These past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind from surgery and recovery at Duke, Christmas, New Years and Adam's current stay at Northeast Georgia Hospital for Physical Therapy Rehab. We have adjusted to a new temporary routine and the kids have been amazing every step of the way. In the light of my new #1 job of taking care of Adam (and of course the kiddos) I am going to do something a little new for the next several weeks for Mommy Mondays...Movie Reviews, ha!
Movies have been the one easy thing to do as a family with Adam in the hospital that accomplishes many things at once for the kids...
1) Spend Time with Daddy
2) Entertain (without the boys fighting)
3) Quiet
Through the help of friends and family we have been able to have family movie nights where me and the boys spend the night with Adam and pick a movie, have popcorn and hot chocolate (and
Micheli gets to have a night out without her brothers playing with friends and cousins).
We mostly make due with the Blockbuster Express rentals (we cancelled our DVD by mail from
Netflix and still have streaming but the
wi-
fi connection at the hospital is no where near fast enough to keep the movie streaming online). So, the movies may be a little older than new releases, but hopefully the reviews will be helpful and at the very least entertaining :)
First up is COWBOYS AND ALIENS starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford
Rated PG-13
Adam and I previewed this first to make sure it was ok for the boys (well, I mainly previewed and Adam slept, ha!) Besides from the aliens and a little bit of fighting it was pretty tame for the boys but may not be everyone's ideal family movie. They love action anyway and when you throw in Cowboys, Indians and Aliens it makes it really exciting.
I will be honest though, when I saw the previews for this I thought it was a little out of reach and something that I would definitely not waste my time watching but Adam wanted to see it so I went for it.
Set in 1875, A cowboy (Daniel Craig) wonders into a mining town from the wilderness without any memory of who he is. It quickly comes to light that he is an outlaw wanted for various crimes. Not too long after the aliens attack and begin snatching up the people with very unique mini planes and harpoon type harnesses. Because the cowboy has a pretty awesome bracelet on his wrist that can fight the aliens and a respectful/hero-like demeanor the townsfolk choose to trust him and let him lead them to save their loved ones. Harrison Ford plays the part of a wealthy Cattle Owner (and former Colonel) whose son is among the taken. He pairs up with Daniel Craig and a few other brave volunteers to help organize the rescue efforts.
Surprisingly, I really liked it (and enough to watch it twice!). The beginning is a tad slow for the kids, but once the alien mini invasion started their eyes were glued to the movie. Over all the characters were well written and defined, the acting was great and the special effects were realistic even in the old west setting. Somehow they managed to make it all work and create a story line that really keeps your attention and tugs at your heart. I would definitely recommend watching it :)
Kids Rating: 4 Stars
This would be a combined total- Noah would give is a 5 for all the Cowboys and Indians, Hud would probably give it a 3 or so because he wanted to see more Aliens.
Mommy Rating: 4 Stars
I really did like it and despite my initial assumptions I was really surprised. We are all Harrison Ford fans (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.) so that was a very good turnout :)
The last 80% of the movie kept the kids attention and for a PG-13 rating I really can't recall anything I winced at while the kids were watching it.
Rent it or Buy it...Definitely rent it first and it just may be a candidate for adding to our DVD library (or we could just wait for it to be streaming on Netflix).
Notes on Ratings:
We are a big moving family and with Adam and the Boys definitely lean more towards action, adventure and comedy. A 5 star movie for our family would be movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. I personally base my ratings on entertainment and the amount of attention it keeps for the boys. Additionally a 5 star would be one that we can watch over and over and not get too tired of.
After a fun day at the beach we were barely out of the parking lot when the last little set of eyes closed and the ride home was oh-so-peaceful!!!
In celebration of Valentine's Day, I thought that was such a cute little line and just had to share it! But really, is there a better combination than Love + Chocolate???
The details are below so I hope you and someone you love have a special time together making memories and enjoying making eachother's special Valentine gifts! I am actually thinking about taking my little loves (Hud, No-No & Baby Girl) and letting them dip thier own treats :)
Saturday 12th 8am-Noon or 9:00-Midnight