Movie: Rise of the Guardians (2013)

Rise of the Guardians
Animation, Adventure, Family

I might gush a little over this film, I lurrrrrved it! It's fantastically animated by the people who did How To Train Your Dragon (which I also loved!) and even though the idea has kinda been explored before, I don't think I've ever seen a double sword wielding Santa (voiced by Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock)!

The big four; Santa, the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman - The Wolverine, Les Miserables), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher - Now You See Me, Confessions of a Shopaholic) and the Sandman (who doesn't talk), are protectors of children's happiness. Pitch Black (Jude Law - Sherlock Holmes, Repo Men) is the monster hiding under your bed and his goal is to suck all the happiness out of the world and envelope it in darkness. The Man in the Moon decides that the Big Four will need help, from non other that Jack Frost (Chris Pine - Star Trek). I love the tale of Jack Frost, in fact I was a little swoony over him... much like the Tooth Fairy.

I wanted to watch this movie again right after I finished it. The animations are fantastic and I chuckled a lot at the antics of Santa's elves. I loved Santa's full sleeve tattoos of Naughty and Nice, the Yeti's being the ones that make the toys but Santa letting the elves think they are the ones who do it and of course the sleigh. Everyone loves the sleigh! The Easter Bunny is bloody hilarious! Love that he's an Aussie with a boomerang and all the Australian colloquialisms. Then when the kids stop believing in him, he turns into this tiny cute little bunny; adorable! The Tooth Fairy's obsessiveness over teeth, especially Jack's and all the baby teeth! Sandy talking in shapes made by his sand and kicking Pitch's ass!

This is such a great movie, I'm going to go watch it again. I think I've mentioned before what a sucker I am for kids movies and books. I just love them and this is one of the best ones I've seen lately.

5 out of 5 snowballs...

Movie: Hachi (2009)

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)
Drama, Family

I've had nothing to watch lately so I found this blogpost titled 50 Great Movies You've Never Seen and you know what? I found a crapload of movies I haven't seen! I know, I was shocked too! I started with this one because I'm a sucker for animal stories... yeah, that's right, I liked the dog better than Richard Gere, and really Hachi is the star of the movie, sorry Richo!

You might want to heed this warning, unlike me; Have tissues handy! I was warned and thought, yeah right. I was so, so wrong. I sobbed like a little bitch....and so did my husband. Seriously, I was snotting and everything. What is it about animal films that makes us so vulnerable? The last time I cried this much was during PS. I Love You - such a beautiful movie!

This film is based on a true story, albeit an older true story and situated in Japan which the movie is not. It is also a remake of a 1987 film of the same name. Hachiko is an Akita, a Japanese dog bred specifically for hunting. Somehow Hachi gets lost in transit and is found and adopted by a Professor. Hachi faithfully follows his owner to the train station every morning and is there waiting for him when he returns.

It's a lovely story but there's not a lot to it. It goes exactly as you expect it to, there is no surprises and yet it's  beautifully entertaining. Animal lovers will... love it!

3 out of 5 tears in a bucket...