Movies
Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, January 27, 2009 in 2:51 pm
The new year has arrived. And yes, there will be movies. Here is a preview of the family films that lay ahead.
HOTEL FOR DOGS – Jan. 16th
Faced with the prospect of losing their beloved dog when their new foster home doesn’t allow pets, 16-year-old Andi and her younger brother scramble to find him a new home. The enterprising siblings secretly convert an abandoned hotel into a Five Star doghouse for their pooch and, in the process, end up rescuing every stray in the city with the angry dogcatcher hot on their heels. With a trailer featuring smart kids, even cuter dogs, a hotel full of Rube Goldberg inspired devices and enough action to keep everyone happy,
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, January 2, 2009 in 7:48 pm
When used together, “kids” and “free” are two words that are magic to the ears of every parent, especially these days. And when they apply to a full day of fun, it is not to be ignored lightly.
NY Comic Con, the annual convention for comic book fans and movie and television genre enthusiasts of all sorts, comes to town in early February and they have set aside a day to focus on their youngest fans under the banner of Kids Day. Best of all, children 12 years of age and under will be admitted free.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, December 30, 2008 in 10:25 am
“If you know anything about fairy tales, you know that a hero does’t appear until the world really needs one”, so the narrator tells us early on in THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. And as the curtain rises on this story, the once idyllic kingdom of Dor is in desperate need of a hero. With sunlight lost to a permanent cloud cover, a King mourning a dead Queen, the rat population in exile and, oddly, a complete ban on the savory soup that once made it famous Dor is but a dark shadow of its former self. And to this kingdom, a mouse is born.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, December 5, 2008 in 5:54 pm
Failing in all aspects of its production, from conception to execution, the new animated epic DELGO is the must-miss family film of the year. The poorly conceived story combines fantasy, action, romance and slapstick into a directionless mess that will not find a receptive audience among children, teens or adults and pairs it with lackluster voice performances and artless animation.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, November 15, 2008 in 1:04 am
Not so new but definitely improved, MADAGASCAR 2: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA brings us the return of old friends Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria in their continuing adventure in the wild away from the safe confines of their Central Park Zoo home. In this installment, our heroes do not so much escape to their ancestral home as crash land there on their way back home to New York.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, November 1, 2008 in 11:13 pm
honestbaby’s hot picks, passes and previews of the upcoming family films coming to a theater near you this holiday season.
BOLT – opening November 21st.
With a bark more powerful than a locomotive and the ability to leap tall fire hydrants in a single bound, the new superdog Bolt arrives to save the day courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures. Genetically altered to be a Dog of Steel with courage just as strong, Bolt’s only fault may be that he does not realize he is only a TV character and all his powers are just special effects.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, October 31, 2008 in 5:58 pm
Holiday movie season is almost upon us and the studios will be vying to get you and your children into the theater with one blockbuster after another. Here are some tips that might make your time at the movies more enjoyable.
GROUND RULES. Before getting to the theater, set your expectations regarding acceptable behavior during the movie. Should talking be limited to a whisper only when necessary? Do tantrums during the movie mean an early exit? Lay down the ground rules up front.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, October 8, 2008 in 3:51 pm
Preceded by an infectious trailer that proved to be a crowd favorite featuring a song and dance number with a cast of hundreds the likes of which has not been seen since the heyday of Busby Berkeley (that is if Berkley had produced the closing ceremonies of the Westminster Dog Show), BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA arrives in a decidedly different package. The non-musical film itself retains the fun promised in that preview but brings the surreal nature of the hundreds of singing dogs dancing down the steps of an ancient South American temple down to a more realistic level (that is if talking dogs living the high life is realistic).
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, August 30, 2008 in 10:09 am
With “Fly Me To The Moon”, 2008 continues to be the summer that cartoons took to space. Following on the heels of the stellar WALL-E and the mediocre “Space Chimps”, this new 3-D adventure takes us back into orbit however it falls victim to the law of diminishing return as it is a poor offering both in comparison to the two films which beat it to blast-off as well as simply judged on its own merits.
Set in 1969 on the eve of the Apollo 11 mission, which would finally put man on the moon, the film focuses on Nat, IQ and Scooter, three young flies seeking thrills beyond their suburban junkyard existence.
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Posted by: Michael Sajkowicz, July 30, 2008 in 2:31 pm
A strong cow stands up for himself but a stronger cow stands up for others or so young cow Otis comes to learn as he takes over the role of protector from his father and defends the barnyard from the villainous coyotes constantly looking for a meal.
Nickelodeon’s BARNYARD is one more entry in the animated canon of anthropomorphic animals who get to show their true colors whenever humans aren’t looking. They sing, they dance, they play practical jokes. In this go ‘round, they don’t get much of a story to hang the antics on but it is played out at a hectic pace that will keep the interest despite lack of plot.
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