BOLT

"We jump through hoops to make sure Bolt believes everything is real. It's why we don't miss marks. It's why we don't reshoot... if the dog believes it, the audience believes it."
~ Director of the BOLT TV series

Bolt the Superdog has his own TV show in which he repeatedly saves his beloved owner, Penny. The only problem is that he thinks everything that happens on the set is what is happening in real life-bad guy, damsel in distress, superpowers and all. When Penny is captured by the villain on the set, Bolt escapes from his trailer to go rescue her...and finds that all of a sudden his superpowers are useless. Teaming up with a weirded-out alley cat named Mittens and a TV nerd hamster named Rhino, he sets off on a daring mission to save the girl he loves from the green-eyed man's evil clutches. But are there really any evil clutches to save her from?

I got a good review on BOLT from a reliable source, so we rented it and watched it in the living room over goldfish. In short, I was quite impressed. It's hard to find a movie nowadays with a cute story, no swearing or suggestive content, and good laughs to boot! I read the Plugged-in-Online review and got the impression that there was more blood and violence than your usual Disney cartoon, so I kept a weather eye and found that these fears were groundless. On the scary side we see a motorcycle chase and bad guys on the set with electric hands. There is an angsty fire scene where Penny and Bolt are seriously imperiled. This is the only reason that you will need to preview this for your little kids - the rest of the movie is absolutely clear of any questionable content! Definitely worth a watch for the whole family!

Directed by: Chris Williams, Byron Howard ~ Produced by: Clark Spencer, John Lasseter ~ Written by: Idea-Chris Sanders, Screenplay-Chris Williams, Dan Fogelman ~ Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell ~ Music by: John Powell ~ Editing by: Tim Mertens ~ Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures ~ Release date: November 21, 2008 ~ Running time: 96 minutes

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

"You're the man, Uncle Trev!"
"That's what I've been telling the scientific community for years!"

Trevor Anderson is your average messy professor. He is trying desperately to keep his deceased brother Max's research on progressive volcanology alive. When his nephew Sean comes to visit for a few days, one of Trevor's inactive sensors starts getting some interesting data - it reads exactly the number that it read when Max disappeared. Trevor sees this as his only chance to find out what happened to Max, so he and Sean team up with an Icelandic mountain guide named Hannah to the rumored center of the earth.

When Walden Media and New Line Cinema come together, you know you can expect cool things. My sister watched this for her birthday, and I was impressed at how good it was! At first, Sean is mumbly and disrespectful to Trevor, but soon his uncle begins to fill the void left by the death of the father he never knew. This movie is aimed at kids, but adults can enjoy it too. The effects are believable and great, and the cast is awesome. We all know the Brendan Fraser is good, and Josh Hutcherson is one of the best kid actors I've ever seen. The storyline is not THE LORD OF THE RINGS, but doesn't leave you rolling your eyes either.

As for the negative content, Sean and Trevor place "dibs" on Hannah a few times. There are a couple of kisses. There are dinosaur chases, big scary fish, and carnivorous plants that the gang has to fight off, but it's not flat out scary - they interlace everything with jokes and funnies. Still though, watch this before your little kids do. Some time after Trevor comments about the different types of schist rock, Sean groans, "Oh, we're in deep schist". Besides that little nod, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is completely clean.

This film is an interesting, action packed, watch-with-popcorn-in-the-dark type family movie! Check it out - it's a worth a watch or two!

Directed by: Eric Brevig ~ Produced by: Brendan Fraser (executive) ~ Written by: Jules Verne (novel), Michael Weiss, Mark Levin ~ Starring: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem ~ Music by: Andrew Lockington ~ Cinematography: Chuck Shuman ~ Editing by: Paul Martin Smith, Dirk Westervelt, Steven Rosenblum ~ Distributed by: New Line Cinema, Walden Media ~ Release date: July 11, 2008 ~ Running time: 92 min

MADAGASCAR 2 - ESCAPE TO AFRICA

"What is this place?"
"San Diego. This time, I'm 40% sure."

Our zoo friends Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, and the penguins board King Julian's wreck plane to head back to New York! But when they crash in Africa, Alex meets his parents - the ones he had before he was taken by hunters and drifted to New York. His father Zuba is the alpha lion, and Alex is ready to prove himself to his dad through the Rite of Passage. Except there are two problems. First, a sneaky lion is ready to use Alex to become the alpha lion himself, and secondly Alex thinks the Rite of Passage is a dance-off.

You saw the first one, you loved it, you saw the previews for this one and they looked hilarious. Our experience exactly. But as good as the trailer looked, this movie does not burst through the dark cloud of reachy sequels. To my knowledge, no 2 movie ever has except Toy Story, and don't expect it here. While ESCAPE TO AFRICA is by no means lacking in funny lines (mostly provided by our beloved Julian and the penguins), the side plots and overtones are just... second movie-esque. Alot about women and love. To Melman's dismay, Gloria gets a date with a dashing hippo who says some things that could have been left out, and made me squirm a little. Nothing unthinkable, just not good for the kids. Plenty of fat jokes too that you won't want to hear your five-year-old cracking. Julian also gives some advice about how to deal with the ladies. He also makes a sacrifice to his "good friends the water gods", which is decribed as a "50-50" way of getting water. But there is nothing serious there, and it is mostly just a way to get Melman's heart to come out his mouth. In the beginning, the hunters take baby Alex away and shoot at his father, which could be scary.

Now for the positive side. Alex and his parents are happily reunited and Zuba stands up for his son, even though he's a little... weird. Melman makes a couple of sweet speeches without any sensual content, which I liked. He also is ready to sacrifice himself to maybe get water for his true love. And there's a lot of funny! The penguins are great and you can't go too wrong with Julian!

I enjoyed this movie, despite it's lacking in certain areas. But you may want to watch it before your kids do.

Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath ~ Produced by: Mireille Soria, Mark Swift ~ Written by: Etan Cohen, Tom McGrath (animator), Eric Darnell ~ Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie MacSherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin, will.i.am ~ Music by: Hans Zimmer, will.i.am ~ Editing by: Mark A. Hester ~ Distributed by: DreamWorks Distribution, Paramount Pictures ~ Release date: November 7, 2008 ~ Running time: 89 minutes

HORTON HEARS A WHO!

"All right, I gotta get this speck up to the top of Mount Nool A.S.A.P, whatever that means, probably 'act swiftly, awesome pachyderm'! I mean, how hard can that be?"

~ Horton

When an easygoing elephant named Horton hears a tiny spec call out, he is certain that there are people living on that spec. Turns out he's right! He has made contact with the Mayor of Who-Ville, who has 96 daughters and 1 son named JoJo who all share a bathroom! The Mayor is shocked to find his world is a spec, and Horton swears to make sure no harm befalls them. The problem is, none of the other citizens of Who-Ville believe the mayor when he shares his concerns about the land where nothing ever goes wrong. Little does he know, Horton is having the same problems with a fierce Kangaroo and her mean henchmen. Can the Whos come together and prove to an angry mob that they exist?

HORTON HEARS A WHO! is a funny movie based off of Dr. Seuss's book with great voices and great animation! Unfortunately, it's not above some of the usual transgressions. The funny-ness sometimes spills over into the land of stupidity and sometimes it hangs around on the border between the two. But don't get me wrong - there's plenty of funny. But kids will be a lot more into this one than the adults will, which brings me to my next concerns.

JoJo is a sulky kid who is misunderstood by his dad and doesn't say a word till the end (something I've noticed that is getting more and more fashionable in cartoons). The mean Kangaroo's son disobeys her in the end and gives the spec back to Horton, and it's good that he did, but there is still the disobeying part. Vlad, the vulture that is hired to get rid of the spec is supposed to be funny, but he still might scare certain kids. The Mayor is called a "boob" which is funny until your 3-year-old says it, and the part where Horton is tied and the spec is held over a boiling pot of doom could get a little scary as well.

Now for the good stuff: IT'S FUNNY! Horton is 100% devoted to the well-being of the spec, even when he is encouraged to "go 99% just once". The Kangaroo repeatedly says something to the effect of, "If you can't see it, hear it, or feel it, it doesn't exist!" bringing a little spiritual thought into the whole thing (though probably not intentionally). JoJo comes through for everyone in the end, and makes up with the mayor. Everybody turns nice in the end, "and so, all ended well for both Horton and Who's, and for all in the jungle, even kangaroos. So let that be a lesson to one and to all; a person is a person, no matter how small."

This is a good one - but not a winner in my book. Enjoyable, but not for more than probably three times:)

Directed by: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino ~ Produced by: Bob Gordon, Chris Wedge ~ Written by: Dr. Seuss (book and story) Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul ~ Narrated by: Charles Osgood ~ Starring: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Dan Fogler, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly, Seth Rogen, Jesse McCartney, Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Selena Gomez ~ Distributed by: 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios

LEFT BEHIND by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

"Where are they?"

"You want to know where I think they are? Do you really want to know?"

"Of course!"

"I believe they are in heaven."

~ Chloe and Rayford Steele

Rayford Steele is just doing his job as a pilot, when a hundred of his passengers disappear right out of their clothes. It is not long before he finds out that this has happened all over the world... millions of people are suddenly gone. A polition by the name of Nicolae Carpathia has risen up to try to bring peace and order to the world, and the people hang on his every word and theory. But after watching a tape made by a pastor three years earlier, Ray knows that they have witnessed the rapture of the church, and that his are the end times. But what can be done? Carpathia is looking more and more like the Bible's description of the Antichrist. Can the small group of believers convince the world before he rises to power? Can Ray convince his own daughter?

This was a book that required an ok from Mom and Dad before I read it. It starts out with Rayford Steele (married man) dreaming about leading his pretty flight attendant on. It is not picuresome or explicit, and he later apologizes to her after he accepts Christ. But I think this part in itself makes this a PG-13 book. A journalist by the name of Buck Williams begins to have affections for Chloe Steele, but it is nothing big at all. The Christian characters are very strong and helpful to everyone else, giving their testimonies several times.

Technicality-wise, LEFT BEHIND is a very easy read. No cussing, and I already talked about the slight adult content. If you are going to read this series, I suggest reading a Dickens book here and there, just to vary your brain a bit:)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but you may want to ask your parents permission before you read, or have them read it first. If you are under 13 years, I hear the LEFT BEHIND kids' books are worth a shot, but don't quote me on it:)

Author: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins ~ Country: United States ~ Language: English ~ Series: Left Behind (series) ~ Genre: Christian fiction ~ Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers ~ Publication date: 31 December 1995 ~ Media type: Print (Hardcover, Paperback; also made into Graphic novel and audiobook) ~ Pages: 320 pp (hardcover) and 468 pp (paperback) ~ ISBN: ISBN 0-8423-2911-0 (HC), ISBN 0-8423-4270-2 (PB) ~ Preceded by: The Rapture ~ Followed by: Tribulation Force

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS

"Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutt's son has been. Negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will. Find the renegades that hold Jabba's son, your mission will be, Skywalker."

~Yoda

With the war between the Jedi and the Separatists spreading throughout the galaxy, Count Dooku and his apprentice, Asajj Ventress, have abducted Jabba's son. The Sith hope to frame the Jedi for the crime and gain the Hutts' support. It is Obi-Wan and Anakin's job to find the Huttlet, but the mission takes an unexpected turn for Anakin when Master Yoda assigns him an apprentice - a youngling named Ahsoka. With this bother to deal with Anakin sets off to save Jabba's son, little knowing that it will stab him in the back.

Say hello to the first animated STAR WARS movie! I went to see it with low expectations - but not this low. But I'll talk about the positive elements first.

Anakin doesn't like Ahsoka at all at first. Both are very arrogant, but they soon learn to respect each other. Padme risks her life to try to assist the Jedi. Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, and Samuel L. Jackson all do the voices of the characters they play in the real movies. That was nice. The other voices are quite convincing - don't worry about being distracted through the movie because "that's not Obi-Wan Kenobi". There is some excellent animation, and some choppy animation. For all you clone fans, it was cool to see some more action from the 501st. They did quite well. The characters were all pretty true to their non-animated selves. Ventress finally gets a nod.

BUT, if you're expecting to see some real Star Wars - DON'T GO HERE! The plotline was a huge stretch. I mean, give me a break, Jabba the Hutt's son??? Surely they could've thought up something better than that! The story was weak at best, and the lightsaber fights were... not lightsaber fights. They were choppy and lego-style. In fact, all the starships looked like things my little brothers could make any day. There was no deep theme. We forgive the real movies for bad lines and strange side-stories because of the good vs. evil and Darth Vader and all that. This had no hint of Anakin's fall, or real good versus real evil, or anything of the sort. No brain food at all. I could be happy with calling it a kids' movie, like some attempt to get 5-year-olds engaged in Lucas's world, but the 501st commander lets out a swear during the first 10 minutes of the movie! Class. They add a horrid new character in Jabba's uncle - a purple, 80s looking Hutt that speaks Basic and talks like an old lady. Pointless. The music was not John Williams - didn't even SOUND like Star Wars. Dissapointing.

All in all, I echo the sentiments of a reviewer who said, "Has it come to this? Has the magical impact of George Lucas' original vision of Star Wars been reduced to the level of Saturday morning animation?" I'm not saying it's a no-go forever. After all, there's a whole TV series of this thing that's coming out. I'm saying don't go see it at the theaters and if your kids want to watch it, watch it first and don't expect to see any real Star Wars in there. You want Star Wars? Just put in REVENGE OF THE SITH and pop the popcorn!

Director: Dave Filoni ~ Producer: Catherine Winder ~ Writers: Henry Gilroy, Scott Murphy, Steven Melching ~ Starring: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Nika Futterman, Ian Abercrombie, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine Taber ~ Music by: Kevin Kiner ~ Distributor: Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Pictures ~ Released: United States:August 15, 2008 ~ Runtime: 98 minutes

FIREPROOF

"You never leave your partner - especially in a fire"

~ Caleb Holt

Life is a dream for firefighter Caleb Holt and his wife Catherine Holt when they get married. Seven years later - it's a whole different story. When it looks like their marriage is about to be torn apart, Caleb's dad sends him a curious 40-day challenge called The Love Dare. Caleb faithfully follows the steps to a better marriage, but nothing seems to be happening to make things better. What is he missing? How can he show love to somebody that keeps rejecting him?

I was extremely honored to be asked to review this movie on behalf of Alameda Hills Baptist Church in Lakewood CO! I saw it at an early showing and was blown away. The plotline is wonderful and engaging, the shots are crisp and clear, the action is very real - and so are the elements. Friendship is a clear part of this film - Caleb's father and his fireman friend Michael are positive Christian influences on his life. Catherine has supportive friends too, but they do not give the best advice. As far as marriage goes, my mom (the ultimate married person:P) says that she thinks this movie will be very useful for strengthening and encouraging couples of all ages in America today. There are many great resources you can check out for your church or small group at www.fireproofmymarriage.com/.

This is not a movie for younger children, as the couple have frequent noisy arguments and there are some intense rescues by the firefighters. However the whole movie is very God-honoring and has a strong message. The whole cast is better with Kirk Cameron on the set, and all the acting is convincing and real. Sherwood Baptist through trial and error seems to have nailed the art of scripting without bad lines! The language is 100% clean of course, and it was nice to see some characters from FACING THE GIANTS have cameos in FIREPROOF! Check www.fireproofthemovie.com/theaters to see what theaters will be showing FIREPROOF on September 26th. Be sure to buy tickets and help this film get good box office money! Go to http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/ to find all kinds of free downloads, widgets, and church outreach supplies to help promote the movie. Go Sherwood Baptist! Keep making movies for Christ!

Directed by: Alex Kendrick ~ Written by: Alex Kendrick, Stephen Kendrick ~ Starring: Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel, Stephen Dervan, Jason McLeod, Alex Kendrick ~ Distributed by: Sherwood Pictures ~ Release date: September 26, 2008