I am looking forward to the release of the movie, City of Ember. Our family just finished reading the book and we all really enjoyed it, and highly recommend it. Read our book review here: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, Review. As for the movie, it is set to star Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Martin Landau, Mary Kay Place, and Harry Treadaway as Doon.
Ember is a city built to last 200 years. The Builders of this city left instructions to the mayors in a box that would open by itself, unfortunately, one of the mayors was corrupt, and tossed the box into a closet, to be forgotten about for centuries. The year is 241. Lina Mayfleet, and Doon Harrow are two children in Ember that find themselves on a mission to save their dying city. For the city’s lights are beginning to flicker, and the food supplies are running out. Doon lands a job in the Pipeworks, to see if he can fix the generator. Linas job is simple, she is a messenger, but she soon finds herself in over her head when she discovers the instructions left by the builders so long ago. Her and Doon find themselves on an adventure when they discover the way out of Ember, but corrupt officials, and a treacherous mayor stand against their wishes of saving the city. With courage and heart they brave the darkness, all to help their citizens escape the dying city, and lead them to another world.
The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor is rated PG-13 for a reason. I’m glad that I went to see it without the kids. All those face-melting scenes would have disturbed them.
It was ok, not very memorable. I liked the first two Mummy movies better The acting was a little hokey. I had no idea that they were going to replace one of the main characters. I was sadly surprised at the beginning of the movie when the person playing Evelyn O’Connell had changed. I hate it when they do that! Like we’re not going to notice it’s an entirely different person. They should have changed the script to say that he had remarried or something. I really liked the old Evelyn, Rachel Weisz. My favorite character did remain the same, however. Evelyn’s funny brother, Johnathan (played by John Hannah)
Here is the origanal version of all the songs on Kids Bop 14. The music videos have been found on Youtube. The songs are in the same order of the Track Listings on Kidzbop 14. Just a word for the parents out there. I have not previewed every song and video here. Sometimes Kidzbop uses songs that have adult subjects and turns them into kids songs, so if you are concerned about inappropriate lyrics, preview them first before sharing them with the kids. Enjoy!
1. Don’t Stop The Music, Rihanna
I took two boys, age nine and twelve, to see Space Chimps (rated G). Below you will find my review of the movie and theirs, too. Space Chimps was released July 18, 2008.
My opinion on the movie, the adult point of view:
This is one of those movies that parents go to see only for their children and should not expect to get much enjoyment out of it for themselves. There were a few little ‘inside jokes’ thrown in for adults. For example, one monkey asks another, “Is that a banana in your pocket?” and one monkey in the control room slams an empty banana peal down and says, “It looks like I picked the wrong day to quit eating bananas.”
I was surprised when early in the movie a space probe from earth landed on a planet that looked like Teletubbie land. Don’t worry, the brightly colored creatures on this planet are not exactly like teletubbies, they have a larger vocabulary.
As far as for younger kids seeing this movie, there are a couple things young children might find scary. A frightening fish-looking creature lives in a cave and chases the main characters. No one gets killed in the movie, although for a while it looks like one character may have gotten eaten. Some young children might possibly find the bad guy a little scary. He controls the space probe and uses it to terrorize the other creatures on the planet, randomly grabbing creatures and freezing them in this weird silver liquid.
The kids opinion of the movie, the children’s point of view:
The twelve-year-old says on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) he’d give it a 3. He stated that he wouldn’t see it again, but there were some parts he thought were funny. His favorite part was where a silly creature approached the monkeys in an odd way and one of the monkeys said, “Oh great. It’s drunk.” He was also entertained by the scientist with the Indian accent, like the guy in the movie Short Circut 2. The nine year old said that on a scale of 1-10, he’d give the movie a 7. Although he said it was good, he wouldn’t want to see it again, either (thank goodness, because there is no way I’d pay to see that movie twice).
Check out Movie Mom’s review here. She gives the movie a B and rates it for ages kindergarten to 3rd grade. Also be sure to read the comments on this movie at Movie Mom’s site. One parent said that the bad guy really scared her seven-year-old.
Review: The kids and I just got back from watching the 2D version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. We liked it, but probably wont go to see it a second time. I wanted to catch the 3D version, but was out-voted (I think 3D would have been MUCH better). The movie had some intense action, like getting chased by dinosaurs and things jumping out to make you jump, which is always fun. There is one emotional scene in the middle of the movie. It might be a little scary for younger kids (under eight, maybe) and also might be a little to slow in the beginning for some. All in all, I think this movie was a very good movie for families. I’m so glad this movie didn’t end up PG-13, because my kids really wanted to see it. You can watch the trailer below. Some theatres in our area are showing the movie in 3-D ( Rave Motion Pictures & AMCand some in 2-D (Marcus Theatres ).
Yay!
It is great to see a kids action movie that doesn’t have any blood or disturbing scenes. Thumbs up!
Runtime: 1 hr. 32 min Rating: PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments Staring: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem Official Website: http://www.journeymovie.com/ REALLY cool website! Summary: An exciting adventure based on the classic Jules Verne novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” Journey to the Center of the Earth stars Brendan Fraser (Crash, The Mummy) as a science professor whose untraditional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he and his nephew stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey deep beneath the Earth’s surface, where they travel through never-before-seen worlds and encounter a variety of unusual creatures.
Kit Kittredge is a girl movie that most boys will refuse to go see (mine did). It stars Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin (from Nim’s Island). Critics at Yahoo movies have given this family friendly movie, Kit Kittredge, a B- (click here for more).
Produced by Julia Roberts, the American Girl series comes to the big screen for the very first time. It is an inspirational tale of a nine-year-old Kit Kittredge growing up during the Great Depression.
Movie Mom says the audience for this family-friendly movie is 4th to 6th graders. (click here for Movie Mom’s detailed review)
Website: KitKittredge, Dedicated to the 2008 movie KitKittredge: An American Girl with video clips, games, promos, photos, and more.
Genres: Kids/Family and Adaptation
MPAA Rating: G
Release Date: July 2nd, 2008
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Just for laughs
I found this fake trailer on youtube titled “Kit Kittredge, Curse of the Evil Monkey:
The video/promos below are so funny! Some of them are repeats from my previous post (Hellboy 2 - Push that movie!), but some are new.
Review: Check out Movie-Mom’s review She gives it a B+ and rates it for High School age. MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language. Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Horror, Thriller. Running Time: 1 hr. 50 min. Release Date: July 11th, 2008
Summary: After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it’s up to the planet’s toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Official site of the movie Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the second adventure/horror action movie based on the comic book series.
The Love Guru was released on June 20, 2008. Many critics have given it bad reviews (averaging a D+). Starring Mike Myers, Meagan Good and Jessica Alba. The movie has been described as a painful to watch film where you never connect with the characters and want to leave halfway through. It is full of vulgar sex jokes and disgusting references to bodily functions with comically grisly wounds and a lot of other things most people don’t want to see.
This movie has been rated by MOVIE MOM as ‘for Mature High Schoolers” due to “Very explicit sexual references and situations for a PG-13, constant humor about body parts and their various functions.” Please read more of her review HERE.
I haven’t even seen Hellboy 1, but I have noticed something. They are really pushing Hellboy 2, The Golden Army, and making it look good. It will be in theatres July 11, 2008. The advertisements are funny, entertaining, short and sweet. One of them features Wolf from American Gladiators, in another one Hellboy cuddles up to a fluffy cat. I’ve posted some of them below:
The Hellboy 2 Movie Trailer:
Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language.
Hancock is rated PG-13 for “some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language”. According to Movie Mom’s comments below, it is definitely not for kids.
Movie Mom rated Hancock as for Highschoolers. Here are her comments: “Very strong language for a PG-13 with constant use of a vulgar epithet by adults and children, character gives the finger. Action/superhero peril and violence, hands chopped off, crude sight gag of one man’s head being inserted into another man’s rear end. Diverse characters, brief homophobic comment. Character abuses alcohol, another character gets tipsy. Non-explicit sexual situation involving a married couple.” Click here for more from Movie Mom
It is annoying that Hollywood directs these movie trailers toward kids on cartoon channels and during kids movies, and then puts things in them that is inappropriate for children to see. Hancock’s official website
From the Dove foundation: Violence: Several scenes of violence and some blood; buildings exploding, car crashes, fights; in one scene Hancock literally forces a man’s head into another man’s behind which is not graphic but you do see the image; knife cuts; man’s hands cut off. Click here for detailed review from the Dove Foundation
Ember is a city built to last 200 years. The Builders of this city left instructions to the mayors in a box that would open by itself, unfortunately, one of the mayors was corrupt, and tossed the box into a closet, to be forgotten about for centuries. The year is 241. Lina Mayfleet, and Doon Harrow are two children in Ember that find themselves on a mission to save their dying city. For the city’s lights are beginning to flicker, and the food supplies are running out. Doon lands a job in the Pipeworks, to see if he can fix the generator. Linas job is simple, she is a messenger, but she soon finds herself in over her head when she discovers the instructions left by the builders so long ago. Her and Doon find themselves on an adventure when they discover the way out of Ember, but corrupt officials, and a treacherous mayor stand against their wishes of saving the city. With courage and heart they brave the darkness, all to help their citizens escape the dying city, and lead them to another world.
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