Category: Family
By LaRae on Jun 27, 2008 in Romance, Animated, Science Fiction, Comedy, Action/Adventure, Family | 3 Comments
WALL-E is the latest in the line of stellar features from the powerhouse Pixar. It is a romantic story of a small, lonely garbage cleaning robot that finds his purpose is greater than simply gathering trash into piles. Beautiful, charming and with an important message interwoven, WALL-E is flawless.
When the people of earth […]
By LaRae on Jun 6, 2008 in Animated, Comedy, Action/Adventure, Family | 8 Comments
Po (voiced by Jack Black), a clumsy panda and the son of a noodle vendor, dreams of becoming a great kung fu fighter and meeting “The Ferocious Furious Five”. This team of kung fu masters is comprised of Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan), Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen), […]
By General Disdain on May 22, 2008 in Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Family | 4 Comments
Has 1300 years passed already? In the fictional land of Narnia it has and things haven’t been so good for the Narnians since Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley), Susan (Anna Popplewell) and Peter (William Moseley) left to return to the real world. Actually, saying things haven’t been so good is a bit […]
By LaRae on May 9, 2008 in Sporting, Action/Adventure, Family | 13 Comments
Speed Racer is a fantastical, whirling, spinning, psychedelic abomination with almost no plot, horrific sets and one-liners that would be rejected by Laffy Taffy.
By General Disdain on Apr 12, 2008 in Comedy, Action/Adventure, Family | 6 Comments
Nim’s Island is the latest addition to the ever growing list of children books that have been adapted to the big screen. This time however, instead of taking place in part or in whole in some fantastical fantasy realm (Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), this […]
By General Disdain on Mar 23, 2008 in Comedy, Family | 11 Comments
How high can one set their expectations when all the trailers for a movie are about a domesticated pig doing backflips? I suppose you can set them high if the movie was Charlotte’s Web, but surely not about a movie like College Road Trip which is about a girl and her father bonding as […]
By General Disdain on Mar 22, 2008 in Animated, Action/Adventure, Family | 14 Comments
Horton Hears a Who! is number three of Dr. Seuss books brought to the big screen by Hollywood looking for a new avenue to draw cash from. This movie is slightly different from The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas though. Whereas those two films were really just vehicles […]
By General Disdain on Feb 28, 2008 in Fantasy, Drama, Family | 5 Comments
Is it me or does it seem like there is a glut of fantasy novels starring children being adapted for the big screen lately? It’s almost as if they’ve become the new hot thing in Tinsletown giving the comic book hero a run for their money (nothing can actually replace them from the top […]
By General Disdain on Jan 25, 2008 in Animated, Action/Adventure, Family | 5 Comments
With very little on the cinematic horizon for the young ones, I decided to take the boys to see the only game in town that met their demographic: The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. I really had zero interest in this but that didn’t stop the kids from wanting to see […]
By General Disdain on Dec 23, 2007 in Comedy, Family | 5 Comments
I’ll admit it, when I was a youth I watched the 1980’s Saturday morning cartoon the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie is based upon. Don’t ask why, I’m still trying to understand what would have compelled me to watch it (I’d like to know why I watched the Smurfs also). But based on […]
By General Disdain on Dec 19, 2007 in Fantasy, Drama, Action/Adventure, Family | 4 Comments
I’m not sure what all the hoopla was surrounding The Golden Compass. I believe it has something to do with the atheistic stance the author of the book from which the movie was adapted from had. Sure there are a few themes that indicate religion is a bad institution, but I don’t recall […]
By General Disdain on Dec 8, 2007 in Musical, Animated, Romance, Fantasy, Family | 10 Comments
With time to spare and the need for something lighthearted and cutesy being introduced into my system (I had just reviewed Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door), Enchanted seemed like the perfect choice. And let’s be realistic, has Disney ever led anyone astray when they needed this kind of infusion?
The answer is yes, they […]
By General Disdain on Dec 2, 2007 in Fantasy, Family | 6 Comments
On a whole, you’ve got to root for a movie whose sole purpose is to celebrate the inner child so many adults have lost. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium sets out to do this by combining the quirkiness of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and the zaniness of The Cat in the Hat. […]
By General Disdain on Nov 21, 2007 in Fantasy, Comedy, Family | 8 Comments
A Christmas movie in early November? That’s almost like having a Halloween movie released in August. If I didn’t know any better I’d think the Hollywood marketing machine had lost their concept of time. But since I know they haven’t, my guess is that they wanted to start the movie buzz early […]
By General Disdain on Nov 9, 2007 in Animated, Family | 6 Comments
For those of us who have been anxiously waiting for something new from Jerry Seinfeld (Comedian doesn’t count), our wait has ended. The animated adventure Bee Movie marks his return to the spotlight – or does it? Sadly, this is not the breakout feature I had been hoping to see. The reasons […]
By General Disdain on Oct 2, 2007 in Sporting, Comedy, Family | 8 Comments
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has some broad shoulders. The question is whether they’re broad enough to hold afloat a movie like The Game Plan. It’s a movie type in which many have tried to succeed in (Hulk Hogan in Mr. Nanny and Vin Diesel in The Pacifier come to mind) and failed. […]
By General Disdain on Aug 12, 2007 in Comedy, Family | 10 Comments
Trash comes in many forms. In 2003, it came in the form of Daddy Day Care. Today, it comes in the form of it’s sequel Daddy Day Camp. How do I know it’s garbage? Simple, when the star of the first movie (Eddie Murphy), or hell anyone from the first movie […]
By General Disdain on Jul 15, 2007 in Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Family | 5 Comments
Here comes Harry Potter for round number five. Will he come out of the corner with the heart of a champion or limp like a homo coming out of a bathhouse? That’s the question I asked as I finally found myself fighting the crowds and going to the cinema last night. It’s […]
By General Disdain on Jun 27, 2007 in Comedy, Family | 6 Comments
Hot off the heels (if you call 4 years later a quick turnaround) of the successful Bruce Almighty, Hollywood brings to us Evan Almighty.This time however, instead of Jim Carrey carrying the load, the baton has been handed off to the new funny man of cinema – Steve Carell. Unfortunately, the baton was dropped […]
By General Disdain on Jun 25, 2007 in Animated, Comedy, Family | 11 Comments
Pixar and Disney are back. This time instead of talking dolls (Toy Story), talking fish (Finding Nemo) or talking cars (Cars), we’ve got talking rats. That’s right, those cute and cuddly carriers of the Bubonic Plague are the main characters in Ratatouille! Can Pixar transform rats into an animal that’s sweet and […]
By General Disdain on Jun 21, 2007 in Animated, Family | 6 Comments
Another penguin movie. First there was March of the Penguins and Madagascar. Then came Happy Feet. I swear to Christ, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. Who in hell told advertisers and Hollywood that penguins are cute, adorable birds? News flash — they’re not. They’re ugly and mean. […]
By General Disdain on May 21, 2007 in Animated, Fantasy, Comedy, Family | 2 Comments
Here it is. The second of the most anticipated movies of the summer is here. No, I’m not talking about Gracie. I’m talking about Shrek the Third. If the title didn’t give it away, it’s the third installment of the animated juggernaught — the first being aptly titled Shrek and the […]
By General Disdain on Apr 8, 2007 in Animated, Science Fiction, Action/Adventure, Family | 2 Comments
Approximately ten times a year, to the theaters come those animated children movies we, as parents, cringe at. Our children want to go, no matter how bad the movie appears — so long as it has animated animals or dinosaurs or vehicles or rugs. Of those times only one or two of them […]
By General Disdain on Mar 4, 2007 in Fantasy, Drama, Family | 4 Comments
Preconceived notions are like mother nature - a bitch. Especially to someone who likens themselves to an unbiased critic. So with a heavy heart, I admit, I went into the theater to see Bridge to Terabithia thinking it was going to be a weak runner-up to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the […]
By General Disdain on Jan 16, 2007 in Fantasy, Comedy, Family | 1 Comment
After a hard week of working around the house, I definately needed some downtime. And what better way to enjoy some rest and relaxation than to sit back with an ice cold beer and watch the latest comedy romp starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson - Night at the Museum? The story certainly […]
By General Disdain on Nov 26, 2006 in Musical, Animated, Family | 1 Comment
Yeah, I’m beyond bored. Of course I could find something important to do around the house, but I find I prefer to lay around and sleep. For some strange reason between naps, I figured I could fill and hour or so with one of the latest CGI dominated movies Happy Feet.
Happy Feet is […]
By General Disdain on Jun 26, 2006 in Animated, Sporting, Comedy, Family | 4 Comments
Ah, the child in me resurfaces just in time to watch the latest offering from Pixar and Disney. Usually, the inner child shines through after drinking like a NYC hobo, but this time it was in anticipation of Cars. I love being a kid!
This time around, the story revolves around a egotistical race […]
By General Disdain on Jan 2, 2006 in Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Family | 2 Comments
Although, I had never actually read the book - “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (review title shortened, obvioulsy), I had heard a great many good things about it. So, I had high expectations going in to see this movie.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe […]
By General Disdain on Nov 28, 2005 in Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Family | 6 Comments
I won’t call myself a devoted follower of the Harry Potter phenomenon dreamed up by J.K. Rowling, while she slept on the streets of Edinburgh. I would say, however, that I am a man who enjoyed the first three movies enough to look foward to seeing the latest incarnation: Harry Potter and the Goblet […]
By General Disdain on Sep 4, 2005 in Fantasy, Family | 5 Comments
There are few movies that I watch every time they are rerun on TBS. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is one of those movies. So you can understand my initial hesitation when I heard that it was remade and released as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a […]
By General Disdain on Jun 22, 2005 in Animated, Family | 4 Comments
Once again, Hollywood has decided to bring the masses another cute and cuddly CGI feature film with, you guessed it, animals! Who woulda thunk that? As has been said in previous reviews, Hollywood sticks to a format that works. Therefore, Madagascar should be no different from Shrek or Robots. . .
Am I […]
By General Disdain on Apr 3, 2005 in Animated, Family | 6 Comments
I like animation. Every Saturday I watch my morning cartoons (on the WB of all places!) Late at night I watch Cartoon Network to watch the crazy-ass anime imports. I am a true believer that watching this shit will keep you young at heart. Based on this I looked forward to […]
By General Disdain on Mar 12, 2005 in Comedy, Family | 2 Comments
Maybe you were like me and saw the hundreds of trailers on the television outlining a funny, good-hearted family film. Maybe you thought that movie had the possibility of being quite funny. What movie am I talking about? The Pacifier of course.
I’ll admit it…I was looking forward to seeing this movie. It looked like it […]