Shrek the Halls (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)1st off, Shrek The Halls itself is hilarious! Very well done, probably better material than what was in the 2nd & 3rd films. My gripe is absolutely with the dvd itself & its pricepoint. $17.99 (or $19.99 retail)for only 22 MINUTES worth of cartoon is an absolute rip-off!
According to other online outlets, here is the list of features:
12 Days of Christmas Featurette
Deck the Halls Featurette
Gingy Dunking Game
Shrek Carnival Craze Video Game Demo & Cheat Code
That's it?! Sorry but I say just save your loot & rec'd it when ABC shows it 2-3 times this Holiday season. The cartoon is good but it ain't that good!

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Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (Widescreen) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I took my 4 year old, and four 7 year olds to see this movie, and it made an impact on all of us. This movie is original. It is not Disney-ish and while I've appreciation for Disney, this movie did not have the "cutesy" factor of a Disney movie. Spirit captured my children's hearts and imaginations. This movie took the children through a full spectrum of emotions. They were elated at Spirit's courage, angry about his treatment, sad when he was sad and Rain was injured, and again thrilled when he was finally free! Isn't this what movies are for...to entertain our emotions? This movie beautifully depicted strength and courage. The animation was phenomenal and the music...Bryan Adams, what more can I say!!! My four year old was deeply impacted by this movie. She says it changed her life. When she went to get shots, she told me, "I will not cry, I will be brave like Spirit" and she didn't shed a tear! I highly recommend this beautiful and unique movie to anyone who wants to see or have their children see a movie that covers a full spectrum of emotions and leaves you feeling uplifted!!

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Join spirit a wild young mustang as he sets out on an action-packed quest against impossible odds to regain his freedom and save his homeland. In his courageous and thrilling journey across the majestic wilderness of the american frontier spirit forms a remarkable friendship a lakota brave.Studio: Paramount Home VideoRelease Date: 02/14/2006Starring: Narrated By Matt DamonRun time: 83 minutesRating: GDirector: Kelly Asbury/lorna Cook

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The Terminal (Widescreen Edition) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Terminal" has a lot going for it.
It has the crowd-drawing director, actor, actress, and a plot that would make anyone say, "how in the world?"
And for the most part, it lives up to it. Hanks is absolutely amazing in his role. I forgot it was him for the majority of the film, and though that should be par for the acting course, it's not for many actors. He loses himself as Victor, and he's not afraid to lay it out for his character. He changed his walk, stance, everything for Victor. It's the complete package, and Hanks never misses a beat.
Spielberg delivers what you expect: excellent directing. There are so many little touches in the background during the entire film that you sit and smile when you catch it, and when a scene comes off as completely coherent, you realize there was so much reinforcing what had occurred. The typical (of recent films anyway) Spielberg lighting comes into play frequently, and it makes for a lovely film. He got such a marvelous performance from Hanks and the rest of the cast...must be a really famous director, eh?
Catherine Zeta-Jones had a smaller role than I expected, but she still pulled a decent performance. I believed her, for the most part. A couple scenes, no, but for the most part.
The supporting cast of Victor's airport friends is marvelous. The chemistry between them and Hanks is great, even with Hanks not speaking English very well. I really like those characters, and the actors pulled it off brilliantly.
The script is good, dialogue believable, and story followable and lovable.
My only complaint with the film is that it seemed a little drawn out at points. It's about 2 hours, and I thought it could've been shorter. But the subplots keep you entertained, and you really grow to appreciate the characters. There are some fascinating character developments and studies in this one. You'll want to think when it's over, though you may not know what about.
"The Terminal" may not be what you expect; but it is a good film, with comedy throughout and some nice dramatic moments too. I recommend it. Enjoy Hanks' brilliant work!

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Small Soldiers (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)For pure entertainment value and eye-candy alone, I really enjoyed this film. The acting was good, even though the plot was full of holes and the script had some extremely cheesy lines. It was good to see Phil Hartman on screen, but his talent was wasted in this flick - his character was a minor one and he didn't get many lines.
The premise: a military defense contractor expands its boundaries by buying up a successful toy company, hoping to put surplus chips to use by remarketing them as toys.
Two races of action figures - soldiers (human) and Gorgonites (totally dissimilar to each other, from the planet Gorgon, both are programmed to be mortal enemies. The soldiers are programmed to win, the Gorgonites are programmed to either hide or lose.
Apparently no testing takes place before they hit the shelves and the soldiers are ruthless, ripping the Gorgonites limb from limb.
They decide that children who play with Gorgonites must also be destroyed, as they are perceived as being collaborators with the enemy. Needless to say, this is entertainmen for grownups, not for little ones.
The chips that are used in them give them artificial intelligence - the ability to learn and to create new weapons using anything they find. Almost like "Universal Soldier" along with the passion and emotion.
Archer, protector of the Gorgonites, is the true heartwarming character of the film. He is homesick for Gorgon, and even though the planet only exists in the mind of the toymakers that marketed him, he longs to be home.
Alan, a boy trying to re-earn the trust from his parents, has a hard time proving that toys are the ones wreaking havoc until they are caught in the act.
In the end, it becomes a literal fight to the death between the small soldiers and the children and their parents.
The film falls short in that it doesn't know if it's a farce, a parody, a comedy, an action flick or a drama. They try to put in way too much, so most of it falls flat.
The scenes with the attacking Barbies is more creepy like "The Stepford Wives" than it is funny, even though you get the jokes in what are supposed to be comic relief moments.
Still, this is well worth watching for the animitronics and for sci fi concepts.

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Meet the commando elite renegade action figures with an attitude. Theyve burst out of their boxes to combat their arch-rivals the gorgonites kindhearted but unusual looking creatures. Now small-town teenager alan abernathy gets enlisted to the gorgonites.Studio: Paramount Home VideoRelease Date: 02/08/2005Starring: Kirsten Dunst Denis LearyRun time: 109 minutesRating: Pg13Director: Joe Dante

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Flushed Away (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Perhaps that's because it's from Aardman Studios, famous for "Wallace And Gromit" and "Chicken Run." Aardman is also well known for their claymation style of animation, which is lovingly preserved, albeit through the use of CGI in "Flushed Away."
The story revolves around Roddy (Hugh Jackman), a family pet who gets flushed into the sewers of London by an unwelcome guest named Sid (Shane Richie). Sid takes over the world "up there" while Roddy is left to fight for his life in the seedy underbelly of London's sewers. In all actuality, though, life in the sewers isn't too terribly bad. When Roddy arrives there, he finds a near replica of London full of busy streets and shops. He decides that he must get home, and seeks out the aid of Rita (Kate Winslet), a female rat who's known for shady dealings. On her tail (pun intended) are the goons of The Toad (Sir Ian McKellan), who says that a ruby he owned which fell from the crown of either Prince Charles or the Queen (I don't remember which) was stolen by her and he wants it back. Of course Roddy thinks that by assisting him in finding the ruby, he'll get help in return to get back home. What he gets instead is more trouble when Rita steals something else from The Toad.
From there, the story becomes a pretty decent action/comic yarn where The Toad's cousin, Le Frog (Jean Reno) and his henchmen try to retrieve the item that Rita has stolen. It's an integral part of a master plan for revenge by The Toad on all of rodent-kind. Along the way, Roddy and Rita become close friends and Roddy decides that he has to help Rita and her family. It's all tied nicely together in the end and is definitely fun to watch.
The voice talents are wonderful. Jackman, Winslet, McKellan and Reno all do wonderful jobs. Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in "Lord of the Rings" and did a lot of the physical movements of Kong in Peter Jackson's "King Kong," plays one of The Toad's henchmen along with Bill Nighy, recent of the latest "Pirate's of the Caribbean" flick.
The humor is, as expected, well grounded in British comedy and uses slapstick at will to enduce laughter from children. There are plenty of crotch injuries, one fart joke, and a few pokes at stereotypical Americans and the French. It's all done with good intentions and there's nothing really offensive here.
It will hold the attention of both young and old, but children will probably enjoy it more than adults. I enjoyed it but I have a tendency to enjoy silly children's flicks like this. I'm also a fan of Aardman's other work, so perhaps I'm a little biased. Rest assured that whenever it leaves the theaters and eventually hits the DVD rack, I'll be one of the first to buy it for myself and my family.

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Set on and beneath the streets of London, Flushed Away is the story of Roddy, an upper-crust "society mouse," who is rather rudely evicted from his Kensington flat when he is flushed down into Ratropolis, the bustling sewer world found under London’s streets. There, he meets Rita, an enterprising scavenger who works the sewers in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. Together they must navigate their way through a busy city filled with dangers for any mouse, including terrifying rapids, treacherous whirlpools and, most of all, the villainous Toad and his hench-rats Spike and Whitey. Though completely out of his element at first, the privileged Roddy finds himself an unlikely hero when he learns that Ratropolis is in danger from the world above.

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Bee Movie (Widescreen Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen all of the animated features since Toy Story, and liked this one better than most. It's not as funny as Shrek, and overall not as good as Monsters Inc or Finding Nemo, but certainly in the better half, comparable to Cars, Ice Age, and Over The Hedge. During the first twenty minutes or so it seemed like it might offer nothing better than a series of Bee jokes, which I see has resulted in some negative reviews here. But the story develops as an allegory for frivolous lawsuits, but it's the bee who brings the frivolous lawsuit here, so it doesn't jump on the Hollywood blame-humans-first bandwagon, which is refreshing. Some of the results are predictable, some funny, but not preachy or trite. There's at least one lawyer joke that had the audience in stitches, along with several other funny jokes.

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"Bee Movie" is a comedy that will change everything you think you know about bees. Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice—honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa (Renee Zellweger). He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bee’s honey for centuries. He ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race. That is until the ensuing chaos upsets the very balance of nature. It is up to Barry to prove that even a little bee can spell big changes in the world.

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Over the Hedge (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Over the Hedge" is funny. Pure summer fun, the kind of movie a car full of seventh grade boys see with a car full of seventh grade girls. While it was only released in May, it has all the makings of a summer movie, like the old Peanuts movies. Nothing here is too complicated to understand, most of it is pretty silly, and all of it is safe for the entire family.
When movies are made, they intend an audience, and an audience reaction. Here, the bar was not set to be compared to the sentimental depth of "Finding Nemo," or the abject, hyperactive hilarity of "Aladdin." Here, "Over the Hedge" has a basic plot, and a basic conflict, and does the job it sets out to do.
RJ the Raccoon owes a very angry bear a wagon load of snacks, and realizes the new human suburb is packed with these snacks. He meets up with a friendly, but not too smart neighborhood of small forest animals, led by a careful-thinking turtle named Vern.
The characters are strong, each is distinguished from the other, with distinctive personalities, unlike the overblown homogeny found in some cartoons. This matters especially here, as there are more animals than some younger children will be familiar with.
Can RJ persuade the animals to help him steal the snacks from the humans? Will Vern remain the sensible leader, and help them avoid the 'Verminator' and his viscous animal killing tools?
For me, the funniest scene is an almost Matrix-like action sequence when the ordinarily hyper Hammy drinks a caffeine drink and goes in on a mission. Time stops, but not for Hammy.
The animation is good enough, and the story is told straight-ahead, without catchy songs. No one will leave the theater thinking, "That's incredible production value!" They will leave laughing, with an original story.
The structure of the movie is the reverse of Man vs his environment. As the humans take over former forest, there are fewer places for the animals to find food. Naturally, the animals smell potato chips and want more. Naturally, also, the humans want to retain a hedge between the woods and their home.
Messages about Man encroaching on his environment are throughout, but these do not overtake the movie. It might leave a few suburban moms and dads feeling a little sheepish, but everyone will laugh too much to really have a guilt trip.
I fully recommend "Over the Hedge."
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

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The pack strikes back!In DreamWorks' smash hit comedy, a band of hungry forest critters goes "over the hedge" to take a bite out of Suburbia.Plus, check out the All-New Mini-Movie, Hammy's Boomerang Adventure only on the Over the Hedge DVD… It's the funniest, furriest, four minutes you'll see this year!

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Shark Tale (Widescreen Edition) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Oscar (Smith) the fish leads a normal life. He is just an average guy working at the Whale Wash. One day, he wanders into shark territory and is chased by Frankie. Unfortunately for Frankie, the chase ends in his death, not at Oscar's hands, but by pure accident. Oscar sees as an opportunity to "be someone", and quickly takes the credit. The fish world begins to call him the "Shark Slayer", two female fish begin to show their interest, and the shark godfather (DeNiro) makes it his business to find the murderer of Frankie...his son.
"Shark Tale" is yet another animated movie that will appeal to both children and adults. The difference is, this time it almost seems made for adults first and kids second. The most obvious references are to "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas", two movies that no kids should have seen. Also, advertising placement has run amok in this movie. Every way you turn in the city, there are obvious "fake ads" for real products that is very distracting. Most everything in this movie is overkill, in fact.
The voice talents are credible and the animation is good, although I found Oscar to look kind of creepy with his near human-looking face. "Shark Tale" also is nothing like "Finding Nemo", which is both good and bad. Good, because it is not retreading material that is not too old yet. Bad, because "Finding Nemo" was so much better. "Shark Tale" is a decent movie that will be enjoyed by most, and I did laugh a number of times while viewing it, but my advice is to wait for DVD.

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A comic catch from the studio that brought you Shrek, Shark Tale is a hilarious hit and "a wonderful under-the-sea adventure for movie lovers of all ages!" (Clay Smith, Access Hollywood)Oscar (Will Smith), a lowly tongue-scrubber at the local Whale Wash, becomes an improbable hero when he tells a great white lie.To keep his secret, Oscar teams up with an outcast vegetarian shark, Lenny (Jack Black), and the two become the most unlikely of friends.When his lie begins to unravel, it’s up to Oscar’s loyal friend Angie (Renée Zellweger) and Lenny to help him stand up to the most feared shark in the water (Robert De Niro) and find his true place in the reef.

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Madagascar (Widescreen Edition) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to admit I was underwhelmed by the ads for "Madagascar", it just didn't look that good. But my kids were anxious to see it so I dragged myself into the theater on Saturday ready to see another kiddie movie along the lines of "Shark Tale" or "Home on the Range". I did not expect to enjoy the movie as much as my seven year old....if not more. "Madagascar" is not only a great animated film and packs as many laughs into it's hour and half as either "Shrek" movie did, "Madagascar" is just a great comedy. There were several times in the movie that were just laugh out loud funny, the scene with the Penguins in Antarctica was worth the price of admission for me! There are plenty of jokes aimed at an older audience, like the reference to "The Twilight Zone" episode "How to Serve Man". The story is great and the characters are really fun. The visuals are stunning and the animation is top-notch. Add all that together with a great soundtrack, and I think "Madagascar" is a great way to kick off the summer movie season. This one ranks right up there with "The Incredibles" and "Shrek".

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Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)News Reporter: "Once again, a UFO has landed in America, the only country UFOs ever seem to land in."
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):
1.Star studded cast lights up the screen (or at least their voices do) in a funny and action-packed computer-animated film from Dreamworks.
2.Reese Witherspoon is Susan Murphy, a sweet home Modesto girl who doesn't realize her true worth until she gets hit by a meteor. . .
3.. . . on her wedding day
4.The casting people outdo themselves with Seth Rogen as a brainless blob, Hugh Laurie as a mad doctor with the ethics of a cockroach, Rainn Wilson as an evil alien and Stephen Colbert as the President of the United States.
5.Think of a bigger, better Mars Attacks! and Spaceballs.
When an evil alien targets Earth as a source of "quantonium", the Government has only one option, and that is to call out the monsters under the command and supervision of General W. R. Monger (Keifer Sutherland).
General W.R. Monger: "This place is an X-file wrapped in a cover-up and deep-fried in a government conspiracy."
Other star vocal talent includes Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Jeffrey Tambor, Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski, among others.
The plot itself may not be a classic, but the animation and casting make it a movie you'll want to have in your collection.
Recommended, naturally, for fans of superior computer animation, monsters and aliens.The President of the United States: "Boys, set the terror level at code brown, 'cause I need to change my pants."Amanda Richards, April 19, 2009

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When Susan Murphy is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is instantly labeled a “Monster” named Ginormica. The military jumps into action, and she is captured and held in a secret government compound filled with other “monsters” like herself. This ragtag group consists of the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, P.H.D.; the macho half-Ape-half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement time is cut short however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to save the world from imminent destruction.

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