Category Archives: Family

02.01.15
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Paddington

ratings2

Paddington tells the story of a young Peruvian bear who travels to the city in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined – until he meets the kindly Brown family who read the label around his neck that says “Please look after this bear. Thank you,” and offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist.

Following this film’s great reception, I was expecting a lot more. Unfortunately, I didn’t get anything from what I expected. The movie is predictable, unfunny, weird, and terribly executed. First, the CGI is terrible. Second, the plot is exactly like any other family movie, which makes it so cliché and predictable. Third, the villain was very weak. She had no reason whatsoever behind her will to kill animals and stuff them into her museum. Third, none of the jokes are funny. They are very overused. There were parts when I was literally shaking my head because of where this movie was going.

Overall, Paddington may be appealing to kids, but if you’re over age 11, then don’t watch this film. January still isn’t the month for great movies, it probably never will be.

11.10.14
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Big Hero 6

ratings4

Big Hero 6 is the latest movie from Disney animation. It follows a boy named Hiro Hamada, who lives in the city of San Fransokyo, who teams up with his huggable robot Baymax and 4 other people to defeat a supervillain who is using Hiro’s technology to take over the city.

I saw this movie today, and it surprised me. It turned out to be a very fun movie. The humor was smart and very well written. Some of the supporting characters were stupid. Baymax is definitely the highlight of the movie. He is extremely likable, he and Hiro have good chemistry, and he is willing to do anything for Hiro. Some parts in this movie were also very touching, including the relationship between Hiro and his older brother Tadashi, which tragically ends after Tadashi is killed in a freak explosion. The animation in this film is very well done. But the movie felt way too short, and could have been a bit longer. I thought the villain would be weak, but he actually had a purpose and a backstory. At parts it feels cliche and predictable like any other animated movies, but it was also unique in its own way. I thought it was a smart movie but the end was predictable, because there is that same type of ending in almost every animated film nowadays, but Disney still did a good job with this film. But I felt that in an aspect Baymax was a weak character. Of course he had a lot of screen time and was very likable, nothing really revolved around him. None of this stuff, like this villain trying to get revenge on someone else, or Tadashi getting killed, had to do with Baymax. Baymax just came in and eventually became Hiro’s best friend.

But overall Big Hero 6 is a fun animated movie that is a good time for the whole family. I think it would be cool if they made a sequel or even a franchise out of this, but they don’t have to. It would be fine as a stand-alone movie. Big Hero 6 proves that Disney can make great movies without the Pixar brand. But honestly, I’d still prefer Pixar’s movies, since most of them are obviously better, but if you want a movie to see with your family, this would be a good choice.

Big Hero 6 (film) poster.jpg

09.17.14
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Dolphin Tale 2

My rating: ratings3

In this family-friendly sequel, Winter’s story continues when her dolphin companion dies, and her condition is deteriorating, so the people at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, including Sawyer, the boy who discovered Winter in the first film and serves as the main character in both films, do their best to help her. Soon a baby dolphin named Hope is found and rescued, and Winter and Hope form a unique friendship.

Dolphin Tale 2 is a fun family flick that both kids and parents can enjoy. It’s a cute movie that does not disappoint much. I don’t think it was better than the first one, but I still liked it. It’s problem is that some parts just feel to much like the first one, and it feels like the same movie twice. I think the cast was good, except I thought Hazel, the girl who is Sawyer’s friend, was annoying at times. Our main story is supposed to be Winter and Hope, but that only happens for the last half hour of the movie, and I wanted more of Hope. Overall I think Dolphin Tale 2 is a cute family film that is enjoyable but feels too much like the first at times.

Dolphin Tale 2.jpg

06.17.14
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How to Train Your Dragon 2

My rating: ratings4

How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes place five years after the events of How to Train Your Dragon: The citizens of the island of Berk now domesticate dragons instead of hunting them; Hiccup and his friends are now adults rather than teens (he’s 20); and he and Astrid are engaged. One day, while exploring new territories, Hiccup and his dragon bestie, Toothless, and Astrid and her dragon, Stormfly, discover both a fort covered in ice and, later, a dragon hunter named Eret, who accuses them of being the “dragon rider” who’s letting his dragon captives go. Hiccup and Astrid get away but soon discover that Eret’s maniacal boss, Drago, plans to declare war on Berk and steal all of the island’s dragons. Meanwhile, Hiccup makes an even bigger discovery: The “dragon rider” is actually none other than his presumed-dead mother, Valka, now a recluse who lives with dragons who are all commanded by a protective alpha. Against all odds, Hiccup and his crew must stand against Drago’s army and hope their dragons can resist the pull of the bloodthirsty alpha dragon under the warmonger’s control.

Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy sequels more than the original, especially if it’s an animated movies, since most animated sequels were pointless and dumb. But How to Train Your Dragon 2 is very enjoyable and makes us think more about the rest of the trilogy (most animated sequels have been crappy enough that the filmmakers decide not to continue the series). Unlike other animated movies, this one doesn’t have any humor, but that’s not what you need to look for in in this movie. The movie is filled with heart, has a great soundtrack and visuals. Dragons 2 feels like the Dark Knight of animated trilogies. It seems likely that Dragons will soon become an unforgettable movie trilogy, just like may others (X-Men, Hobbit, etc.).

Unlike animated rip-offs that have been only targeted for little kids (such as Rio 2 or Epic), Dragons 2 also includes themes that adults can relate to, like a mother-and-son relationship subplot. The fact that adults can enjoy this movie and not just kids makes this movie so much better to watch. From this movie, I can conclude one thing: DreamWorks will never stop making great movies.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 poster.jpg

04.16.14
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Rio 2

My rating: ratings2

In Rio 2, Blu and his family travel to the Amazon after hearing that a bird of their species was discovered and that there might be a whole flock of then out there. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, who wants to terminate Blu after the events of the first film, with the help of a “poisonous” frog named Gabi. Blu also must save the jungle from an anti-nature team, which has captured Linda and Tulio and is trying to destroy the jungle.

This movie lacks everything the first film had, including beautiful scenery of Rio, this time of jungles, which isn’t anything new. There are too many songs compared to the first one, and none of them are as catchy as the ones from the first film. I noticed many changes from the first film. First of all, my two favorite characters from the first film, Nico and Pedro, don’t really serve as characters in this installment. This time they’re more like annoying commentators. I also noticed a big change in Nigel, who is now acting like a wanna-be Shakespeare, always reciting quotes from Romeo and Juliet and what not. Also, this movie didn’t try to connect to the first one at all. It falls way off track from the first one. The first movie is all about saving birds and letting them be free, but the second one is all about protecting the environment, which isn’t something we haven’t seen before. Also, this movie tried but failed to make me laugh, except for maybe once. I think the only people who will be amused by this movie would be young kids.

Here’s my conclusion: Rio is an inspiring, original movie with great animation and a lot of humor. But Rio 2, on the other hand, is a complete rip-off. It lacks humor, originality, and connection to the first movie. I think all Blue Sky Studios was trying to do this time was amuse kids. If you’re not a young kid, though, this movie has nothing for you.

12.07.13
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Frozen

My rating: ratings3

Frozen, Disney’s latest animated movie, follows the story of princess sisters Elsa (soon-to-be Queen) and Anna in Arendelle. Elsa can create snow and ice, but has repressed her ability since a childhood accident. The climax of the movie occurs when Elsa let’s her powers get out of hand and freezes Arendelle into ice, cursing the kingdom with eternal winter. One of the movie’s antagonists, the Duke of Weselton, attempts to turn the people against Elsa, for personal gain. Anna, embarks of a journey to save her sister and the kingdom, meeting a handsome ice seller named Kristoff, his reindeer Sven and a snowman named Olaf along the way. The film’s cast includes Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Santino Fontana, Josh Gad, and Alan Tudyk.

I saw this movie this week with my family. We all liked the movie but my parents enjoyed it especially! The film has great animation, great songs, and a great story-line. I think kids and adults of all ages will enjoy the film!  I have to admit that I enjoyed the film more than Tangled, another Disney animated film with the same elements as Frozen, but not as much as other animated films this year, such as Despicable Me 2 and The Croods. I also have to admit that Frozen was better than I expected. At first when I saw the trailer for the movie, I thought it would just be another predictable Disney princess movie, but eventually I decided to give it a try. And then I watched the movie, and enjoyed it!

The animated short film that accompanies Frozen, a Mickey Mouse short titled Get a Horse, was very hilarious and clever, in ways that I don’t know how to explain. It is kind of like you are watching it in a theater, and when Mickey and other characters burst out of the screen, they are in CGI and no longer in black and white.

Here is Frozen’s trailer.

10.02.13
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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

My rating: ratings3

In the end of the first Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie, Flint (Bill Hader) destroyed his  “Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator” (FLDSMDFR for short) … or did he? In the sequel, Flint and all the other residents must leave Swallow Falls (because of the food storm in the first Cloudy movie) and be relocated to the city of San Franjose, California. In San Franjose, Flint meets his childhood idol, an inventor named Chester V (Will Forte), the head of a company named Live Corp. One day, Chester recruits Flint to back alone to Swallow Falls to defeat a group of  huge cheespiders, a combination of a cheeseburger and a spider. These cheespiders where created by the FLDSMDFR. But against Chester’s orders, Flint brings along some old friends to the island: weather intern Sam Sparks (The Dictator‘s Anna Faris), policeman Earl (The Expandables‘ Terry Crews), cameraman Manny (Despicable Me 2‘s Benjamin Bratt), chicken mascot Brent (That’s My Boy‘s Andy Samberg), Flint’s dad (James Caan), and Flint’s lab partner, a monkey named Steve (How I Met Your Mother‘s Neil Patrick Harris), who can talk but only says a few things, including that he’s hungry. But when they arrive at Swallow Falls, hey discover that the entire island is infested with foodimals, including tacodiles, watermelophants, shrimpanzees, flamangos, wild scallions, hippotatomuses, mosquitoast, buttoads, fruit cockatiels, buffaloaves, crab cakes, meatbalruses, apple pie-thons, and much more! Now it is up to Flint and his friends to destroy the FLDSMDFR and defeat the foodimals!

I saw this movie not too long ago and was very impressed by the film’s amazing animation. The film was also pretty hilarious. But one major and extremely weird flaw in the movie was that Chester is extremely flexible. He can repeatedly move his arms and legs around in weird ways, as if he has no bones. He is similar to the titular character of an animated TV show called “Uncle Grandpa”.  Another flaw is that Chester keeps calling his second-in-hand (an orangutan named Barb (voiced by Kristen Schaal)) a monkey, but she keeps getting angry and yelling, “I’m an ape!”, but isn’t an ape a type of monkey?

Overall, the movie was hilarious and had amazing animation. I would recommend this movie for children of all ages. Even adults might enjoy this humorous movie.

Here is the film’s site and trailer.

08.29.13
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Turbo

My rating: ratings3

Theo is an ordinary garden snail. He works 24/7 at the garden and dreams of someday racing in the Indianapolis 500, like his idol, Guy Gagne. One day, he gets into a freak accident when he gets sucked up into the supercharger of a street race car, fusing his DNA with Nitrous Oxide. Theo now has super-speed and calls himself Turbo. He makes friends with some more snails, a taco driver named Tito, and Tito’s friends, and together they go to Indianapolis so Turbo can compete in the Indy 500 and live his dream.

This movie, distributed by Dreamworks Animation, is filled with laughs and a lot of heart. I also think the storyline was very well-written. All of the film’s character’s were very funny, even though the minions from Despicable Me 2 are 10 times funnier. The film’s amazing cast includes Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luiz Guzman, Bill Hader, Michelle Rodriguez, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Maya Rudolph, Snoop Dogg, and Samuel L. Jackson. I would recommend this movie for kids 6 and up, because there are some things little kids might not understand. Overall the movie was funny and cute, but it was a little too short and is very predictable, too.

Here is the film’s site.

07.13.13
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Despicable Me 2

My rating: ratings4

The minions are back in Despicable Me 2! Gru (Steve Carell) is now making jellies and is no longer a villan. He has 3 adopted daghters, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith and Agnes. One day, he is recruited by the Anti-Villan League (AVL) to track down the thief of the PX-41, a serum that transforms living beings into killing machines. While going undercover as a worker at a cupcake shop at a mall, Gru realizes that one of the suspects at the mall is actually El Macho, a villan who Gru thought had died 20 years earlier. This movie also stars Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Benjamin Bratt, Steve Coogan, Moises Arias, Ken Jeong, and Kristen Schaal.

I saw this movie with my family, and we all laughed out loud and enjoyed the movie. I think it was as funny and despicable as the first Despicable Me movie. I would recommend this movie for kids all ages. I think adults will also enjoy this hilarious film.

Also, here is the film’s site

 
06.24.13
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Monsters University

My rating: ratings2

Did you ever wonder how James P.  Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) became such great scarers? The answer is that they learned all their scaring techniques from Monsters University, their college school. Mike and Sulley were both scaring majors who were kicked out of the Scaring Program. They then join the Oozma Kappa fraernity and compete against other fraternities, including Roar Omega Roar, Jaws Theta Chi and Python Nu Kappa, to win the Scare Games so they could get back in the Scaring Program.

This film has great animation, great cast, humor and is full of heart. Even though this movie is rated G, I think it is too mature for kids younger than age 10, because there are many things that they wouldn’t understand. So I highly recommend that you only take your child to this movie if they are 10 years old or over.

This movie wasn’t the best animated movie ever, and probably not the best animated movie of the year, either, and I think Monsters Inc. was better because it was funnier and didn’t have a disapointing ending like MU did.

The movie was accompanied by an animated short film called The Blue Umbrella, which I thought was really dumb, with every thing in the town having a face, including umbrellas, buildings, mailboxes, and water spouts. It’s like and umbrella version of Paperman, another Pixar short film that accompanied Wreck-It Ralph.

Also, here is Monsters University’s site and trailer.

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