The Avengers (2012)

First of all I thought the movie was truly AWESOME! And I'd thought I'd do something fun about helping you decide if its a movie you'd like to see or if you should let your kids see it. Keep in mind it is PG-13 for comic book style fighting...good guys vs. bad guys. I didn't hear any foul words nor any sexual references or jokes. Only a simple kiss between tony Stark (aka Ironman) and Pepper Potts. In fact overall I think we may let our boys see this one, even though we are not allowing them to watch the other ones prior to this. But anyway here's a quick guide to knowing if YOU would like the movie or not.

Ready....

1. Did you watch Ironman (2008) and enjoy it? If Yes proceed to question 2. If no, just stop you won't really like the Avengers and maybe comic book movies are not for you.

2. Did you watch Ironman 2 (2010) and enjoy it? If yes or no really doesn't matter proceed to question 3. This movie was okay but not relevant to the Avengers storyline really. (FYI Ironman 3 is due out in 2013!)

3. Did you watch Captain America (2011) and enjoy it? If yes proceed to question 4. (Oh Chris Evans...did you know he also plays another Marvel super hero in the Fantastic Four!). Part of this movie is also very relevant to the Avengers storyline. If you answered no but yes to question 1, watch this movie first before seeing Avengers.

4. Did you watch either Hulk movie (2003 or 2008)? If yes or no, whatever both were horrible and neither actor continued to play the Hulk in the Avengers. If you did see it, ignore your dislike or even liking for them and continue to question 5.

5. Did you watch Thor (2011) and enjoy it? If yes, then you are ready to watch the Avengers. This movie sets up the bad guy for Avengers. If you didn't enjoy Thor, maybe seeing The Lucky One would be better.

If most of your answers were yes...then run to see the Avengers! Its fantastic! Fun! Exciting! Perfect for Marvel fans young and old! In fact out of all the movies mentioned above this one is more family friendly for kids who like action style movies. I have to see it one more time to fully give my support to my 6 year old to see it. But 3rd/4th grade and above should be fine for this movie. Really its just the comic book violence that made it PG-13. And kuddos to Marvel Studios (now owned by Disney) for another awesome movie!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

I finally watched this movie on DVD last night. From the Heston to Walberg to Franco, I have enjoyed the Planet of the Apes movies. (the only exception was the old sequel, 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes') I always look forward to hearing the classic line and in this most recent take on the Apes ruling the planet the line was delivered by Tom Felton (best known for playing Draco in all the Harry Potter Films). In this movie we find ourselves in San Francisco where Will (James Franco) is a medical drug researcher trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's to help his own father and the world. He ends up with a baby chimp, Caesar, in his care and finds the drug was past from his mom into the baby and his intelligence soars. Showing the drug is not only to cure bad cells but can enhance intelligence in healthy cells. It takes a lot of the movie to set up the Rising of the Apes, but this movie is more about the back story of another theory or idea given to how the world will eventually be taken over by super intelligent apes. There were parts where you can see small jabs by the Hollywood movie against animal cruelty and medical research. Its subtle but you have to wonder if it was on purpose to make you question things or was it just part of the story to get to the end. After the of the movie I was wondering what Charlton Heston would say about this one. Did you know he was in the Tim Burton version of The Planet of the Apes. (uncredited he played Zauis' father). That one is my favorite, I love Burton, so I guess I'm biased towards it. Back to the movie at hand, the end of the Rise only showed a mild start to the rise, I'm sure setting up a sequel. If I had to give stars I would give it 3.5 stars for simple entertainment. Those who enjoy any and/or all of the Planet of the Apes movies would possibly enjoy this one as well. It stands alone, but its also just another re-make or another take on a story that's already been done before. True originality in movies is rare, but with a classic story you can find many ways to tell it and not kill the original or the whole idea of the movies.

Journey 2: Mysterious Island

There came a point in my children when they decided that cartoon/animated movies were "uncool" and left us with finding family friendly movies that entertain and don't contain things that require explaining or editing for ears/eyes. So, when a movie or line of movies comes out that everyone in our family can enjoy we glad invest our time and money to see them. Journey 2 fits the bill. Like the first one in this series it all starts with the idea that the books by Jules Verne are real and based on real places and adventures someone took to these grand places. In this one we find our adventure in the Mysterious Island. This island is the final resting place of Captain Nemo and the Lost City of Atlantis. Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, plays the step-dad trying to form a relationship with Sean. Sean lost his dad in the Center of the Earth and in this one searched for his grandpa (played by Micheal Caine). There's lots of adventure, laughs, and family values in this movie. When you watch the regular non 3-D version it is very clearly what parts would have the 3-D effects. However, they aren't overly distracting from the general viewing and enjoyment of the movie. If you have kids who find some tension in an action sequence scary or hard to watch just know there are a couple parts I can see timid child not enjoying it. However overall the movie was clean, good fun, and great for the whole family. If your family enjoyed the first movie or movies like National Treasure, Percy Jackson, etc., then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too.

P.S.
You may love the previews if you are a LOTR fan! Hobbit is coming and it looks like it's going to be a great adventure.

Midnight in Paris (warning spoilers if you don't know)

Finally had a chance to watch this movie tonight. Before watching it I only knew the two main actors and the director/writer of the movie. When it first begins there was just too many scenes of Paris shown with the music. Extra long soft intros to movies don't grab my attention easily. But once the movie was over I understood the meaning behind the long soft intro to the city of Paris. This movie is more about how Paris herself throughout history has captured the hearts of people and inspired artists, writers, etc. Although I have never been to Paris I can only imagine how beautiful the city is. Someday I'll go visit (maybe). So back to the movie itself. It was subtle the way you were introduced the time travel Gil (Owen Wilson) would take and how those adventures changed his life. He went back to the same time each night at Midnight and befriend people like Ernest Hemingway and the Fitzgeralds. What I did enjoy is how simple it was for him to simply wait until Midnight to climb into a car clearly from the 20's and suddenly find himself in that era. While he is figuring out his own course of action with his life and the book he is trying to write, his fiancee (Rachel McAddams) thinks his stories of his travels are a brain tumor and crazy. You realize they are not really made for each other and wonder why they are getting married at all. She clearly holds another higher than Gil. (That much I'll leave you to find out). I kept waiting to see it end with him staying in the 20's, but rather I was pleasantly surprised with a sort of unexpected ending that allowed him to continue to hold onto the love of the past and the "Golden Era" without the unrealistic ending that he remain in the past. Now all that to say the movie overall was okay, held most of my attention. I wouldn't say it was Oscar worthy (it has been nominated for best picture...why I have no idea). However, it is a pleasantly enjoyable film to watch with your special someone or even just for a quiet night. Its rare to find such an interesting film without all the added hoopla or foul language or over sexed people for no reason. While you won't see me running out to buy it or even watch it again, I do recommend seeing it at least once.