Category: Movies

January 4, 2016

Kubo and the Two Strings

Get ready for a thrilling adventure and mystery, as a young boy must save his family in Kubo and the Two Strings.

Kubo and the Two Strings features some of your favourite celebrities including Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara and Ralph Fiennes. The film, slated to open August 19, 2016, is brought to us by Laika whose film roll also includes The Boxtrolls and Paranorman.

About Kubo and the Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic action-adventure set in Japan. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of Game of Thrones) eke out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Hashi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Kamekichi (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past that storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara) to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny (no small task there!).

The Trailer

Watch out for more information coming to you later this year!

December 29, 2015

The New Midnight on New Years Eve #StreamTeam

I don’t know about you but ever since I had children, I have not made one New Years Eve ball drop countdown! Our family usually falls asleep around nine and my husband tries to wake us up at the midnight mark. Sometimes he is successful and other times we just can’t get up out of bed. The problem? I am just too tired to stay up until midnight even though I would love to celebrate as a family together.

While I thought I may have been one of the few people who fall asleep early, studies have shown that I am not alone. While 97% of families celebrate together, here is how we stack up to other families globally:

Parents in the US, UK, Canada and Australia agree 9 p.m. is the new midnight. Nearly half of parents in these countries say they’d countdown those famous 10 seconds by 9 p.m. (49%).
Parents down under can’t wait for bedtime. One-third of Aussie parents (34%) admit they’d hit the sack themselves after kissing the kids goodnight — long before midnight.
Italian and French parents are getting cozy with their significant others after lights out. Parents in both countries most look forward to spending time with their other half after putting the kids to sleep (51% and 43%, respectively). Now I wouldn’t mind that!
Parents love a good party in Spain and Mexico. 50% of parents in both countries can’t wait to kick off the parents-only party after tucking in their little ones. I wish I could do this!!!

Netflix is helping parents with the midnight countdown by bumping up midnight to whenever you want to start the countdown. That way your child can experience all of the magic of the New Years countdown and as a family you can enjoy the time with them. Netflix has six on demand specials launching today, including your favourite characters such as:

Puffin Rock residents Oona and Baba re-live their adventures from the past year and celebrate with the Northern Lights, nature’s very own fireworks.
Care Bears & Cousins head to Share Bear’s Shake Shack to gear up for a belly badge-tastic countdown in Care-a-Lot.
Inspector Gadget saves New Year’s Eve from a mischievous M.A.D. agent just in the nick of time for a dazzling firework display.
King Julien lives up to his party animal persona with a countdown to dance your way into the new year. My personal favourite guy!
Mr. Peabody and Sherman venture around the world to gather their favorite talk show guests for a star-studded countdown event featuring Hiccup and Toothless, Puss in Boots, the Croods and the entire Dinotrux team.
Project Mc2 stars McKeyla, Adrienne, Bryden and Camryn team up for NOV8’s most important mission yet: Party!

Check out the Netflix: It’s Almost Midnight Trailer to get a sneak peek.

Enjoy your New Years Eve celebrations!

Disclosure: I am a Netflix StreamTeam Member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

December 14, 2015

The Month of #NetfliXmas:Baking,Family Time and Netflix

It is hard to believe but it is almost time for one of our favourite family holidays – Christmas! The month of December for us is always busy but to make things fun we try to do family activities like baking, hiking and spending time watching movies on Netflix. What better way to get into the Christmas mood with #NetfliXmas theme movies?!

Besides how easy it is to use Netflix (one button on our Smart TV and wham – Netflix is there!), one of the best features of Netflix is the crazy amount of holiday favourites which includes films that I enjoyed from my own childhood!

So while our Elf, lovingly named Captain, terrorizes our home with his silly pranks (I have to admit I prayed that an Elf would never visit our home – I sure am happy to have this one in our home!) and we practice our baking skills with popular recipes such as Amaretti cookies and chocolate dipped snicker doodles, we are getting in the #NetfliXmas mood with some very popular titles that includes Christmas with the Kranks, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa Paws.

Looking for more #NetfliXmas spirit makers? Why not check out these titles: Caspers Haunted Christmas, My Little Pony: A Very Minted Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Swan Princess Christmas. There are many titles to help you make the holiday movie night a hit!

To help you and your family get into the #NetfliXmas spirit, Netflix Canada is giving two of my readers a six month free subscription to Netflix! Pretty awesome, right?! My Canadian readers, eighteen years of age and older can enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Premiering December 24th is DreamWorks Dawn of the Croods, get a small preview now!

Disclosure: I am a Netflix #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 23, 2015

The Lion Guard Return of the Roar

The Lion King has to be one of my all time favourite Disney movies. From the hilarious characters, the inspiring music to the beautiful animations, The Lion King is a favourite for all age groups. So when we received an invite to see The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, I was stokked and couldn’t wait to catch this sequel!

Based on Disney’s The Lion King, the television movie picks up where the epic feature film left off and introduces Kion, the second-born cub of Simba and Nala, who is destined to become the leader of the Lion Guard. Many of the beloved characters from The Lion King will appear in the movie including Mufasa and Pumbaa, voiced by James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella who reprise their original roles. Rob Lowe (The Grinder) and Gabrielle Union (Being Mary Jane) star as Simba and Nala, respectively; Max Charles (The Strain) as Kion; Joshua Rush (The Adventures of Puss in Boots) as Bunga; Atticus Shaffer (The Middle) as Ono; Diamond White (Sofia the First) as Fuli; and Dusan Brown (Blaze and the Monster Machines) as Beshte.

The Lion Guard Return of the Roar, came with a special introduction by Director Howy Parkins! This was definitely a highlight of our day, even my son was amazed by meeting the director of this film. You could hear his love for his work and gave you a stronger appreciation of the amount of time spent in putting together this film and how dedicated his team was at making this film a success.

While we are introduced to some new characters, some of your old favourites are back in this film and remain true to their personalities (oh Timone and Pumbaa!). My favourite new character was Bunga, who was funny, cool and brave all rolled into one. Bunga even develops a brand new catch phrase for this movie (no more hakuna matata!). The movie was full of laughs, great music that brings back memories of the first Lion King but still gives this film a unique flair. I love the lesson that this story tells, that we don’t always have to be the biggest (or in this case a lion!) to be the best or bravest. Sometimes, it is the strongest of heart that can conquer and win.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar premiered on television November 22nd and on Disney Junior on December 1st. Check out this trailer to get a glimpse of The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. The television series will premiere on Disney Junior in 2016.

Disclosure: We were given advance viewing of this film in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 6, 2015

The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror Review and Giveaway

Get ready for a digital adventure with The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror.

About The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirrors

After celebrating their victory over the Snow Queen, Gerda and Orm have given their fellow trolls a taste of freedom. But when Orm gets a cold-hard reality check, they slip into another perilous journey and must protect the world from eternal winter.

Our Thoughts

This was our first time being introduced to the characters of the Snow Queen, Gerda and Orm. This movie is actually the sequel to another film, which is pretty great for fans of the duo Gerda and Orm. If you haven’t yet seen it, no worries as the beginning of the film shows you a recap of the first movie.

The digital copy (available on iTunes November 3rd, 2015) is perfect entertainment for your children on long car rides, after school and those cold days spent inside (because lets face it, winter is coming!). The graphics are clear and bright, drawing you right into the movie and the characters. The animations are better suited for a slightly older child (maybe kindergarten and up) as they are more realistic (versus cute and cuddly) and at times the Snow Queen can be a little scary. Our main characters Gerda is a human girl and Orm is a troll (with an incredibly funny nose!). The humour is fantastic and the plot line is great throughout the movie.

The movie also tells a great story about telling lies. In the opening Orm promises to never tell a lie again. He quickly goes back on this promise and our story unfolds!

Check out the Trailer!

The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror – Trailer from Momentum Pictures on Vimeo.

Momentum and kaboom entertainment want to give you the chance to win your own digital copy of The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror on iTunes. My Canadian and American readers can enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this film in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.