MOVIE - Alvin & the Chipmunks, the Squeakuel

"An awesome movie - pucker up, because the love train is coming." (Ashley & Brendan)
Released 12-23-09
PG (1:28)
12/26/09 at Maine Coast Cinemas with Bren, Ash, Bri & Heather
RT: 25%
Director: Betty Thomas

Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are joined by the "Chipettes," three singing chipmunk cuties named Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor. When Dave is hospitalized because of an Alvin-accident, first Aunt Jackie comes to care for the boys --but ends up in another hospital. The boys are given over to cousin Toby, who spends the day playing video games and eating junk food. The boys are forced to begin high school, where Alvin becomes a football star. Adventure after adventure follow. They two singing chipmunk groups are set up in a musical competition to win $25,000 for their school music program, which is running out of money. (Ashley helped write this review. She is very clever with words.)

This was a cute movie. I watched it in a smallish theater FILLED with kids crackling popcorn bags and talking out loud, with a whimpering or crying here and there. It's been a long time since I went to a theater full of kids - by choice. The movie started almost ten minutes late, and there was nary an ad or a preview. The movie just....started. The volume of the movie wasn't very high, either. And the lights came on a good two minutes before the movie was over! But every kid in the audience was enthralled, and many guffaws came from the adults. I had more fun watching my two kids....they loved it. Ashley said it was REALLY good and Bren said it was AWESOME. (He's watched the first one over and over and over and couldn't wait for this squeakuel.) I'm glad I was able to accompany them!

MOVIE: Monsters vs. Aliens

Not bad for someone who doesn't usually like animated films
Viewed: Wed., April 22 at Reel Pizza (Bar Harbor) with Ashley, Brendan, and Meme
Rotten Tomato: 73% Mine 65%
EW: C+ Mine: B
Genre: Animated Action/Adventure
Released: 3/27/09
PG (1:34)
Directed ( & created by) Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman
Big names for voices: Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen...

Sweet just-to-be married Modesto, California girl gets creamed by the radioactivity from a meteor and grows hugely tall (50 feet?), is captured by covert American government agents and hidden away with other 'monsters"...a mad scientist that turned himself into a human-sized cockroach (Hugh Laurie), a blue glob with a raving single eyeball and no brain (Seth Rogen), a very old old old sea-type fossil that has come to life, and a enormously huge bug (which turns out to be a pre-stage butterfuy, part of the story...). California Girl Susan is now dubbed "Gigantica" and is sent out with her new monster friends to stop the aliens that are trying to grab the radioactivity from the the meteor that zapped HER. Of couise, they prevail and are on to bigger and better things at the end. Ashley was a bit scared the first time she saw it, but suggested we take Bren so she could see it again. He loved it. When I asked him who his favorite was, he said "the monkey." Okay, were we watching the same movie? Come to find out, he thought that the green sea creature was a monkey. He just cracks me up. What a blast going with both the kids.

And Reel Pizza is an experience in itself. I've missed viewing movies there - waiting for my number to light up on the Bingo Board to go retrieve my pizza...drinks and popcorn on the counter in front of you or a TV tray in front of the couch you've been lucky enough to nab. And prices, still a reasonable $6 for all shows, all ages. Very fair. Very fun. A good night out.