Apple Dumpling Gang

Just posted about the Apple Dumpling Gang on my Review Blog. :)

The Lake House

with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves

A good movie with a PG rating, but very slow! Kate leaves the Lake House and puts a letter in the mailbox for the next renter. Alex retrieves the letter and reads it, but gets confused by her statements. Writes her back basically telling her she's daft. Kate then informs him it is 2006 and gives her address...which in his time (2004) hasn't even been built yet. They continue their correspondence and even 'take a walk' together through Chicago. The end of the movie offers a twist that makes the movie worth the wait! Do they end up together? OF COURSE! It's a movie after all!

Eragon

Eragon

Rated PG

My rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Here is the blurb on the movie from Plugged-In Online:

Based on Christopher Paolini's huge bestseller, begun when he was just 15 years old, the film version of Eragon tells a familiar fantasy story. The title character is a 17-year-old boy raised by his uncle in the small town of Carvahall in the kingdom of Alagaesia. When he stumbles upon a remarkable blue stone that turns out to be a dragon's egg—and its winged occupant suddenly hatches right in front of him—Eragon quickly realizes he and she (Saphira) share a telepathic connection.

Eragon seeks answers from a local storyteller and soon-to-be mentor named Brom. But before he can get very many of them, the two humans and their dragon pal must run for their lives when Galbatorix, the evil and wrongful king of the land, sends powerful and maggot-faced Ra'zacs to kill the newly discovered dragon rider.

On their journey to join forces with the Varden, one of the last remaining groups still resisting the king from its hidden mountain fortress, Brom trains Eragon in the history of the dragon riders, sword fighting, and the magical words of incantation from the ancient language of the elves. Then Eragon takes a detour to rescue Arya, a beautiful elf connected to him through his dreams and held captive by an evil sorcerer, or "shade," named Durza, a servant of Galbatorix. Before it's all over, there's a massive, underground battle between the Varden and the king's army of Urgals—and a final face-off between Eragon and Durza.

*****

I watched this with the boys last night and was actually finding myself enjoying the movie! :) I was pleasantly surprised with the features and Saphira (the dragon) is really cute! (I know, I know...such a girly thing to say!) The boys espeically liked it and I figure it is one we will purchase in years to come. I don't remember any language that was offensive, although the content may be too much for some kids. We figure since the boys have watched (and loved) all the Star Wars movies, Eragon can't be too much worse for them! LOL

Happy Feet

Happy Feet
Starring: Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman, and Elijah Wood
Amazon.com

After reading all of the reviews I could find, both good and bad, we finally had a chance to watch Happy Feet. We had originally said we wouldn't let the boys watch it at all, but then decided they could watch it after us, and only if we thought it was okay. I had heard so many negatives about the movie from Plugged In Online and really didn't want my boys watching that. They see these things on cartoon movies and think it's okay and that it's 'cute'. That is what the movie people WANT us to believe...they are trying to trick our children, and I will not let them trick mine. Plus, I had heard so many friends and relatives say how cute the movie was and encouraged me to let my children watch it. I didn't want to be bullied, though, and stood my ground. Many people thought I was being a prude in not allowing my children to watch it. Oh well.

We finally decided that we would watch it with the boys so that we could immediately address anything that came up. Well, let me just tell you: it was one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen. The dancing was cool, yes. But the music was TOO MUCH...sexual inuendos and sexual songs included. But there were just too many songs for our liking, and frankly for our boys' liking. C fell asleep half way through it. That's how bored he was! LOL

It teaches a good moral about acceptance and being nice to those who are different from us, but the "aliens are taking all our fish" got on my nerves after a while. I got sorta sick of the agenda that was being forced on us.

What I was really suprised about was that B was able to pick out the bad stuff for himself. He kept asking, "Is that bad?" "Oh, they shouldn't say that!" Or, "That wasn't nice." I was proud that he knew the difference.

All in all, it wasn't a BAD movie...just not one we want in our house. It was dumb and we don't want to subject ourselves to it again. If the boys watch it at someone's house, I have no problems with it. We just won't be watching it at ours anymore.

The Break-Up

The Break-Up
Starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn

This movie was rated PG-13, and I personally would have rated it R, simply for use of language. Vaughn's character had a horrible potty mouth and used profanity constantly where it was not needed. (But let's face it...when is profanity really needed?) The story was wonderful and truly funny at times, but it made me mad at the end....no true love, romantic ending here! Only break-up and moving on. How unromantic! LOL I know they have to make movies in Hollywood where the story doesn't come out nicely, but the majority of us in life see enough sadness and heartache that we want the movie to have a happily-ever-after ending.

I like Jennifer Aniston, but I wouldn't watch this movie again.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5

The Illusionist

The Illusionist
starring Edward Norton and Jessica Biel

WOW! This was an awesome movie. And not one I would probably have picked for myself to watch! (A good friend brought movies over.) It started out a bit slow and took a while to get going. And although we did figure out the ending before we actually got to the end, it was still a fascinating story. And the good guys win in the end, which makes it even better! LOL

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Lady in the Water

The Lady in the Water

This movie if SOOOO stupid! We really thought when watching it that it would be a sort of spooky/thriller type of movie and we actually laughed through most of it! There were parts that made us jump simply because it startled us, but for the most part, we predicted what was going to happen.

And the little wolf/dog creature? Reminded me of the wolf creature from The Neverending Story when I was a kid...they even had some of the same type of scenes, with the creature having red eyes and breathing on a pane of glass. Dumb!

Very poor score: Waste of money, 1/2 star out of 5