Mom's Movie Blog

I know I’m a bit tardy to the party with a review of “Tangled”, as it’s been out in theaters for several weeks now. However, with it technically being a Disney princess movie, I couldn’t embarrass my boys by taking them to see it if they were going to get beat up in school for having been seen at a princess movie.

Rest assured though, parents of boys, that “Tangled” isn’t ALL princess fluff. It does have enough action sequences and story plot to hold the attention of younger school-age boys. My two liked it a lot, particularly the little chameleon character. He was pretty cute. There were a few too many show tunes in it for me, but all things considered (it IS a Disney princess movie) I can’t complain too loudly about it.

The story of Rapunzel is a well-known children’s story, and the Disney writers & animators did a great job of keeping it “old” while making it “new”. I did find the hair a bit creepy though… something about 100′ of hair behind someone just looked a bit strange. However, it wouldn’t be the same story without the hair, so take it for what it is. The rumor is that Disney renamed the movie to “Tangled” from “Rapunzel” and incorporated more action scenes so the film would have more mass appeal (ie more appeal to the “boy” audience). I guess it worked, as if it had been TOO ‘girly’, I wouldn’t have taken my boys to a theater to see it, and would have waited for the DVD release.

Typical for Disney, there were several “scary” scenes it it. There have to be, to properly tell the story. They’re very mild and done such that I don’t think any kid would be SCARED scared. “Tangled” is a good typical Disney kids movie. A good story, cute animation, show tunes (too many for my taste, but little girls would probably eat it up), it’s the Disney recipe for a successful production. (Not to mention the $$ from related product sales…)

I wanted so bad to go see this in theaters last Christmas, but wasn’t quite sure if it would be too much, scary-wise for my boys. My older son ended up going to see it with his Auntie S. when they were in town for Christmas, and he said he liked it, and that it was a little bit scary but not too bad. It’s taken almost a year for this to be released to Blu-Ray/DVD, and I’ve just now finally gotten to see it.

Pretty much anything from the directive talents of Robert Zemeckis is going to be good work, and he and Disney don’t disappoint. It is an interesting combination of live-action and animation. Today’s computer technology allows for some really intricate effects, taking the actors’ voices & faces and making an “animated” movie from it. Very, very high quality visual production! This story has [obviously] been told & retold, acted, recorded & animated so many times through the ages, and each version of it takes it’s own twist. I do like what Disney has done with the story, the emotions are so accurately conveyed.

In a story with ghosts & sadness, there are going to be some scary parts. The ghosts and the scene towards the end where he returns home could be VERY frightening for a kid. Marley’s ghost suffers some structural failure of his ghostly jaw (which I found to be quite amusing, but could creep some kids out). I will actually go so far as to not recommend this movie for kids who are easily frightened/scared. It’s a GREAT movie, fantastic effects, so for kids who like a little scary-ness it’s a must-see. As always it depends on the individual child’s threshold for being freaked out.

The basic moral of the story (be kind to others) is universal, and this story can lead to a good discussion with kids about the benefits of being nice to others. A good story, a great production, this definitely should make your holiday movie list!

Yeah, I had to wait for the DVD release to be able to see this. I LOVED the Ramona Quimby books when I was a kid, and really wanted to see this one… but I kinda knew my two hyper little boys probably wouldn’t sit through it in the theater. Having seen it now today on DVD, I think I made the right decision. They loved parts of it, but it’s not their cup-o-tea as much as it is MY cup-o-tea!

Me, I liked it. I think it did justice to the literary franchise. Certainly not everything was true to the books, but rarely is a movie EVER true to it’s book [if it’s based on one]. Just like “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, just chill out, remember it’s a MOVIE, and enjoy it for what it is. And in this case, it is very enjoyable. Disney’s most recently-crowned teen princess, Selena Gomez, is appropriately “teen-y”, and Joey King shines in her breakout role as Ramona. I was halfway through the movie, thinking that the guy who plays the dad looks SO familiar, and I finally realized, “Oh yeah, he’s that guy from ‘Northern Exposure!'” lol!

It’s a little over-the-top with the sheer volume of chaos Ramona causes, but I suppose it would be a pretty dull movie if she didn’t wreak that much havoc. The storyline is sugary sweet and pretty predictable, but the eye candy makes up for it. (John Corbett + Josh Duhamel = 2 Thumbs Up from me!) I loved the cutaways to the “imagination moments” of Ramona’s: the caverns under her while on the monkey bars, the parachuting while leaping out of the hole in the house, etc. Those helped show the depth of Ramona’s imagination, in a way that was easy for the books to tell, but harder for a movie to show.

As the movie progressed, I found myself saying, “Yeah, I remember that from the books!”. Considering I’m 35 and haven’t read those books since elementary school, that speaks volumes for both the book series and this movie. That the books left memories deep in the recesses of my brain, and that the movie brought them back, that was pretty impressive.

No scary moments to speak of here, though there is the death of a “supporting” character, which actually made me [almost] cry. But it’s handled in a way that is not traumatic to the viewer. Several moments inspire genuine sympathy for the character, one in particular is vomit-induced, but makes us all remember “those” moments [we all had] in school.

If you liked the books as a kid, have a daughter who likes the books or is about 5 to 13-ish, this deserves a place on your Netflix queue. It could even inspire reading in a kid, to see the movie and want to read more.

We’ve been seeing trailers for “Megamind” in theaters for months now, and went to see it this afternoon. We were not the only ones in town with this idea, and shared the theater with 2 kids’ parties and many other people, including the delightful little blond girls behind us who talked & kicked my kids’ seats through the entire movie.. but I digress and shouldn’t preach about proper theater etiquette here.

“Megamind” takes many of it’s concepts from “Superman”, with the baby being sent from the planet that’s being destroyed, a metal that is the superhero’s “kryptonite”, a lady reporter constantly being rescued… despite that, “Megamind” did still manage to bring out the laughs with several pop culture references, including a very amusing one parodying the famous “Obama” poster. It’s a feel-good, make-you-smile film that is safe for the whole family, no especially scary or lewd moments that warrant any warnings. The plot/character twists at the end give it a breath of fresh air when it needs it, and it, of course, does end with Good conquering Evil, but I’ll leave the specifics for you to see for yourself.

I normally can not STAND Will Ferrell, he annoys the heck out of me, however, he gives a STELLAR vocal performance as Megamind. Honestly, this is the best Will Ferrell movie I think I’ve ever seen! My 5 year old loves “Land of the Lost”, but, he’s 5, so what does he know.. It’s cool to see (well, okay, hear) Jonah Hill with some Evil-ness, breaking out a bit from his goofy-guy roles. He carries his role very well.

Perhaps not quite worthy of it’s Mega-Advertising promises, it IS a solidly funny, enjoyable movie that will make its way into our collection. That is, whenever Dreamworks gets around to releasing it to DVD, which, with their track record of release times will probably be about the time the kids are going back to school next fall. (I say this with much irritation as “How to Train Your Dragon” FINALLY made it to DVD on Oct 15th, though having been released in theaters in MARCH. Meanwhile Disney’s “Toy Story 3” was released to DVD on Nov 2nd, and it was in theaters in mid-June.)

Drat, there I go digressing again, that’s twice in this review. Anywho, I do recommend “Megamind” as a delightful way to spend an afternoon/evening. Worth seeing: Absolutely.

We were at Target today and saw the movie “Coraline” on the movie racks.  The Blu-Ray was on sale for $20, and Halloween is coming up so I thought a scary kiddie movie would be a great addition to our collection.  Reviews I’d read of it had been positive, and I was curious to watch it.

“Coraline” is a well-written, entertaining story that is voiced very well.  The storyline captures the viewer, never dragging or feeling drawn out.  I love that it is an ORIGINAL story!  So much of what we’re seeing in movies and TV these days are remakes and sequels.  While there have been some good remakes and sequels (ala Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3) there have some absolute abominations (A-Team… srsly?!).  In “Coraline” a girl and her family have recently moved, and she is not terribly happy in her new home.  She finds a secret door in her new house that takes her away to a “happy ” place that turns out to not be so happy.  It’s a easy to follow yet delightfully rich story that will certainly become a Hallween staple in our house.

As would be expected from a “Halloween-ish” movie, this DOES have it’s fair share of scary.  If your child is easily scared or is of delicate spirit I would hold off on this one.  In the “other” world the people have buttons for eyes, the appearance of which is a bit creepy.  The “other” mother wants to sew buttons on Coraline’s eyes, and make her a permanent part of the “other” world.  The buttons are placed out in plain sight with a needle & thread, and the “other” father remarks about how “It’s so sharp you won’t feel a thing”.  There are ghosts of 3 other kids the “other” mother has killed, and when Coraline goes back to her real world she find her parents are missing.  My older son was very concerned about her not being able to find her parents.  So whether or not this movie would be okay for your child is entirely dependent on how well they handle creepiness and scary situations.

We watched this in the bright sun of the afternoon, not right before bed.  Which is probably for the best!  They liked it, though they did find it to be a little on the scary side.

It had been a VERY bad day with the kids.  Very bad.  Badder than bad.  (Yes I know badder isn’t a word.)  As we drove home from a mid-day outing I thought what better thing to do on a day when they’re being naughtier than Hitler’s own spawn (yes, I also know Hitler didn’t have any kids, it’s a metaphor) than take them to see a movie about other naughty kids and watch them get the smack down from dear Nanny McPhee.

The first Nanny McPhee we didn’t see in the theaters, but we do have it on the Apple TV and we watched it last week.  Sequels sometimes are a huge letdown in comparison to their originals but this sequel holds its own.  It keeps the charm and charisma of the first while bringing in an entirely new story.  A tie-in to the first movie is made at the very end, but I won’t spoil it for you here.

Plenty of good “lessons” to be learned in “Nanny McPhee Returns”, sharing, not fighting, working together, etc.  I like to use these opportunities to talk with my little Animals about specific ways we can bring those lessons to work in our own day-to-day life.  Particularly the not fighting lesson.  And the sharing lesson… what I wouldn’t give for a magic walking stick like she has.  That would be REALLY handy most days!

I’ll give “Nanny McPhee Returns” a must-see rating.  I know it’s getting to be fall and the kids are headed back to school and all the hustle & bustle that goes with it, but if you’re looking for a couple hours escape with the kids this is a great way to spend it!

It was really hot yesterday, I mean REALLY hot, and I figured, what the heck, I’m taking the kids to the movies.  The only thing interesting in the theaters for the kid set was “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore”.

I think Bette Midler had a little too much fun playing the evil villain cat, Kitty Galore. I can not say that name without snickering like a 13 year old, thinking of the Bond movie girl with a “similar” name…  Her vocal talents in bringing the voice to life were the highlight of the movie.

I suppose there were worse ways to spend the afternoon.  It wasn’t a bad movie, though having been spoiled by the likes of “Toy Story 3” and “Despicable Me” lately this just isn’t in the same league.  The kids liked it, it was full of crude kids humor which they appropriately giggled at.  There weren’t any moments that stick in my mind as being terribly scary.  The animals partook in a lot of “human” activity, so it looks like some of the animals get hurt, but there’s no graphic violence or animals being splattered anywhere or anything.  (I’m sure PETA saw to it that no animals were harmed in the making of this movie.)

At times the animals seemed overly computer-generated.  Of course 99% of this movie was computer generated, but some of the animals looked significantly more computer-generated than others.

I can’t be too hard on the movie though, it is after all a summertime kiddie flick that’s meant to entertain for a couple hours.  It’s not meant to be an emotionally moving cinematic event or anything.  I can’t give it a full out “must see it!” rating, but it would be worth a DVD rental at least.

Okay, I admit it, I’m a sucker for pretty much any movie to come out of the Disney studios, and “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is no different.  I went into this movie with high hopes (and 2 very squirmy kids), and I was pleased with the outcome.  My kids.. were not quite so pleased.  At 5 and 7 they were simply too young for this movie, not because of any particular violence or scary-ness, but it was too much “story” and not enough “kid action” for them.  That doesn’t mean this isn’t a good movie (it is), but it does mean that I recommend this movie for the 8-10 and up crowd, and suggest leaving the very young at home.  There are a couple moments that a very easily scared child might gasp at a little bit, but nothing that raised my radar as being “OMG SCARY”.  No gore, no gratuitous violence (this is a Disney production, after all).

I am a huge fan of the “National Treasure” duo, and this definitely follows in those movies’ lines of great stories.  It’s fiction, it’s fantasy, don’t get caught up in the unrealisticness (yes I made that word up) of a college kid having his own massive set of Tesla coils (+2 points for you if you know what a Tesla coil is) in an underground lair beneath New York City.  Of course it can’t really happen in real life, that’s why it’s a movie!  Just go with it.  It’s fun, it’s entertaining, it’s well written, it’s well acted, and it’s well worth the 2 hours in the theater to see it.

The settings of this movie particularly caught my attention.  I loved the antique store, the underground tunnel was fantasy-perfect for the story, the effects like the plasma balls were just enough to be what they needed to be without crossing the line to appear corny or weird looking.

There were a few moments of awkward-feeling humor, and I found Jay Baruchel’s (Dave’s) voice to be a bit annoyingly nasally at times.  He also did “How to Train Your Dragon”, and it seemed less annoying there.  Apart from that, it’s a good way to spend 2 hours away from the obnoxious summer heat wave we’re experiencing and sit in a nice air conditioned theater.

So, how does Illumination Entertainment & Universal Studios compete with a summertime mega-blockbuster Disney-Pixar release like “Toy Story 3”?  They release an adorable, fun, entertaining blockbuster of their own.

When I saw the first trailers for “Despicable Me”, I wasn’t sure exactly what it was supposed to be about… future trailers actually gave us a hint of what the story was going to be about, and I knew it was on our summer “To See” list.  On my little guy’s 7th birthday we went to see “Despicable Me”, and what an incredible movie this was to watch!  It was funny, smart, with just enough touchy-feely to be cute yet not sappy.  Critics have loved this kiddie hit, and I have to say it is one of the summer’s best.

I try, in my reviews, to mention potentially scary parts that kids who are highly sensitive or easily scared may need to be warned about.  I can not think of a single scene in this movie that warrants mentioning for “scary” factor.  My kids didn’t give a single scared gasp at anything in it.

The animation is top-tier, the voices are perfect, the story is amazingly engaging and of course it has a happy ending (it is a kiddie cartoon, after all).  The minions are so damn cute, I wanted to stick one in my purse to bring home.  It’s PG rating comes from some locker-room-ish humor, like Gru telling his old man assistant to make a dart gun, and he makes a fart gun instead.  The fart gun makes a fart noise and a gray cloud of odor wafts through the air and knocks over a minion.  A few other crude humor moments give it it’s PG rating, but don’t worry, the crude humor is actually humorous, not stupid or forced-feeling.

“Despicable Me” is a must see this summer, with or without kids!

Yes, Pixar has done it again with “Toy Story 3”.  The latest installment in the much-loved Toy Story series blew Pixar’s previous first-weekend box office returns out of the park, and most deservedly so.

Real-time has elapsed since Pixar brought us Toy Story 2 (1999), and Andy is off to college.  His toys face an unknown fate, as Andy has to decide if they should be taken with him, put into storage, or sent off as donations.  The bag of toys he wants to put in storage in the attic ends up accidentally put to the curb as garbage, but the toys escape and make their way into the donation box which is delivered to a day care.  The toys face a myriad of foes in this institution, led by a big purple teddy bear, and a grand escape plot is hatched.

My sister-in-law said she cried.  Her oldest son is off to college in the fall, so it struck a big chord with her.  Many of my friends said they bawled like babies too.. I’m not really much of a movie crier (the last movie I cried during was “Apollo 13”, yeah I’m weird that way) and while I found the story heartwarming, it didn’t pull on me that much.  At the end, I remarked to my kids about how wonderful it was that it ended the way it did, and didn’t it just work out great for everyone!  No tears here.  Though a friend of mine’s little girl (age 5) was apparently crying so hysterically she almost had to be removed from the theater.

There was a bit of a scary scene involving a trash incinerator, which kids who scare easily may find a bit disturbing.  However, in keeping with Pixar’s “Happy” themes, it is not a scary movie.  My almost-7-year-old asked lots of questions about garbage incinerators afterwards.  Most of which I had to google to answer… he’s a very mechanical little guy and I really have no idea how incinerators work.  Well, I should say I didn’t, but I do now.

I have to give huge kudos to Javier Fernandez Pena who does an INCREDIBLE job as Spanish-speaking Buzz.  The voice was done in character SO well, I thought that it was Tim Allen speaking the Spanish part, I was shocked to see a different actor’s name roll on the credits for the Spanish Buzz!  All the other actors are back to continue their roles.  There are no two better voices for Woody & Buzz than Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the casting for the them, and the entire toy box, is nothing short of perfection.

Yes, we will be at Target, Disney coupon in hand, to buy this the day it comes out on Blu-Ray.