Bedtime Stories

Marty Bronson has to sell his homey motel to clever Barry Nottingham with the promises that one day Marty's son will be manager when he's all grown up and has proven himself. Nottingham pulls down the motel to raise a pricey hotel. Now, all grown up Marty's son, Skeeter, works as a janitor and general servant for Mr. Nottingham, but unlikely as it seems, he still dreams of becoming the manager. When Nottingham announces a brand-new gigantic hotel project, he makes his future son-in-law, Kendall, manager, shattering Skeeter's dream. At the same time Skeeter's sister Wendy has to leave town for a job interview and asks him to alternate looking after her two children with Wendy's responsible-minded colleague Jill.  The fun begins when Skeeter tells his niece and nephew a bedtime story each night.  It doesn't take long for strange things to begin happening and for Skeeter to realize that he may just have in hand the power to make all his dreams come true. 

Starring:  Adam Sandler, Courtney Cox, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Richard Griffiths, Lucy Lawless, Johnathan Morgan Heit, Laura Ann Kesling, Jonathan Pryce etc. 

Rating:  G

This was a light family fun film and we all enjoyed watching it together.  Although it is rated G it doesn't hold a lot of interest for all younger children. My 5 year old just barely managed to hold out longer with the promise that once Skeeter started telling the bedtime stories it would get more interesting.  This worked and she was hooked for the rest of the film. 

We, of course, previewed this film the night before and were pleasantly surprised at how they managed to do the story telling and action scenes without being either too scary or violent.  When I initially watched the previews, I was inclined to think that it might be a tad violent.  Please note there are some high thrill adventures with horse racing, chariot racing, etc. but nothing more violent or intense than what typify many of the Barbie movies (Hey I have girls it's the easiest comparison). So we had no qualms whatsoever in letting our younger children watch the film. 

The storyline could have been better, more filled out.  Isn't that always the case though?  However, we still enjoyed the stories for what they were.  I liked that although the main character was going through difficulties and some disappointments in his life, he still had a measure of hope and when he was really down, he was able to pull himself together and do something about it, teaching that we don't always have to settle for second best and there's no reason why we can't try and make our dreams happen.  

I think there was also a message in there that while it's good to eat healthy and to work and study hard that there is also some room in there for a measure of fun and freedom.  Life doesn't have to always be just serious.  Skeeter helped the children realize that and give them some fun in an area where they mother was unable too.  

They do leave some questions out like what happened to Skeeter and Wendy's mother and why their relationship was so distant.  They appear to be close yet at the same time mention they hadn't seen each other for 4 years.  I do find it disappointing that Hollywood always feel the needs to make the family dynamic into a single parent household.  While I know there are many divorced couples our there and parents making it on their own, there are just as many out there that are still together.  It is confusing for those kids that still have their parents together to understand how all these t.v. families are divided.  If you have a thinker for a child, it could actually make them fearful that their family is going to split up too, especially since it seems to be rare to see two parent familes in movies these days.  Am I wrong or have I just been watching the wrong movies?  I hope so. 

So all in all I was a big fan of the movie and would heartily recommend it to any of my customers who have young families.  It's probably not the best film for families with older teens as it probably won't hold their teen's interest, unless, of course, your teen is a fairly sheltered teen.  

Here are the more detailed specifics re the movie to help determine if this film would be appropriate for your child. 

Parents Advisory: 

Sex and nudity:  Contains mild toilet humour, some girls are seen in bikinis, random cleavage shots, bare chested men, 

Violence and gore:  one man is slapped by a hand that pops out of a gun and some wrestling occurs

Language and Profanity:  at least two uses of "hell" and "what the hell" and 4 uses "God" and "OMG"

Alcohol/Drinking/Smoking:  small reference to drinking champagne and references to "going for drinks" but no alcohol is actually seen being consumed. 

Frightening Intense Scenes:  Some monsters (not many) from the stories may be frightening, but all are portrayed in a humorous light. For instance a booger monster is particularly vivid. A divorce is discussed as well which could be problematic for some children.  (Again, my children had no issues with these scenes at all)

Barbie: Thumbelina

Meet Thumbelina.   A tiny girl that lives in harmony with nature.  Her home is the magic world of the Twillerbees.  When a spoiled girl named Makenna asks her parents to uproot a patch of wildflowers, Thumbelina along with two of her friends are transported to a lavish city apartment. There they learn of construction plans that threaten to destroy the land of the Twillerbees. Thumbelina is determined not to give up and sets out to convince Makenna the magic of true friendship and that even the smallest person can make a big difference. 

Starring the voice talents of:  Kathleen Barr, Natasha Calis, Kelly Metzger, Kelly Sheridan, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck among others. 

Rating:  G

This movie was a big hit with my daughters and even my 22 month old son loved it.  They insisted on watching it repeatedly over the next two days we had the movie.  When my children actually sit still through an entire movie not just once but 3 times from beginning to end, this is a sure sign that this movie was a hit. 

The graphics were amazing.  The colours and design were gorgeous.  The Thumbelina and the Twillerbees were adorable.  Move over Tinkerbell and Pixie Hollow there are new fairies in town. 

I just loved this movie myself.  It had everything a parent could want.  It was entertaining without violence, it had a strong story and a positive outcome.  There are many teachable moments in this movie if you are so inclined.  

Part of why I like this movie is that the so called "villains" of this piece are the well meaning if somewhat thoughtless parents of Makenna.  They are not out to destroy the home of the Twillerbees from malice but were merely looking for a suitable business site for their factory. Their sudden financial success caused them to become extremely busy making it hard to find time for their daughter.  Makenna's spoiled nature is simply a bi-product of her parent's attempt to make up for the lack of family time together by giving her whatever she wants.  

It's a wonderful exploration of an all too common theme in many homes today.  Even if we are not too busy working, we often want to give our children what we didn't have or to make sure they don't feel left out with their peers.  

It was great when my 5 year old would ask me why Makenna was behaving that way, why her parent's wanted to dig up the Twillerbee's home.  This paved the way for talking about selfish behaviour and even about the environment and ways we could protect it.  

Best of all this movie really fired up my daughter's imagination as her and her cousin spent the next week pretending to be Twillerbees and Twillerbee babies.  I didn't even have to buy them the toys.  Just using their imagination was enough for hours of fun.  

Definitely my top recommendation for any little girls. 

Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa

The sequel to 2005's "Madagascar", in which New York Zoo animals, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo, still stranded on Madagascar, start to leave the island. All of a sudden, they land in the wilderness of Africa, where Alex meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending so much time at the Central Park Zoo. 

Featuring the voice talents of:  Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Andy Richter, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepheard and the late Bernie Mac.  Just to name a few. 

Rating:  PG for mild crude humour

As this movie was rated PG, my children were unable to watch it. (Being 5 and under).  So this based strictly on an adult's view. 

I didn't particularly think the first Madagascar was funny so I wasn't expecting to like this one.  Perhaps I am just in a different time in my life but I did find this movie enjoyable.  Both my husband and I laughed out loud several times during this movie. 

Tired of Madagascar, this unlikely crew of friends is determined to get back to New York and the life of ease they are all familiar with.  However, things go awry in one of the most humourous moments of the film when the penguins attempt to fly them in a hollowed airplane shell.  Instead, they land in Africa where Alex meets up with his parents.  

It was a good story, well written with plenty of zip and zany quips.  A family reunited to touch our hearts and four friends who continue to strengthen and evolve their friendship.  

This movie was rated PG.  A rating well warranted I believe as the beginning was a little tense with a hunter shooting at the animals.  Also further along in the film a human gets into a slapping, punching and knock out scrap fighting with the  animals. There are also some lions fighting each other as part of the who's going to be king lion ritual.  That part wasn't too bad but the hunters shooting part was a little too realistic for comfort.  If it hadn't of been for that part, I would have had no problem with letting my children watch this film.  

The villain in this piece was suprisingly mild and understated.  Unlike Scar in the Lion King, Makunga was more of a sleazy lounge singer than a menancing lion who has a lust for power.  More like he wants to be in power because he perceives it to be the easy life. 

I was puzzled by Moto Moto.  Given that he's a toy given out in happy meals, I had thought his character to be bigger than it was.  It wasn't.  It was suprisingly small and I don't recall even hearing him say what his toy says.  

Still, I give this movie a thumbs up.  It made me want to look up information on Africa and the animal reserves there.  If if we had more time with this movie, I may have let my children watch this film once I had fast forwarded through the whole kidnapping lion, hunter shooting scene.  

It was with a pang of sadness though as I realized that Zuba was actually the voice of the late Bernie Mac.  It reminded me of our loss of a great entertainer; however, it's nice to know that through works like this that his memory lives on.  

Zeemaid

Enchanted

Enchanted A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day New York City in a story about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer.

Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey and Susan Sarandon etc.

Rating: PG for some scary images and mild innuendo.

This movie was delightful. It starts off in Andalasia, where Giselle in animated form is waiting for her prince and true love's first kiss. Giselle meets her prince and they about to wed when Giselle is tricked by Prince Edward's stepmother and ends up in New York where she's turned from animated into human form. She meets up with a lawyer and his daughter who kindly try to help her.

What I found to be charming about this movie is that Giselle sticks to all of her naive ideas (true love, happily ever after, princes etc) despite all the bitter cynicism of Robert (lawyer). The songs are delightful and catchy and I found myself wanting to be a little more like Giselle in her openness and persistently upbeat outlook on life. While Giselle remains charming, Robert does cause Giselle to realize that there may be a bit more to life than just finding one's prince and living happily ever after. Just what does "happily ever after" entail after all.

This story was also interesting because it basically ran across the board of all the fairy tales out there and took different aspects from each one.

Amy Adams does an excellent job of portraying the sweet and naive Giselle. She also has a lovely singing voice and really conveys a genuine sincerity to her part. Susan Sarandon was magnificent for her role as Narissa. Not sure why she didn't get an Oscar nod.

Parental concerns:

Sex/Nudity: Scene where Giselle is getting out of the shower and birds hold up towel for her. Nothing is visible except maybe naked shoulders and legs. She also falls on top of Robert in this scene while only in her towel. Giselle does show a lot of cleavage throughout the film. Mild innuendo.

Violence: Prince's helper Nathaniel repeated threatens to kill the squirrel. Prince brandishes sword around at people in trying to find Giselle. Obvious that Nathaniel is trying to get rid of Giselle by making her eat poisoned apple.

Without spoiling the ending... Prince Edward's stepmother, Narissa, tries to kill Giselle and then causes a fight scene, windows breaking, falling off buildings etc.

Narissa can be quite scary and changes her appearance through magic and incantation.

I usually stick pretty close the rating guidelines for my children. However, if your child has read Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, they know that the evil witch was trying to kill the princess. Unless, of course, you edit it out. We tried editing it all out but other people are not always so quick on the uptake there. What we did do was skip most of the ending as we considered it too frightening. You can pretty much go from the ball scene where Narissa shows up and tries to ruin everything. Watch it ahead of time and you will know exactly where it would make sense to end if off.

Try it out. If not for your children then for yourself. It was a delightful movie and well deserving of all the nominations for and actual Oscar awards received. One other fun thing is that in the special features section, you can play your favourite music scenes. My girls and I loved to put it on and dance around to it.

Zeemaid

Wall E

Wall E

In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

Featuring the voice talents of:  Ben Burtt (WallE), Elissa Knight (EVE), Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, MacinTalk, Sigourney Weaver, etc.... 

Rating:  G. 

LOVE IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT.  

This was a cleverly and cutely done movie.  Basic premise, is we as humans have turned our planet into a garbage dump.  The solution?  To go on the longest vacation of your life, into space on a space cruise ship, while little robots left behind take care of the garbage and clean up.  The only problem is, is that it takes longer than anyone could have imagined.  Several centuries later, almost all of the cleaning robots (Wall E's) are fried, leaving one who keeps on plugging away at.  He develops a quirky personality and seems enthralled with the junk humans have thrown away.  

Meanwhile on the cruise ship, humans have developed into fat, lazy blobs who can't do anything for themselves.  So much so to the point that the ship's computer deems that the best thing for the humans is for them to remain the fat lazy blobs that they are.  EVE; however, is a robot programmed to return to earth every so often and search for plant life.  When it finally does find plant life the ship's computer does everything to stop the humans from breaking out of their lazy routines and from returning to earth.  Wall E meanwhile falls in love with EVE. 

This is a Pixar film and like most of their films, it was charming.  I love animated films but there has got to be some kind of draw to pull an adult in and keep them there.  Many of the movie elements were over my children's understanding, like humans who given everything they could ask for became lazy, fat and dim and the more obvious message of how we're littering our planet to death.   But they still enjoyed it from Wall E's hangout to the cute little robot who obsessively cleans everything. 

As for content.  It was pretty clean.  There is one part where Wall E plays with a bra he finds. Innocently though. 

For Violence:  There is also some shooting done by EVE with a futuristic gun but she does not shoot any characters, only inaninmate objects.  In another scene, a robot falls a long distance and breaks apart.  

For profanity:  There is a recorded message of  "Darn it All" and "Let's Get the Heck out of Here."

For frightening/scary scenes:  Very emotional scene when Wall E gets beaten up and is almost crushed. It all ends okay though. The space ship when landing is loud and almost lands on a visibly frightened WallE.  The captain gets into a fight with the ships autopilot and gets thrown around the room several times and jabbed in the eye at least once.  

Very small children might be disturbed by the damaged Wall E scene.  It does suck you in and makes you worry about whether he's gonna make it or not.  

Open Season 2

Open Season 2

After falling head over hooves in love with Giselle, Elliot's road to the altar takes a slight detour when Mr. Weenie is kidnapped by a group of pampered pets determined to return him to his owners

Featuring the voice talents of: Joel McHale, Mike Epps, Jane Krakowski, Crispin Glover, Cody Cameron, etc.

Rating PG for mild rude humour.

I found this movie to be mildly amusing. I did not; however, let my children watch it because they are all 5 and under. The storyline was pretty well paced. However, it is a stretch to believe a deer, who was not the handsomest stud in the pack, would get cold feet on tying the knot "forever and ever."On second thought considering he's entirely self-focused maybe it's not such a stretch. 

I did find the voices of the pet owners amusing and particularly found the plight of Mr. Weenie to be funny. Also the idea of a small poodle being the "evil" villain of the piece was hilarious. I am; however, tired of people or in this case animals of just not being nice to each other and trying to be top dog (pun intended) all the time.

This was a somewhat "cute and amusing" film and suitable for 8 and up.  Parents of smaller children be cautioned; there are more than one attempt on wienie's life as well as the use of shock collars by the "bad guys" on the "good guys".  

Overall, not my favourite movie. 

Igor

IGOR   

In a world filled with Mad Scientists and Evil Inventions, one talented evil scientist's hunch-backed lab assistant has big dreams of becoming a Mad Scientist himself and winning the annual Evil Science Fair. Only nothing goes as planned. 

Featuring the voice talents of:  John Cusack, John Cleese, Sean Hayes, Eddie Izzard, Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Coolidge and Jay Leno (to name just a few). 

Rating:  PG

I had big hopes for this movie.  I like John Cusack and usually enjoy his dry wit and humour.  Haven't really found a John Cusack movie that I didn't like.  Didn't understand mind you (thinking of War Inc), that's another story er review. 

As a mom with small children, I found this movie to be disappointing. The first time I watched it, I didn't enjoy it at all, saw nothing humorous.  The second time I watched it with my husband and I began to find it somewhat more amusing than at first.  We didn't watch the ending, it was getting late.  But I did find myself wanting to watch the rest of the film the next day.  

What I find disturbing in this film; however, is not really the level of violence etc but the completely disrespectful way the characters talk to each other.  Dr. Schadenfraude and his girlfriend Jaclyn have a stormy relationship and are continuously throwing out snide comments and barbs at one another. Their arguments escalate to hitting each other, which instead of actually hitting each other they hit their Igor instead.  While I get that these two people are "evil" and obviously are not going to have a loving and respectful relationship, I couldn't in good conscious let my children watch that and let them think that that is how two people talk to each other and that hitting is a good way of resolving conflict.  

As for violence, there are scenes of people getting blown up, references to being thrown into a recycler where your body gets chopped up and recycled, trying to kill each other, shoot outs, chase scenes etc. 

There are a lot of little things like that throughout the film.  The ending is good, poor Malaria's problems get resolved and the film has a good moral tone about how everyone has an evil bone in their body is just whether they choose to be evil or not.  

So please stick with the ratings guideline. If your children are under 8 years old, I highly recommend that you do not let them watch this film.  If your child is between 8 and 10 then I suggest that you prescreen this movie and then decide whether you are comfortable with them seeing it. 

As always, only you can decide what you feel is appropriate for your child.  I realize that each family is unique and has their own individual value system.  What's right for one family may not be right for another.