Rated: Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.

Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Release Date: 16 October 2009

Runtime: 101 min

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Pepita Emmerichs, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Mouzakis, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano, Michael Berry Jr.

Max (Max Records) is a lonely boy with an active fantasy life. When his sister Claire’s (Pepita Emmerichs) friends carelessly crush his snow fort in a snowball fight, and she doesn’t do anything about it, he goes into a rage and makes a mess of her bedroom. When his mother Connie (Catherine Keener) invites her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) to dinner, Max throws a tantrum in which he bites her, and runs out of the house, still in the wolf costume he likes to wear. At the nearby seashore, he finds an abandoned sailboat, and sets out in it.

He eventually reaches an island, where he finds several large talking wild things, vaguely humanoid in shape such as watery off-white colored eyes and snotty noses left un-wiped, with features resembling those of various animals . Carol (James Gandolfini), Ira and Judith (Forest Whitaker and Catherine O’Hara), Alexander (Paul Dano), Douglas (Chris Cooper), The Bull (Michael Berry, Jr.). Max convinces the wild things that he is a King with magical powers and claims he can ‘fix things’ within the group which begins with a ‘wild rumpus’. Like all things in life, the good things come to an end resulting in an increase in tension between Carol and the others in the group.

Eventually, Max admits to Alexander that he is neither a king nor does he have magical powers. Alexander warns Max to never let Carol know. But Max’s secret is exposed to the whole group, and Carol goes wild. Max is saved by K.W., who hides him from Carol in her stomach, then explains to him that their lives are already difficult, with Carol’s tantrums only making it worse. Hearing this, Max finally understands what his mother is going through, and decides that it is time to leave the island.

My initial reaction to the movie was “wow this is slow”, however once Max enters his imagination you see the story about being a child begin to unfold, from random tantrums, jealousy, anger, attention seeking…all emotions playing a role in the film. The personalities of the characters soon begin to clearly portray true life characters in Max’s life, even though we had only a moment to meet them at the beginning of the story. The audience is able to see how individuals become exaggerated in the mind of a child especially individuals who play an important role in that child’s life. As an observer you cannot help but feel the sadness of the characters in the film, and in some cases you cannot help but recall moments in your life that you felt the same way some of these wild things felt. The tagline of the movie really is as true as it gets, There’s one in all of us.

carole Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Rated:PG for brief mild language.

Genre:animation, family

Release Date:18 September 2009

Runtime:90 min

Director:Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Cast:Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Lauren Graham

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS follows inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) and brainy weathergirl Sam… Inspired by Ron and Judi Barrett’s beloved children’s book of the same name, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS follows inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) and brainy weathergirl Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) as they attempt to discover why the rain in their small town has stopped while food is falling in its place. Meanwhile, lifelong bully Brent (voice of Adam Samberg) relishes in tormenting Flint just as he did when they were kids, and Mayor Shelbourne (voice of Bruce Campbell) schemes to use Flint’s latest invention–a device designed to improve everyone’s lives–for his own personal gain. Mr. T. voices by-the-books cop Earl Devereaux, and James Caan voices Flint’s technophobe father, Tim.

The movie was not only good as a kids movies but was a great comedy in general. A light-hearted film suitable for children teaching a lesson about sticking with your dreams and passions. Moreover it works as a great comedy for adults with subtly mature humor, and a perfectly chosen cast.

carole Animation, Family

RV starring Robin William and Cheryl Hines is hilarious. I’m actually not a huge fan of Robin Williams, but he won me over in this family adventure with help from the supporting actors such as Jeff Daniels.

Bob Munro (Williams) is overwhelmed at work and decides to take a trip to Hawaii with his family for some rest and relaxation and of course some family bonding. However his boss demands he cancel the trip for work.  Bob ends up taking his unenthusiastic family on a road trip to have some quality family bonding time. Little does his family know he is actually focused on business and secretly tries to squeeze in some work (in bathrooms nonetheless) in between the constant run-ins with a very annoying family they meet?

Over the course of their trip Bob and his unhappy to be there tag-along family learn an important lesson. They realize how important family is and rekindle their forgotten family bond. I’m sure that everyone knew that is how it would end, it was quite predictable. What kind of family movie would end with the family hating each other?

This movie had many negative predictions circulating before the release of the movie in 2006 and I’m still not sure why. I didn’t see the movie until last night and never read any reviews or heard anything negative from friends so I went in without having expectations of any kind. I found it to be funny and a great movie to watch with the family, I would definitely categorize this movie in the family section. This movie actually reminds me of the good old classic Vacation Movies with Chevy Chase. I doubt RV will be a classic, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

Jenn Comedy, Family

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Release date: July 24, 2009

Genre: Action, Adventure, Animated, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Cast: Bill Nighy, Zach Galifianakis, Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Nicholas Cage

Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer

G-Force is the first 3-D film to hit the big screen for Jerry Bruckheimer, who teamed up with Disney to produce this combination of live action and well-done animation. These exceptionally natural-looking Guinea Pigs each have a distinct personality and are to be trained by a covert government to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws.

tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Penelope Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist.

I was quite impressed with the 3-d action, the humor is consistent and enjoyable, the story and special effects all work together to boost the overall effect of this film. G-Force is cute and fun and suitable for any age. I Suggest it to all, you will leave the theatre with a nice big smile!

Jenn Action, Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi 3-D, Animation, Disney, G-force, Guinea pig

Rated: PG

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family

Release Date: July 1, 2009

Runtime: 97mins

Director: Carlos Saldanha & Mike Thurmeier

Cast: Queen Latifa, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Seann William Scott

It is almost here, the next addition to the Ice Age series. It is not often I go back to theaters to watch a sequel, however with Ice Age I itch for the release date. There is just something about the team made up by Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo) that makes me want to come back for more. The first movie was about individuals coming together by finding one common goal that, by the end of the film, brought them together turning unlikely friends into the best of friends. The second movie was twice as funny in my opinion with the addition of Ellie (Queen Latifa) and her brother and their voyage trying to find the arc to save them from the melting ice.

This third addition takes place after the events of Ice Age: The Meltdown, as many sequels things change between the characters, although not all. Scrat is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved slippery acorn consequently finding a possible romance in a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte (Original isn’t it). Manny and Ellie, both mammoths, having since become an item and are expecting a baby, which leaves Manny anxious to ensure that everything is perfect for when his baby arrives. Diego is fed up with being treated like a house-cat and worries that his soft side has allowed others to forget who he truly is inside. Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads to Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs (new characters in the series).

I will be sure to write a review on the actual film once I have seen it. I highly doubt that this movie will be an upset. What does this movie have that the last two in the series didn’t have? It is in digital 3-D which seems to be the trend these days with animation films. I suggest this be a movie you choose not to miss out on.

carole Animation, Comedy, Family

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Release Date: November 20, 2009
Director: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Sean William Scott, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, John Cleese

The ever growing love for animated movies over the years is more than justifiable, Design and animation allows for limitless posibilities when it comes to creation. wether it is making the animals we love even cuter, providing us with new characters to love or a new place out of this world, animators never cease to amaze dedicated movie lovers and recruit a whole new generation of movie watchers. The newest animation hitting theaters this summer is Planet 51, opening doors to fresh ideas, new experiences people cant provide and giving us a break from all the sequels.

Planet 51 is an animated alien adventure comedy revolving around an American astronaut named Captain Charles “Chuck” Baker, who lands on Planet 51 thinking he is the first person to step foot on it, going as far as to plant the US flag before noticing his surroundings. To his surprise he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people who are happily living in a stereotypical 1950s, white picket fence world, very Pleasant Ville like. Their sole fear is that of running into alien invaders, similar to Captain Chuck. With the help from his robot companion “Rover” and his new local resident friend Lem, the Captain attempts to avoid capture and navigate his way through the bewildering landscape of Planet 51 in order to recover his spaceship and to avoid becoming a permanent part of the Planet 51 Alien Invaders Space Museum.
The movie sounds decent, although it just does not have that special ring to it like a Pixar flick would, and it is definitely not making a buzz like Up! did during the months before its release. Being the person that I am, a true fan of animation, I will definitely be making my way to the theaters, come November, to check out this little movie.

Jenn Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family

imagine_that

It’s always sad when we feel the need to push an actor to retirement, unfortunately this is the case for Eddie Murphy. I feel that he has given up being his true self in order to please a certain audience, and in the process of doing so, he is losing his original fans who fell in love with the real him years ago. Whatever happened to Axel Foley? The hilarious detective from the Beverly Hills Cop movies (alright fine, he is coming back in a couple years with a fourth addition, but lets not get me started on comeback sequels, thats a whole other post). How can we forget about Prince Akeem from Coming To America. These movies were true comedies, those were the roles the suit him best, especially with his slightly perverse sense of humor that we loved in his older movies and classic stand up such as Delirious (1983) and Raw (1987).

Upsets range from The Haunted Mansion, Meet Dave and here he is again with his latest film Imagine That. Eddie plays the role of a financial executive who’s job is in a downspiral, when one day his daughter draws on his work papers and he has no choice but to submit them. His boss notices that Eddie’s character seems to be displaying characteristics he was not before pertaining to his workmanship, after which things turn around for him. He learns of his daughters imaginary world and it is from here he finds solutions to his problems and in the process of saving his job, he saves his relationship with his daughter.

OK, I get it, he is trying to clean up his image by doing family friendly movies, but really…in this day and age what parents have the extra time to take their children to a movie theater? Moreover children are growing up so fast these days that it seems as if they are skipping the “childhood fantasy” age and skipping right to the “fast and furious” stage. If you ask me he should get back to catering to the older teenagers and young adults, the ones that enjoy jokes about body parts and functions, and irritating family members.

carole Comedy, Family imagine that, watch imagine that

up

Rated: PG

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family

Release date: 29 May 2009

Runtime: 96 min

Director: Pete Docter

Voice Cast: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Jordan Nagai

No matter the age of an individual or how old people get, there is always that inner child that wants to come out and play. For over a decade there has been one company that has remained on top of its game making sure that this inner child gets the attention it seeks, and this company is Pixar animation Studios. Pixar amazed us in 1995 developing a full feature animation film entitled Toy Story, that created quite the buzz becoming the highest grossed animated feature film of that year. This was the beginning of Pixar truly making its mark in Hollywood and in film. Not including it’s short films, Pixar’s portfolio of animation films continued to grow with hits such as: A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and Wall-E. Each film stirring up great expectations, and not once has Pixar let down its audience.

Pixar’s latest project, Up, has been completed and is ready for release on May 29^th. The movie looks promising for many reasons, primarily because when at the cinema the trailer got it’s well earned laughs and movie whispers of people claiming they want to come back and see it. Another reason is for the simple understanding that it is a Pixar movie therefore chances are its great. From personal experience I have never been let down by any of their short movies or their full feature films. I expect nothing less from Up.

The movie revolves around the story of a 78 year-old balloon salesman, Carl Fredricksen, who by tying thousands of balloon to his home, sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, an 8 year old wilderness explorer, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip

carole Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family