Monster House

I'm not a scary movie person but I thought "how scary could a kid's movie be right?"  It turns out that a kid's movie can be pretty scary! 

As Halloween draws near three friends are determined to uncover the secrets of the creepy house in their neighbourhood.  Their detective works leads them to uncover more than they bargained for.  Fear not dear parent, all is well that ends well but it is not without it's jump scares and creepy as moments.

 The CGI is not all that good but we got drawn into the story and atmosphere of the movie and didn't notice it after a while.

Rating: Monster House was a good movie and there was no way we saw the ending coming but it is not for the faint hearted.  We will probably watch it again sometime in the future for a few thrills around Halloween.

Naughty bits: If you and your older (10+) child enjoy scary things then you will like Monster House but your kid has to be a brave soul because this movie is seriously creepy!  Definitely NOT suitable for younger and sensitive children as they will have nightmares.  Monster House is rated PG but it's bordering on 13+.

Snacks: Individually wrapped candy

Family In-quotes: "Relax. Just be cool, like me"

Related Goodies:
Other kid's movies which turned out to be WAY more creepy than advertised:
Coraline
The Polar Express

Princess Protection Program

Some little girls don't care what they wear, some little girls are little princesses from day one.  Pink!  Poofy dresses!  Tiaras!  Fairy Wings!  All at once!  Kid 2 is the little princess in our family.  She loves pretty things and all things sweet and magical, with a bit of Pokemon thrown in for good measure.  One always needs a trusty Pokemon sidekick on one's adventures.  But I digress, back to princess business; and the protection of them.

It was a cold night and I wanted nothing more than to cuddle up in bed with kid 2 and indulge in a chick flick on the laptop.  Kid 2 was all in so we found Princess Protection Program on Netflix and gave it a shot.

Selena Gomez is just a regular small town teenager with small town problems until her secret agent father brings home an unexpected housemate.  The housemate turns out to be the crown princess of an obscure South American? (think Cuba) island and Selena's father has been charged with protecting her.  Selena is roped into training the princess (Ariana Grande) in the ways of the American teenager.  Things are rocky at first but the girls come to learn from each other and grow together. 

Rating: PPP is not a great movie; the plot and characters are very cookie cutter, but it's good enough watch once with your little princess.  You can admire pretty things together and get all girl powered up.  The one plot twist is that Selena and Ariana resist the urge to break into song mid-movie!

Naughty bits: Some of the relationship/crushing moments are more suitable for teen/tween viewers; only because a younger viewer will not understand what they are talking about, and will therefore be bored.  The rest is as clean as Selena Gomez's pearly whites.

Snacks: Cereal - that you make yourself

Family In-quotes: "I will turn the other cheek, because that is what princesses do"

Related Goodies:
A fairly similar but much better Princess movie: The Princess Diaries

Harry Potter: All the movies!

The children in our big kid's class at school have been discovering the magical world of Harry Potter this year and talking about it plenty.  Our kid is not the world's keenest reader so we decided to do things the fast way and get to know the world through film.  Over the Christmas holidays we had plenty of late nights available so we sat down every night for a week and watched the entire series together.


In case you have been held hostage by an obscure tribe for the past 20!! years and are unfamiliar with the Harry Potter saga, it tells the story of a young man who discovers he is a wizard and is whisked away from his ordinary life to a magical world where he attends wizard school, makes great friends and discovers an evil wizard that he must confront and defeat.  The world depends on it!


Rating:  We really enjoyed immersing ourselves in the Harry Potter universe; it truly is a magical place and we will definitely watch them again in a year or two.  There are wonderful themes of good vs. evil and friendship and love conquering all, even the glaring plot holes.  However the last book being split over two movies was a bit unnecessary and we did get a little bored in the second to last movie.

Naughty bits: There is some magical violence (killing/knocking out with spells) and a few kisses/teen romance but this is the tame stuff.  Harry Potter has some really creepy special effects and themes starting in the first film and things get darker and darker as the series goes on.  For this reason I would strongly recommend reading the parental advisory notes on IMDB and making sure your child is mature enough to handle them or you will be up for a few nights with crying and nightmares!!  For this reason we waited until our kid was at least double digits before even suggesting it and we described some of the creepy stuff to her to make sure she was OK.  She was; whew!

Snacks: Chocolate frogs (Freddo!)

Family In-quotes: "You're a wizard Harry"

Related Goodies:
J K Rowling Website
Warner Bros studio Tour (where it was filmed!)
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

Get Smart

My dad loved the TV series Get Smart and I remember catching bits and pieces of it while he chortled away on the sofa but I really only remember Max's distinctive nasal voice, the famous door sequence and 99's sharp wit and bob.




In Get Smart, the movie, Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway attempt to re-imagine the series and make it relevant for today's audiences and we think they succeeded.  Sure it's a little slow getting started and Max is pretty annoying in the beginning but once things get going it's a fun ride and the Carell/Hathaway chemistry is surprisingly great.  This movie also features one of my faves, The Rock, as the superstar spy and when he and his megawatt smile enter the room it's truly fabulous.  The director hams this up too which makes it even better.

We watched some of the clips of the old show on YouTube after the movie and we all agreed the updated humour was much better than the original. The finale scene made us all laugh out loud so hard but I can't give it away, the reveal is just too good.

Rating:We were all highly entertained by Get Smart and there was enough plot that the kid had fun trying to figure out who the bad guy was.  We will definitely watch this again some time.

Naughty bits: There is some cartoon violence, some mild language and a couple of mild sexual innuendos but for the most part it is as clean as Agent 23's white shirt (how does he keep it soooo clean?)

Snacks: Ice cream cone of silence

Family In-quotes: "Missed it by that much"

Related Goodies:

Chicken Run

It was another rainy Saturday afternoon so we decided to settle in for a movie as a family including No.2 this time.  Chicken Run sounded interesting and was made by the Aardman folks (famous for Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep) so we were excited.  But things sort of petered out from there. 



Chicken Run is a retelling of The Great Escape which is a great concept but the story and wartime in-jokes were lost on the kids and they were kind of bored by the end although there were plenty of visual gags to amuse from time to time.  We did enjoy the bad end that came to the antagonists but it felt like it took a long time getting there and the chemistry between the two leads was flighty.

Rating: It was an original concept but they somehow didn't quite pull it off.  We will definitely keep re-watching Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep but won't be watching this one again.

Naughty bits: The dogs could be frightening to very small children but the rest is as clean as Fowler's hut.

Snacks: Chicken Pie

Family In-quotes: "Why, back in my RAF days..."

Related Goodies:
Wallace & Gromit
Shaun the Sheep
The true story of The Great Escape

Miss Congeniality

Our niece introduced us to this movie many moons ago.  We enjoyed it and thought it about time to unleash on our own kids.  The kid took a little persuading that it would be a goodie but Sandra and her epic comic timing won her over.  In the end she even guessed the bad guy!  Proud mummy moment.

Miss Congeniality is the story of a tomboy cop who is forced into beauty pageant hell by her colleagues in order to crack a case.  And crack she does... crack us up!  Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt have great chemistry and are pros at physical comedy and snappy dialog.  And wonderful bonus performances by Michael Caine, Candice Bergman and wait for it... William Shatner.  Words of warning though; this is a movie from the end of the 90's/early 2000's so some of that infamous sexist 90's humour is painfully obvious.


Rating: We had a fun watch and enjoyed this detective romp.  Definitely watch again in a little while.  Some good themes to discuss; don't judge a book by it's heavily made up cover, intelligent girls can hold their own, it's OK to be a feminist and enjoy pretty things (or not).

Naughty bits:  Nearly as clean as Benjamin's suits but there are suggestive comments and overt sexism (see aforementioned comments).  Some drinking, a kiss and a confession of sexual assault (but before you freak out it's obscure enough to only be a trigger warning for adults).  Suitable for older kids as the plot is fairly complex and themes are mature.

Snacks: Pizza!

Family In-quotes: "What is the one most important thing our society needs?
Gracie Hart: That would be harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.
[crowd is silent]
Gracie Hart: And world peace!"

Related Goodies:
Drop Dead Gorgeous - beauty pageant black comedy - not for kids!
26 random facts about Miss Congeniality

The School of Rock

Don't you love how Hollywood can turn a potentially sinister situation into something lighthearted and funny?  So goes The School of Rock (See also Overboard).  It is every parent's nightmare that a substitute teacher would swear their children to secrecy about what they are doing in the classroom, hide those activities from school authorities and then make a way to take said children on an unaccompanied field trip.  But when Jack Black does it, it's hilarious and you root for the guy.  Oh Hollywood.

We like awkward humour and we thought The School of Rock would be a great way to introduce this style to the kid.  Well in parts it was so awkward she was hiding behind one of the cushions on the couch.  Mission accomplished.


Rating: The School of Rock was a fun movie and we will probably watch it again sometime in the future.  We should educate the kid on some classic rock first so she gets more of the references.

Naughty bits: The School of Rock is as clean as Summer's uniform (apart from the stranger danger element).  A good opportunity to talk about dodgy adults with your kids.

Snacks: Filled Roll

Family In-quotes: "Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock! "

Related Goodies:
The School of Rock TV series

She's the Man

My Mom'n'law took me out to see Shakespeare's Twelfth Night when the play rocked into town and we had a fun day out.  I didn't take the kids (2 hours of sitting through mostly talking and raunchy antics, no thank you) but I liked the story and when we discovered that there was a modern equivalent we put it on the list for Family Movie Night.  Thus one Friday night we sat down to She's the Man;  a very loose adaptation of the Twelfth Night.

Viola is gutted to discover that her school has cut the girls soccer team so when an opportunity arises for her to join the boys team at a rival school she leaps at the chance.  The only issue is that she has to pose as her twin brother in order to join.  Viola is played by Amanda Bynes and in the early 2000's she was the queen of the outrageous teen comedy.  See also Sydney White.  Her facial expressions and physical comedy are impressive and hilarious and it doesn't hurt that Tobias Funke is the principal of the school.

Rating: This movie is quirky and hilarious.  The kid laughed out loud and so did we.  We will watch again sometime.

Naughty bits: There is some mild language, sexual references a half naked Channing Tatum which will lead to naughty thoughts.

Snacks: Cheese

Family In-quotes: "Oh! She shoots, she scores! Goal!"

Related Goodies:
Twelfth Night Plot overview
Surprising facts about She's the Man

Aquamarine

Number 2 daughter is obsessed with mermaids so we thought this would be a good one to include her in Family Movie Night.  She loved the mermaid bits but sadly they were few and far between and we ended up flopping around on the floor being mermaids rather than watching most of it.  Although there is nothing dodgy in this movie it's not so suitable for nearly 4 year olds.  Too much relationship drama and not enough mermaid action.

Two besties are celebrating the last days of summer together before one of them moves away when a storm brings a new fishy friend into their lives.  She is wanting to learn about love and the three of them set out on a mission to find it for her.  Weird hilarity and serious girl bonding ensues.

Rating: It's a little corny but a fun watch and a way to introduce teen love and relationships topics to an older child (especially since the main characters gather their knowledge about relationships from magazines.  Big mistake).  Our number 1 daughter enjoyed it.  Not suitable for younger kids for the boring, it's a talkie movie factor.  We may watch it again in a few years if number 2 is still interested in mythical creatures.

Naughty bits: Some teen kisses and mild language occurs. 

Snacks: Jelly snakes

Family In-quotes: "Wait you need shoes!  And undies!"

Related Goodies:
Barbie: A Mermaid Tale A more suitable mermaid movie for young girls.  Plenty of mermaid action!
The Little Mermaid - A classic Disney mermaid movie
H2O: Just Add Water - An Australian TV mermaid series for older kids/tweens

Spy School

When you hear the title "Spy School" does it spark your imagination to dream up images of kids learning how to be spies and then having to save the world from some dastardly villain?  Yes we were sucked in by our imaginations and chose this one hoping for great things.  We were disappointed.  Very disappointed.

Spy School is about two regular tweens (a boy and a girl.  Friends.  The girl is heavily friend-zoned) who attend a regular school.  The boy has an overactive imagination and tells tall tales to gain popularity.  However the tales are not tall enough to warrant any surreal imaginative sequences but they are tall enough to get everyone to reject him.

Then when you've almost gone to sleep the president's daughter turns up, almost gets kidnapped and the boy tries [pointlessly and improbably] to save the day.


Rating: We almost quit on this one half way through, it was sooo slow and boring.  Won't watch again.

Naughty bits: This movie is as clean as the science lab before the practical joke and purple sludge incident.

Snacks: Hors d'oeuvres

Family In-quotes: "You're so disturbed"

Related Goodies:
Spy School book series (not related to the movie but seems more like what you would expect from the title)

A Cinderella Story

Long time readers of the blog will have realised that our family has girls so there will always be a girl bias when it comes to the movies we review.  With this in mind I introduce to you a movie from the golden years of Hillary Duff; A Cinderella Story.

A Cinderella Story is a modern remake of the classic fairy tale.  The movie is set in a 2000's Californian high school and features such modern technology as chat rooms, texting and flip phones.  This movie comes with so much cheese that you'll need more than a packet of crackers to get through it but it has a lot of fun too and the evil stepmother Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge) really steals the show - she's totally horrible, but fabulous.

Rating: As far as chick flicks go this one is pretty much by the book but it doesn't take itself too seriously and spurred lots of discussion with the kid about relationships and the dreaded "friend zone" etc.  We'll watch it again in a little while when Dad is out.

Naughty bits: There are a few big smooches but no violence or bad language.  If you want to use this movie as a springboard to talk about online safety that's not a bad thing either.

Snacks: Salmon sushi and a coffee

Family In-quotes: "Anything you say to me, you can say in front of my peeps"

Related Goodies:
The Friend Zone
11 Unrealistic moments in A Cinderella Story - but we love it anyway

Spy Kids

It seems that the 2000's were a golden time of live action movies for kids.  These days they seem to be all animated, which is cool, but I miss seeing real people on screen.  Spy Kids is a live action sci-fi fantasy movie made just for kids and it made me wish that more movies were being made like it.

Carmen and Juni Cortez are just regular kids until their parents are kidnapped and they discover that their parents are actually *plot spoiler* spies!  The kids must use all their wits and gadgets to outsmart the bad guys and rescue their parents (as well as the world). 


Rating:  Some of the spy/sci-fi movies we've reviewed have been for older kids but Spy Kids has been created with the younger primary school age child in mind.  There are some tense moments and the kid robots are a little creepy but overall everything is done in an innocent and fun way.  Our kid is at the older end of the kid spectrum but she still loved it and asked to watch Spy Kids 2 the next night.  We didn't; the adults couldn't handle more Spy Kids.

Naughty bits:  Spy Kids is as clean as Alexander Minion's suit.


Snacks:  Microwave Popcorn

Family In-quotes: "Ooooh, shii... take mushrooms"

Related Goodies:
Spy Kids 2
The Spy Kids all grown up
Totally Spies TV series

Race to Witch Mountain

Race to Witch Mountain is a remake of a 1975 movie (Escape to Witch Mountain) which was an adaption of the 1968 book of the same name by Alexander Key.  So yeah, it has a history behind it.  I don't recommend watching the original movie; we couldn't get through 10 minutes of it, but we had a good time watching this remake.

The movie tells the story of a cab driver (The Rock - with a past) who picks up two teenagers who turn out to be *spoiler alert* aliens and the race is on for them to get back to their spaceship before the world ends.  And race they do; this is an action packed sci-fi movie which had our kid on the edge of her seat.


Rating:  This movie was rated low by Rotten Tomatoes and other review sites but I think they were a little harsh.  If you go to see a movie starring The Rock and it's by produced Disney I think you should expect a fun time without using up too many precious brain cells, not monumental cinema.  And this movie delivers that.  For kids, who haven't seen many movies, it's exciting for them to try and figure out what's going on and Witch Mountain is a good introduction to suspense and mystery storytelling.  We will watch this again sometime in the future.

Naughty bits:  There is a lot of violence, a couple of monsters and some sinister characters in this movie so I recommend it for older kids/teens.  Plenty of suspenseful "jumpy" bits too which more sensitive kids will not like.

Snacks:  Something gooey

Family In-quotes: "Don't go in the pimped out fridge, Jack..."

Related Goodies:
The book which inspired two movies

The Ringer

In an age where we all tire of political correctness it's refreshing to see something that is so politically incorrect that you are reminded of the need for some restraint.  The Ringer delivers that incorrectness in spades but surprisingly you come out the other side with fresh respect for people with disabilities and the people who help them do amazing things.


The Ringer tells the story of a guy, who with the help of his uncle, decides to rig the Special Olympics in order to help out a workmate and escape some debt.  Johnny Knoxville (Jackass) is the lead and Katherine Heigl plays the love interest but it's the side kicks who really steal the show; especially Jed Rees who plays Glenn.  He is a comic genius in my book (and in Galaxy Quest too).


Rating:  We laughed out loud a number of times, sometimes in shock at the out-there incorrectness and other times at the ridiculousness of situations.  The kid thought it was funny too and it sparked some great discussions about treating people with respect.  We will watch this again sometime.

Naughty bits:  There are some naughty words and adult themes but low on violence and sexy times.  I recommend for an older child on this basis.

Snacks:  Popcorn and icecream

Family In-quotes: "Oh my lantern!" "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Related Goodies:
The Special Olympics

High School Musical

Remember the movie which inspired Glee, a million boys haircuts and made the world realise they had missed musicals for too long but you are embarrassed to admit you guiltily enjoyed?  Yeah, that would be Disney's High School Musical. 

A very young Zac Efron sings, b-balls and dances his little heart out to impress his mathletic crush in a classic opposites attract (and no one approves!) love story.  However its Ashley Tisdale as the dastardly Sharpay who really steals the show in my opinion and the songs will be stuck in your head for weeks.

Rating:  While I can embrace over the top cheesy musicals, the kid was not so impressed.  "The problem is that it has too many songs in it".  Well, it is called High School Musical.  And it's a chick flick to boot.  We give this a once in a while viewing rating but should your kid get swept up into the drama, you may find yourself watching much more often.

Naughty bits:  This film is as clean as Sharpay's fabulous outfit; that is until clumsy Gabriella tips her lunch on it.

Snacks:  Something school cafeteria worthy - like pizza!

Family In-quotes: "Hip hop is my passion. I love to pop, and lock, and jam, and break"

Related Goodies:
There will be a number 4?

Bedtime Stories

 "Oh not more Adam Sandler" you may be groaning.  Yes more Mr Sandler, but this time he's toned it down [a bit] I promise.  And this movie has a plot and some great cameos (I'm looking at you Russell Brand you fabulous thing).

This time Adam Sandler plays the lovable uncle left with his niece and nephew for a week while his uptight sister is out of town.  He treats them to forbidden food and stories at bedtime.  Stories which come to life in weird and unexpected ways.

There is the predictable love/hate interest, the ridiculous showdown and the bad guys get their comeuppance, all done in a Sanderesque way.  Fans of the guy will be glad he didn't include too many off colour jokes for the kids, not fans may not want to kill themselves.

Rating:  We like a bit of Adam now and then so we enjoyed it.  We'd probably only watch this one once in a while but we loved the imaginative worlds he conjured and the over the top characters.

Naughty bits:  There is the usual crass Sandler language (Sir Buttkiss) but nothing too serious, not to mention the obligatory fart jokes etc.  There are a couple of scary monsters so young kids might get frightened but older kids won't blink an eye at this one.

Snacks:  Wheatgrass cake.  Nah, have some real food like a cheeseburger (Bugsy's favourite)

Family In-quotes: "For Frrrrreeeeeee!!!"

Related Goodies:
Every Adam Sandler movie is connected - a fan theory

New Year's Eve - Charlie's Angels

Bill Murray is back and this time as the lovable Bosley; colleague of Charlie's Angels, three kickass gals with hot bods and detective skills.  Well some detective skills, enough to bungle them through their investigation anyhow.

The girls go through many disguises, locations and costume changes in their quest to solve the case with a twist at the end.



Rating:  We like action/comedy movies and this one was a lot of fun.  So the plot didn't make a lot of sense but it didn't matter there were heaps of cool action moments and eye candy abounded. 

Naughty bits:  I recommend this for older kids as there are heaps of sexual innuendos and more mature content violence and costume wise.

Snacks:  Blueberry muffins

Family In-quotes: "Caffeine helps us program"

Related Goodies:
The TV Show which inspired the movie

Agent Cody Banks

Remember that kid from Malcolm in the Middle?  Well by the early 2000's he was in his prime and trying his hand at the action genre.  Agent Cody Banks is a teen CIA agent sent to stalk? a teenage girl (Hillary Duff) to gain intel on her scientist father and foil a diabolical plot.  I reckon that Agent Cody Banks follows the spy/Bond genre very well but unlike today's Bond, Banks is a heap more fun.

Rating:  We like action/comedy movies and this one was a lot of fun.  Good plot, great characters and some potty humour; an entertaining evening was had by all.

Naughty bits:  There is a lot of fighting but it's mostly cartoonish, however one scene in particular our kid did NOT like (spoiler alert) which was when the bad guy came to a rather grisly end.  It was a little graphic and scary but didn't last long (long enough for her though).  I was annoyed by the treatment and tarty dress code of the female spy; I guess in that way Agent Cody Banks was more like a Bond movie than it should be.  The language is pretty clean.

Snacks:  Pistachio Ice Cream

Family In-quotes: "Eat your burger"

Related Goodies:
Spy Kids
How to be a spy
The art of spying

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

 After listening to the audiobooks (and starting to read the books) of the Narnia series we reckoned our kid would be ready to watch the movie.  I think director Adam Adamson captured the magical atmosphere of my imagination's Narnia although the movie moved along a little slowly.

Our kid felt like the movie depiction of Narnia lived up to her imagination too and she enjoyed it but she really didn't like the scene where Aslan is killed by the White Witch (plot spoiler) and she couldn't watch it. 

Rating: Worth seeing the movie if you are fan of the books but I think we will leave it for a good few years before we watch it again.  Too slow for repeat viewings.

Naughty bits:  There are some mature themes (war/oppression), violence and scary animal moments but no sexy-time concerns.

Snacks:  Turkish Delight

Family In-quotes: "Come on, humans. While we're still young!"

Related Goodies:
Narnia wiki
BBC Narnia mini series

Sky High

If your kids, and perhaps you, enjoy tween superhero fiction novels then you are sure to enjoy Sky High.  Sky High is an exclusive high school for teens with superhero powers.  It fits pretty nicely into the "teens at school" genre of movies but has a lot more humour/silliness than you would expect and the twist of superheros thrown into the mix.

The dialogue was pretty clever and at times hilarious and there were some good running gags too.  Also a cameo by everyone's favourite voice actor; Tom Kenny. 

Rating: We had a lot of fun watching Sky High and we could probably watch it again in a year or two.   It's pretty cheesy but in a good melty way.

Naughty bits:  There is cartoon violence, some very mild language and teenage kissing (gross! haha!).  This is Disney so it's about as clean as The Commander's Cape.

Snacks:  Caffeine free, diet orange soda (just kidding, who would want to drink that!)

Family In-quotes: "it was tough man, T.U.P.H"

Related Goodies:
Tim Allen's Zoom which came out the year after (how does this happen?).  It's OK but not as good as Sky High
The book Sidekicks