MOVIES!!
How to Train Your Dragon (animated movie): 4.5 STARS. My 4 yr old and my 11 yr old both love the whole dragon, underdog kid, snarky sidekicks bit. I loved the wonderful blend of drama and humor. After I put the kids to bed part way through the DVD, I finished the movie alone. I had shows waiting for me, but I couldn't wait to finish this one. That's how good it is. The reason for the missing .5 star has to do with how awesome they wrote the girl in the story only to have her kiss the boy just because she's a girl and he's a boy. The movie didn't need the kissing scenes even as short as they were. The TV series Dragons: Riders of Berk is based off the movie and it's even better.
The Host (movie): 4 STARS. It's very difficult to have a character in a movie have regular back and forth conversations in her head. It took time acclimating to that part of the story. Some of the casting was off for me. Ian was spot on. The special effects were excellent, especially the way the souls looked. I found the Seekers' silver cars and clothes distracting. And a few of my favorite parts of the book that gave Wanda depth were stripped from the movie. But I'd see it again and I love the effort and I love the main characters.
Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome: 4 STARS. I am a huge fan of the modern version of Battlestar Glactica. Luckily my public library has the entire series including the BSG NBC miniseries that started it all and Razor, which was just plain hardcore. I wish Blood and Chrome took after Razor, because it needed more of an edge (oh, ho, ho, get it, edge). Still, young Adama was spot on. I loved his arrogance and dead set belief in what is right and wrong. I loved that people didn't drop at his feet like he's some prodigy god. I thought some parts were predictable, then my guesses would be wrong, not predictable at all. There was a horror movie scene involving a cave I thought was silly instead of scary. We want a battle with the toasters, not Saturday horror TV night. It's very possible I'll watch anything BSG and company come up with, but I hope for the next venture they shoot for more...something, magic maybe because to me the series was plain magical.
Iron Man 3: 5 STARS. AWESOME!!! Tony Stark is my favorite arrogant, genius, billionaire superhero. His snark is always spot on. The mystery part of the story isn't such a mystery, but how Tony overcomes certain challenges is a treat to experience. The best aspect of the story comes in the form of sidekicks. Tony can't do it alone this time and he's not very graceful about it. Oh, the other best aspect is the seamless blend of special effects and acting. Sometimes you get these huge comic turned movie blockbusters that spend all their focus on mind-bending battles, car chases, and explosions. We get all that, but we get the fantastic script too!
Epic: 4 STARS. I went with my 4 yr old, my 11 yr old, my mom, and my sister. The previews were excellent (weird to mention, but they helped turn bouncing restless boys into eager moviegoers). The movie starts off with an oddball looking man running through the forest like a crazy person. The boys loved it. The animation was brilliant, especially in terms of nature and animals. The creators put a lot of attention into the three legged dog, maybe thinking the little beast would be a comedic anchor. Same with the snail and slug, and those two were great. They made me laugh the most. Sadly, the best scenes are in the previews I caught on Youtube. The storyline had heavy moments and scary moments. At one point my oldest was on the verge of tears and another time my youngest curled into my arm because it was too scary for him...but normally the 4 yr old loves scary. I thought it was fun, sometimes scary, and thoroughly captivating. Okay, and I really wish Pitbull's character Bufo broke out in song because I love him!
Great reviews, Robyn. I didn't know that How to Train Your Dragon has been adapted into TV. That's really cool. I'm only just hearing about Epic; I'd love to see it. I think I might be the only person that would still watch an animated movie no matter its rating(even though it's One star)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I haven't seen Iron Man 3, but I know it's awesome. It's already breaking box office records and currently is the fifth highest grossing movie. That's what awesome movies do. Just like Avengers.
I was just watching The Incredibles again tonight with my oldest. I love animated movies too! After I watched Iron Man 3 I wanted to watch The Avengers again. I can't wait for the sequel. I saw the preview for Thor 2. It looks really good! Oh and Despicable Me 2 is coming out. I laughed out loud during the previews. Hey, your Beach Man series is addictive! Good job!!
DeleteThanks, Robyn. I'm glad you like the series. :)
DeleteI love The Incredibles. It awesome. I'll be on the look out for Despicable Me 2. I haven't seen movie previews in a long time. The last I saw was the preview for Man of Steel. And now you just reminded to go and do some stalking on Youtube. :)
Aaahh! The only movie on this list I've seen is How to Train Your Dragon...which I must say I LOVED! I saw it while I was staying in the hospital with my daughter after she broke her leg (skiing). I've always wanted to see the Iron Man movies and I really wanted to see The Host. I loved that book!! I suppose I could use netflix to watch Iron Man, huh? And I think I'll have to wait until The Host comes out on DVD as well. My fav of late is Rise of the Guardians...it was awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe checked out Rise of the Guardians from the library and watched it as many times as a 4 yr old can say "again, again" in the span of one week. And I still love that movie. I would definitely Netflix Iron Man 1 and 2. Have you seen the Avengers? I should have written in my review that there are references to what happened in Avengers. Hmm.
DeleteA broken leg? Terrible. I put my mom through hell with all my stitches, concussions, and broken bones.
I really liked How to Train Your Dragon too - was definitely a fan of that one. I do agree with what you said about the added kissing scenes in that one though. Also, who doesn't fall in love with Tony Stark?? Very jealous you've seen that one because I haven't just yet. I wasn't able to watch Epic yet either, though Zane did and he said that he really liked it. I'm really glad The Host pulled 4 stars from you. I know you were looking forward to it. Great reviews! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.
ReplyDeleteYou and Zane have to check out the TV series because it is even better than the movie. I think you'll like The Host too. I owed my sister a movie for watching John all day when I went on the field trip with Will to Seattle. I really suffered with that payback. hehe. I'm glad Zane liked Epic. It was John's first movie in the theaters. He wanted to go home about thirty minutes too soon and he kept saying so (loudly). I haven't been to an opening day movie in a long time. Families had to separate and they all had huge sodas and tubs of popcorn. I had my ziplock bag of Skittles and free small cup of ice water.
DeleteI love your marathon! I am a huge fan of The Host, but I haven't managed yet to watch the movie. I just have to see it soon.
ReplyDeleteI saw your comments on Battlestar Galactica. I have watched the series (2004-2009) and I adored it!!I am crazy about Battlestar, but I haven't watched Blood and Chrome or Razor. I see you like them a lot and you tempting me. :)
Yes, another fan of The Host. You'll have to let me know how you like the movie. It comes to DVD in July.
DeleteI love finding other BSG fans! Razor is grittier than Chrome and the female characters are all so awesome. Chrome has a whole lot of testosterone, but I still enjoyed it. I'm a total Sci-fi TV girl, but it's been a while since a show hooked me. They need to come up with a new Star Trek. I've decided.