Mr. Peabody and Sherman Doggone Review

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

Busy, busy start of the month! But that didn't stop us from squeezing in a little Mr. Peabody and Sherman time one totally harassed weekend.

The low down? It... has its moments.

We liked the fact that this flick is dedicated to Dogkind. I mean, seriously, LOYALTY is a big thing people needs to learn from our canine pals.
The animation was pretty decent. I totally dig Penny's Cleo look.
But the plot... let's just say, there was just too much going on. The fact that Mr. Peabody is a talking dog who's also a genius and an inventor and an adoptive parent to a human child is already a whirlwind ride. And then, the WABAC time machine was thrown in. too? And then time-space continuum issues that had historical heroes landing in the middle of New York? Oh, and let's not forget Animal Control and Child Protection Services. Busy, busy. Just as busy as my workload (and yet, I still managed to write a review).

Memorable bit: PENNY'S "ADMIT IT. YOU'RE. A. DOG." BULLYING.
If there was a Top 20 Bullying Moments Contest, this sequence gets my vote! It was executed perfectly. You can feel the evil of Penny, and the confusion and hurt of Sherman. Slapping a sandwich and asking the boy to "Fetch it!" because "Your father's a dog so that means you're a dog, too."... absolute harshness! The theater was in complete silence! I bet some kids shed a tear, too.

Funniest bit: AGAMEMNON AND LEONARDO'S HUMAN CHILD.
Everything Agamemnon said was funny! He deserves his own sequel. Lol! Leonardo da Vinci's creepy human child invention was spine-tingling as it was hilarious, too. It's crazy how that abomination was actually rolling around town terrorizing people. Lmao!

Victory bit: LOVE THE PART WHERE MR. PEABODY BIT LADY GRUNION!
No matter how human Mr. Peabody presents himself to be, deep down he is still a dog. It's cool that he still remembered that. I actually forgot it myself in the middle of it all. This part made me want to stand up and cheer and throw great amounts of confetti!

Fail bit: "I'M A DOG, TOO!" "I'M A DOG, TOO!" "I'M A DOG, TOO!"
The one-by-one bandwagon treatment. Cli...che. We've seen this in a lot of dramatic climax scenes. Spiderman's "You will have to go through me.", "And me.", "And me.", "And me." and Peter Pan's "I do believe in fairies!",  "I do believe in fairies!", "I do I do!", "I do believe in fairies!" To mention a few. Plus, "I'm a dog, too' just isn't that catchy. Well, that's just me, dawg.

Is it worth watching on the big screen? I'd give it a YES. Because the visuals were epic in its high-techness and historical trips' hugeness. The puns were so worth the popcorn. And Happy Meal's brain twister freebies are cool!
So grab your kids and catch Mr. Peabody and Sherman in cinemas today!

Leggo to the Lego Movie!

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

Since the trailer came out last year, were you one of the families foaming at the mouth for The Lego Movie? I know we were! For us, THIS was going to be the biggest movie in plaything history since Toy Story.
And let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint.

Lego, being a household name, could've just come out with any half-assed plot and still hit blockbuster because of its sheer popularity. But nooooo.... Warner Brothers wasn't going to do just that. In fact, it crafted an elaborate storyline AND cast a bunch of big timers to do the voices. Say, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson, among others.

Now, details --what exactly got us rabid about The Lego Movie?

STORY
It's just the perfect over-the-top adventure any child would concoct when playing with his own Lego pieces. Evil overlord, All-knowing master, Unlikely hero, Badass heroine, plus, a crazy mixture of Lego play sets. Kudos to the writers for putting their inner child right out there.

CHARACTERS
There was depth in every character, it's crazy! How did they even have time for that?! Metal Beard had a back story, Bad Cop/Good Cop had a family, WyldStyle had personal issues, Lord Business had control issues, Batman had relationship issues --whew! Don't even get me started on Emett's wht-is-my-purpose issues!

PRODUCTION VALUE 
I would have died if the whole movie was made out of real physical Lego bricks and stop-motioned for like eternity. But that would be insane. Instead, the whole movie is made out of thousands of unique Lego bricks and hundreds of unique Lego mini-figures virtually created through a program called Lego Digital Designer. Which means the behind-the-scenes would still be insane. Anyway, the effect is damn authentic! Check out the Lego sea sequence!

PLOT TWIST 
Oh, you know how I am with plot twists. The whole movie was a metaphor about father and son relationships? With... with Will Ferrel? Nobody in his right mind saw that coming! Dayum!

MORAL LESSON
Fathers, play with your children. Adults, stop being run by rules and learn to have some fun sometimes. Very timely message there. Oh, and children --let your creativity go wild! It's kinda ironic because every Lego set does come with an instruction manual. But this movie tells us that THAT is just a suggestion. Neat.
There was also this 'Everyone can be special' underlying message in there, but it's a little cliche. So.

BONUS!
CAMEOS
Lego didn't scrimp on advertising their existing marketable Lego sets, of course. The Star Wars Lego Set was there. And the real Anthony Daniels REALLY voiced C3PO! Ok, that's just plain geekery... but I smiled when that happened.

Overall, the movie was a fun, original ride peppered with nostalgia for older people and non-stop I-can-relate-to-this awesomeness for the young'uns.

The Lego Movie is on its final few days of showing this week. So if you're one of those people who has a Lego piece stuck under your refrigerator or in between the cushions of your couch, it will do your happy heart some good to watch this.

Papier Macheniacs: Plague Doctor Mask Made Easy

Very, very late post! The past few weeks have been insane! But we, Papier Macheniacs, still managed to squeeze in one very crucial project.
Ok, 'crucial' is such a big word. But Miro needed a mask to spook a friend on his birthday so here it is...

I AM THE PLAGUE DOCTOR!

This was so much fun making. It's even more fun that we made it using the most common household items. Paper plates, an empty tissue roll, and cellophane-wrapped polvoron! The polvoron we ate during break time. :)

How did we make such a spazztastic transformation? Pretty easy, really.

First, we did the measuring. Eye holes and breathing holes are always important in mask-making... for obvious reasons. Miro just wrapped a paper plate around his face and put pencil mark guides on where we should cut out the appropriate holes.

Second, the beak. There's a variety of plague doctor beaks out there, but we decided to go with something that resembled that of a hawk's or a falcon's. All it took were 2 plates rolled and taped into cones. And then we taped them together to keep the whole beak sturdy. The A-line cut should be the bottom part of your beak because that's where you breathe.

TA-DAH!

Next, the straps. Now we wanted straps with a little give so it won't rip with repeated use. We used folded news paper strips for these. Then, we papier mached everything together.

Looking pretty plaguey already, eh?

A little focus on the eyes here. Remember the polvoron we ate earlier? We used the red cellophanes for the goggles, for that extra creepy touch we all aspire for in spooking dear friends. We also painted the
insides of the goggles red so that the whole creepiness reflects beautifully. Oh, and just in case you didn't notice --the goggles are made out of cut tissue roll.

Just a little bit of original painted design touches and --there you have it! Who needs Halloween when you have everyday to creep your friends out? 

Needless to say, my boy Miro's evil birthday plot was a spooky success! :)

See how easy that went? I dare you to make your own Plague Doctor mask today.

Walking with Dinosaurs by a Dino Geek

SPOILER ALERT!

I grew up on dinosaurs. These prehistoric creatures hold a special place in my heart. So when my son discovered that Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie was in cinemas, I jumped on it like a Compsognathus on living tissue (little dino geek talk there... hehe).

Anyhoo, the review.

Let's start off with the movie title. Not too hot about it. Seriously, it can be any dinosaur movie. And saying that it's 3D (like they've just discovered the technology) made me snicker a bit.

The animation is cool! The details from the lush landscape to the leathery skin to the foggy breath in the middle of a full-blown dino wail are awesome! Just look at that! *frantically points to the image above this paragraph* The editing is good, too. I mean, like, Hollywood good. With appropriate zooms and unexpected slo-mos. The kind of thing you don't expect in a kiddie movie.

The plot is another story though. It's all about a power struggle between a tough herd leader and an underdog (just like in Disney's Dinosaur) during migration (just like Disney's Dinosaur) with the platform of sibling rivalry (a Walking with Dinosaurs original idea) and young love (just like Disney's Dinosaur). Oh and there was also a buddy thing happening here between 2 breeds (just like in Disney's Dinosaur) and an an unexpected prey revolution against a much-feared predator tyranny (just like in Disney's Dinosaur).

Another novel touch is using the Pachiosaurus as the stars of the film. Usually these bulky guys only serve as backdrop. The protagonist even has a unique hole in his head. Oooh...

The script... well, I'll be honest... is cringe-worthy. The jokes are painful. A bird as a narrator makes it even more painful.  But that's just me.

Another downer for me (and this is a personal thing) is that the T-Rex --the King Lizard himself-- is again labeled as a not-so-tough-after-all dino. The movie introduced the Gorgosaurus, as huge as the T-Rex, but more ferocious and fast. Aargh! Being a full blown T-Rex fan, this really boils my beans! But at least they didn't do a New Dino vs T-Rex fight scene which ended with a very dead King Lizard (just like in Disney's Dinosaur). That would've definitely got me on geek frenzy.
Buuut... they still went over the line when the film said the Gorgosaurus teamwork and attack skills can be likened to military precision. Hello! THAT skill belongs to the Velociraptor! Yeeeah... I'm a raptor geek, too.

Ok, so do I recommend you watch this? Yes! But... on DVD. Or maybe when it starts showing on HBO Hits or in National Geographic. It's good. But, for me, it's just not quite up there with expensive plush movie seats and overpriced popcorn.

*Photo creds to the Walking With Dinosaurs website

Christmas Treasure Hunt

Why haven't I shared this Christmas idea before?! Bad, bad, motherblogger!

We have this little tradition every Christmas. Instead of the usual gifts under the tree or the typical post-dinner exchange gifts among family and friends, we do gift-giving with a little challenge. We do treasure hunting!
The boys wake up on Christmas morn to a map I've carefully drawn some clues on. When they were younger, the clues were more direct. I drew a washing machine, so the gifts were in the washing machine. This year, I've employed a little devious misleading. The Christmas ball would let them think the gifts are behind the tree, but they're actually in the Christmas ornament box in my husband's work shed; the Disney Infinity logo would let them think the gifts are somewhere near the wii console, but they're actually in the car where they put a Disney Infinity sticker early this year.
Next year, I plan to add puzzles and maybe some challenges to the treasure hunt. Maybe like jumping through hoops of fire or something. Lol!

And did I say this Christmas hunt makes for one of the most awesome family bonding? :)

For extra Christmas fun, add a little spice to your gift-giving with a little treasure hunting. I guarantee, that present will be one your kids will treasure forever.

Papier Macheniacs: Universal Fun!

First day of the Christmas break and we're already taking on the world! *tu-dug... tsss!*

Presenting, completely in 3D, a papier mache Universal Pictures logo! Kenji has a thing for logos, specially when he's making one of his epic home movies. :P

This, by far, is our messiest creation yet. Mainly because we had to sculpt the letters. We didn't need to, but we like to challenge ourselves. We love getting down and dirty, too.

First, we did a pencil draft of the letters on a flexible cardboard. Huge emphasis on 'flexible'. You're going to need to bend this on your globe later on. If you're as lazy as me, you can do this freehand.

Then, the letter-sculpting. We dipped paper towel strips in glue, and shaped them ever so messily to form each letter. Very tricky. And drips everywhere! Be ready with a damp wash cloth to quickly wipe them away before they harden on your furniture's surface. You can tell my kids love this part.

Once you're happy with the shape and uniformity of your letters, stick the board on a plastic or rubber ball. For that 3D treatment we were going for, we used cut and rolled newspaper taped on the ball and the letter board to give both items distance from one another.

After that --you know the drill. Papier mache time! Remember, use tough paper towels and good, spreadable glue. And really, really work in between those letters' nooks and crannies.

Painting time is definitely my boys' favourite part (second to making a mess with letter-scuplting, that is). The ball rolls away so you have to put it on a stand. We used a simple plastic cup to sit the ball on while painting.
We followed some of the essential parts of the Universal Pictures' globe, but since this is 3D, much of the back part we did out of whim.

See? Philippines, represent! However geographically incorrect. Lol!

So there you have it --our very own Universal Pictures' logo in 3D!
I'll make sure to post Kenji's home movie soon. In the meantime, Miro is planning our next Papier Macheniacs project. Stay tuned for a crafty holiday!

Sparklelab's YULEanda

We've been huge fans of the Sparklelab Toy and Game-making club since it opened its doors to all creative kids out there.
But yesterday, that fan factor went up another notch. The kids were making toys to be given as Christmas presents to the young survivors of Yolanda. What a brilliant idea!

Thrilled with the concept of creating and giving, my boys set off to complete the task at hand.

Kenji was making a school bus.

Miro was making a rocket. No, a robot. Wait... a ray gun! Or, or a telescope! Miro was having an idea overload. lol!

2 hours later... just WHOA...
It's cool how with a whole lot of imagination in that packed room, simple household materials transformed into these.

Kenji's bus had a drawable surface, "So the kids can draw passengers!", Kenji excitedly said. But... he ended up drawing the passengers himself. Haha!

Out of his gazillion ideas, Miro chose to make two toys. A toss-and-catcher, and a pair of goggles. The lenses of the goggles turn. "So the kids can choose if they want to see in focus or to add shine, like when they're watching stars.", he says.

Cue proud mimi moment here. :)

I call this a successful event!
Thanks, Sparklelab for giving us a well-spent Saturday.
And to the young Yolanda survivors ...A HAPPY, PLAYFUL CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US!