Dolphin Tale 2011 8 out of 10 and Dolphin Tale 2 2014 7 out of 10 (Family Movie Review #10 and # 11)

Dolphin Tale 2011  8 out of 10

An inspirational movie about an injured dolphin that has to have his tail removed and then needs to have a artificial tail created for it in order to survive. It is based on a true story, but with elements added that were typical Hollywood conventions. It is very similar to Free Willy in that a young boy ends up making a connection with a Cetacean. The movie grabs your heart from the moment you see the injured dolphin stranded on the beach. Dolphins are beautiful intelligent creatures which makes them so easy to get emotional about. 

The movie is not just about the dolphin's tail though it also is about the boy finding something to care about in life again while he has struggled to find something to connect with after the loss of his father. He is a lost soul until this connection with the dolphin changes his life. It is also about the journey of his older cousin that was a potential Olympic swimmer until he suffers a crippling injury while overseas fighting for our country and how he learns to accept his handicap. It is a touching story that is well executed in its telling

Dolphin Tale 2   2014 7  out of 10

When I heard that there was going to be a Dolphin Tale 2 -  my first thought was  "Is that really necessary?"   The first movie didn't really need a sequel since it was such a good and complete story- but after renting it for Family movie night, because my step daughter wanted to see it --it was definitely worth a watch.    Dolphin Tale 2 continues the story of the inspirational dolphin Winter as see deals with the loss of a fellow dolphin.   This is a common thing that many dolphins in captivity deal with since they are very social animals.   After the death of her dolphin friend she goes into a deep depression and they need to find a new dolphin for her to socialize with.    This movie didn't have the same strong storyline as the first movie, but was a good family film anyways.   I love dolphins and have found them fascinating my whole life.  They are so amazing that I was instantly pulled back in and cared deeply what was going to happen to Winter.    No big spoiler here...since the other Dolphin is shown in the poster ---Hope the stranded baby dolphin that they rescue and Winter ends up bonding with --was a predictable yet satisfying end to Winter's story.

I liked the movie for the dolphins ---my wife liked it for Harry Connick Jr.  --- a win -win situation.

( Animated movie # 8) Lego Movie 2014 5 out of 10 (Everything is So-So)

The Lego Movie  2014   5 out of 10

“Everything is so-so….Everything is completely average and underwhelming”     That is pretty much how I felt about the blockbuster success that was The Lego Movie.

It was an extremely average and overrated animated movie.   

I think it was the perfect example of a movie that everyone tells you is great –that definitely didn’t live up to the hype.  I’ve seen better Lego shorts.  The mini Star Wars Lego specials were funnier and more entertaining.  

Visually -   it looked exactly like you would expect it to....Like someone was making a really good stop motion Lego movie for you tube.

The story was clever and yet I found the movie itself kind of boring.

The Ending

SPOILER WARNING:  The ending was clever and yet I didn’t emotionally buy into it, because anyone that put together such an epic Lego set wouldn’t want it messed up either.  The kid could just play with own stuff so the premise that the dad was bad because he wouldn't let his son play with his creation is faulty to me.  Once the ending is revealed that the whole story was just some kid’s imagination while playing in his dad’s epic and structured Lego creation –the plot of this so-so adventure made sense.  The problem is the whole film felt like a random story from some kid’s playtime.  This concept may be brilliant, but the adventure itself wasn’t that fun.   The good jokes were few and far between and I probably wouldn’t watch this animated adventure again.

On that noteThe kids loved it and it absolutely cleaned up at the box office….So I’m sure there will be more Lego movies to come. 

 I hope the next one is better and more entertaining.

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The Smurfs (Family Movie Review # 8) 2011 3 out of 10

The Smurfs 2011 3 out of 10

Kids movie choice.....All I can say is Smurf this!  I was Smurfing bored throughout this whole Smurfing movie despite Hank Azaria and Neil Patrick Harris.  There was just nothing magically about this Smurf adventure.  The story was tired .....Let's just bring the Smurfs to modern day New York and have Gargamel chase them around.  It was basically a rip-off of Enchanted without the magic or fun.  Yet it made a ton of money and had a sequel.   What do I know?   I was never really a fan for the original cartoon Smurfs series back in the day--so I wasn't looking forward to a Smurfs movie and after this dull Smurf adventure--I will try and avoid part 2.  Your kids may Smurf this movie, but I just thought it was a Smurfing waster of my time.

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Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Family Movie Review # 7) 2011 3 out of 10

Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2    2011   3 out of 10

I cringed when I saw the ad for the first one (which I have never seen).  It was family movie night and my stepdaughter decided that  Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 was the movie we were going to be watching after having recorded it on the DVR.  I can almost deal with the talking Golden Retriever movies  that get churned out again and again.   Golden Retrievers are at least cute.  Chihuahuas on the other hand are one step above rats as far as I'm concerned.  I literally tuned out about halfway through the movie when the Chihuahuas are trying to save their owners parents home that is being foreclosed on.  They predictably try and enter a dog show to win a prize (like it is an episode of the Brady Bunch).    Then they somehow help to stop a bank robbery.   There was nothing interesting about this talking rat movie to me.  George Lopez as Papi the dog was just annoying (of course I find the real George Lopez annoying even when he isn't the voice of a dog).    Kids love talking animals no matter what they are doing for some reason, so of course the little one enjoyed it.  Me   NOT SO MUCH.  It may as well have been called Talking Rat Dogs 2.

Zookeeper (Family Movie Review # 6) 2011 6 out of 10

Zookeeper  2011   6 out of 10

Zookeeper starring Kevin James was about a nice zookeeper  that is trying to win back the girl he proposed to 5 years ago after bumping into her  again at his brother's wedding weekend.  She dumped him back then because she couldn't see herself being with someone that was just a zookeeper.    It was a very predictable story where you can see every plot point coming a mile away.   The movie also stars a bunch of talking zoo animals which quite frankly are not really important to the plot at all.   The advertisements made me think that it was going to basically be A Night at the Museum, but in a zoo,  which wasn't really the case. 

It probably would have been a more entertaining movie if it had gone this route.    The animals decide to break the code of silence to help him get the girl.  The animals have always been able to talk you see and just don't because it will freak humans out.  It borrows from the concept of Toy Story, where once the humans are away the animals all hang out together and talk.    They animals talking  is really not important to the story and we could have had pretty much the exact same story without the animals talking and giving him dating advice and it wouldn't have been much different.

    The highlights of the movie   surround Kevin James doing pratfalls like crashing into the ice sculpture at the wedding and riding a silly kids bike in an attempt to win back the girl on a pre-wedding event.   And the scene where the gorilla gets to go to TGIF's is funny as well.   It was a decent family movie,  but nothing extra special

A group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zoo keeper find love -- without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious.

The Golden Compass 2007 6 out of 10

The Golden Compass  2007

After Harry Potter every movie studio wanted to find its very own Potter like cash cow.  The Golden Compass was meant to be the first of a 3 movie series based  on Phillip Pullman's  His Dark Materials  book series.   It is an interesting film that focuses on the first book in this series  which features a story based around the adventures of a orphan living in a parallel universe where the world is ruled by  the Magisterium.  The people of this world all have demons  (animal spirits that follow them around).    The story follows her adventures using a  magic golden compass that helps her see the truth to find and save her friends that have been kidnapped.   It features talking animals,  Polar Bears with armour and magic.   The Digital polar bears were the most interesting part of the movie and the battle to see which polar bear would be king the best action sequence in the film.   The film although interesting didn't successfully connect with audiences so the 2nd and 3rd books in the series were never made.  The fact that this was to be the first of 3 films   leaves the audience with  what seems like an unfinished story.  Characters  so up out of nowhere (like the band of witches that show up out of nowhere)   and disappear from the story  (like Daniel Craig's character). 

The film features  Nicole Kidman,  Daniel Craig and Sam Elliot.

The Search for Santa Paws (Family Movie Review # 5) 2010 6 out of 10

The Search for Santa Paws  2010  6 out of 10

The Search for Santa Paws is a decent family holiday movie. If the kids love all the Buddies movies the kids will enjoy this talking animal flick as well .   The plot is simple.  Santa has a magical dog that was given life by the mysterious Ice Crystal as seen in Santa Buddies.   Santa and Santa Paws travel to New York prior to Christmas and in an often used Santa plot....Santa loses his memory and gets separated from Santa Paws.    There are also a group of cute little orphans that break out into song like a scene straight out of Annie involved in the story.    Christmas of course is in jeopardy unless Santa Paws can find Santa and get him to remember who he is.    Not much for originality --but like I said a decent family talking animal movies that the kids will probably enjoy.

The movie is basically a prequel to Santa Buddies .

Journey 2:Mysterious Island 2012 8 out of 10

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island   2012  8 out of 10   is a action adventure family film that focusing on a  17 year old boy (Josh Hutcherson) and his   search  for his missing grandfather with the help of his step dad ( Dwayne the Rock Johnson).  He decodes a secret message that takes the 2 on a wild adventure to The Mysterious Island from Jules Verne's book, while bonding in the process.  They actually find the mythical place and his grandfather and  few extra surprises along the way with the help of an island hopping helicopter pilot  (the comic relief) and his daughter (the love interest).  

The Rock is great as the step dad....he is the Arnold of this decade of action movies and shines even in these more kid friendly roles.   Michael Cane is also well cast as the adventure seeking grandfather.   The visuals in the film are fun and vibrant....even when they borderline on silly.   Despite some serious plot issues  with the film it was a fun and enjoyable ride...Kinda of a kids introduction into better adventure  films like Indiana Jones or Pirates.

Hotel for Dogs (Family Movie Review # 4) 2009 8 out of 10

Hotel for Dogs  2009   8 out of 10

This was another example of a family movie that personally wasn't on my list of films to see.  The trailer didn't interest me at all--but I DVR'd it for the kids and was pleasantly surprised.  

The storyline was completely unbelievable --but movies like this generally are. The stories  are not grounded in the real world and yet this movie they are grounded by the heart of the movie.  The story revolves around a brother and sister that have bounced around from  one bad foster home to another after losing their parents.  They stick together and have continued to secretly look after their family dog at all costs.   This leads them to the unlikely yet touching storyline of  taking care of dogs in an abandoned hotel and creatively turning that hotel into a Hotel of Dogs.  The story is touching and includes the excellent acting of Don Cheadle (even good in a silly kids movie) as their social worker that is trying his best to keep them together and find the right home for them.   His kindness is parallelled  by the kids efforts to take care of  (way too many) stray dogs.    A quality family dog movie where the animals don't talk and there are no fart jokes.

Cats and Dogs double Feature (Family Movie Review #3)

Cats and Dogs 2001   7 out of 10

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore   2010   7 out 10

I just recently caught both Cats and Dogs and Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore on the HUB channel with the family.  Both are quality family movies.

Cats and Dogs is basically a Men in Black  or Spy Kids with talking animals.

Like Men in Black there is a secret world that Cats and Dogs live in that we as simple humans are completely unaware of.   Jeff Goldblum's character is working on a cure for dog allergies and the Cats are not too happy about that so the movie centers on the Cats trying to steal this cure and the Dogs (the good guys--I'm a dog person so I totally agree with that) are trying to protect it.The  movie had a  lot of action and humor as the Dogs and Cats do battle especially in the showdown with the Russian spy cat and the too main dogs.   The spy concept of the movie is great and the movie was a fun for the whole family.

The sequel  Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore 2010  was a quality spy adventure that had a lot of fun parodying the Spy genre.    I'm surprised it took this many years before a sequel was made.   The title alone is a great  nod to the famous Bond Girl.  A funny twist on the villain was instead of a bald main holding  a fluffy white cat---we get  a bald cat with holding a white mouse.  The story line was good introducing the aspect of the Cats and Dogs having to work together to stop this villainous Feline.

The action sequences were fast paced and thrilling.

Together the films make a great double feature for a family movie night.

Cats and Dogs Trailer

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore Trailer

Animated movie # 5: Secret of the Wings 2012 9 out of 10

Secret of the Wings 2012   9 out of 10.

This was a strong entry in the Tinkerbell  Disney Fairies movie series of direct to DVD films.  This movie are totally cute and sweet and little girls and their parents can appreciate them as quality family entertainment together .  The visuals in this installment were beautiful,   as we get to journey into the Winter Fairy realm.  The Disney Fairies series has been able to expand and explore the world of Fairies over several films building a mythology for the world in which the Fairies live --while having interesting villain less films that kids love.  This tale of Tinkerbell finding her sister in the Winter Fairy land  (they were born of the same laugh--too cute) was a wonderfully written and executed adventure and in a year of lackluster blockbuster films that have disappointed I was totally surprised about how much I enjoyed this cute little movie while watching it with my step daughter.

Labeled by many as just a cash grab when the series was announced  (and I'm that element exists to a degree) Disney has actual created a wonderful and imaginative Fairy world with a colorful animated palate.    If you have little girls and haven't seen this movies yet ----check them out.

G-Force 2009 4 out of 10 (Family Film Review #1)

Who doesn't want to a see a movie about Guinea Pig Spies ---trying to thwart some threat to Earth? Right? Well that is apparently what Jerry Bruickheimer thought when green lighting this film that was literally the idea of one the producers kids.....(I kid you not watch the DVD extras) I found Tracy Morgan was even annoying as a Guinea Pig. The whole CGI talking animal thing doesn't really work for me (unless it is Scooby Doo---I just love that dog) . I'm not rushing out this week to see Zookeeper because a Gorilla talking about wanting to go to TGIF's doesn't really make me laugh. And it is weird because I love cartoons and animated movies as if I was still a child. No Seriously you can catch me on the weekend sitting on the couch watching Spongebob even after the kids have left the room....But Golden Retrievers that wear gold chains and talk like Gangsters and Chihuahua's that aren't selling tacos at Taco Bell just don't.  Zach Galifianakis's talents were wasted in this film --his stand up and roles in The Hangover are brilliant.   The film had some okay CGI action sequences and it had a plot --I guess I just wasn't into it.....I like the Hamsters in that car commercial more than these Guinea Pigs.  I'd much rather watch a TV episode of the Penguins of Madagascar than this  CGI talking animal spy flick.

Here is the trailer for this turkey