My teens are avid movie junkies- you name it and half the time they have seen it (legally or illegally, unfortunately, but that is a different story). They will constantly be in my office, or around me at the information desk talking about the latest movie, or the next one they want to see. Of course, it helps that I adore movies as well- I have a huge DVD/Bluray collection in my house, and could easily spend a whole day in a movie theater. And nothing gets them more excited than new movies! Are any of our fall movie list on your must-do list?
The Book of Life tells the story of Manolo (Diego Luna), a young man who is torn between what his family wants and what he wants. He is in love with Maria (Zoe Saldana); however, he has to battle for her affections against the ever-charming Joaquin (Channing Tatum). La Muerte (Kate del Castiollo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman) bet on who will win Maria’s heart, and they can’t keep out of the way. Manolo dies in the process, and in order to return to the human world, he has to face his greatest fears armed only with his wits, his guitar, and his two swords.
The previews look beautiful, and the huge attention to Day of the Dead and Mexican culture are a huge hit with my kids. Add in Channing Tatum at his most ominous and I think this is going to be really great fun.
When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo (can you tell this is the future, people?) and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called “Big Hero 6 to save the city.
Disney’s Big Hero 6 is loosely based on the Marvel comic of the same name- enough that they have the names and that’s about it. They’re far enough away that Marvel isn’t reprinting the original comics, so THAT says something. They’ve got a diverse and multi-ethnic voice cast for the characters (including my favorites Alan Tudyk and Jamie Chung from SuckerPunch) but with the changes in characters and location the previews look a bit forced. Time will tell, but I think most will have wished they had stuck to the original source material.
Following up on Madagascar 3, Penguins of Madagascar follows Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private as they are recruited to join an elite undercover organization, The North Wind. Led by Agent Classified they must stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
My tweens and teens love the Madagascar series, and a good part of the reason why is the Penguins and their antics. This has no relation to the cartoon running on TV, which is even better- putting the Penguins in their spy mode the whole time with an entire group of secret agent animals should be a riot.
After being rescued from the games and learning she’s been a pawn in the rebellion’s plans all along, Katniss finds herself in the secret District 13. Under the leadership of President Coin and with Haysmitch and others, can Katniss free Peeta and her nation from President Snow? Can the Mockingjay find her wings?
There are only two questions about this movie. WHEN to go see it (opening midnight showing?) and HOW are they going to split the book into two parts?
The finale of Peter Jackson’s trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is based mostly upon the appendices Tolkien wrote to expand the stories of Middle Earth. Bilbo and company have regained the Mountain, but have released Smaug the Dragon, who is threatening the Village, and the Elves and Men must decide whether to fight together or be destroyed as darkness descends once again upon the land.
A lot of true Tolkien fans have been critical of Jackson’s adaption of The Hobbit, especially adding in characters and moving things around to suit him and a modern audience. With this film bringing in characters from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I’m not sure if Tolkien fans will be more unhappy or not- it depends upon which appendices Jackson is referencing. My teens and I will definitely be enjoying the ride.
Set in an alternate world of various Grimm fairy tales, a witch decides to “help” various characters to help them find out the consequences of their wishes and desires. However, when a Baker and his Wife learn they’ve been cursed childless by a Witch, they must embark into the woods to find the objects required to break the spell and begin a family, interacting with other characters along their journey who have been “helped” by the witch as well.
Some of my teens have put on the musical version of this at their school, so they are extremely interested in seeing it. That Guy also had it produced in his high school as well, so it should be interesting to see how it goes. I’m a sucker for musicals, and a lot of my favorite actors are in the cast (Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Tracey Ullman and Christina Baranski), so it’s definitely on our list.
