived without seeing.

Deb's Rate: Don't bother

Preview:  Another Pre-Screening!!  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

2012: Week 49: Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians

Genre: Animation, Adventure

Main Players: Voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman

General Gist: The immortal guardians (Jack Frost, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Santa) try to protect all the children against the evil spirit Pitch.

Tiff's Take:         
We decided to treat the kids to a movie for week 49.  My kids wanted to see this and it looked interesting to me so why not.  And I did enjoy it but I wouldn't say it was anything spectacular.  I've seen a lot better animated movies but I've also seen a lot worse. 

It was an interesting concept and I liked all the characters.  All the great voices helped too.  But I'll admit it hasn't left a lasting impression since I've seen it a few weeks ago.  My kids?  My 7 year old seemed to enjoy it and my 4 year old was only mildly distracted at times.  Pretty good for a kids movie I'd say.

Tiff's Rate: Matinee

Deb's Take: I like animated movies when they have a lot of humor for the adults, at least they are my favorite.  This movie didn't have a lot of "hidden" adult moments.  However, the story was a good concept, and I liked that they combined a group of guardians together that weren't just your traditional characters, (ie: Jack Frost and Tooth Fairy)  The movie kept the kids' interest (mine are 9 and 12) and I think the story was laid out well.  My kids both said they liked it "a lot" (vs a little).  It was good, clean, kid fun!

Deb's Rate: Matinee

Preview: A few reviews in the que.  Only a couple weeks behind.   Whew!

2012: Bonus Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph

Genre: Animation

Main Players: Voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch

General Gist: Wreck-It Ralph is sick of being a bad guy in the video game world.  He leaves his game in search of a way to become a hero.

Tiff's Take: 
This was sort of a throw back to video games of my childhood.  I think that made this movie sort of a draw for the parents who had to watch it with their kids.  It really wasn't much of a draw for me but I was never really into video/arcade games much growing up I guess.          

As far as a kids movie from the perspective of the parents who have to watch them I'd say this one was really slow.  Both Russ and I thought so.  I felt like it dragged on forever.  I heard some good things about it so I was a little surprised I didn't like it better but I really didn't.  I sort of thought it would never end. 

From my kids perspective it rated slightly higher.  My 7 year old said he liked it but my 4 year old got pretty restless.  She's not much of a movie goer yet but this one was a little more difficult for her to sit through then most. This one's probably best as a renter in my opinion.

Tiff's Rate: Rent It

Preview: Another animated movie.  Rise of the Guardians.

2012: Week 24: Brave

Brave

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure

Main Players: Voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

General Gist:  A princess chooses the spell of a witch in order to change her fate.  She must then undo the damage to bring peace back to her Kingdom

Deb's Take:
Another free screening.  We were able to take our boys along for this one.  My son reported  "Good comedy and action"  (he's 11 for reference.)  I have to agree with him.  Although the story line of this movie is pretty much the same as many Disney movies,  I think I enjoyed this one most because I am intrigued with Scotland (I am currently reading the "Outlander" series) and also love the castles, knights, kings, queens etc.  This movie was funny, as kids' movies tend to be, and had a lot of action.  The animation was captivating. At times I forgot I was watching a cartoon.  I would definitely recommend this for your kids.  I do wonder if maybe it's more for a slightly older child. (7 and up) vs the real young ones, a few scary parts and possibly a little long..but my kids are older now so hard for me to tell.

Deb's Rate:  Friday Night

Tiff's Take:
This movie was mainly for the kids' sake but I genuinely thought it looked good from the previews.  We went to a free screening (yay!) and had some good mother son bonding time.  From an adult's perspective I would say this was a pretty good one to have to sit through with your kids.  Also, I was a little surprised that it had a twist in the story line that was a little unexpected for me.  So, at least for me, it wasn't quite as predictable as most Disney movies.  I thought the characters were fun and I really enjoyed it.

From my son's perspective it was a hit as well.  My son's younger than Deb's (he's 7) so it sometimes takes more to keep him interested but this one kept his attention the whole time.  He was also laughing through it so that's always a good sign.  On top of it all he was dogged tired from his day and he still managed to enjoy it with no complaining.  I say it was a success.  I do agree with Deb though, if you're child is much younger than my son you might reconsider taking them.  I think there would have been parts that would have spooked my 4 year old.
      
Tiff's Rate: Friday Night

Preview:  Montana bound for Deb...We may have to do separate movies this week!

Bonus Review: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Genre: Animation, Family

General Gist:  A boy goes in search of a long forgotten tree in hopes of impressing the girl of his dreams.  In the process he finds out about this world that use to be and tries to bring it back. 

Main Players: Voices by Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito, Betty White, Ed Helms

Tiff's Take:
Like Deb's bonus review of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, this movie was an opportunity to spend some time with my son.  He's been talking about going to this movie and since my husband was out of town and my daughter was getting quality time with her grandparents we decided to go.

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie and pleasantly surprised at how well it kept the attention of my 7 year old.  This movie wasn't overly funny with constant kid humor to keep them glued to the screen.  For this very reason I was really surprised that my son didn't tap me on the arm halfway through the show asking if it was almost over.  In fact, I didn't sense any boredom out of him at all.  Now that's a good kids movie!

Not only did everyone seem to enjoy it but it also had a good message.  Basically it promotes a healthy environment and being good to the land and all the living creatures on it.  I think this movie could bring out the inner tree hugger in all of us.  It did me!

Preview:  Gone review up next.  And don't forget to enter our Giveaway!      

Bonus Review: Happy Feet Two

Last week we had the opportunity to see a prescreening of Happy Feet Two.  Russ and I decided to take the kids.  Rhett has gone to a good amount of movies now and does pretty good.  This was Piper's first movie.  We figured a free movie was the best way to test out her interest.  And it was 3D so it added a little extra flare to the experience.

None of us had seen Happy Feet so anything that may have referenced the first one was lost on us.  But we weren't confused about much which I'm sure is the intent with a kids movie.  This one was chalked full of well known voices.  Some of them were Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Pink, Sofia Vergara and Elijah Wood.  Is that the thing to do now with an animated movie?  It seems like nowadays there is always someone famous doing the voice of the characters.  I find myself paying way too much attention to the voices trying to figure out if it really sounds like that person.  Why, I don't know.

Like most animated movies, this one had a good message.  The message in this one was to work together and being different is okay.  Good concepts unless you have a son like mine who knows that when it comes to animals it's the survival of the fittest.  An elephant seal isn't going to help a baby penguin and a puffin isn't going to be accepted as an animal their not.  But putting facts aside, this was a fun movie with dancing and music and humor.  What more could you ask in a kids movie?  The 3D was pretty cool.  There were only a few scenes where it seemed really worth it but the kids had fun with the glasses.  Not sure it would be worth it to pay extra for it though.  2D would probably be just fine.

Overall, kids enjoyed it and only got a little restless towards the end.  Piper did pretty darn good for her first movie.  I think she enjoyed the Diet Coke, popcorn and glasses best of all though.

To Sum it up: Great voices, fun dancing and just enough to keep the kids engaged.     

Bonus Review: Cars 2

This week I got to see two movies.  It happens sometimes.  Do I feel slightly guilty or gluttonous when I see two movies in one week?  Maybe a little.  But it was for the betterment of my child.  How could I not take my boy to see Cars 2 on opening weekend?  You know how many times I've seen the first one?  Many.  Very many.  It only seemed right.

I have to say this was a pretty good one.  One reason I thought it was so good was because it actually felt like a real story and seemed to last just as long as a non-animated movie.   Also, it didn't have as much of that fall down humor that kids seem to dig so much.  For this very reason I was worried that Rhett might get bored with it.  He didn't laugh out loud quite as much as he did with Kung Fu Panda 2 but not once did I hear, "Is it almost over?".  And when it was over he said he loved it.  He also said he wanted to be a spy.  A ninja spy to be exact.

Speaking of spies, that was the whole gist of this Cars.  It had a James Bond thing going on.  And it focused on Mator more.  One thing I thought was amazing in this movie was the scenery.  There were scenes when they were in Italy that I could have sworn looked real.  The detail was really awesome.  Fun movie for kids and adults.

To Sum it up: Kid friendly, adult friendly and top notch animation.     

Week 23: Kung Fu Panda 2

In Celebration of school being out for the summer we took the kids to Kung Fu Panda 2.  My son has been wanting to see this movie.  We have the first one on DVD and I've seen it a gazillion times.  As far as cartoons go it's not a bad one to see over and over.  The second one was just as good.

I'll admit I probably wouldn't go see this movie if I wasn't taking a kid but it was really entertaining for adults.  It had a good plot and an underlying moral theme like most animated movies do these days.  Jack Black's voice is perfect for Po.  Speaking of voices, why is it that I can never hear Angelina Jolie's voice as Tigress?  It just doesn't sound like her. 

Anyway, the true test for this movie though is what my 6 year old son thought of it.  Like I said, he really liked the first one but he is just now getting into watching movies at a theater.  Normally when he watches movies at home he jumps to the parts he likes or stops watching when he gets bored.  Overall, he's getting really good in a theater.  But even if he likes the movie he'll usually ask if it's almost over about 3/4 of the way through.  For this one...he didn't ask once AND he was laughing the entire time.  I would say it was a hit.  And he even did a Kung Fu roll in the theater lobby afterwards.  Can't get better than that.

To Sum it up: Great voices, good story and funny for both adults and children. 

Week 23: Kung Fu Panda 2

Well, this week was kids week for us. We went to Kung Fu Panda 2 with our kids. I have not seen the first Kung Fu Panda. There were a few references to the first one, an I am sure some back story, but it was very enjoyable regardless. I actually think I enjoyed it more than some of the other movies I have seen recently.

It's hard for me to give credit to the "actors" in an animated film, but as I was watching I thought about how amazing the writers and artists were for this movie. The writing was quite witty and I found myself laughing and smiling many times. I didn't get bored (as some kids' movies tend to cause me to be) and I enjoyed the story line. The animation was pretty cool. It was if the characters were actually living animals at times, their mannerisms came out in the "drawings".

My two youngest really enjoyed the movie, my 14 year old didn't. I think it was a great family movie and would recommend it for all.

I hope everyone has a great week! Looking to do a giveaway soon so stay tuned!