Oz The Great And Powerful

PG
Starring: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis, Zach Braff and Joey King.
Running Time: 2 Hours and 10 Minutes

I have been looking forward to this movie since I first saw it advertised last summer. I wasn't quite sure how Disney was going to be able to come up with a prequel to the much beloved 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz". 
The movie begins similar to the original in black and white as Oscar Diggs (James Franco) a circus magician, tries to fool everyone with his lackluster magic. When he is caught flirting with the wife of the circus strong man, he has to make a quick escape. In his hurry to get away, he jumps inside a hot-air balloon and is whisked away by a storm. Little did he know, but the storm was an approaching powerful tornado.
He is whipped and tumbled and battered around. When he finally comes to a stop, he finds himself in the most beautiful place ever. The color and scenery were absolutely stunning! He has just arrived in the land of Oz! He is immediately greeted by a beautiful young woman named Theodora (Mila Kunis), she is completely convinced that he is the Wizard whose coming had been foretold. The Wizard was suppose to come and free their people and save their land. He is not impressed with helping the people, but he is intrigued with inheriting the peoples riches.
He is confronted with many unique and unusual situations. He comes across an adorable little monkey man named Finley (Zach Braff) who is so life-like and sweet that he is irresistible! He also encounters a young China Girl (Joey King) whom he finds crying and distraught because she was injured and alone and her china-village had been destroyed.
As he ventures on he encounters Emerald City and the beautiful witch, Evanora (Rachel Weisz) who is truly evil and despicable! She is the older sister of Theodora. They conspire to destroy the good witch Glinda (Michelle Williams), who is everything that is good and wonderful in Oz.
Oscar has to find out for himself who is good and who is evil and help to come to terms with his own conscience to help the people and save Oz.
I appreciated how Disney tried to keep as close as they could to the original movie without infringing on MGM's copyright.
I found Oz to be totally entertaining. The special effects and little characters were amazing! The colors and costumes were fabulous! This movie is full of fantasy and pure entertainment. There are parts where you feel like you are right in the movie itself! There was a lot of excitement and drama and some really scary parts as well. However, I wasn't that impressed with James Franco's job as the wizard. I felt like he was lacking and could have been stronger and more convincing.
Parents be advised that there are scary parts with the monkeys (mean baboons) and evil characters that will be real  intimidating for young children. I would recommend this movie for children nine and older.
I am giving "Oz The Great And Powerful", three bags of popcorn!

Breaking Dawn Part 2

PG-13
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristin Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Maggie Grace, Billy Burke and Mackenzie Foy.
Running Time: 1 Hour and 55 Minutes

Well, here we go for the fifth and final movie in the popular Twilight Saga.
 During the last movie, Breaking Dawn part 1, where Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristin Stewart) were married and she became pregnant and had a baby girl they named Renesmee.
This movie picks right up from there, with Bella waking up with the traditional "vampire eyes", and you know for sure the transformation has taken place!
 Bella is now a full-fledged vampire with all of the characteristics that go along with it. She now is super-strong, she does not have to eat human food, but she has to feed off of the blood of living creatures, she has no need of sleep and her body temperature is cold. This gives she and Edward all of the freedom they need to pursue each other without any limitations! She also has all of the help of the family to take care of Renesmee, so she is not burdened with the care of a newborn.
They are also given a beautiful home of their own as a wedding gift from the Cullen family.
This is the story of Edward, Bella, Renesmee and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and how he is going to be personally involved with their family.
When one of the Cullen's cousins Irina (Maggie Grace) witness' Renesmee existence, she panics and travels   to and informs the very powerful Volturi that there has been a crime committed and Renesmee has been born.
Alice (Ashley Greene) has a vision and informs the Cullen's that the Volturi will be coming to seek revenge and everyone is in danger!
The ultimate crime in the governing world of the Vampires is to produce an immortal child, they are unaware that they can produce off-spring with a humans!
The Cullen's summon help with other Vampires from all over the world to come and help them with their impending doom of the ultimate Volturi showdown.
They decided to change it up a little bit and the audience was in shock in the final scene of the movie! There was a very violent and graphic battle scene that included human decapitations and people being thrown into fires.
Overall, I guess that this was probably as good of a conclusion that they could probably come up with. The audience seemed to really enjoy it.
 I really enjoyed the very final scene where Edward and Bella were alone in their special meadow of purple flowers and she is able to go back in time and reminisce, showing him memories from all of their previous movies. That was very touching and emotional and it made the scene feel very final.
The audience really enjoyed the movie and they erupted in applause when it was over.
Parents be advised that there were some side view nude scenes, sexual situations and references. There was also a lot of disturbing and graphic violence at the end.
 I am giving "Breaking Dawn" part 2- three bags of popcorn!

Lincoln

PG-13
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Hal Holbrook, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and James Spader.
Running Time:  2 Hours and 29 Minutes.

This is the story of President Abraham Lincoln as he struggles with the very difficult decision of passing The Emancipation Proclaimation and all of the ramifications that will follow.
It takes place during his Presidency during 1863.
With great angst and turmoil he finally gets enough votes through Congress to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in December of 1865. This allows slaves to finally have the freedom they so richly deserved!
This movie was an epic story of emotions from Lincoln played by Daniel Day-Lewis flawlessly!  The struggle he endured trying to justify his intense feelings about the equality of every human and their right to be the masters of their own destination! Lincoln was a man of great honor and love of others. He was a storyteller, and yet he still garnered the respect of all the people.
Sally Field was amazing starring as Mary Todd Lincoln ( Lincoln's wife) with her own personal demons. She struggled daily with the loss of one of their son's and was never able to come to terms with losing him and the heartache she endured on a daily basis! She suffered with headache's and had a rocky relationship with the President.
Tommy Lee Jones starred as Thaddeus Stephens and he also did an outstanding job! Thaddeus Stephens was also a big proponent of the freedom and equality for everyone and wanted the Thirteenth Amendment to be passed as well.
I found this movie to be very educational and it helped me to understand how important and emotional this time in our history really was for all of these people. The country was very divided and it kind of reminded me of the way our Country is divided right now.
The Civil War was raging and the death and carnage were catastrophic! Lincoln was a deeply passionate man and he fought valiantly with everything he had to be a patriot and a proponent of civil rights for everyone!
I believe that if you go and see this movie you will be touched by the sacrifices that our forefathers endured and you will realize how fortunate we are to live in this great Country!
Parents be advised that there are some realistic and graphic war scenes with death and body parts that children might find disturbing. There is also one use of the F-bomb and some other mild profanity to be aware of. I think that this movie would be appropriate for children ages 13 and over due to the realities of war.
I am giving "Lincoln" four bags of popcorn!

Skyfall

Pg-13
Starring: Daniel Craig, Dame Judy Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe and Ben Whishaw.
Running Time: 2 Hours and 23 Minutes

Once again Daniel Craig stars as James Bond in this seriously amazing installment of the Bond series. This movie starts out right from the beginning with super action and adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat and you will be completely engaged in it until the end of the movie!
I  recently visited London in September and that made it even more interesting for me as well. I loved seeing all of the great London scenery that was highlighted in this movie.
The character M (Dame Judy Dench) has to confront her past when a disk is stolen and undetermined terrorists are out to take down and destroy British agents.
 Gareth Mallory ( Ralph Fiennes) ( who just also happened to play the character Lord Voldemort in all of the Harry Potter films) is trying to convince her to retire so she can start to enjoy her golden years, but she will have none of that and she tells him to let her be and she will let him know when she is ready to retire.
Silva (Javier Bardem) is the new villain, he is a very evil and deranged character who is determined to kill M! He is obsessed with her destruction and will go to any length to carry out his evil operation!
James Bond has been severely injured in this movie and is determined to fight his way back to tip-top shape and resume his status once again as Agent 007. He is confronted with just about every single obstacle that you can possibly imagine in this movie. From Istanbul to London to Shanghai to Macau and Scotland, you will find action and adventure that is thoroughly entertaining. 
Daniel Craig once again did an exceptional job portraying Bond in his usual classic style.
There were two women in this movie that were beautiful and talented so I never felt that there was one typical Bond girl in this movie. Naomie Harris played Eve, an agent and Berenice Marlohe played Severine, a damsel in distress. Q is played by Ben Whishaw, a refreshing and fun young man who adds new dimension to the movie.
Parents be advised that there is the typical Bond violence with gunfire, explosions and action sequences, also there is a sexual shower scene between  Bond and Severine that was suggestive without any real nudity.
I found this movie to be my favorite of all of the Bond movies! I was riveted with this movie and I would strongly recommend it! 
I am giving "Skyfall" three and a half bags of popcorn!

Wreck- It Ralph

PG
John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch and Alan Tudyk
Running Time: 1 Hour and 48 Minutes
Animation

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is a video game character with real heart and soul. He stands 9 feet tall with a large muscular body and very large hands. His character portrays the bad guy who is continually thrown off of the top of the building in his video game. He is programmed to destroy buildings and his counterpart Fix-it Felix (Jack McBrayer) is programmed to fix everything that Ralph destroys with his magic hammer.
This is the story of Ralph trying to fit in with all of the characters of his video game. All of the people dislike him and he is an outcast because he is the "bad guy"! He is told that he will never be included unless he can prove to all of them that he is worthy and he needs to justify his worthiness by earning a medal to prove he can be a hero. If he can pull this off, then he will eagerly be accepted into their world. So he sets off to find a way to prove himself to be a hero and receive a medal of honor. He soon ends up wrecking everything, including unleashing viruses that threaten the entire arcade!
He encounters a darling little girl named Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) who is considered a "glitch" and continues to not fit in with the characters in her video game "Sugar Rush". She is plagued by a group of peers who are bullies and make her cry. Ralph is there and he helps her to handle them and chases them off.
Vanellope's dream is to drive a racing car and win a race. If she win's, then she receives a medal! So they work together to help each other out. Chaos ensues and the plan is almost sabotaged. The King, King Candy (Alan Tudyk) was evil and tried to undermine Vanellope's success at winning her race.
This movie is really cute and has a lot of sensitive moments in it. The animation and the colors in the movie were absolutely outstanding! I really appreciated that they addressed the issue of bullying and the heartache it can cause!!!
Parents be aware that it has some cartoon style violence and potty humor. I believe that it will be appropriate for most children ages four and up.
I am giving "Wreck-It Ralph" three bags of popcorn!

Frankenweenie

PG
Starring as the voiceovers: Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau, Wynona Ryder, Charlie Tahan and Atticus Shaffer.
Running Time: 1 Hour and 27 Minutes

This animated movie is based on the original Tim Burton Disney Channel short film from 1984.
Filmed in black and white, this adds to the gothic feel and classic horror style of this movie.
This is the story of Victor Frankenstein a young boy who loves his dog Sparky more than anything. Victor is an only child and lives at home with his parents and his dog Sparky. Victor is somewhat of a loner and he excels in science.
When Victor is encouraged to play baseball by his father to help him to not be such a loner, a terrible tragedy occurs! Sweet little Sparky chases after the ball in the road and is hit and killed by a car. Poor young Victor is devastated! He has no idea how he will continue on with his life.
He gets the brilliant idea that with all of his scientific expertise that maybe, just maybe he could try and bring his loyal pal Sparky back to life.
He decides to go out on a stormy night to the pet cemetery to rescue his beloved Sparky, unearth his remains and bring him home. When he brings him back to his laboratory in the attic, he performs the classic Frankenstein lightening power to defy nature and bring him back to life! He eventually succeeds, therefore Frankenweenie comes to life, albeit with a few stitches and happy to be back re-united and re-named with his buddy Victor.
Victor's class is having a science fair. Many of the students want Victor's help to win the fair. Victor is really good at helping with transformations. After a series of unfortunate events occur. The whole city is in need of help.
Overall, this is a story about a boy and his great love for his dog, and the dog's great love for the boy in return. This movie has a very Gothic feel, especially with the black and white film. This is a classic Tim Burton movie, meaning that you never know quite what to expect. I personally feel that the movie had a very sweet and tender feel to it with Victor and Sparky/ Frankenweenie's sincere love for each other. It is a cute movie and will be fun for a family Halloween time night out. Parents be advised that there are some really bizarre creatures and situations that are quite scary and intimidating for young children. I would suggest this movie for children over the age of eight. There were however younger children at the screening who seemed to enjoy the movie.
I am giving "Frankenweenie" two and a half bags of popcorn!

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green

PG
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams and Odeya Rush
Running Time: 1 Hour and 40 Minutes

This was indeed an odd life for Timothy Green. This movie was very unusual. It stars Jennifer Garner as Cindy Green, a young wife who was devastated because of she and her husbands infertility. Her husband is Jim Green, played by Joel Edgerton.
After they have tried every possible avenue to conceive a child and their doctor tells them that they have done everything that they can do, they write down all of their wishes for the characteristics of a child on small pieces of paper and put them in a wooden box and bury the box outside in their garden.
Later that night, after a drought in their community, there is a big storm outside and miraculously, a young boy covered in dirt appears inside their home, calling them mom and dad.
He is completely happy and content to be with Cindy and Jim. They are in shock and they don't understand what has just taken place. They accept him as their own child and go about their own business trying to be new parents to a young boy and explain to others how this young man has suddenly become a part of their family.
They find as time goes by that he has every characteristic that they had wished for in a child and exactly the same characteristics that they had put down on the papers that they put in the wooden box that they buried.
Young Timothy has an unusual feature in that he has small leaves growing on the lower part of his legs that they cover up with socks so others will not see his leaves and think that he is different.
Timothy develops a crush on Joni Jerome (Odeya Rush) an older girl with a birthmark and forms a special relationship with her because of their physical differences.
Timothy was a very special child and helped them to learn how to be parents and believe in themselves.
This movie was very unusual. It had some very touching and heart-wrenching moments and some scenes that I found to be completely unbelievable and strange. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I couldn't get beyond the strange nature of his existence.
Parents be advised, this movie has some scenes that will confuse and bewilder some children. I feel that it would be appropriate for children ages ten and older.
 I am giving "The Odd Life Of Timothy Green" two and a half bags of popcorn!