Rise of the Guardians (2012)

6/10

Flawed storyline but good feel good film for kids.

At times it felt like the film was trying too hard to take many well known myths and turn them real.

Has a few quotable and funny lines, but overall not as humor filled as Monster Inc.

George and the Dragon (2004)

5.5/10

Good concept with a great cast but poor and very rushed execution.

Tagline: A knight returning from the Crusades takes on a dragon and becomes a legend.

James Purefoy, Piper Perabo and Patrick Swayze stars in this crusade comedy. A wonderful cast, could not save this poorly written and rushed film.

Character development is poorly done, and the story felt extremely rushed. The dialogue attempted at being humorous, but only achieved a faint tint of cheesiness that wasn't very classy.The princess (played by Perabo) was suppose to be this pro-protecting of dragons but her relationship with the female dragon and the reason for her disappearance wasn't well established.

It is a good film for kids to watch as the underlining message is very positive and in favour of protecting dragons instead of slaying them. But the story could have been with a tighter knit dialogue and slowing down the sequence of events.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)

7/10

A touching family film with a great underlying message

Loved it. Similar type of feel good and meaningful family film that Pixar does so well. Many of the scenes are quite cheesy, but this film is aimed for family so it isn't too bad.

My favourite cameo comes from one of my favourite comedians, Colin Mochrie, who plays a hobo living at a 'hobo jungle' (where homeless people gather, and share what they have/can find.)

There are fairly funny dialogues and decent acting from all the kids.

Good family adventure with a lovely bit of mystery and heartfelt lesson about 'not judging a book by the cover'. There should be MORE films like this for kids! :) Good babysitting film to share with the kids.

War of Buttons (2011)

8/10 [Highly Recommended]

Tres Magnificent!!!!

Plot: In occupied France, Lebrac leads a play war between two rival kid gangs, but his feelings for Violette, a Jewish girl in danger of being discovered by the Nazis, encourage Lebrac to face the reality of what's happening around him.

I am so glad I ignored the rating from IMDB and watched this film. It is a heartfelt film set in a small town during world war II and their struggles to stay together under the Germany regime. War of Buttons mainly focuses on a group of kids of one town and a rival group of kids. What this film does so well is it uses this group of kids as a metaphor of the actual war that was taking place. This group of boys, led by Lebrac, goes through multiple battles with the rival town over buttons and territory like a mini war. Many themes (innocences, betrayal, love, hate, bond, friendship, battles, confidence..) are explored from this simple warring between the kids, as they experience the effects of the actual war that's taking place.


Not only is the acting from all the kids, especially Clément Godefroy and Jean Texier, absolutely amazing and realistic; This film stars one of my favourite French actors as well!! Guillaume Canet, who plays the school teacher, has been one of my favourite actors since the film Love Me If You Dare, making this film an absolute TREAT!!

I highly recommend this film. The underlining theme of the world war II mixed with the innocence of the children, well written/funny dialogue and superb acting makes this film a GEM

Elf (2003)

6/10

A cheerful, silly look at raw and complete innocence

Elf is about  a man raised as an elf at the North Pole who is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity after inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size.

Elf is a clever holiday film that both tells a lovely tale as well as makes a spoof on it. An elf by the name of Buddy is actually a human, but he was brought up by elves. So imagine a full grown man, who is smart, high spirited but has the innocent mindset of a 2 year old. We see Buddy interact with the outside world unbeknownst of it's cruelty and lost of innocence. Every negative remark made towards Buddy didn't affect him until...spoiler

I spent most of the film absorbed with the visual effects of the film. The simple yet effect treatment of the scenes and the created animation made the film believable and cute.

When Christmas rolls around..watch this movie!

Hugo (2011)

7/10

Wonderful cinematography, good editing, beautiful scenes... predictable storyline.

Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

 From the moment the film started, I knew I was in for some incredible scenes and editing. During the first 5 minutes, you'll notice one continuous should of Hugo running through the mechanical back rooms/chambers of the train station. This single shot goes up, down, spirals around, through, and over...never missing a beat as the camera seems to float behind Hugo. I am very fascinated in how this shot was accomplished.

 The colours and lighting in HUGO made the entire film feel almost dream like, which fit really well with the theme of the film. The almost cartoon feeling really asks your brain to try and detect whether what you are watching is real or animated. I felt myself suspended in wondering whether a scene was CGI or real people.

The story is quite predictable. Several times during the film, I found myself guessing how that act will end and how it will tie in with the final conclusion....each guess I made turned out to be right. When I first read the synopsis,  I was expecting that Huge witness a mystery that was full of twists so I guess that initial expectation might have made this film a bit less exciting.

Overall, I would recommend this film to those who enjoy a feel good, good cinematography, and cheerful family film.

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

7/10

You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it. - Benjamin Mee

 We Bought a Zoon is a story Set in Southern California, about a father who moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.

 Based on true events, this film is about overcoming, building up courage, and doing something crazy. We see almost each character struggling with their own demons and in the end, even if they can't completely step away from it, they are able to come to terms with it.

 Matt Damon is perfect as the father who bought the struggling zoo, while caring for his two children, and unable to let the memories of her go. He does each scene with such conviction and simplicity that could almost feel his sorrows.

 Though this film can be a bit slow in parts, but if you can sit for the entire film, and let yourself be carried away by the story you'll find yourself filled with a bit of courage. This family bought an entire zoon, one that is almost hopeless to ever open its doors again, and turned it around (in reality even won awards). So if you could, even for 20 seconds, face your doubts and fears...something great will come out of it.

There are some key differences between the film and the actual story (like the wife in reality didn't die and the zoo isn't in America but is actually located in England) this movie still carries a lot of energy with it.

I would recommend this film on the bases that it is an uplifting film, with a solid and helpful message. Give it a shot!

My Girl (1991)

7.5/10

step back to the 90's in this sweet meaningful film.


Plot: Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher

So sweet and genuine. Film full of themes and overflowing with love.

The young cast is stunning in carrying the story with such power.

Great character development and fantastic collaboration of music and playful scenes. Definitely well put together.

Definitely recommended

The Witches (1990)

7/10

Incredible special effects make up that still scares me even now.

plot: A young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse. 

I remember having watched this when I was in elementary school and left pretty much sleepless that night. Well re-watching The Witches, it still gives me chills. What a timeless film in that regards.

Anjelica Huston is outstanding in her portrayal and definitely highlight of this movie.

This film does an incredible job in mixing slap-stick humor, legend of witches and terrifying looking witches together. Definitely worth watching!

MegaMind (2010)

 7/10
Mega entertaining with a good message.

Megamind is about a diabolical genius Megamind finally conquers the hero Metro Man, whom he has been enemies with for a long time. But Megamind finds his life pointless without a hero to fight. (imdb)

MegaMind is a great little animation with a funny parody to Superman and gives superheroes a new prespective.

I fairly enjoyed the film and the message it conveys. The film re-analysizes the role of a superhero and supervillain. It gives superhero movies/comics like X-Men, Superman, Spiderman and Flash an entirely different spin.

If you want a funny superhero film that is both inspiring and uplifting then spend an hour and a bit with MegaMind...it is worth it!

Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

8/10

Magical creatures and some fortunate (or unfortunate) chance of finding them.

Spiderwick Chronicles is a story about how upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures. Based on the book with same name by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black. (imdb)

I have never read the book, so I am unsure how true the movie is to the story. Despite my unfamiliar knowledge of the story did not, in any way, effect my enjoyment of The Spiderwick Chronicles.

The movie gripped my interest from moment one and never let it go till the credits rolled.

The special effects are quite fantastic bringing everything to life. It felt like that the creatures, fairies and goblins are real enough to touch.

The acting are all believable and to the point.

There is much development in the characters and their relationship with each other. As the movie goes on, we see how the house and book brings each character together and allows them to see through the other's eyes. I really like the fact that the movie did not rush through the story but put focus on creating connections.

Cinematography and editing style also are worth noting. Notice how inanimate object are given close up shots before shifting to a creature/person. Also the very saturated colours of the film really emphasizes the fairytale aspect of this movie.

My favourite bit might be how the female character has fencing skills.

Overall I loved it. It is a great movie that seems to have everything from action, spells, mysterious creatures, humor to drama.

That's What I am (2011)

6.5/10

Bold , brilliant creating frustrating moments

That's What I Am is about A coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol (Chase Ellison), a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior high school peers. (imdb)

This film captures realistic life of school, students, bullying, rumors and growing up. This film, yet set in the 1960's era, captures much of our current reality. Revolving around humanity, diginity, peace and compassion.

The cast does a great job capturing the atmosphere of school life.

That's What I am is very character driven, creating a powerful film filled with happiness, frustration, anger and confusion . The movie creates many frustrating moments that really makes you wonder why no one will stand up for others. How rumors and accusations float around without any solid proof. Not the easiest film to watch. At times all I wanted to do was step in and make things right.

Bitter sweet.

Worth viewing, but be warned, this isn't your typical feel good movie. This film has many underlining morals and themes

Despicable Me (2010)

8/10

Funny and cute!

Hilarious and just adorable!

Despicable Me is about a criminal mastermind uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand scheme, he finds himself profoundly changed by the growing love between them.

I love the concept behind this film of the protagonist being the antagonist at the same time.

I loved the Minions! Fred, Dave, Jerry, Tim, Mark, Stuart..... The rest o the characters had more unique names that I have never (or rarely) heard of such as Gru, Edith, Agnes....but the minions balanced out the names with their generic names.

I watched this back to back with Toy Story 3. I enjoyed both on different levels. Despicable Me was funny, impressive and a light animation. Toy Story 3 is a wonderful, heartfelt and absolutely amazing addition of the trilogy.

Highly recommended if you want a funny, adorable, laugh-out-loud and with many 'Awwww" moments movie...THEN definitely check this out!

Toy Story (2010)

10/10 [HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

Very Heartfelt, sweet and fantastic follow up of a great story

Toy Story 3 is about the toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home.

The old gang is back together and it brought back a lot of memories. There are elements for both adults and kids in this film. There are tons of humor sprinkled throughout. This film plays with your emotions, tugging at your heart strings as well as poking your funny bone.

Toy Story 3 is my favourite of the entire three and it took my breath away. I felt I could relate to it as I am in University and had to donate some of my old toys. I grew up with this trilogy and felt that the storyline grew as well.

All in all, Toy Story 3 made me smile. I recommend this to everyone! If you haven't seen this ( I frown at you) GO SEE IT! Completely worth it!