Category: Family Flicks

Review: ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’

Ram Man:

Brendan Fraser is putting the mummy hunting on hold for a month or so to update the Jules Vern classic “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. This time its modern day and it’s in 3-D!   So be prepared  for this ride, Dinosaurs are trying to steal your popcorn and you can almost feel the heat from the lava. Eric Brevig (The Island) used amazing visuals in his directorial debut.

2008’s Journey tells the story of Professor Trevor Anderson (Fraser) researching his brother Max’s hypothesis that there are large enough caverns and vent tubes near the center of the earth to have a world living in a world. Max Anderson went missing years before exploring in Iceland leaving behind a wife Elizabeth (Jane Wheeler) and son Sean (Josh Hutcherson). While taking Sean for the summer, Trevor observes a lot of seismic activity in Iceland just like when Max went missing, so  the two set of to Iceland to get some answers. Upon arrival the hire a mountain guide Hannah (Anita Briem) and after a freak lightning storm find themselves trapped in a cave.   They set off to find another way out and after two prototype amusement park rides (roller-coaster mine train, water slide) they find themselves in the center of the Earth. This is where the fun really starts. The encounter Dinosaurs, mutant piranha fish, man-eating plants and glow-in-the-dark birds.

Remember to get your Real-D glasses upon entry because this is really 3D! People were jumping in the theater and  don’t forget  to watch out for those fish. This is a thrill ride enjoyable for the entire family. Brendan Fraser is a little hit and miss with his movies but with the 3D effects he hits this one out of the park!

3 out of 5

Travis:

Everyone have their Real-D 3-D spectacles on? Are you firmly planted in your seat with a tight grip on your popcorn? Great … now, everyone keep your arms and legs inside the viewing area and do not leave your seat until the experience has come to a complete stop.

‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ succeeds on one level only and that’s purely a level of amusement park fun, offering roller coaster and theme park style thrills. That’s cool … nothing wrong with that. I actually enjoyed this ride despite my otherwise reluctant attitude towards seeing this film in the first place.

The film is directed by Eric Brevig, who prior to this film, was primarily a visual effects guy. Hence, the feature-length visual gimmick. ‘Journey’ is a moderately successful joyride of mild fun and humor, primarily rooted in that of children’s fantasy-adventure fare … both the kids and the adults in the theater appeared to have gotten a kick out of Brandon Frasier’s fantastic voyage to the center of the Earth. However, the film’s success lies solely in the gimmick of the 3-D glasses.

From having Professor Trevor (Frasier) spit his mouthwash into our faces to a wild and physically implausible mine car ride to having a T-Rex nearly bite our buns off, the gimmick works very well at keeping the audience entertained while wearing the somewhat uncomfortable 3-D glasses. But, take the viewing apparatus away and all you have left is your typical kid’s adventure film with little to show for in the way of originality. Not to mention the picture just looks weird without the glasses, as the entire film was shot with the intention of being viewed in 3-D, which is actually a step up from my last experience watching ‘Superman Returns’ and having only three scenes in 3-D, requiring me to watch for the signal to dawn the glasses and then time their removal appropriately as to avoid sudden 3-D glasses induced hallucinations when the 3-D effect was over.

I really have nothing more to say about ‘Journey’ … first time in a while I’ve been relatively short-winded on any movie. Its a good kid-flick with enough going on not to bore the rugrats. Adults will likely enjoy it as well for its novelty, but anyone who gets motion sickness may want to avoid watching an entire feature film presented in this new Real-D 3-D medium.

2.5 out of 5

Charles:

‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ is a adventure-filled family film that’ll take you on the ride of your life…. in buttery theater seats littered with bunches of hooligan kids and teens. I enjoyed this movie because of the 3-D experience it had to offer. Crazy colored insanely large toothed fish were popping out all over the screen with ginormously monsterous plants that would tear the screen apart. WARNING! Must keep 3-D glasses ON because there is NO WAY you will appreciate the full effect of the film without them. Yes, so honestly the storys a little corny, but who cares!? If you like suspense at all, the 3-D action is bound to keep your complete attention. Now, I’m actually a fan of Brendan Frasers earlier successes, like ‘School Ties’,’Encino Man’, and ‘Airheads’. And while this is a typical Fraser film, its more along the lines of The Mummy Trilogy, which I’m not so impressed with, but apparently there are mummy fans I’m not gonna mess with. Nobody has heard from this guy in the last few years but I’m betting this will reboot his career, coupled with the new Mummy movie, and added to his 2007 ‘The Air I Breathe’ (where he brilliantly plays a psychic gangster) and !BANG! he’s back in business folks. Not gonna lie, this movie is totally for everybody. It delivers action, comedy, and romance. What more do you want? Just make sure to gather up the fam damily and kids for this journey and spectacular 3-D thrill ride! Oh and by the way, the movies ends off with a chapter from a new book that will follow in a sequel. Wait for it…

2.5 out of 5

Review: ‘Meet Dave’

Ram Man:

Does any one know where the “real’ Eddie Murphy went???? I think this new guy stealing his billing Has just one goal in mind..Get the most Razzies (award for worst movie of the year) of any actor in Hollywood. This new comedy???? is a mixture of My Favorite Martian,Star Trek and Innerspace only dummied down for the kiddies.

Meet Dave is the story of an alien race forced to find salt to replenish their planet and allow their race to survive. They chose to deplete the Earth of it’s oceans, and end the human race in the process. Did I mention these aliens are 2” tall and arrive on earthin a spaceship (Dave) that looks like Eddie Murphy! Eddie not one to hog all of the camera also plays the tiny captain. Elizabeth Banks, Scott Caan, Mike O’Malley and Gabrielle Union also cashed in for this one. They also saved a buck or two by naming the aliens with numbers instead of actually have writers create some. Upon arrival the crew starts to form emotions and take on habits of the humans. This segment provides the best parts of the film. No. 4 (Pat Kilbane) discovers Broadway and show tunes and soon turns Gay and gives No.3 (Union) a makeover to wow the captain (Murphy). Unfortunately the laughs are too far and few to make Meet Dave a good film. the end is also soooo predictable. A family flick that no one in the family except maybe the pre-teens will like.

I f you should Meet Dave , run..don’t walk away from the theater! Boldly go to any film other than Meet Dave. The only thing that was on my mind during the long 90 minutes of the film was Pluto Nash..Pluto Nash..Pluto Nash . After such films as Norbit, Daddy Day Camp, Pluto Nash and now Meet Dave I ask again what happened to the Eddie Murphy that made Axel Foley a household name and gave an Oscar worthy performance in Dreamgirls? Maybe both he and Mike Myers have slipped into just being able to do Shrek films. I don’t know what 20th Century Fox was thinking releasing this in the summer season opposite the smash hit Hellboy 2 and a 3D family adventure in Journey to the Center of the Earth.

1 out of 5

Charles:

Eddie Murphy is back with, yep – you guessed it – yet another run of the mill comedy. I went to the screening thinking it was going to be a waste of time and garbage. Meet Dave is what I expected. It’s a safe, family-fun comedy with loads of slapstick humor that will only appeal to teens and young children. I’m not scared to say it; this movie actually had me laughing at certain parts, but the remaining of the film is expectedly nothing to get excited over. You run into the same old performances Eddie has offered over the past (god only knows how many) years. 10? 15? 20? Enough already. It pains me to see Eddie’s career going down the drain, but also when you don’t show up to your own premiere… well, it explains why fans and critics don’t have sweet things to say. Sure, we love Eddie ’cause his old classics are great but HELLO, times have changed and these days he just can’t get the job done. Sorry. Beverly Hills Cop 4 will hopefully revive his corpse of a career! It’s definitely a stronger effort than Norbit (no fat suits in this one, Thank Goodness) but nothing special either. If silly slapstickish humor like this makes you laugh, then go ahead and Meet Wacky Dave!

1 1/2 out of 5

Review: ‘Wall-E’

Wall-E is pure fun and entertainment for the whole family, and the movie geeks were out in full force to see it. Scott brought his 4 year old daughter, and probably enjoyed it even more than she did! We gave this movie a collective rating of [rating: 4.5/5]. Read all of our reviews by clicking below:

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A Last Chance Plea For ‘Speed Racer’

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Here we are in the midst of the summer blockbuster season, and its time to reflect on how are you choosing to spend your movie experience. Perhaps you’re giving M. Night Shyamalan yet another chance to impress you with his new found “R” rating coupled with a throwback sci-fi menace that will leave you longing for Donald Sutherland’s point and scream at the end of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. Or perhaps you’re watching Hulk Version 2.0 smash things twice as efficiently with 60 percent less character growth and 98 percent more references to upcoming Marvel movies. Speaking of which, when exactly did early product branding (AVENGERS MOVIE OUT 2011) somehow get repackaged as fan-friendly referencing (Look, Captain America just waved at the Hulk!!)? If DC follows Marvel’s lead and I get a “Dark Knight” post-credit stinger of Superman and Green Lantern eating a sandwich, I’m going to scream.

But I digress, the point is this: amidst all the splendor of the studio tent-pole films raking in the cash, there has been one casualty, that of young Speed Racer. While Indiana Jones whips his ass out of retirement for the 300 million mark, Speed Racer has failed at the box office in every country its been released in, with only Japan left as a potential success (which would be fitting, given the show’s origins). Maybe by now you’ve heard the talk of your peers telling you that Speed Racer is too long, aimed at audiences with the attention span of hummingbirds, outlandishly cartoonish or just plain bad. Well, it stands to reason that these people are not your friends, nay, they are the voice of the predictable movie-going audience. I say is easy to be lazy and give Speed Racer a pass for all the wrong reasons. Back when the movie first came out WAMG‘s Travis gave the film a positive review, and I’m here on my knees in the dirt to back him up with 5 final reasons why you should give the obvious choices a rest this weekend and throw Speed Racer a little charity on its way out the door:

Continue reading A Last Chance Plea For ‘Speed Racer’

Robert Rodriguez finishes casting for ‘Shorts’

Just received this info…

“The multi-generational ensemble cast includes two-time Emmy nominee Jon Cryer (TV’s “Two and a Half Men†), Oscar nominee William H. Macy (“Fargo†), Leslie Mann (“Knocked Up†), and three-time Emmy winner James Spader (TV’s “Boston Legal†), as well as young stars Jimmy Bennett (upcoming “Star Trek†), Kat Dennings (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin†), Trevor Gagnon (TV’s “The New Adventures of Old Christine†), Leo Howard (upcoming “G.I. Joe†), Devon Gearhart (upcoming “Changeling†), Rebel Rodriguez (“Planet Terror†), and Jake Short and Jolie Vanier making their feature film debuts.

“Shorts† is set in the suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated, whose Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX is the ultimate communication and do-it-all gadget that’s sweeping the nation. Other than keeping his parents employed, however, Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX has done nothing for 11-year-old Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett), who just wants to make a few friends†¦until a mysterious rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky, hits him in the head and changes everything. The Rainbow Rock does Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX one better: it grants wishes to anyone who holds it.”

I love Kat Dennings, and William H Macy. This movie should be a pretty good time for the family, but I dont see Danny Trejo listed on this cast list..i am certain its just some mistake!