Cars, In Planes' Sight

You've probably read it everywhere by now (maybe even saw it for yourself) --Planes is indeed Cars with wings. Observe these character spoilers!

HEROIC HAS BEEN
Doc is to Skipper as Skipper is to Doc. But we liked Skipper's back story better. Plus, he rose from it all and fought the bad guy in an aerial dogfight, creaking bolts and all. Coolness.

TOUR GUIDE LOVE
Sally toured McQueen down the Canyons. Ishani toured Dusty around India. Both to give emotional insights about the story and to create a spark towards a blooming love affair.

GREEN AND MEAN
Chick Hicks and Ripslinger. Separated at birth. Connected by... eeeeviiil!

RUNNING...er flying... JOKE
Mater and El Chupacabra are the comedians of each movie.  El Chupacabra is crazy in love while Mater is plain crazy.  El Chuppie, however, was given a better production number with a better singing voice.

Planes mirrored the formula Cars ran on except for the part where the hero, Dusty Crophopper, totally changed the game by going against what he's designed for to win an international race. That part is... 'Planes is Turbo with wings'. :P

Still, my boys loved this animation flick for its dynamic action scenes, brilliant colour, and that fact that it involved war planes. No plane can be cooler than fighter planes. And the scene where all the planes pitched in to help Dusty get back on his wings is a beautiful, genuine touch.

So, even if Planes is not the most original of Disney's offerings, I'm not totally knocking this movie out of the sky. It's for kids. And kids love airplanes!

Watch, release your inner child, and enjoy!

What The Conjuring Didn't Conjure

I would call The Conjuring your Demonic Possession + Exorcism Starter Kit.
Not too flashy, not too creepy --it can be the first film you use if you want to introduce your children to the macabre side of film making. Of course, not too many parents would actually do that. But I did. And my boys were like, "That's it?"

The poster was cool though. Hands down. And the hype that went with it certainly got me excited and scared at the same time. But yeah, being a Horror flick geek, it was kind of a let down for me. I know that's being unfair. It's just that I'm grossly exposed to Asian Horror (read:  The Ring, Ju-on, Tale of Two Sisters, and so much more) that prides itself for its excellent command of suspense and impeccable  use of SFX.  I'm also a fan of Paranormal Activity's brilliant editing.  And The Exorcist's spot-on acting, disgustingly perfect make-up, and shocking script. In The Conjuring, the demon never even cussed.

It had its moments though. I thought the sleepwalking girl perpetually knocking her head on the closet was cool.  The freaky doll, Anabelle (Chuckie's cousin, me thinks), had time to shine. I would've liked it better if she was the focal point of the story. The demon combing her hair while sitting in a rocking chair was admittedly, chillingly awesome. Sadly, Anabelle was just a side story.
However, the end did hint on a part 2 --so her potential might just resurface. That is, if THIS will even be allowed a part 2.

So yeah.

But don't take the word or the biased judgment of a frightening film fanatic. Watch The Conjuring so you don't miss a thing. Just do me one tiny favor. If you're watching on DVD, push play at exactly 3:07am. Thank you.

Final word: Still, nobody does demonic possession quite like you do, Regan. Nobody. *slow clap*
(You have no idea how terrified I was while uploading this photo. Lol!)

The R.I.P.D. Dead Ringer Review

The Rest. In. Peace. Department. You'd think it's an incredibly original movie-making idea (except for the fact that it's a translation of a comic book cult hit). But really, what it is is a cinema fest of dead ringer bits. First off, it's a fun-filled version of Constantine. Dead people running about re-killing each other.... except made to look like Rush Hour in the action department.

The old guy vs young guy tandem isn't anything new either. That non-chemistry between 2 generations that always makes good formula for shits and giggles still works --so why fix it? Think Ghost Rider horseback rider and motorcycle rider editions, complete with creepy characters. Or, M.I.B., complete with creepy characters and swanky secret HQ.

Oh, and the evil master plan --to open a portal welcoming all the baddie souls into the city of man. Kinda like The Avengers, eh?

So after that pale intro, why the heck would you waste your time on R.I.P.D.?

Powerhouse cast
Ryan Reynolds. Jeff Bridges. Kevin Bacon. Mind Blown.

Partner deceit
I love plots that make you question your comfort zone. And Kevin Bacon definitely brought evil ex-partner to light in the darkest manner. It's official. Bacon does bad good.

Human sacrifice
Well, this is new. No one does sacrifices to open up evil dimensions anymore. Plus, Stephanie Szostak makes a cute sacrifice.

Firepower
It's like watching team Fortress 2 The Human vs Dead-but-still-kicking Abomination Version. Lots o' guns, lots o' fun!

Fight scenes
Since everyone's dead, everyone gets their heads pummeled with cars and concrete and they bounce right back up. It's Tom and Jerry in the real world! Oh boy, oh boy!

The blond bombshell and old Chinese man 
This is pure comedy genius! This is the only part of the movie that got me laughing like a loon. If you must watch, do it for the bombshell and the Chinese man.

So, are those reasons convincing enough? Mmm... probably not. For practicality's sake, R.I.P.D. is better watched on DVD than on the big screen. And with lots of buttered popcorn.

Bonus! It's an original but a dead-on cringe-worthy moment: Mary Louise Parker biting Jeff Bridge's scraggly beard in an awkward show of gross seductive force. Uh-huh. I'm still having nightmares about that one.

Tripping out on Turbo!

SPOILER ALERT!

Wow!  This is definitely a month of movie reviews!  All the family movies we were expecting to be showered with in the summer all came in like a massive hurricane as soon as school started.

On our plate today:  Escargo!  Oh wait... TURBO! 
It's a tiny player compared to the bigness of Monsters University and Despicable Me 2.  Save for the usual trailer, Dreamworks didn't put much fanfare to this flick.  There's not even a single spot of merchandise at the cinema door.

That's why it was so cool to realize that this movie is actually awesome!

Admittedly, I was skeptical at first.  It reeked so much of Disney Pixar's Cars.  You know, downtrodden town (in this case, mall) gets back on the map, thanks to a race car (in this case, race snail) but not before said race car (in this case, race snail) gets arrested (in this case, snailnapped), and then taken in by a misfit band of town cars (in this case, misfit --yet badass-- snails) and given the blind support of a broken-down tow truck (in this case, a very broke taco guy).

But you know what, Turbo has more heart than Cars.  That's because it's an underdog story.  It's a rising against the norm story.  It's a brotherhood story nicely played by snails Chet and Theo --and their human counterparts, Angelo and Tito.  And it's a reality story where your biggest hero can be your biggest enemy.  My kids loved that twist!
Speaking of twists, the best line in the movie ironically came from said hero/archenemy.  'No dream is too big and no dreamer is too small.'  Imagine that!

Turbo is solid with the right amount of moral lesson and breathtaking action.  The incredible snail attachments got my boys geeking out, too.  They might just gear up our dogs with rocket boosters soon.  Uh-oh.

Starring Ryan Reynolds as Turbo and Paul Giamatti as Chet (my favorite character.  haha!).  TURBO --don't miss it.  Seriously.  Because this snail is fast!

Yep, it's my boys' favorite song right now.

Despicable Me 2: The Love Angle

Aaand they're back!  This time, with an unexpected twist.

We should've seen this coming though.  Villainous overlord to a gazillion minions turned doting dad to three bubbly little girls.  The logical sequel is to reward this reformed sinister being with --ding-ding-ding-- a love interest!  And so that is what Despicable Me 2 is in a nutshell.  A love story.  With a generous spattering of gadgets, evil potions, and maniacal world domincation plotting on the side.

Steve Carell still mans the vocal power of Gru, a retired evil dude who got recruited to be a good guy spy in this latest Universal Pictures film treat.  And the one who mans (or womans... er...) Gru's heart is his lovestruck fangirl, spy partner, Lucy. 

The love bug proves to be contagious as it goes PG level when Margo goes into puppy love mode with Antonio, the contravida El Macho's son.

Speaking of which, El Macho proves to be a lovable baddie, too.  He's so funny, it's cute!  And he dances a mean tango.

And, if you fell in love with Gru's adorable and ultra hilarious yellow minions in part 1, you'll definitely relive the feels for them as purple World War Z zombies in part 2. 

The boys and I were ecstatic that the minions were given more purpose in this movie.  They're not just a comic relief or a running joke as they used to be.  They are, in fact, the essential movers of the plot itself.  Despicable Minions.  Hehe.  I just had to.

No wonder they were given the well-deserved spotlight in the teaser trailer that ran and went successfully viral months before the movie release. 
Don't tell me you didn't love THAT? 

If the family is in for a little love and laughter, take them on a date to Despicable Me  Po-ta-TWO-oh-oooh!

How to pull off a little BIG school party

Hosting a school party for pre-teens can be the scariest thing.  These kids are on the brink of teenhood --moody, highly opinionated, and judgmental (lol!).  It's even scarier when the party you're hosting is for your boy's 12th birthday, and he's all, "I don't want a kiddie party, mimi.  Just something simple but awesome.  Like I won't get embarrassed or anything..."
Oohkaay.

Solution:  GO BIG!  Without breaking the bank.

Go big on food.  You can never go wrong with pizza.  But why stop there?  Get the biggest thing in pizzas.  Say, Jugno's Monster Pizza.  I went with kid-friendly flavors but went the whole 20 and 36-inch goodness.  The kids were all "Wow!", "That's huge!", "Awesome!"
A tip:  Get them pre-sliced into squares for that no-hassle, easy distribution.

Go big on the cake.  I went with cupcakes --again, for that no-hassle, less messy distribution.  For the design, I went with the biggest thing in gaming:  Teen Fortress 2.  And the biggest thing in themed cakes:  Midnight Snacks.

Midnight Snacks rock the character cake-making department, like, so hard!  Can you just look at these details?  The kids were geeking out the whole time!  I heard a lot of "That's Pyro!", "This is so cool!", "Whoa!  TF2!!!"  And the cupcakes were in choco banana flavor.  Another win!  This time, in the taste department!

Of course, you want to be the bigger party planner for the teachers, too.  So even with a shooting video game theme, you DO NOT put guns in your design; and you DO NOT serve soda with your pizza.  Good, good mommy. :)

The best part is watching my boy, Miro, from afar --beaming like the sun as he munched on a cheese pizza alternating with a badge cupcake (He didn't have the heart to eat his favorite TF2 characters, lmao!) as his classmates went on thanking him and telling him how cool his little party is.

All in all, I spent less than Php4,000 for this success.  A small price to pay to hear your preteen say, "That was the best birthday ever, mimi!"
Hear that?  That's MY birthday wish coming true. :)


Disclaimer:  This blog does not aim to push TF2 to preteens.  The point of this blog is to push party planning bigness without spending big.  Feel free to theme your child's party to what he or she feels is 'big' for him or her.

Back to School with Monsters University

SPOILER ALERT!

Here's a fabulous way to celebrate surviving the first month back to school --Monsters University!  A prequel to Monsters Inc. which takes us back to Sulley and Mike Wazowski's extra colorful college days.  The nice thing about this flashback is that it shows us exactly how our beloved monsters have changed through the years. 

How Mike wasn't just a funny monster, but a determined scarer.

How Sulley wasn't always a responsible furry 'Kitty', but a party jock and jerk.

How Randall wasn't always a conniving villain, but actually a nerd who sported glasses and wanted nothing more than just to fit in.

A big plus is seeing Mike as a wide-eyed toddler with braces.  Ain't he adorable????  Awww...

The story is all about Determination and Positivism.  How you can fight the odds when they're all against you.  And how you can make things work to your advantage as long as you have the drive.  I didn't quite like the cliche 'Nerds Fight Back' theme that went on.  But the scene where Mike and Sulley first worked together to scare human adults instead of children is definitely our favorite ever.  That was the best scaring scheme!  And adult screams generate more energy than kids'.  Who knew?

Lastly, when Mike finally accepted the fact that he couldn't be a scarer... he went on and became a scare coach.  How's that for making your weakness work for you!

My kids got a different message though. 
"So let me get this straight.  We don't need to finish school to get a job?"
Ugh.  Thanks a lot, Disney Pixar.

Monsters University is still running.  So finish your homework and catch it!