Daddy Mojo at the Movies | Page 10 of 27

Goodbye Christopher Robin is solid movie entertainment for adults

It feels odd to say that Goodbye Christopher Robin is a movie that’s best enjoyed by adults; after all, Christopher Robin is the linchpin in Winnie the Pooh. That is true, but this film is about A.A. Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh and how the character that generations came to love actually happened. If you’re a fan of Winnie the Pooh, the bear-and only the bear, then this film is not your cup of tea. However, if you’re looking for an interesting story about the creator of Kanga, Roo and the rest of the crew in Hundred Acre Wood then you’ll fall into Goodbye Christopher Robin without effort.

Before watching the film my knowledge about A.A. Milne, the author and any events that led up to the creation of Winnie the Pooh was nonexistent. (mild spoilers below)

Continue reading Goodbye Christopher Robin is solid movie entertainment for adults

Despicable Me 3 vs. Cars 3-What should the family see?

Despicable Me 3 and Cars 3 are out within two weeks of each other. They both target the same audience, those families that want a good film to take the kids to when summer requires a break or just 90 minutes inside the air conditioning with the smell of popcorn everywhere. Both films are entertaining, but there are differences that might influence how you decide to spend your precious movie theater dollars.

In this corner, Cars 3, the G-rated juggernaut from Walt Disney that is one of the most popular franchises in the world. Children love these characters; have birthday parties after them and their parents purchases million of dollars in Cars merchandise. As a film Cars 3 returns to the quality roots of the franchise. Forget the silly spy escapades of Cars 2 because with Cars 3 it’s back to the track with an aging Lightning McQueen.

Continue reading Despicable Me 3 vs. Cars 3-What should the family see?

Captain Underpants, First Epic Movie-is one that families need this summer

Captain Underpants was the first book series that our now 7 year old loved. We bought one of the books on a whim and he, with our assistance, devoured it within 24 hours. It’s similar to another massively popular, wimpy book series that elementary to early middle school kids absolutely love. Both franchises would seem to be tailor made for the movie screen. There have been four attempts at a Wimpy Kid film and while each one has made a profit, they didn’t earn much love from the audience. Our kids have always liked Captain Underpants more and it’s because of that fact that I was nervous about seeing it.

‘Please don’t screw it up’, I thought to myself as we entered the theater. Ten minutes into the film it was obvious that they didn’t screw it up as our 7 year old was laughing more than I had ever seen him. He was doubled over in his seat, roaring with laughter and wiping his eyes and pointing at the screen. The person on the other side of him was looking over and enjoying his enjoyment of the film as much as they were.

Continue reading Captain Underpants, First Epic Movie-is one that families need this summer

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, good for ages 10 and younger

The Wimpy Kid book series is responsible for millions of children worldwide wanting to read. It’s a story that families of more than one child can identify with it’s only natural that movies be made from them. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is the fourth film in the wimpy cannon and in this case it’s culled from the ninth book in the series. The Long Haul proves that the adage, “the book was better” is correct, but the film still offers laughs for middle school and younger viewers.

In The Long Haul the Heffley family is taking a road trip Meemaw’s 90^th birthday. Greg and Rodrick have a side plan to attend a con that’s happening a couple of hours away from it. Chaos fun, brotherly love, confusion, mistaken identity, fart jokes, sight gags and ultimately family bonding make up Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.

We’re glossing over the plot because anybody reading this who is expecting the film to be a live action Pixar version of a family road trip will be disappointed. However, if you’re 10 or younger this is a film that will meet your entertainment needs and have you laughing on the trip home. It’s a movie that is entirely built for younger audiences-and that’s ok.

Continue reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, good for ages 10 and younger

Smurfs The Lost Village, better than you think and good for the kids

Know your role. My wife and I use that phrase as a way to slyly accept our greatest strengths and to play to them. In our case it’s not meant as a pejorative, rather a rallying cry to do something, establish a goal of doing better, as well as a subtle reminder that we can’t be great at everything. Smurfs: The Lost Village knows its role. After two previous films that brought the Smurfs to the big screen in a CGI/live action format, Smurfs The Lost Village is 100% animated.

It’s good animation, visually on par with a major motion picture. Because of that it looks world’s better than the TV counterpart that old school fans will remember and even the 2013 television short, The Smurfs: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Continue reading Smurfs The Lost Village, better than you think and good for the kids

The Boss Baby aims for laughs, succeeds for all who are 5 and up

Our 7 year old has been talking about The Boss Baby for almost one year prior to its release. In June 2016 he came into the office and asked if we could see The Boss Baby. How he got the inside tip on this film we don’t know. When he finally got to see it with the family it was a close call as to who enjoyed it more, the adults or the kids.

The plot of The Boss Baby is simple. An 8 year old boy gets a baby brother who is wearing a suit. Why is he wearing the suit? How can he talk? What’s the point of all this madness? Mild spoilers are below so if you want to have complete surprises when you see the film stop here….

Continue reading The Boss Baby aims for laughs, succeeds for all who are 5 and up

Is Kong: Skull Island OK for children?

This is a film that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, but is Kong: Skull Island OK for children? It’s got that sweet PG-13 rating which can be a curse or a blessing, depending on source material. If it’s too gentle then nobody will want to see it and if it’s too graphic then middle school masses won’t be able to see it. Factor in that the monster genre has been criminally under-represented in movies and you’ve got a combination that could be a great thing for monster hungry movie fans.

Kong: Skull Island is a mild to strong PG-13 film. There is one f bomb, a couple S words and lots of monster fighting. The fight sequences range from the human to monster kind to the much more entertaining monster to monster fights. There’s no sex nudity or erstwhile mentions of love, everyone is too busy fighting monsters or getting through the jungle.

Continue reading Is Kong: Skull Island OK for children?

The Girl With All The Gifts, an atypical zombie film that thrives

We read a graphic novel like this recently. It was something that I only knew the bare bones about and it succeeded in being wildly entertaining beyond our expectations. It’s not that there were low expectations; we just didn’t know enough about it on purpose. The Girl With All The Gifts is a zombie film like no other. It plays to a few zombie movie tropes while gathering up most of them and (thankfully) throwing them out the window. The result is an utterly original film that simmers at a low boil for a majority of the film, expertly weaving together a taut, disparate vision of the near future.

Suffice it to say that The Girl With All The Gifts is not for children. As a parent, in no way shape or form would I allow a child of mine 16 or under to watch this. It’s rated R for good reason due to language, graphic violence, disturbing images and perilous situations.

Continue reading The Girl With All The Gifts, an atypical zombie film that thrives