Last Night: Transformers

Last night with the 4 Chins in one place.  Caz leaves to go back to Auburn tomorrow morning.  Early.  Really early.  Somehow I seem to frequently draw the early morning airport runs.  But I digress.
     Caz gets to pick dinner.  We offered to take him out.  However, he procrastinated packing.  Procrastination is not an uncommon occurrence.  Chinese takeout is the call.  Takeout from Tsangs’s Village Cafe in Hanover to be precise.  Nothing but the best.
     We all have a good talk at the dinner table.  Family time is so important.  We talk about everything and anything.  We talk even when the subject isn’t an easy one.  I think that has helped the boys be prepared to go off to college and off on their own.  The boys may not talk much at times.  But when it is important, they know they can talk with us.
     It won’t be the same after tomorrow.   It’s the beginning of the breaking of our fellowship.  The start of the emptying of the nest.  A family transformation.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Coco, Demi and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody.  Caz saw it in theaters.  He had highly recommended it.  It lived up to the billing.
     Rami Malek was fantastic.  His acting was spot on.  His body moved exactly as Freddie’s did, whether just walking or on stage.  The Live Aid scene was amazing.  I really enjoyed the banter with Coco.  He was really into the story.  He gave us a kinds of facts about the individual band members as we queued up the movie.  Each time we paused the movie, he had another fun fact.  He really liked the music too.  All around, this was a winner.

Teenage Years Movie Night

....for Demi and me that is.
     The boys did not want to go to the movies.  So?  No problem.  Demi and I go to dinner, then the movie.  The boys are left home to fend for themselves.  We didn't cook for them.  We didn't order dinner for them.  If they get hungry, they can cook for themselves.  That is the pro of the teenage years.
     Demi and I had a nice first foray to a new-ish restaurant in the Kingston Collection.  It is a strange place for a dressier, fancier eatery.  But the food was good.  We were right there for the movie.  We finished and went to see Logan.  Great film by the way.  I give it 4.5 Chinnies.  It was less Superhero Movie and more character.  Logan is a great character.  This was a great way for Hugh Jackman to go out as the Wolverine.  Better than the first two.  That is not easy for the third in a series.

Guys Day Out & About

The boys and I had a great day out on the town today.  There was 3 inches of snow which actively turned to rain.  I drove the CRV, since Caz needed to ease into the winter weather again.  We hit the round around 11:30 AM and didn't come home until 6.
     The boys chose Percy's Place for breakfast.  We scored a win when we didn't have to wait to be seated.  Caz got his eggs and pancakes.  Coco got a breakfast for the ages, the Buffalo Bomb.  A croissant stuffed with scrambled eggs and buffalo chicken, smothered with cheese sauce.  You also get a choice of two sides.  Coco chose home fries and hash browns.  Two Potato sides.  The plate must have weighed ten pounds.  It was a mound of food.  And we got a free cornbread to take home.
     We finished eating in time to see the 1:30 PM 3D showing of Rogue One.  The previews were great.  The movie was fantastic.  Really well done.  It lived up to the hype.  The boys then went off on their own to Christmas shop.  They were really amusing.  The called Demi 3 times for help.  I had to help them out at the ATM.  They had me pull up the car and then close my eyes, while they loaded the car.  They were so excited about their purchases.  It wasn't the stuff.  It was their eyes lighting up at picking the perfect gifts that made the night.

Suicide Squad

Caz took our recommendation and went to see Suicide Squad.  And he came home with a poster of Harley Quinn.  Naturally.  His mom knew as soon as he came home.  He was searching hi and low for push pins.  He was on a mission to get the poster up.  This kid's got taste....

Awakenings

....And he rose.  Caz got to school on time.  It may have not been his finest morning performance every, but he made it to school on time.

The Force Awakens...

...but it remains to be seen if Caz does.  He and his buddies went to see the new Star Wars movie last night.  He got home very late.  He was warned that he would still need to get up and get to school on time.  He was not looking very lively when I left.  He knows that there will be consequences if he does not live up to his word.  Time will tell.  I have faith in him though.

Coco Goes to the Movies

Another weekend win!  I got Coco out of the house on a weekend.  Another big step towards recovery.  Sure, it sounds innocuous enough, just going to a movie.  But that is a big deal.  We almost didn't make it.  I had been playing with him all morning, and asked if we could have some Father/Son Fun time.  He said sure.  Of course, we had been trying the previous two weekends and failed.  But he was playing along this time.  I asked him if he wanted to know where we were going or be surprised.  He wanted to be surprised.  But Demi, trying to help, almost blew it.  She was right out of a bad movie.  After her first gaff, she kept on going.  Every two minutes it was a question nor statement about our destination.  Coco started tensing up.  He said his stomach hurt and just laid on the couch, while he was supposed to be getting ready.  I thought for sure we were doomed.  But I picked him up playfully and joked about dropping him on his head.  As soon as he laughed, I knew I had him.  So off we went to see The Hobbit - Battle of the Five Armies.  I got him a ginger ale that was large enough to last a week.  He crushed it and then had to pee halfway into the movie.  We made it all the way through.  I pushed my luck and tried to get him to go for new shoes.  No die there.  But hey, we were out of the house for 3 hours.  Huge step.  

Movie Review - Guardians of the Galaxy

Best movie of the summer.  Actually the best summer movie in years.  5 Chinny rating.  This movie has something for everyone.  It has action.  Humor.  Love story.  Heroes.  Villians.  Good characters.  Inside jokes.  And?  A great soundtrack.  

     I wasn't sure what to expect going in.  I had read the comic while college.  I didn't recall much about it though.  The trailer looked promising.  But while watching the trailer, I secretly hoped it wasn't a collection of all the good parts.  

     I laughed out loud during this movie.  Often.  I appreciated all the 80's references  No spoilers but anyone my age should love the throwback humor. There was the great tie in to the rest of the Marvel universe.  My son laughed through the whole thing too.  Out loud.  And often.  

     Breakout role for Chris Pratt.  He was fantastic.  And Bradley Cooper like you have never seen him.  Actually, you don't really see him in the film.  But the voice role was spectacularly done.  I think the crowds will be quoting "I am Groot" for years to come....

Family Movie Night - The Desolation of Smaug

Tonight was a perfect family movie night.  Demi and I ate a quick dinner with Caz at home, then picked up Coco and a buddy.  It was nice to be able to bring this particular friend of Coco.  They take Coco on a lot of outings.  He is a shy kid, so being on familiar ground is often critical to him being able to function.  The parents appreciate Coco being a good friend, so they invite him to a lot of places & trips.
     It was Opening Night for the second Hobbit movie - The Desolation of Smaug.  We picked a showing on the big screen, RPX.  3D and excellent sound.  It was well worth getting there early to pick out decent seats, and the extra expense.  The movie was fantastic and perfect for the RPX setting.  The boys all shared a pop corn before the movie.  The pre-movie snippets on the screen were amusing for all.  The preview trailers were promising.  The boys were well behaved, much better than many of the adult patrons around us.  Movie night is no longer a cheap night out, so you hope for nights like these.

Thor: Dark World

I will give it 4 Chinnies overall.
     The whole family attended this one and walked away smiling.  I would highly recommend spending the extra $ to see this in 3D and on the RPX screen.  This was a great action flick for that.  Great special effects.  Good plot.  Marvel wins again.
     Demi was enthralled with Thor.  A smart Natalie Portman was there for yours truly.  The kids got to see things blow up.  Something for everyone.
     No spoilers but there were some good cameos too.

Labor Day

How is it that I need a vacation day from spending two long days at the beach?  I mean it.  I am wiped.  I got up early, so I decided to watch a movie - Battle: Los Angeles.  Much better than anticipated, after it got panned and bombed at the box office.  There was a long process of cooking breakfast, but then I spent hours cleaning the garage and organizing the shed.  But I felt much better by the end of it.  I guess the sun really does take it out of you.  Could have been the 8.5 mile run to the beach too, but who knows?
     What really made my day was throwing the football in the front yard with Caz.  I tried not to coach while we were doing it.  I really just wanted to spend some time with him.  I think if I critiqued his catching, he would get irritated.  The Lizard King would rear it's head.  Then I would have to bee hive him and wall him up.......It was really great though.  We threw until my arm fell off.  Then we grabbed Gizmo and let her chase us around the yard.  What better way to spend the last day of summer?

Avengers

Family trip to the movies today.  I had been itching to see The Avengers (in 3D).  Best movie of the year so far.  Sure, Hunger Games was great.  But this was just amazing.  Even Demi was blown away.  The dialogue was fantastic.  Great one liners and zingers.  The cast really had great chemistry.  The action was awesome.  There was nothing inappropriate where I needed to have a conversation with the boys afterwards.  The critique that th movie was made for 3D was spot on.  I would give this 5 full Chinnies.

April Fools

So is it wrong to eat a bag of popcorn while watching the Hunger Games?  Think on that one for a while
The whole family read the book and was eagerly anticipating the release of the movie.  The boys really had their heart set on seeing it on opening day.  But the movie was sold out for the first five days.
     You definitely want to see it with the older kids.  The violence is rating appropriate, PG-13.  I saw way too many younger kids in that theater.  Far be it from me to tell someone what is appropriate for their kids.   I find my kids had a good grasp on what is real and what isn't, and had that ability to discern that at a young age.  But I probably would have held this movie until they were older, if my boys have been much younger.
     The movie held true to the book.  It was well done, and well cast.  It's definitely going to make a bundle.

Movie Review - Captain America

Coco and I went to see Captain America. This and the Green Lantern were two of the movies I really wanted to see this summer. I always like the underrated superheroes growing up. Sure, I was into Spiderman, Superman, and Batman. But the second tier guys, like the Flash, Green Lantern, and Captain America were very appealing to me. Especially Cap. It was probably a biproduct of growing up in the Cold War era.
I think this was the best superhero movie of the summer. I was very happy that the movie makers got it right and did Captain America justice. Simliar to X-Men: First Class, the historic setting worked well. You wonder how a period piece will play with kids. But I think Coco was just fine with the 1940's setting. He didn't even blink at eye at the lack of cellphones and iPods.
The action was great. The storyline was very well done. Chris Evans was just fine. Tommy Lee was his typical bad ass self. This is a 2011 must see film.
4 Chinnies out of 5

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

Originally, this movie was not on my list of must see movies for the summer of '11. But I was pleasantly surprised. This was not just an FX filled blockbuster bonanza. There was a good story. Historical fiction. The tie in to the cold war and the Cuban Missile Crisis was a stroke of genius. There was character development. The back stories of Prof. X and Magneto were compelling. And then......there was......Kevin Bacon. Nothing says good movie like a degree of Kevin Bacon.
The only tough parts of the movie having the kids there were:

• a scene set in Vegas with lingerie clad "showgirls"/"escorts"


• a scene with a Russian general being seduced by a underwear clad buxom blond mutant

The boys seemed to enjoy the movie. We had actually discussed the Cuban Missile Crisis at a time moths before. And what got me was that they remembered it. Coco actually said "is that where the Russians put nuclear missile 90 miles from the United States?" The kids are paying attention and apparently I am getting through to them. Score one for Dad.

Movie Review - The Green Hornet

The whole family wanted to see this one and we were not disappointed. This is not your typical superhero movie. The car chases are great, but this is not a special effects bonanza. The humor is typical Seth Rogen. Many of the characters have great dead panned one liners. James Franco makes a brief cameo, which is very funny and well done. Not many folks are familiar with the Green Hornet. Unless, like me, you grew up watching Adam West's Batman on TV. It is PG-13, mostly for language. A lot of S bombs right in a row. Some colorful references. But nothing cringe-worthy. For us any way. Coco's age would be the youngest I would recommend (10 on Sunday) and there were parents with kids a lot younger. I thought Kato did a great job. Best side kick character in recent memory. And Cameron D in a movie is always a bonus.

Movie Review -TRON

First movie review of the year. I took the boys to see Tron - Legacy. I tried to get the original to watch first but it's out of print and prices on eBay were way too high. The boys had seen the preview and seemed only mildly interested in it. But they humored the old man and we went to see this latest installment. In 3D no less. I thought the movie was pretty good. It was a bit unoriginal and predictable. The effects were good. The casting department did a great job finding someone that was the spitting image of a young Jeff Bridges. There was some good action scenes. They took the old effects and really improved them. It brought back great memories of playing the old games in the the arcade. The light cycles. The disc arena. Facing Cue was the precursor to Brickbreaker. 13 looked great in black and neon. Surprisingly, the boys were really into it, Coco in particular. I give this edition a B+.

Movie Review - The Tooth Fairy

I took Coco and a few of his friends to this movie for a birthday celebration. Caz and a buddy tagged along as well. Me and 7 kids in the car. It was only for 20 mins or so, but still. They sang Ke$ha's Tic Toc on the way down. It's just wrong. They know all the top 40 crap being played and a chorus of "boys just want to touch my junk" is just inherently wrong. Let me tell you, the concession stand was a cluster, 7 different drinks was a chore. I think we overwhelmed the poor high school kid working it. I mean, I only got two bucket of popcorn to go with it. 9 items, Dude. That's the express line at any grocery store.
I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. I probably had zero expectations going in. And I like the Rock. I thought Race to Witch Mountain was a good family flick. While this movie was a typical family movie formula, it was fairly well done. A very nice performance turned in by Billy Crystal. Even though he's a fan of the Evil Empire, he cracks me up. This part was in line with his role in Princess Bride. Some of the slap stick and silliness was really well done too. I am not eagerly anticipating the DVD release but it was a good family trip.

Movie Review - Avatar

Don't get me wrong, the CGI and effects were very cool and impressive.
I am sure it was something else in 3D. But if you go to see Avatar and
have never seen the movie Ferngully, go rent it. It's an animated movie
with the main character voiced by Christian Slater (before celebrity
voice's were all the rage) called Ferngully - The Last Rainforest.
Avatar will take on a whole new perspective after that.