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DVD Review- Flicka: Country Pride Plus A Giveaway!

Apr 232012

THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THE BELOVED FAMILY CLASSIC ARRIVES JUST IN TIME FOR MOTHER’S DAY
Country Music Superstar Clint Black and his wife Lisa Hartman Black shine in the Heartwarming Family Adventure Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD May 1
Exclusively at Walmart, Sam’s Club® and Walmart.com

Does anyone in your house like horses? It seems the horse rage hits around age five at my house and never quite goes away. So, needless to say, we were very excited to have the opportunity to pre-view the Flicka: Country Pride movie starring Clint Black and Lisa Hartman-Black.

The movie tells the story of a young teen, Kelly, who is struggling with the loss of her dad and the passion of riding horses that she shared with him. With a new Mustang (Flicka) at the stables, however, and some stubborn determination Kelly is able to again fall in love with riding and competing. The movie features a mean girl antagonist that is so popular with movies at this time and gives parents the opportunity to talk about how to handle the stressors of high school. Overall a great movie that I think most girls ages 8-13 will especially love. I am well over thirteen, though and I enjoyed it ;)

Be sure to check-out the end of this post to see a checklist of what young riders should know about taking care of horses. This is a great list for Girl Scouts earning an animal badge!

I have two copies of Flicka: Country Pride to give away! YEAH :)

How to Enter:

1) Simply leave a comment telling me your favorite animal movie of all time.

2) Like Four Against Two on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

Contest runs from April 23rd to April 29th at noon EST. Two winners will be chosen from random.org.

(Disclosure: I received a copy of the above mentioned DVD to view and give my honest opinion.)

DVD Review: Loves Everlasting Courage

movies, Reviews, Stuff No Responses »

Apr 202012

Get out your hankies. There is a new installation in the Love Comes Softly series. On May 8th, Hallmark will release Loves Everlasting Courage, based on the Janette Oke books. I read these books years ago (decades maybe?) Now daughter number two, Mita, is in love with the film series. I need to get her the books, she would read them up for sure.

Here is a quick plot line snippet from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Clark Davis (Wes Brown, “True Blood”) struggles to maintain his land and support his family during a long drought. With a bank loan to repay, his wife, Ellen (Julie Mond, “General Hospital”) takes a job in town as a seamstress, but soon becomes ill with scarlet fever. Devastated to lose his beloved wife, Clark and his young daughter turn to his parents for support. Clark must find a way to save his farm and survive Ellen’s death without losing the person he loves most: his daughter.

I am a sucker for prequels and this is the story of Clark and Missy before “Love Comes Softly”. I cried, laughed and my stress level went up and down along with Clark’s. Love the pioneer time period and this movie was just perfect for me on a day alone at home doing the laundry. Mita watched it before me and loved it and now I will pass it on to my niece who also loves the series!

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the above DVD to review and give my honest opinion about it. No other compensation was received.”

DVD Review: We Bought A Zoo

movies, Reviews No Responses »

Mar 292012

Over Christmas break last year I took the kids to see We Bought A Zoo. Loosly based on the true story, a book of the same name by Benjamine Mee and directed by Cameron Crowe this is a heartwarming story that is great for a family movie night. It is well-written with great acting, starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson.

A short synopsis of the movie: A recent widower with two children, Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is looking for a new home and a fresh start. He finds the perfect house – that comes in a zoo and takes on the challenge of reviving the zoo and bringing it back to life. In the process his son is finding his talent (and a girl!) and dealing with being a young teen boy and his daughter is incredibly sweet and totally in love with living in a zoo. The family struggles, but in the end finds that they are still a family, even though their mom/wife is no longer with them.

This can be a sensitive plot line with the mom of the family having recently died. With two of my girls having lost a mom, I was acutely aware of this and a bit worried. However, we are very open in talking about our situation and plot lines such as this one can help bridge the conversation. We did not have any problems at all. I recommend if you have a similar issue that you think might want to watch the movie before your kids do to sure it is appropriate for your family.

The process of re-building a zoo and the ins and outs of animal care make the movie something different to watch and there is a young teen romance that is cute and not to much for the ages involved. I had a lot of fun with the girls watching this. While there was some name calling at the end, my girls are ages 7-12 and this PG movie was appropriate for our family.

A great quote from Benjamin Mee -

“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

Hits the stores April 3rd in DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download!

(Disclosure: I received a copy of the above movie from Fox Home Entertainment for my honest opinion.)

DVD Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks ChipWrecked

movies, Reviews, Stuff No Responses »

Mar 252012

I have a confession. I don’t like Alvin and the chipmunks. I loved them as a kid, but I have matured since then and while I may laugh here and there I have not sat through a whole movie.

My children on the other hand think these movies are the greatest things since cheese pizza and were thrilled when I got a copy of the third chipmunks movie to review. Elle has watched it at least three times in as many days, I got three of them dancing on video the night we opened it up. The special features part shows you the dance moves to a few of the songs. Even my girl who insists she doesn’t want to watch the movie is laughing from the other room at the jokes. A hit for the kids I tell you!

Out on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital Download on March 27th, you’ll be seeing this in stores very soon. The tunes are catching remakes of current hits and fun to dance to. Go ahead and buy it, it will get the kids moving and give you some dinner-making time!

I’ll put a few coloring pages and an activity page on my Facebook for you to print off if you have a fan in your house.

(Disclosure: I received a copy of the above mentioned DVD from Fox Home Entertainment for my honest review on my blog. No other compensation was given.)

DVD Reviews: Strawberry Shortcake

movies, Reviews 1 Response »

Mar 072012

Taking me back to my childhood in the 80′s is the release of two new Strawberry Shortcake DVDs just in time for Spring! Bloomin’ Berry Garden and Berry Brick Road and both Family Approved movies that the younger set (4-8 years old I’d say) are sure to enjoy. Both DVD’s come with downloadable coloring pages, which are great for rainy days and Bloomin’ Berry also has a music video on it for the kids to dance to.

Berry Brick Road is as it sounds, a take of the Wizard of Oz, a story most kids are familiar with and enjoy different versions of. Bloomin’ Berry Garden tells a story of the characters being magically shrunken down and it features them running around a garden with huge (to them) plants. I think I may show this to my Girl Scout Daisy troop as we talk a lot about plants, flowers and gardens!

Two fun and age appropriate DVDs to keep your kids entertained while you clean the house!

Don’t forget to enter my St. Patrick’s Day giveaway! Ends March 11th.

(Disclosure: I received copies of the above mentioned DVDs in exchange for my time in reviewing them, no other compensation was received. Amazon links are not affiliate.)

DVD Review: Little Angels

Education, movies, Reviews No Responses »

Feb 102012

I was recently given the opportunity to watch the new line of DVDs that Roma Downey (Touched By An Angel) is the executive producer of. Little Angels is a fun cartoon line that teaches pre-schoolers about numbers, letters and animals with a God centered theme. Songs such as “Goliath Didn’t Like Rock Music” and “Joshua, Get Those Trumpets Blowin” are catchy, fun and also teach Bible stories to your little ones. The DVDs are headed to a store near you on Tuesday, February 14th.

I was happy to see some diversity among the main characters, but disappointed that the activity sheets and valentines all were centered around the white kids. Dear movie makers, please remember that not all main characters have to be white!

My girls are passed the pre-school age, but I know a lot of moms with young ones and there are many families with special needs older kids who could learn from this easy, calm cartoon. I plan on passing these along, but I am keeping the PB&J popcorn they sent us to chomp on while watching the movies ;) Please see my Facebook page for print out activities and Valentines! There is also an Little Angels app for the kids to play.

(Disclosure: I received a copy of the above DVDs to preview as well as some gourmet popcorn from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. No further compensation was received.)

DVD Review: To Kill A Mockingbird

Books I Have Read, Entertainment, movies, Reviews No Responses »

Jan 212012

Every once in a while you just have to watch or read a classic. New stuff is always fun, but the classics are time-tested lessons the whole world has shared. I was so pleased when Universal sent me a preview copy of the To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy] starring Gregory Peck to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Universal.

I have not watched To Kill A Mockingbird since I was young and was anxious to watch it again as an adult to glean more of a message. I am also inspired to re-read the book, and have put it on my library list.

Mita and I cozied up on an icy day when the rest of the family were on a snow hike. We popped some popcorn and watched the movie together. I love watching old movies with the kids. Being a black and white film, long beginning credits and the length of the movie itself are a history lesson.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a movie filmed in 1962 and was based on the novel of the same name that was written by Harper Lee. Set in the deep south in the 1930′s Atticus Fitch, a single father, is appointed to be the defense attorney for an accused black man. The story is shown through the prospective of Atticus’ children, and covers far more than the racial divides of the day. For example the topic of a neighbor with a mental delay/illness shows us how people with special needs were treated and feared in that time. The poverty of the depression is shown throughout as is the mourning a family without a mother is noted upon.

I will not give away the story as it is such a powerful one, I do recommend watching this movie and reading the book if you have never done so before. A great movie to watch with your older children. It was great to watch with Mita and point out how things were just 100 years ago. The jury in the courtroom consisted of twelve, white men. The courtroom only allowed blacks in the balcony and the use of the n word and calling grown black men boy was very noticeable.

To Kill A Mockingbird hits the stores January 31st in DVD and Blu-ray. The extra features include a conversation with Gregory Peck, and his Academy Award acceptance speech for Best Actor. I enjoyed watching the Scout Remembers feature and seeing Scout all grown up and learning the story of how she was chosen to act in the film. The book,To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition is now available at Amazon.

(Disclosure: I was provided with a preview copy of To Kill A Mockingbird from Universal Home Entertainment for my honest review. No other compensation was received. Amazon links are affiliate links.)

DVD Reviews: A Turtle’s Tale and A Mile In His Shoes

movies, Reviews, Stuff No Responses »

Dec 302011

I recently was sent two new DVDs from Vivendi Entertainment to watch with my girls and to review. Can I say PERFECT TIMING! Post Christmas blahs and rainy weather are a recipe for watching movies at home.

The first movie is A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures hits the stores on January 3rd (I’ve already seen Walmart advertising it). An animated film, the story follows Sammy the turtle from being a new hatchling trying to make it to the sea and through the next fifty years of his life in the ocean. Along the way he meets friends, the love of his life and learns about how things are changing in his enviroment.

Elle (age 7) and Enu (age 9) enjoyed watching A Turtle’s Tale and we passed it around to a few friends to watch. The under ten crowd has a lot of fun watching Sammy and his friends.

I also want to tell you about A Mile In His Shoes. A Thomas Kinkade Production that comes to stores on January 10th, is directed by William Dear (Angels in the Outfield) and stars Dean Cain and Luke Schroder. Luke looks so much like his father it reminds me of Silver Spoons in the 80′s heyday!

Based on a true story A Mile In His Shoes is a DOVE approved PG movie that is perfect for the family. The story about a young teen with Autism in the 1940′s and how he impacts the lives of others when he joins a baseball team. This family film is great for ages 8-12 helping them learn that people who are different than them can be friends and be a part of a community.

(I received a copy of each of the above mentioned movies from Vivendi Entertainment in exchange for my honest opinion about the movies. No other compensation was received.)

DVD Review: Monte Carlo

movies, Reviews, Stuff, Teendom 1 Response »

Sep 182011

My kids are very happy with this blogging thing right now! I was sent an advance copy of Monte Carlo by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to review. This is the movie that I never got around to taking the kids to the theater to see early last summer and they have not let me forget it since!

Starring Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place, Beezus and Ramona), Emma (Katie Cassidy, “Melrose Place”), and stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester, “Gossip Girl”). Monte Carlo is perfect for the tween scene. Selena Gomez is also a popular singer. I took the girls last November to watch her perform in Columbus and they adore her. She is also pretty age-appropriate for younger fans (so far anyway).

The main story line is a familiar one, but it is one that works. Selena’s character, Grace, is mistaken for a famous English heiress, and she along with her two friends live the life of wealth for a few days. Along the way there is fun, love, arguments, grief and ultimately learning to be yourself.

If you have a daughter the between the ages of 9 and 12 chances are this movie is for them. There is a bit of lovey-dovey-kissy scene or two but they are nothing new and tame. My older three girls (ages 12, 11 and 9) loved it. The seven year old wandered in and out of the movie a few times, but did say she liked how it ended. I liked how it shows a little bit of the world and overall the moral of the story was honestly and loving who you are.

MONTE CARLO arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on October 18th and is produced by Academy Award®-winner Nicole Kidman.

(Disclosure: I received a free copy of this movie from @FoxHomeEnt in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received.)

Eclipse Movie Review (and some mommy ranting)

Entertainment, movies, My Soap Box, Summer Fun 3 Responses »

Jul 052010

Eclipse came out last Wednesday in the early morning hours. I was not there I must say. My advanced age kept me from tackling the early morning hours. Okay. So I am not that old, but life does get in the way sometime and it did this past week. Hubby and I were babysitting our friends’ four children for ten days (four plus four does equal eight remember!) and needless to say I didn’t need a Twilight Hangover the next day! I also didn’t have goodie bags this time around either, but I hope to do better for Breaking Dawn.

The movie was a lot of fun. I will be the first to admit that the Twilight movies can be a bit cheesy, but so are the books and yet so many of us like cheesy! I have to admit that I did cringe at Jasper’s sudden Texas accent. It was a bit overdone, but at least they lightened up on his look a bit and he doesn’t look as freaky as he did in the first two movies.

It had a lot more action than the first two films and I appreciated the bloodless action. It was great fun to see Edward rip off the head of Victoria. I never knew I was this gore-seeking!

As far as going along with the book, the film did pretty good with that. Of course they cannot ever match the book page by page, but there was one part I wish they had gone word for word with. After Bella kissed Jacob and she is looking at Edward he says,”You love him.” She then says,”I love you more.” and that was about it. I so wanted this:

“…when I left you, Bella, I left you bleeding. Jacob was the one to stitch you back up again. That was bound to leave its mark – on both of you. I’m not sure those kinds of stitches dissolve on their own. I can’t blame either of you for something I made necessary. I may gain forgiveness, but that doesn’t let me escape the consequences.” Stephanie Meyer ~ Eclipse

Maybe some producer will read this and add it to the DVD? Yeah I am sure that will happen!

My mommy rant of the day (hour?) goes to Burger King. On our way to an animal park with the kids we stopped at Burger King for lunch. The kids meals were giving away TWILIGHT TOYS! You heard me toys of Edward, Bella and Jacob. My stomach turned and I was ashamed of being a Twilight fan at that time. The Twilight series is a young adult series plan and simple. Marketing toys to kids under ten is ridiculous and is one more way were are letting our children grow up to early and be exposed to adult things.

Oh, and I totally agree with FireMom: The sparkling has got to go. It just looks so tacky, silly, stupid and more! FireMom is on the fence at this point with the whole Team Jacob team Edward thing. MomOutnumbered is a solid Team Jacob. I am team everyone wins-because-I-read-the-books-and-they-have-a-happy-ending!

Like and for-sure! I’m such a teenager after writing this!

Photos by Mandy W. 2010

My Take On Toy Story 3

movies, Summer Fun No Responses »

Jun 242010

I cannot possibly write a better review/non-review than the one that FireMom recently wrote, so I won’t even try. I will tell you why the third installment of the Toy Story series is my favorite and probably will forever be.

First of all I have to tell you that Toy Story is my all-time favorite children’s movie ever. I love the good-natured humor, the music, the graphics, the voices…everything! I watched to first two movies before I had children and I kept the Toys from Burger King kids meals for at least 10-12 years! I recently passed them on to Big Brother and Little Brother (FireMom’s kiddos) to play with as my girls never caught on to the movies like I have.

The stories inspire play. True playing with some toys and a lot of imagination. No plugs, a few batteries maybe, but again a lot of IMAGINATION. If I had not had my imaginiation as a kid I would have been quite bored and lonely! I hope my kids learn such innocent play while they are young and are able to have great memories of toys, much like Andy has!

I won’t spoil the movie but there is a character in the film named Bonnie. When you look at her, think of my Elle. She has on a tutu over her clothes with rain boots on…that alone would have made me cry during the movie!

Oh yeah! My kids did like the movie as well. I gave them Toy Story Valentines and Toy Story Silly Bandz in goodie bags at the theater. I am a sucker for party favors!

On a side note: Here is the bag I got when I ordered popcorn….

It must be fate :) Cannot wait to see this!

BABIES! Just in Time for Mother’s Day

A Mom's Job, Breastfeeding, Entertainment, movies No Responses »

May 052010

A few months ago

I was at the movies with some friends (it feels like years ago!) and we saw the preview for Babies. I instantly fell in love and wanted to have a baby right then and there. Hubby didn’t see this preview and did not feel the same. Actually, I think he could have watched the preview and still would have had the same sort of negative thinking!

This movie is about the first year of four infants from different parts of the world: San Francisco, Mongolia, Namibia, and Tokyo. The film promises to be beautiful and I hope that Breastfeeding is a big part of this film (fingers crossed). This film may be a great opportunity for us all to learn from other and come to respect our different ways of parenting.

I have included a few links to share with you with previews and shots from this movie. Enjoy!

My preditcition is that the birth rate will be rather high come next March. By then I will be working again in the field of Lactation and be as busy as ever! Busy with babies..how great is that. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find a theater in this part of Ohio that is showing Babies this weekend so our birthrate may bounce once it comes out on DVD or On-Demand. Oh the life of a country bumpkin! Here are a list of theaters.

(Disclosure: I was provided with these links through the BABIES Ambassador Program. Sharing these can lead to me winning prizes like diapers and baby stuff. As I don’t need these items anymore (boo hoo) in the event of my winning they will be split between our local pregnancy center and my niece Ali!)

We Went To See The Wizard!

Entertainment, movies 1 Response »

Sep 252009

The Wicked Witch Was Awesome!

Last Wednesday night hubby and I took the kids to see the 70th Anniversary Screening of The Wizard of Oz (in high definition) no less! Meg saw this movie when she was about five years old, but the other three have never seen it. As Meg is playing a Munchkin in a local The Wizard of Oz production, we have been talking a lot about the characters and plot around the house and Mita, Enu and Elle have had no idea of what we were talking about!

The movie was wonderful, of course, as it is a classic. I’m not much of a techy, but the quality did seem better than the old TV version I used to watch as a kid.

The first time Meg saw the movie I watched her carefully when the movie turned from black and white to color. Meg’s look of amazement was something I will always remember and I wanted to watch the other girls looks as well. I was wondering how I was going to watch three faces at the same time. Meg solved this for me when she blew the surprise when I overheard her telling Mita how the film goes from black and white to color. Enu was sitting far from me besides Hubby and I couldn’t watch her face. So I watched Elle and I was not disappointed!

As Dorothy opens the door into Munchkin land and the screen fills with color, Elle’s jaw drops and she says,”WHAT!”. too cute and a magical memory I will always have, along with Mita crying up a storm when Dorothy is held captive in the Witch’s castle. Enu was so happy with the bag of candy gorp I gave each of them, she would have been willing to watch movies all night. With Meg mouthing the words and dancing in her seat, we were all very happy.

On the way home I told the girls about the times when Uncle Josh and I were little and we would watch Oz and then go out into the woods during the commercials to be scared! Those flying monkeys are creepy looking, even now! We were softies I guess, because they weren’t scared (after Harry Potter and Narnia it’s hard to scare kids with monkeys!)

Good memories that we will remember forever, or at least I will! Elle wore a blue-checked shirt on Thursday and really wants Meg to play Dorothy, or as she calls her “that nice girl.”

IMGP2650

I’m to lazy to edit Meg’s eyes and she thinks they look cool anyway!

Four Against Two

DVD Review- Flicka: Country Pride Plus A Giveaway!

DVD Review: Loves Everlasting Courage

DVD Review: We Bought A Zoo

DVD Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks ChipWrecked

DVD Reviews: Strawberry Shortcake

DVD Review: Little Angels

DVD Review: To Kill A Mockingbird

DVD Reviews: A Turtle’s Tale and A Mile In His Shoes

DVD Review: Monte Carlo

Eclipse Movie Review (and some mommy ranting)

My Take On Toy Story 3

BABIES! Just in Time for Mother’s Day

We Went To See The Wizard!

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