Batman and New Years Eve - A Review

Over Christmas Warner Brothers sent us a couple of movies to review. You wouldn't think it would take a whole month to get around to watching them. I even missed the cue of New Years Eve to watch, um, New Years Eve.

However the situation has now been remedied and after reclaiming the TV from Disney XD and Peppa Pig we have finally watched both movies. Well done us.

The first - Batman: The Dark Knight Rises was a bit long but entertaining all the same. Christian Bale makes a great Batman, although every time he puts on his Batman voice it reminded me of the cinema voiceover guy. You know the one -deep husky tones that sound a bit like a sexy crank caller. Other than that though it ticked all the Batman boxes.

Anne Hathaway who has never been my favourite actress was, I have to admit, pretty awesome as Catwoman. I nearly changed my opinion of her completely, but then this week I saw her Golden Globe acceptance speech for Le Mis and - bang! - she was back on my 'I don't know why I hate her but I do' list. Miaow. I'm sure she'll get over it though.

Anyway, thumbs up for the movie as a bit of escapism on a cold wet January night.


The second movie was New Years Eve. You only have to read the cast to know what you are getting here. Sarah Jessica Parker...Zac Efron...Jessica Biel...Ashton Kutcher... - it's a lighthearted fluffy chick flick and if that's what you're into then you are bound to enjoy it.


I can't say I loved this film, I may even have cringed my way through some of it, but if you'd like to have a look into the lives of some beautiful strangers on New Years Eve in New York and you're not an aging cynic like me then go for it!


Disclosure: Warner Bros. sent me these films for the purposes of this review. 

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D

Those lovely people at Warner Brothers have just sent us a fabulous new package of goodies to celebrate the arrival of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D on Blu-ray.

Our package included the movie, hologram jigsaws, a mysterious dinosaur egg, light up pens, tattoos and lots and lots of bugs!

The five year old was so excited he went running around the house screaming 'Mysterious Island! Mysterious Island!' about two hundred times before collapsing into a smiling heap in front of the telly.

But whilst he was obviously a big fan I have to admit I hadn't heard of it myself. Here's what Warner had to say about it...

JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND follows the adventures of Sean Anderson after he receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious location where no island should exist. It’s a place of giant creatures, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes and more than one astonishing secret.

Unable to stop him from going, Sean’s new stepfather, Hank, joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.
Experience the breathtaking beauty of the island and jump into the action to escape a giant eel and soar through the air on giant bees with the stunning high definition Blu-ray 3D release, which puts you at the heart of the thrilling adventure.

We put it on almost straight away and settled down with our 3D glasses to watch it on our funky Toshiba 3D TV.

I have to say it is a really good family movie. The kids all loved it and have scheduled it in for another viewing already. The 3D version is superb and whilst not all movies benefit from the 3D versions this one certainly does.

If you're lucky enough to have a 3D home entertainment system I would fully recommend the 3D version, and if not - well you certainly won't be disappointed with the 2D version either.

So if your kids are into jam packed action adventures, jungles, volcanos, bugs and giant lizards then this is the film for them!

Disclosure: Warner Brothers supplied this movie to me free of charge for the purposes of this review. All words and opinions are my own.

Happy Feet 2 - Better Than Grazia. FACT.

Monday saw the release of Happy Feet 2 on DVD and 3D DVD.Warner Brothers were kind enough to send us out both versions to watch so that we could let you know what you thought.

Having somehow missed Happy Feet I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I certainly wasn't ready for the hysterical cries of laughter from the sofa after about 3 seconds of the film being played.

My kids loved this film so much I actually had to tell them to stop laughing so that they could hear it. Really.

Their Dad and I sat at a respectful distance reading the paper (him) and Grazia magazine (me). Thirty minutes and twenty attempts to read one page later they were ditched in favour of this heartwarming and funny movie.

The story goes like this:

The sequel to “Happy Feet,” the Academy Award^®-winninganimated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificentlandscape of Antarctica in superb 3D.

Mumble, The Master of Tap, has aproblem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic.  Reluctant to dance,Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven—a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model.

But things get worse when theworld is shaken by powerful forces.

Erik learns of his father’s “gutsand grit” as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner offabulous creatures—from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals—to put things right.

Since it was received yesterday they have watched it, or parts of it,  at every opportunity.

At bedtime 'Can I watch Happy Feet 2 again?'
Before school 'Can we watch Happy Feet 2?'
After Playschool 'Watch Happy Meal Mummy?' (Got a bit confused there..)
On the hottest March day on record 'Can we watch Happy Feet 2 instead of going to the beach? Pleeeeease'
It's getting a bit tiresome Warner Brothers.

They seemed to love both versions equally, though of course the 3D version gives a little something extra.

If you fancy owning a copy yourself you can get one here.

Not in a Krillian years did I think I'd see Brad Pitt as seafood.(Sorry.)

Disclosure: This movie was sent to me free of charge for the pruposes of this review.

Warner Brothers 3D DVD Movie Reviews (plus a couple of beheaded Oscars)

Last month the Kate Takes 5 household reviewed the 3D DVD versions of 'Cats and Dogs' and 'Legend of the Guardians' for Warner Brothers, both of which received a big thumbs up from all of us.

This month we've been watching Yogi Bear and Dolphins Tale in 3D.

Yogi Bear of course needs no introduction - he may be 'smarter than the average bear' but clearly he aint that smart if his antics in this film are anything to go by!

It's a fun story with typical Yogi and Boo-Boo adventures. We watched both the 3D and 2D (normal) versions and I have to say that, unlike 'Legend of the Guardians', I'm not sure this film really benefited from being in 3D. The kids enjoyed both versions but when they asked to put it on again they wanted the 2D version.

The second movie - Dolphins Tale starring Morgan Freeman and Harry Connick Jr was much more impressive.

Based on a true event it tells the story of a dolphin called Winter whose tail gets damaged in a crab trap. A shy and lonely boy helps rescue him and a friendship develops between them as he battles to help Winter swim again. It's a story of trial over adversity, of never giving up and of holding on to hope.

Again we watched both versions of the film - the 2D version with all the kids and then a special Mum and daughter movie night for the 3D version (the thought of Harry Connick Jr. in 3D may have had something to do with that decision..).

Kaya who is 7 absolutely loved the film and I must admit that I got sucked in too - the 3D effects were amazing in some scenes, especially in the aquarium sequences and certainly added to the 'experience'.

Warner Brothers were also good enough to send us a special box of classic films to celebrate the 2012 Oscars.

The fabulous Casablanca, An American in Paris,  Gone with the Wind, and the more recent The Blind Side, along with two beheaded chocolate Oscars who didn't survive the trip.

I wonder whether next year we'll get a one legged Angelina instead?


If you'd like to know a little more about how home 3D works pop over to my previous post '3D TV - What's it all about anyway?'

3D Movie Review - Legend of the Guardians & Cats and Dogs

Since getting our 3D TV the other week we've been testing out everything from 3D football to 3D documentaries to 3D Movies. It's impressive stuff.

The two movies I'm going to talk about here are both by Warner Brothers...

Legend of the Guardians

And Cats and Dogs.

Both of the movies are aimed at children, but naturally we wanted to show off our new kit at any available opportunity so when the in-laws came to stay last week we put on Legends of the Guardians just to give them a sneak peek of what it was like.

97 minutes later we watched the credits roll having got entirely sucked in by it. And not a child in sight I might add.

The story follows Soren a young barn owl who is kidnapped with his brother by the 'bad' owls who take them  to a secret hideout where they brainwash other kidnapped owlets with the view to turning them into soldiers. Whilst Soren manages to escape in a bid to get help his brother turns to 'the dark side' and the story of good versus evil, brother against brother begins.
A bit like Star Wars with owls, as my husband helpfully noted.

Anyway, we all loved the film, though I think the 3D had a lot to do with it. As movies go this one was made for 3D. Impressive flight and fight scenes coupled with amazing close ups had all of us literally 'wowing' out loud.

Hard to fault. I'd give it 5 stars and a big thumbs up.

The second film we're reviewing is Cats and Dogs.

I didn't actually watch this one myself but it kept the 7 and 5 year old quiet for the duration so it gets a nod of approval from me for that alone.

But I'll hand over to Kaya who will tell you what she really thought of it:


So there you have it, another thumbs up:

I've got to say here that not all the 3D films we watched were of as good a quality as the two Warner Brothers ones. A Turtles Tale - rented from the local xtra-vision left us all feeling a bit headachy and a little woozy. The 3D was so extreme in parts that quite often it looked like it just wasn't quite right. So choose your 3D movies carefully.

Next month I'll be reviewing Yogi Bear and Dolphins Tale starring Harry Connick Jr. Yep that's right - Harry in 3D...one for the Mums methinks.

Disclosure: These movies were sent to me free of charge for the purposes of this review.

The Best PR Delivery in the World Ever.

Last week we had a delivery.

I knew it was coming, It just didn't believe it until I saw it.

You see Warner Brothers have asked me to review some 3D movies, which I couldn't do because you need to have a 3D television, and a 3D player, and 3D glasses....

...which I didn't have.

But guess what?

I do now!!

So to show my appreciation I thought I'd make a little movie about how far TV has come since I was a child.

Hope you like it!


Over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing what I've learned about 3D Home Entertainment and reviewing some fabulous Warner Brothers 3D Movies.

So stay tuned y'all!