Sammy's Great Escape (Review & Giveaway)

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Last week I took The Boy to the cinema for only his second time, more significantly his first time seeing a film in 3D.

Having to wear the special glasses confused him at first, and he was reluctant as he hates things on his head. That was until the film started; he sat bolt upright and reached out to grab the fish swimming towards him. He then pulled the glasses down, looked at the blurred image, pushed them back up again and tried to grasp the fin of the turtle lazily transversing the ocean.

It was magical.

The film, Sammy's Great Escape, was really very good, entertaining and brilliantly animated throughout with worthwhile rendering into 3D, but seeing my son think that he was under the sea with the marine life was enchanting. I thoroughly recommend a trip to take your little ones there.

©2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved. © 2012 AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 YEARS SPRL PARADIS FILMS SARL EAGLE PICTURES

©2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved.
© 2012 AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 YEARS SPRL PARADIS FILMS SARL EAGLE PICTURES

"Sammy and Ray, leatherback turtles and friends forever, are enjoying an atoll’s water and sand, shepherding new hatchlings Ricky and Ella out to sea. Suddenly, a poacher swoops in and ships them off to be part of a spectacular aquarium show for tourists in Dubai. The kingpin of the place, Big D the seahorse, enlists them in his plans for a great escape. But with their new friends Jimbo the bug-eyed blob fish, Lulu the snippy lobster and a whole family of penguins, Sammy and Ray hatch breakout plans of their own. That is when little Ricky and Ella arrive, determined to break in to rescue them. After a series of thrilling adventures and narrow escapes, our heroes head south to meet up with Shelly, Sammy’s first and only love."

To celebrate the release of Sammy’s Great Escape, in cinemas February 15th, Warner Bros. Pictures and TheBoyandMe are offering one lucky reader the chance to win an ‘Adopt a Turtle’ pack from the Marine Conservation Society.

The pack contains:

  • A cool cuddly turtle toy
  • Talk Turtle – the MCS newsletter on turtle conservation work – delivered twice a year
  • A fact sheet and pictures of turtles in the wild
  • A personalized adoption certificate

To be in with a chance of winning this pack, please complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Marine Conversation Society is a leading UK charity working to protect sea life. Leatherback turtles like Sammy and Ray are critically endangered, but you might be lucky enough to see one when they visit UK seas to feast on jellyfish.  The ‘Adopt a Turtle’ pack helps protect sea turtles in the UK and overseas. Find out more at mcsuk.org/adopt.

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Saturday 1st September 2012 – 'The Big Screen' (245/366)

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On Thursday I spied an advert for the new Thomas the Tank Engine film: Blue Mountain Mystery. We'd been invited to the premier of it at ThomasLand this forthcoming Tuesday, but unfortunately I've been asked to work that day and we can't go. I was really disappointed about that and so therefore booked the tickets quickly.

It's the first time we've been to the cinema with The Boy; he's never sat through an entire film on DVD at home before and only manages it in the car because he's strapped in and can't go anywhere! However, I was sure that he'd love it because it was Thomas. I wasn't wrong! The film is really lovely, there's something really special about seeing the little blue steam engine that big on the screen, and the animation was excellent; it looked almost 3D at times. After a while he climbed on my lap for a cuddle, because those are awfully big seats when you're three and Diesel is being naughty again.

Blue Mountain Mystery is on across the country and you can find venues here or buy the DVD here. (Not sponsored, just sharing!)

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (Review)

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A few months ago I was invited to a screening of the new Warner Bros 3D family film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. I was unable to go as it was a work day and regretted it even more when I started seeing the trailers for it everywhere. Mixing live action with CGI, the cinematography of this film looks amazing and awe-inspiring.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is loosely based on the Jules Verne’s novel The Mysterious Island and follows the adventures of a young lad called Sean (Josh Hutcherson from Bridge to Terabithia) after he receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious location where nothing is known to exist. He is determined to find the unknown island, especially as he is convinced that his grandfather (Michael Caine) is the one to have sent the signal. With the help of his stepfather (Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock), a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter (Vanessa Hudgens from HSM) they set off on a journey to prove its existence and rescue Sean's grandad. However, they soon discover this island is full of giant creatures, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes and secrets galore. The final adventure is trying to escape before earthquakes shatter the island's structure and send it into the confines of the sea, buring its treasures forever.

See why I wanted to watch it now?

Luckily for me, we were sent a copy of the film (released today) and as it's a PG The Boy can't watch it. However, Mr. TBaM and I will be settling down to watch it tonight. I've seen the first twenty minutes of it, and it's enthralling and captivating, humorous and entertaining. It reminded me of a cross between Lost and The Goonies, with a little of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure.

The Boy might not be able to watch the film but he has enjoyed the jigsaw and is currently 'growing' the baby lizard in the egg.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is available from today (28th May) on Blu-ray 3D (£29.99), Blu-ray Triple Play (£24.99) andDVD (£19.99).

I was sent a copy of the DVD along with a few other promotional treats for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Easter Eggs on DVDs

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Surely, you've heard of them? An 'Easter Egg' on a DVD is a special bonus feature which has been added to the disc but isn't easy to find without following a little trail to it.

Only this isn't those types of Easter eggs, this is the traditional small variety.

This was a very welcome sight when we got home from our Easter weekend away. The journey back on Monday involved copious amounts of precipitation on the M4 and since then April has really shown that it's going to live up to its reputation of providing plenty of showers. Chocolate and DVDs are therefore a must during the Easter holidays.

The lovely basket contained:

    • Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory: this original gem starring the inimitable Gene Wilder still entertains through the decades. No-one is quite as maniacal as him, and no Verucca Salt can be anywhere near as precocious as the original version. Can you believe this is now forty years old?

  • Charlie and The Chocolate Factory: I adore this film, mainly because of the magic combination of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton. The visual effects, and song and dance numbers are astoundingly good, certainly enhanced by the modern age's CGI. Freddie Highmore is an absolute gem in this version, but for me he's just a tad too well-spoken for poor old Charlie. For me, this brilliant film is a different story to the original, it works just as well but on a different plain.
  • Yogi Bear: This modern take on the classic cartoon, mixing live action and computer animation features the vocal talents of Dan Akroyd and, bizarrely, Justin Timberlake. Yogi and Boo-boo must save Jellystone Park from destruction due to logging. This adventure for 7 year olds and over is packed full of crazy inventions, silly gags, high adventure, and slapstick comedy. Perfect as a present for my niece and nephew.
  • Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies: No WarnerBros parcel would be complete without the addition of one of their legendary cartoon characters. And at Easter time who better for that to be than the Easter Bunny himself? In this classic, the Easter Bunny is poorly and Bugs has to step in and help out, although Sylvester and Daffy want to help out as well. This disc also contains three interactive Looney Tunes puzzle games.

I can't wait to introduce The Boy to the wonders of The Chocolate Factory (both versions) over the next few weeks.

We were sent these items for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

I've Got Happy Feet!

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A few years ago I sat down one Christmas and watched Happy Feet with my mum and dad, and Mr. TBaM with a baby The Boy asleep on his shoulder. It is one of those loveable, modern animated films which is good for all the family to enjoy; singing, dancing, cute penguins and an underlying ethical and green issue. The film had been a firm favourite of mine since release and we even have a dancing Mumble upstairs!

On Monday 26th March, Warner Brothers released Happy Feet 2 on DVD and they sent us a copy of it, along with the original and a few other bits and pieces, to review and enjoy.

The story behind this sequel features Mumble's son, Erik who has difficulty mustering the same enthusiasm to dance as his father has. Erik needs to work out his own place in the world of singing and dancing penguins, making new friends, learning some life lessons and encountering a few ecological issues of his own along the way.

The Boy and I settled down to watch Happy Feet 2 yesterday and he was instantly captivated by the dancing penguins in the opening scenes. With Pink as Gloria and the magic of computer animation, you can't really go wrong with the song and dance numbers, and The Boy laughed at the penguins singing and dancing their way through the film. I chuckled a great deal at seeing Brad Pitt as an out-of-luck krill and the cast of many did not disappoint throughout the film.

How can you go wrong with Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Brad Pitt and Matt Damon headlining the cast? I loved the humour, the very big green message woven throughout and the clever mix of live action filming and animation.

Happy Feet 2 is available from Monday March 26th 2012.

A Box of Classics

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A week or two ago, we had a delivery for The Boy designed to keep him happy during half-term. As he's only two, half-term means very little to him other than having mummy around all week. However, it also means that he gets to spend more time with his older school-age cousins who were more than happy to share the contents of the parcel with The Boy.

Inside the fab package was a Loony Tunes box-set of classic cartoons, a Scooby Doo DVD, a Scooby Doo activity book and a bag of Maltesers, just perfect for munching while movie-watching.

Scooby Doo is a complete classic, which I remember fondly from my childhood. Both Boy Cousin and Girl Cousin really enjoyed the mad-cap antics of the Scooby Gang, and they were able to enjoy it as much as I was, showing what a timeless classic it is.

The Loony Tunes box has all the classics in it: Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Tom & Jerry, Tweetie Pie, Taz, Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Porky Pig  and Wile E. Coyote, many of which are favourite of Mr. TheBoyandMe, and prompted plenty of impressions particularly of Road Runner! Boy Cousin likes Tom and Jerry the best, Girl Cousin likes Bugs Bunny, and The Boy and I prefer Tweetie Pie. Definitely something for everyone!

This collection is a perfect gift to enjoy during grey and wet afternoons snuggled down on the sofa; the old ones are the best!

We were sent this collection for the purpose of this post. All opinions are honest and unbiased.

Valentine's Day Treats

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Mr. TheBoyandMe and I don't do corny, we never have. That's not to say that we don't do romantic things for each other, but we are not the 'expensive meal, red roses, dipping chocolate' type of people that really enjoy Valentine's Day. Or as my cynic of a husband calls it 'Hallmark Day'.

However, we do mark the day with handmade cards, a nice 'dine-in' meal from M&S, a nice bottle of pink fizz and a good movie. This year, we resorted to our usual tradition and set ourselves the task of making our own Valentine's cards. This evening when he got home from work he duly presented me with some beautiful lillies and we exchanged our cards. Combine that with our meal and Valentine's Day in our house looks a little like this so far:

Guess which is the card I made?

Notice the appropriate film and Maltesers in the final photo? Well those are courtesy of Warner Bros who sent me this rather magnificent box full of Valentine's goodies earlier today:

  • Midnight in Paris (never seen, but having read the blurb on the back, I am very much looking forward to enjoying this while The Boy has his afternoon nap tomorrow. Recently released on 6th February)
  • Casablanca (classic! and this is the 70th anniversary celebration copy)
  • Crazy, Stupid Love (not a film I would usually choose due to Steve Carell, but the addition of Marisa Tomei, Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon make this a must-see)
  • The Bodyguard (which, due to the sad death of Whitney on the weekend, I will watch and cry at)
  • Going the Distance (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, recreating our long-distance relationship between Cardiff and Winchester!)
  • The Lake House (one of my all time favourites with Keanu and Sandy!)

A cracking selection of RomCom classics, both old and new. Check some of them out if you get the chance! I'm off to watch Valentine's Day with my husband and eat Maltesers!

I was sent these products for the purpose of this post. My opinions are honest and unbiased. My card was the one on the left, hubby gets 10/10 for effort on his!

Review: Dolphin Tale

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It's half-term; hurrah!

For me, this is a brilliant week as it means that I get to spend all week with The Boy and do lots of fun things, like play in the sand pit as we did today. However, it's also February and therefore still cold and often raining; boo!

I'm imagining that for many parents of older children, they will be stocking up on DVDs to keep their children amused this week? Craft and cooking can only go so far towards alleviating the boredom, after a while, you need a feel-good film.

That film comes in the form of Dolphin Tale! This is a delightful family film by Warner Brothers, inspired by the true story of Winter the dolphin who was found injured on a beach and taken to a marine hospital. Unfortunately her tale was badly infected and she had to have it removed. This film tells the tale of her road swim to recovery with the help of the young man who found her, Sawyer.

With a cast including Harry Connick Jnr, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson and, my favourite, Morgan Freeman, the quality of acting is guaranteed throughout, and who can resist a tail of friendship and love?

Definitely something to warm the soul this week!

I was sent a copy of this for review.

Guest-Post: Subtitles are Educational too!

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Guest-blogger Jo Berry is a film critic and mum of one who runs the website movies4kids.co.uk. The site has a database of over 1000 reviews of films aimed at kids, teens and families, and also reviews the latest cinema and DVD releases.

Until the birth of my son D in 2005, movies were my life. As a film critic, they are also my bread and butter, but I have always loved movies so much that they are a big part of who I am. I can remember my dad taking me to movies when I was little (the first was Lady And The Tramp, age five) and my mum sitting me down in front of the TV whenever there was a film starring one of her favourite actors – Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden – being shown. (I also remember her telling me that weepie Love Is Many Splendoured Thing had a happy ending so I would watch it with her, but that's a subject for a whole different blog, or perhaps a therapy session). Name a movie from the eighties when I was growing up and I probably have a memory linked to it – Ghostbusters (I nearly killed the mum in front who loudly opened a pack of Mr Kipling tarts during the film then asked each of her kids at the top of her voice what colour jam tart they wanted), An Officer And A Gentleman (the first 15 certificate film I sneaked into, aged 12), The Evil Dead (watched on video at a friend's house while another pal hid under a cushion), Batman (the first press screening of a movie I ever went to).

When I met my husband, we bonded over a love of Steve Martin, GoodFellas, Star Wars and big budget Hollywood movies; so much so that my dad's speech at our wedding was made up of movie titles (he finished by saying he knew that together we had found our 'field of dreams', at which point I started blubbing into my champagne). So it's not surprising that, whether he likes it or not, we're both passing our love of movies onto our son. Obviously in my line of work, this has been quite easy; film companies screen their movies to the press a few weeks before they open in cinemas, and if they have a family movie they show them to us on Sundays so we can bring our kids. By the time D was 18 months old I had taken him to his first screening (of Happy Feet) and showed him tons of DVDs at home that I thought he would like: Elmo In Grouchland, Thunderbirds and Cars becoming firm favourites. (He wouldn't watch Star Wars, though). He even loved The Iron Giant (based on the Ted Hughes book) so much that I had to write a 'sequel' one evening as he didn't understand why Hollywood hadn't ever made one.

Of course, there have been slip-ups along the way. I carefully started the DVD of Finding Nemo after the first scene in which Nemo's mummy and sibling eggs are gobbled up by a predator so three year old D wouldn't be traumatised… only for him to pick up the remote a few days later while I briefly was out of the room, select 'deleted scenes' (he has always been a whizz with TV remotes) and find a longer, even more upsetting version of the scene. Cue a week of bed time conversations in which I had to reassure him that his mummy wasn't going anywhere, and certainly wasn't going to be eaten by some nasty fishy.

More recently, he came out of a press screening of Kung Fu Panda 2 and loudly announced (in front of the PR handling the film) that it was 'the worst movie ever.' It isn't, of course (it's actually pretty good), but D had been scared of the bad guy peacock throughout, hence his reaction. (I have always told D that if he doesn't like a movie he should tell me so I can take him out of it, but during this one he had stayed silent because, he tells me, he wanted to know how it ended).

Cementing my reputation as an irresponsible mummy, I let D watch the first two Transformers movies on DVD despite being 12 certificate movies (I did vet them myself first). He loves the toys (what six-year-old boy doesn't?) and the violence in the films is robots smashing up other robots, so I thought it would be ok. I skipped a scene from the second one in which a woman turns into a robot with a snaking metallic tongue (really didn't want to explain that one to him) and decided that, although there are a couple of swear words in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen they are uttered so quickly they would pass him by. Oh no. A few weeks later, D comes home with a 'comic book' he has drawn in class (luckily during a wet lunchtime, rather than a piece of work seen by his teacher). This collection of stick images with speech bubbles including one page of transformer Bumblebee under attack, a predicament that has him yelling "SHIT!" in his speech bubble. Apparently D had once turned the subtitles on for a few minutes while watching the movie, and in doing so had learnt a new word (credit to him – he did spell it correctly).

Needless to say, I never leave him alone with anything more controversial than Toy Story in the DVD now. I know in a few years time we'll be arguing over whether he's old enough to watch Reservoir Dogs or The Godfather, so in the meantime I want to enjoy his childhood and his love of movies featuring animals that talk (Zookeeper had him in stitches), cars that can fly (Cars 2) and tank engines named Thomas. And maybe one day, in the not too distant future, D will finally let me and his daddy show him the classic that is Star Wars…

Top Five Favourite Films

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I love films. Always have done. Memories of rainy Sunday afternoons watching black and white classics on our old wood-effect Bush television have pervaded my memory while contemplating this topic. You know the ones, they star a dashing gentleman in a dapper suit, possibly with a very neat moustache, probably clean-shaven with perfect bryl-creemed hair. Think David Niven, Clark Gable or Dirk Bogarde (yes him, not Humphrey Bogart, I know who I mean). Their leading ladies wearing simple silk gowns, possibly a wrap-around design with shoulder-pads to die for, or maybe a flared waistline and a sweetheart neckline, with luxuriously wavy Rita Hayworth hair. Or of course, my favourite leading lady of all time: Miss. Hepburn, Audrey not Katharine please.

As you can see, my taste in films is diverse. I debated doing a post with two Top Five's; one classic and one modern. However, I decided that might be pushing the boundaries a little so I have gone with modern favourites. Although interestingly, none of my chosen films are from the noughties. There are plenty that I like, but maybe they haven't been repeated enough on BBC and ITV for me to recognise them as favourites yet.

So here we go:

1) Footloose

It's classic and I love it. I can picture every single second of the film in glorious '80s technicolour. From the amazing dance/acrobatic routine in the warehouse, full of teenage angst, to the thought-provoking debate in the council meeting where Ren dares to challenge the town to change its no-music rule ably assisted by a fabulous and under-stated Dianne Wiest. I chuckle every time I see him try and teach Willard how to dance, and at the finale, my feet and hear cannot keep still. Love it!

2) Grosse Point Blank

The vast majority of John Cusack films are brilliant. I won't mention that daft 'Being John Malkovich' one. Some he's kinda sold-out on, everyone has to pay the mortgage, but GPB is classic Mr. Cusack. I debated High Fidelity, but prefer this one. It's funny, romantic, clever, stupid and, quite frankly, kick-arse. I can even tolerate the Driver woman in it.

3) Demolition Man

I do love a good Sandra Bullock film, but this is not what I like this one. Sylvester Stallone is actually really good in it, not at all wooden. It's my type of action film: funny baddies who aren't too gruesome with a strong-willed heroine. The writing is hilarious, and I think the bit I like the best is the references to the future. Taco-bell, toilet paper (!) and Arnie's political career. I bet they didn't predict that one coming true!

4) The Fifth Element

Bruce Willis' best film in my opinion. Milla Jovovich is brilliant in it; her portrayal of Lee-Loo's innocence and discovery of human-life is so endearing. The scene where she wipes the floor clean with those aliens, intermingled with aria is fantastic cinematography. Gary Oldman is just the right type of evil. "Moolti-pass"!

5) The Breakfast Club

As far as I am concerned this is my favourite Brat-pack film because it doesn't have the predictable members in it. The story of five teenagers in detention on a Saturday morning is so relatable (not that I ever had a detention, I was a good girl). All different, yet all the same underneath; the cool guy (phwoargh by the way), the geek, the jock, the pretty girl and the emo. A voyage of discovery and clubbing together to overcome the evil teacher who enjoys ridiculing them each in turn. Ally Sheedy is genius in this film.

(Hubby is going to kick himself because he's only been able to predict two of these five!)

However, because it's my blog and I can do this, I would also like to add the following film as a favourite, thereby making this my Top Six:

6) My Fair Lady

"I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night, and still come back for more!" "Move, your blooming arse!" "Without you twirling it the Earth can spin…" I love the bickering, the retorts, Eliza's development and the way she brings the Professor down to reality with a bump. Cecil Beaton's costumes are amazing, the original black and white ball. Right, where's my DVD of it?

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