A Good Hearted Monster That Visited Paris

On April 16th the internationally acclaimed film written and directed by Bibo Bergeron A Monster in Paris will be released.  

This movie is set in the 1950s Parisian cityscapes. The story is about Emile and Raoul accidentally creating a "monster" after having free reign in a scientist's laboratory and spilling potions. Monsieur Francoeur, the monster, is the product of a reaction between a common flea and one of the scientist’s mystery concoctions. 

Everyone in Paris except for Lucille, Emile, Raoul, and the scientist's monkey fail to realize that this "monster" is actually a soft-centered soul with an astounding talent for music. The stories of Paris’s newest monster attract the attention of the egotistical police commissioner who wants to become mayor. Emile and Raoul team up with the singer Lucille to protect Francoeur.

3D animated TIFF Kids Opening Night Film: The Legend of Sarila (La légende de Sarila)

The Legend of Sarila (La légende de Sarila) by Nancy Florence Savard is an 82 minutes Canadian film inspired by various Inuit legends that explore the themes of friendship, hope, perseverance and self acceptance. This animated 3D movie is wonderful to watch for anyone over 8 years. The movie shows that life can be harsh and challenging for people who live on the Arctic tundra and how important the animals in the tundra are for their survival.

LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

All the LEGO Star Wars fans will be excited to know that LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out is available on DVD.  

We thought that this movie was really fun that the whole family can enjoy.  The smooth animation is creative and was fun to watch.  My son was excited to watch this hilarious 22 minutes long DVD.  Since my son loves LEGO and owns some LEGO pieces for Star Wars characters he was very excited to see the Lego characters in action.  This action packed comic adventure also includes a Darth Vader minifigure for children over 6 years.  

Our children come only with our own "Parental Guidance"

Parental Guidance is a hilarious movie that has everything you want in a fun to watch family movie.  While watching the movie there were many moments of laughter, sadness, and times that made me step back and think. 

I liked seeing how the movie was portraying what parents do now compared to the past generation parents.  I think it is totally true that every decision we make is up to our own "parental guidance."  Fingers crossed :) we make the right choices.  Parenting is definitely a job without a description or a manual to follow.  I totally recommend this funny movie for everyone parents or not.

Win a copy of the Willow Blu-ray

In celebration of its 25^th anniversary Willow is now available on Blu-ray and DVD combo back.  This fantasy tale written and produced by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard points out that heroes come in all sizes.
Win a copy of this fantasy film Willow (1998) blu-ray copy before April 10th.

TV for March Break & a chance to win Netflix subscription

With March Break right around the corner, I am sure many parents like me :) are looking for ways to keep their children entertained.  
Although, I plan indoor and outdoor activities sometimes my children just want to watch TV from the the comfort of our family room.  I like allowing them to watch TV by themselves through Netflix, as I can control what they watch by selecting an age appropriate show for them for a controlled period of time. There are no commercials that I need to worry about :) 
I like the wide variety of content in the Just for Kids section, which is specifically for children up to the age of 12.  Here are some examples of shows and films that is available on Netflix, which will keep our children happy.

• Chip Wrecked 
• The Adventures of Chuck and Friends 
• Rango 
• Caillou 
• Dora and Diego titles 
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• Rugrats 
• The Karate Kid 
• The Adventures of Tintin 
• Hoodwinked 

Giveaway:
If you would like to win a 6 months subscription for Netflix please enter through the rafflecopter below. This giveaway is open to people in Canada and ends on March 31, 2013. 
Please follow all social media networks and leave comments to be eligible. Winner will have 48 hours from the time of contact to claim the prize.
Update: The winner is Paresh

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Review of Life of Pi and a chance to #win 1 of 2 blu-ray copies

Life of Pi comes to Blu-ray and DVD on March 12th.  This fabulous Oscar winning family movie is about Pi Patel, a young man on a fateful voyage. 

I highly recommend watching this heartwarming family movie with the whole family.

We really enjoyed the way the movie started off with a beautiful Tamil song and vivid pictures of animals in a Pondicherry Zoo. Pondicherry or Puducherry is a place in South India influenced by the French. The architecture and feel of the area is beautifully portrayed in the movie. My children couldn't wait for the part when the adventures of Pi started in the sea.

• It was funny to watch how Pi or Piscine Molitor Patel and Richard Parkerthe Bengal tiger, got their names.  
• The scene where the family was ill-treated by the cook in the ship because they were Indian was heartbreaking.  This type of racial discrimination and prejudice still exists in our society... more about that in another post.  
• I felt really sad when I was watching the scenes of Pi loosing his family and when he retells the story.  
• Pi Patel and the fearsome 450 lb Bengal tiger are the only survivors of the shipwreck.  
• Pi did everything possible to survive by putting his faith in God even in moments of despair.  
• Although Pi knows life is about letting go of things, he regrets not being able to say goodbye in the movie to many people. 
• It was amazing to see this young boy trying to make the best of everything he had without giving up hope and believing that God did not create us in vain. I think this is something many people these days should remember as we see there are lots of people that commit suicide and loose control of their life because of their lack of belief in the higher power.

The wonderful special effects will be really enjoyed by everyone such as the jelly fish lighting up the dark ocean. It was amazing to see how it was filmed with the tiger so close and the Meerkat in the carnivorous island. This drama, adventure movie is based on the acclaimed best-selling novel from Yann Martel that has been published in 40 languages. This magical adventure of hope, wonder, survival and the power of the human spirit is wonderfully directed by Ang Lee.
The documentaries in the bonus feature of the blu-ray are a must watch. This movie won four oscars for best director, original score, cinematography and visual effects.

Giveaway:

2 people from US and Canada can win this giveaway by entering through the rafflecopter below before March 31st.  To be eligible please follow all the social media networks on the rafflecopter and comment.

Update: The winners are Arik and Jo-Anne.

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4 Pillars of Strength from the movie Chasing Mavericks & win 1 of 3 prize packs

Chasing Mavericks is out on Blu-ray and DVD today.  This movie is inspired by a true story of real life surfing phenom Jay Moriarity (played by newcomer Jonny Weston).  

When the 15 year old Jay discovers about the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth is real and is only a few miles from his home Santa Cruz.  He asks help from a local legend Frosty Hesson (played by Gerard Butler) to train him to survive it. As Jay and Frosty embark on their quest to accomplish the impossible, they form a unique friendship that transforms both their lives.  Their quest to tame Mavericks becomes about more than surfing. 

Chasing Mavericks was made with the help of some of the biggest names in the surfing world, and features some of the most mind-blowing real wave footage ever captured on film.  

Blu-ray Special Features include: 

    ●    Deleted Scenes

        ○    Frosty and Jay Paddle

        ○    Jay Plays the Bills

        ○    Power of Money

        ○    Jay Laments

    ●    Surf City

    ●    Shooting Waves

    ●    Live Like Jay

    ●    Surfer Zen

    ●    Commentary from Director Michael Apted and

Writers Brandon Hooper and Jim Meenaghan

    ●    Ultraviolet 

I would recommend this PG movie for everyone, it was lots of fun watching how strong the boy becomes following the four pillars.  In Chasing Mavericks, Frosty gives Jay some lessons outside of the basic surfing protocol, including his ‘Four Pillars of Strength.’ 

Physical

In Chasing Mavericks, Jay must demonstrate his physical strength by paddling 28.5 miles from Santa Cruz to Monterey Bay. This is a tough challenge, as it requires incredible strength to complete. This pillar is about taking care of your health and well-being.

·       Walking three times a week for 30-minutes

·       Balancing the diet, having vegetables as half of each meal 

·       Sleeping for 7 to 9 hours is a must for physical strength

Mental

To prepare for Mavericks, Jay had to study the ocean current, tides and wave patterns, and how these different elements work together. Understanding when to paddle out, when to drop in on a wave, how to use an ocean current to save energy can be the difference between life and death when dealing with 40 to 60 foot waves.  Memory tricks are a great mental workout:

·       Next time when you are travelling, think as many words as possible that begin with the letter A, then work your way through the alphabet.

·       Try remembering a list of objects or people from one category in the space of one minute

Emotional

Jay learns that he must face his fears head on when he gets in a situation that causes anxiety such as seeing a Shark. When fear becomes too overwhelming it can drown a person. Jay is able to address his fear and let go of the pain of his father leaving his mother and this frees him.

·       Address your emotions and take steps to help it without fearing change 

·       Knowing our weaknesses and asking for help

Spiritual

While this pillar is not addressed extensively in the movie, Jay does mention that his life purpose is to surf Mavericks. His passion and drive to push his limits helps him achieve an iconic status in the surfing world. Having spiritual strength is not limited to people with religious affiliations.

·       Seeing the big picture without limiting life to only one viewpoint

·       Seeking a higher purpose to achieve and having faith

The Surf Bracelet

Giveaway: 

Win 1 of 3 Chasing Mavericks blu-ray and 2 "Live Like Jay" surf bracelets before March 31st.  This giveaway is open to everyone in US and Canada.  Please follow all social media networks to be eligible and enter through the rafflecopter below.

Update: The winners are Darwin, Carolyn and ViviAn.

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Wreck-It Ralph Will Make Us Go Retro

Wreck-It Ralph is AWESOME. It has romance, emotions, adventure, action, witty dialogues, comedy, bad guys, good guys and more, which makes it a fabulous family movie. The adults in our home enjoyed making inferences and the smart and funny dialogues in the movie.

• Some of the funny lines that stuck with me are when the dynamite girl on Hero's duty tells Felix that "Flattery doesn't work these batteries". 
• The conversations during the Bad Anon meeting were funny.  During this meeting Ralph talks about his feelings and thoughts of becoming a good guy so he can earn a medal.
• The names used for the characters are really funny and cool such as Game Central Station similar to New York Central Station, where all the characters from different games travel.  The security officer is called the Surge Protector.

Looking at the characters and scenes will make us feel nostalgic and remember our favourite arcade games and moments.  The animators did a lot of work to make the four different worlds in the movie to be unique, believable and realistic.  The directors and the team chose video games from different eras and connected the characters.

1.  The animators created a simple world to represent the characters from the 1980s Wreck-it Ralph game. They were asked to ignore the rules of animation and celebrate the cubes and pixelated characters. If you look closer at the characters from Fix-It Felix Jr. you will see the characters moving in a linear direction.

2.  Sugar Rush is a game that came out in 1997.  The designs on the set for Sugar Rush are inspired by the architecture of Antoni Gaudi. The team makes the models using real food by making the lighting soft without dark shadows so it would be appealing.

There are lots of eye catching delicious sweets in this part of the movie that is made using Nesquik drinks, Mentos, licorice, jawbreaker, gum balls, Oreos, cookies, chocolate cigars and many more sweets. The mini game of making the car on Sugar Rush and how it turned out reminded me of the homemade birthday cake I made for my son's second birthday, this decorated cake was before learning about cake decoration.

3.  The world shown on the Hero's duty game is animated with triangle designs to resemble the recent arcade games, which are more complex, violent, aggressive and scary.  

4.  The arcade room is represented by the stereotypical figures of people found in arcade rooms in Southern California.  The lighting and feel makes it realistic.  

We liked watching the bonus features in the movie. Learning the tidbits from the bonus features of how the movie is created and the concepts were interesting.  Don't forget to watch the Oscar winning, cute, romantic animated short film Paperman, which is part of the bonus features.

While watching the movie we saw a different perspective from the view point of the characters, for example having something blink funny in the game will make us the Arcade players think there is a "glitch" in the game.  When we think that there is something wrong with the game, usually the game goes "out of order," which really means death to the game and its characters.    

My children and we found it sad when the other girls were bullying Vanellope.  We liked the part when Vanellope becomes a princess, but instead of changing her personality Vanellope decides to make her kingdom into a constitutional democracy.

We liked Ralph's caring character, as he helps Vanellope make the car and learn how to race. After Ralph realizes that Vanellope is not a glitch he goes back to help her. When the weather gets better we are thinking of experimenting the Mentos falling into coke just like in the movie.

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Movies to watch this weekend: Pinkie Pie, Wreck-It Ralph and UNDEFEATED

From Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy®-winning director Rich Moore comes “Wreck-It Ralph,” a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping adventure. For decades, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voice of Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero.

On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, who may just be his first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade and Vanellope herself. Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day—but can he do it in time? 

Wreck-It Ralph is available for purchase on HD Digital and HD Digital 3D versions since February 12th and will be out on Blu-ray combo pack, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, SD Digital and On-Demand March 5, 2013.  

Exclusive Bonus Materials Include:

·       Bit by Bit: Creating the Worlds of “Wreck-It Ralph” – Fans of the film will get a look at five new worlds created for “Wreck-It Ralph.” This takes viewers into Game Central Station with the artists who brought Sugar Rush, Hero’s Duty and Fix It Felix Jr. to life.

·       Alternate & Deleted Scenes – Have four separate scenes are highlighted with an introduction and optional audio commentary from director Rich Moore.

·       Video Game Commercials – Viewers can check out the commercials created for the video games featured in the film - Fix It Felix Jr., Sugar Rush, Hero’s Duty and Fix It Felix Hammer.

·       “Paperman” – This animated short film played in theaters before “Wreck It Ralph.” It tells the story of a young man in an office who sees the girl of his dreams in a skyscraper window across the street. But how can he get her attention?

·       Only on Blu-ray Disney Intermission: The Gamer’s Guide to “Wreck-It-Ralph” – When the film is paused, host Chris Hardwick appears on screen to guide viewers through a series of 10 video segments offering an inside look at the many video game references, Disney references and other hidden surprises featured in the film.

UNDEFEATED came on Blu-ray and DVD February 19th.  This 2011 Oscar-Winning documentary tells the true story about the Manassas Tigers, an underprivileged high school football team, who overcome adversity by coming together as a team and never accepting defeat.

This is an inspirational one-of-a-kind sports movie that the whole family can enjoy watching.  It shows how the volunteer coach helps the underdog football team to realize their dreams.  We can't wait to watch this movie about courage and character.  

My children are in the process of watching My little pony: Pinkie Pie Party episodes and really enjoy them.  The DVD will be available in Canada in April, however it is already available in US.  My son's favourite part is when there are lots of identical Pinkie Pies that come out of the water.  My daughter's favourite part is when Pinkie Pie puts the babies to bed.  Pinkie Pie cries because the babies were not listening and were not going to bed, and when the babies see Pinkie Pie cry they feel sorry and go to sleep. 

All rights reserved on the opinion of the written content Createwithmom © 2011 - 2013. Please Ask First