Summer Movie Must-See: Monsters University

We are kind of serious movie nerds around here. If you've been reading this blog for a while you already know this. We're also serious Disney fans and faithfully worship at the altar of the gods at Pixar. (Oh, you know what I mean. Don't get weird.)

You would think that with no young children in the house the days of must-see-animated-movies be over. You would think seriously wrong. If anything, my artsy clan has a much better appreciation for the genius artistry and storytelling achieved by Disney/Pixar than their usual younger audience.

We were already salivating at the thought of the new installment to the Monsters, Inc. family, Monsters University.

So much so, that my husband insisted we watch the first movie last week. Which we did and were reminded once again why we love Disney/Pixar so much.

You can imagine that when the good folks at Disney/Pixar invited me to a pre-screening for Monsters University, I jumped at the chance.

It would be shown at the Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. (Double win.)

Which is how we found ourselves in the car early on a Saturday morning heading up to LA. (We live about an hour south of Los Angeles, so this became an Official Road Trip.)

Our expectations were super high and Monsters U did not disappoint.

Usually I don't enjoy 3D, in this case, I loved it! Don't we look appropriately nerdy in our 3D glasses?

The entire cast, not just Mike and Sully were even more lovable than in the first installment. I know. You wouldn't think that was possible, but believe me, you will fall in love.

Wait. Did I just refer to them as the "cast?" How else do you refer to characters in an animated film that makes you forget they're animated and that they are MONSTERS? Still pondering....

So, I'm encouraging everyone I know to go see Monsters University.

It was laugh-out-loud funny. It had poignant moments and drama and all the elements that make for a wonderful story. The cast characters made you want to see more. I loved that there were so many nods to the first film. That made me really happy. (We have already decided we definitely need to see it again, but that's not important right now.)

We got so into it that we may or may not have come home with some Monsters University memorabilia. Also, do yourself a favor and go to the M.U. site. Here's the link: Monsters University. (WARNING: prepare to happily lose hours of your life.)

Genius. Seriously.

Ah, Disney/Pixar, we are soo not worthy. *bows down*

{Disclaimer: I was not compensated by Disney/Pixar for this review. They invited me to the screening of the film. Thank you, Disney/Pixar!  The opinion that it was fantastic and soo worth going to see, is my our own.}

Tickets Winners for Cubamerican, the Movie

Thanks to all who entered this giveaway. I can't tell you how much I love hearing a little bit about all of you. Especially about when you came here to the U.S. and where you're from.

I used Random.org to choose the winners of the movie tickets to see Cubamerican at the Tower Theater in Miami on Friday, June 14th.

And the winners are......

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Congratulations to all four winners! You've each won two tickets for the showing of Cubamerican.

Please send me an email: m darby (at) cox (dot) net. Put HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line so I won't accidentally delete it.

I'll make sure you get your tickets to the film. Trust me, you will love it.

For those of you who didn't win, please try to get to the screening anyway. Trust me, you will love it.

Cubamerican will be showing beginning Friday, June 14th in Miami at The Tower Theater • 1508 Southwest 8th Street, Miami, Fl.

WARNING: take tissues.

“The Hobbit Book” Family Giveaway - A Winner

Thanks to all of you who entered The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Giveaway over the weekend.

The correct answer to the "How many dwarves?" question is "13."

They are: Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Thorin Oakenshield. The two youngest are Fili and Kili. Thorin Oakenshield is royalty.

When my kids were little, when we got to the parts where it was time, we would recite the names of the dwarves and they would always yell "Thorin Oakenshield!" at the end of the list. *stops and enjoys a personal mom moment* (I know. Shut up.)

Some Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit trivia: Gimli the Dwarf is Gloin's son. Also, Gimli finds Balin's tomb in Moria. But then, if you were truly a Tolkien über-nerd, you would totally know that, but that's not important right now.

To pick a winner, I entered the number of entries into the True Random Number Generator at Random.org and the following number came up:

Congratulations to the winner:

Please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line, so I don't accidentally delete it. Send me your snail mail address and I will forward to my friends at Warner Brothers Pictures so they can get your goodies out to you ASAP.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be coming to theaters everywhere on December 14th. I can't wait!

Thanks again to all of you who entered the giveaway. I love all of you über-nerds. ;-)

“The Hobbit Book” Family Giveaway

It's no secret that we are über-nerds here at my house. Serious über-nerds.

When the kids were all little, I used to love to read aloud to them. They always preferred for me to read to them because "Mom does the voices." (But that's not important right now.)

And because we have homeschooled for years, we all spent a lot of time reading and enjoying books together.

When I was a senior in high school (en el año de la pera), J.R.R. Tolkien had just passed away. Suddenly bookstores everywhere were carrying The Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring Trilogy. It was then that I was exposed to the charming world of Hobbits and Hobbitlore.

Needless to say, I fell in love. To this day, we still celebrate Bilbo Baggins' birthday (September 22nd) and The Day the Ring was Destroyed (March 25th). See here and here. Did I mention we were serious über-nerds?

How delighted was I when Warner Brothers contacted me about helping to promote the new film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, to MBFCF readers? (The correct answer is "über-delighted.")

Did you know that on December 14, 2012, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be hitting theatres? (Thank you, God, Peter Jackson, and Warner Bros.!)

Directed by Peter Jackson, based on The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, and adapted for the screen by  Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro. It promises to be every Tolkien über-nerd's dream.

Check out the trailer:

Doesn't this just look über-nerdily delicious? Yes. Yes, it does.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY / “THE HOBBIT BOOK” FAMILY GIVEAWAY

I'm excited to host the following giveaway. One lucky reader of this blog will receive the following The Hobbit Grand Prize:

 The grand prize includes the following (as pictured above):

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Poster
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey The Hobbit Book
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2”X7” Double-Sided Book Mark
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Tattoo Booklet with 17 Tattoo Sheets
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 12”X12” Wall Calendar
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2.25” Button
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Youth Map T-Shirt
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Gandalf’s Hat
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Hollywood Movie Money - Admission for 2. Hollywood Movie Money is a free admission voucher to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, redeemable nation wide starting 12/15/12 through Thurs., 01/10/12 in any theater excluding AMC Theaters..

To enter this fabulous grand prize giveaway, please leave a comment on this post for a chance to win this entire gift package, please answer one or both of the following questions:

• Count and submit the number of Dwarves you see on this The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey poster you see above.
• Are you a Tolkien fan?

Only U.S. entries, please. I'll choose a winner on Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 at 11 am.

When the Zombie Apocalypse Happens, Havana Will Be Ready

And now for something completely different....

I don't usually enjoy horror movies. Wait. Let me rephrase. I don't like horror movies. At all. In fact, I hate them. They're usually so... well, horrific. (But I did enjoy An American Werewolf in London back in the day, mostly because of the comedic elements, but I'll deny it if you tell anybody.)

But, when I was contacted by Focus World to get the word out about their latest film: “a zombie comedy made in Cuba,” I was intrigued. When I read the synopsis, I laughed out loud. When I saw the trailer, I knew it was something I wanted to share.

Plus it's October and I'm kind of more tolerant of gore and silliness the closer it gets to Halloween. (Don't judge me.)

I totally understand that this is a departure from my usual fare, but I think you will enjoy it (or at least your teenage kids will). It's a zombie relajo set in the land of my birth.

From the studio that brought you Shaun of the Dead, meet Juan of the Dead. (He's Havana Killer Day. <--Best tagline ever. Am I right?) In Spanish, with English subtitles.

Synopsis:

Juan is 40 years old, most of which he spent in Cuba doing absolutely nothing. It’s his way of life, and he’s prepare to defend it at any cost, along with his pal Lázaro, as lazy as Juan but twice as dumb. Juan’s only emotional tie is his daughter, Camila, a beautiful young girl that doesn’t want anything to do with her father because the only thing he’s good at is getting into trouble.

Suddenly some strange things start to happen, people are turning violent attacking one to the other. Juan was first convinced it’s just another stage of the Revolution. Official media refer to the attacks as isolated incidents provoked by Cuban dissidents paid by the US government. Little by little Juan and his friends start to realize that the attackers are not normal human beings and that killing them is quite a difficult task. They’re not vampires, they’re not possesed, but they’re definitely not dissidents; a simple bite turns the victim into other violent killing machine and the only way to beat them is destroying their brains.
Juan decides that the best way of facing the situation is making some money out of it…..

“Juan of the Dead, we kill your beloved ones” becomes his slogan. Lázaro, along with his son Vladi, and Camila (who had no other choice but joining her father after he rescued her from grandma´s killing desires) are Juan´s army, and their mission is to help people get rid of the infected ones around… at a reasonable price.

But this plague of bloodthirsty attackers is out of control. The population is helpless. There comes a moment in which the only way out people found is throwing into the sea and try to run away from an island that became a real carnage, and Juan has no choice but to do what he avoided all his life: take some responsibility assuming a hero role, to guide his beloved ones with the hope of getting them safe out of the madness in which Havana, full of flesh eating zombies has turned.

I especially loved that so much of it was true to Cuban life today. In fact, all the actors are Cuban.  And the premise that the state media blames the zombie attacks on dissidents who have been hired by the U.S. government? Classic.

It's not Shakespeare, but it's So. Very. Cuban. And I didn't love the gory parts (duh), but listening to the dialog with the hilarious deadpan (pun intended) Cuban delivery was just awesome.

The story was told creatively and in a very, very Cuban way. Juan of the Dead mocks everything that the Cuban government has sold for 50 years as “The Triumph of the Revolution,” and that's where its value lies.

For me, personally, I can barely stand the over-the-top slasher-oh-holy-hell-there's-blood-everywhere scenes even though they were way too campy to be genuinely scary. But there were a lot of moments of surprise, so I had to keep covering my eyes. Also, the zombies were really, really slow, which I totally appreciated because that gave me time to cover my eyes, but that's not important right now.

But my favorite part of the entire bloody-undead-Havana-zombie-slash-fest was that Cuba's salvation comes in the form of Capitalism. Isn't that just too delicious? 

{Disclaimer: This is not what you will usually find here on MBFCF, and I get that Cubans are already living their own horror movie, but I think there's an audience for this sort of thing out there somewhere. Also, my 16 year old, Jonathan loved it in that way that 16 year old guys do.}

MBFCF Blogiversary Giveaway #3:

Juan of the Dead (DVD)

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a DVD copy of Juan of the Dead and please answer one or all of the following questions:

• Do you like horror movies? (Is there someone you know who is into this stuff?)
  
• Zombie Apocalypse in Havana...your thoughts?

I'll choose the winners at the end of MBFCF Blogiversary Giveaway Week on Monday, October 8th, 2012 at 11 am.

Havana killer day. LOL!

Marvel's The Avengers (A Winner)

Thanks to all of you who entered the giveaway for the Very Uber-Cool and Uber-nerdy Avengers gift pack from Marvel.

I love that you guys are as caught up in Avenger Madness as we are.

And because I personally can't get enough of Thor, here's yet another photo from the film.

Isn't that just beautiful....umm.....lighting? (I know. Shut up.)

Congratulations to the winner of the Marvel The Avengers Gift pack:

Congratulations, Shelby! Please send me an email with your snail mail address and your preferred tshirt size and "Hey, Marta! I won stuff on your blog!" in the subject line. I'll forward to the good folks at Marvel so that they can get your goodies out to you ASAP.

This is what you won:

Marvel's The Avengers T-shirt.

The Avengers pins.

The Avengers 3-D glasses.

We're almost finished with our movie countdown. Thor (be still my heart) is on tonight and Captain America is up on Wednesday.

Speaking of Thor and Captain America, I almost wept when I saw this clip. Watch. And love.

The Awesomeness is in theaters everywhere on Friday, May 4th. And yes, we're seeing it in IMAX 3D.

That's just how we uber-nerds roll.

Tony Stark: "Doctor Banner, your work is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Bruce Banner/The Hulk: ..."Thanks."

Friday can't come quickly enough.

Kikita Loves Monkeys

Familia! It's Kikita here.

In case you didn't know, I love monkeys.
I also love movies.
So when the chance to see a movie about monkeys comes up, I'm SOOO there.

"The Lion King" is my favorite Disney movie and Rafiki is a huge reason for that.
"Aladdin" is one of my favorite Disney movies because of Abu.
Can you guess what my favorite part of "Tarzan" is? Yes, the "Trashin' the Camp" part (Of course, the fact that N'SYNC and Phil Collins sang it was a HUGE plus).
Before those came out, "The Jungle Book" was my favorite.

I love monkeys.
You get it.

When Mami got an invitation from Disney Nature to go see their new movie, "Chimpanzee," she knew exactly who to call.
She called before she even looked at the date and realized she would be out of town.
She called so that I could have time to clear whatever I had planned to go see it.

10 am on a Sunday in Hollywood?
No problem.

I shouldn't admit this, but anyone who knows me knows that I go to church on Saturday nights because 10 am on a Sunday is just too early to get to a church that's only 10 minutes away...
Does this mean I love monkeys more than I love Jesus? I hope not.

I digress.
I went to the movie.

I was in awe.

"Chimpanzee" is a documentary, but not your typical documentary. It was a story. But it was FULL of information. Even for my love of monkeys, I had no idea that chimpanzees were omnivores, did you?

It was truly an incredible story.
And FUNNY!

In fact, I was loving it so much that I found myself wondering, "Would it be wrong to name my first-born son "Oscar" after the little baby chimp who is the star of the film?" (No, I DO NOT have any children yet, I'm just planning ahead.)
I settled for buying a plush-monkey of Oscar instead, but I call him "Oscarito."

The movie is in theaters right now.
Do yourself and your kids a favor, go see it. 
If you don't have kids, then call a friend and go see it.
You won't be disappointed.
I promise.

And you just might learn a thing or two that you didn't know before. 

Blue Like Jazz - Love it or hate it?

A few years ago a book came out called, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. I both loved and hated it. Loved it for its honesty and beautiful storytelling. Hated it because as the story developed, it caused a glaring light to shine on the darkest parts of my soul. (Okay, that was probably a little bit of an intense over-share for me, but that's not important right now.)

If you mention this book in Christian circles, there is no neutral ground. The book is either loved or hated. I think, depending on the reaction, it probably tells more about the reader than about the content of the book.

But those that love it, love it with a passion. They recommend it. Often. They quote the author Donald Miller and follow his blog religiously. (No pun intended.)

We Christians often get a bad rap, and sometimes (but not always), I think we deserve it. I, personally have some tensions with the church, at least as it exists today. But not with God. This is where the rubber meets the road. The difference between following "the rules" in the Bible and having "a relationship" with the God of the Bible are light years apart.

Enter Blue Like Jazz, the Movie.

It's a testament to just how much fans love this story that the film was even made. From the IMDB:

The movie was made possible by the efforts of fans the refused to see the project die. A campaign on KickStarter was started after a September 16th blog post by Donald Miller that the project was dead due to the lack of backers. By the end of the funding period on October 25th, Save Blue Like Jazz had raised $345,992 (of the $125,000 goal or 276%) from 4495 backers. The earns the project a Hall of Fame ranking on KickStarter as the highest funded project ever.

When I heard that the movie had finally been made and was invited to a local screening, I was thrilled. Trying to explain to Lucy what it was about was more of a challenge.

"I think you'll love it," I told her, "Unless you hate it."

She agreed to attend the preview with me and some friends (who also love Donald Miller).

We were delighted to meet Donald, himself before the show.

When the movie was over, Lucy made a beeline for the two young actors, Marshall Allman, who plays the young Donald Miller in the film:

And Justin Welborn, who plays The Pope (favorite character, hands down):

After the powerful, hand-me-a-tissue ending, she insisted we get over to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Blue Like Jazz, because she had never read it and was intensely curious after seeing the film. I'm guessing she now falls into the "love it" category.

A very wise pastor once told me, "Sometimes God offends the mind to reveal the heart." And this is the power of the story in Blue Like Jazz. I would absolutely not categorize it as a Christian film, but more about a film that shines an intensely bright light to reveal what's in our hearts.

It also has a well earned PG-13 rating. If you have ever read the Bible itself, you'll know that it's not squeaky clean by any means. The rating was quite shocking and satisfying.

Blue Like Jazz opens in select theaters tomorrow, April 13th. Go see it.

You'll love it.

Or hate it.

My (Super) Hero

A few months ago, my son, Jonathan (16) breathlessly runs in.

"Mom, you've got to see this!" He then proceeds to show me the following movie trailer:

Explosions! People in peril! ! MARVEL SUPERHEROES ! ! (Win.Win.WIN!)

He knows (because I've told him repeatedly, as I have all four of my kids) that I was a nerdy comic-book-loving kid. That's right. Little known fun fact.

{WARNING: Over-sharing-Uber-nerd Alert!}

My dad used to take me to the local drugstore on weekends and let me pick out 3 or 4 comic books every week. It's how I learned to read in English. This probably flies in the face of all kinds of English as a second language research, but, whatever....

I would very carefully choose a variety of comic books, from the Harvey classics, like Richie Rich to the "teen" comedy, Archie (for the record, I was always very pro-Betty, but that's not important right now). I also really loved the action/adventure Marvel comics.

Thor was my favorite of the Avengers. Mostly because he said cool things like:  

"WE'LL NEVER BE BEATEN! FOR WE ARE...THE AVENGERS!"

(By the way, the only time you should EVER use the Comic Sans font is in a comic book. There. I said it.)

Back to the Avengers. And specifically to Thor. The Mighty Thor. I loved Thor. He had the hammer. The cool Viking vibe. When I was in high school we were The Mighty Vikings. It like one big cosmic Thor Love-fest.

In fact, when Adam was three, I dressed him as Thor for Halloween. I did. I swear. (Excuse me while I go dig up some proof.....)

Ta-da!

Hey! Superheroes come in all sizes (and my son has since forgiven me). But that's not important right now.

As I got older, my comic book consumption diminished, but my love of all things Marvel did not. In the late 70's, I religiously watched Bill Bixby/Dr. Bruce Banner turn into Lou Ferrigno/The Incredible Hulk . (Who didn't?)

So back to Jonathan and The Avengers Movie Trailer....

1. I am thrilled that my 16 year old and I have such awesome common ground.
2. We are out-of-our-skin excited to see the film. In theaters everywhere on May 4th.

Were doubly excited that the makers of LEGO are also aboard the Avengers-train. Embrace the awesomeness:

And so is Target. This is seriously the cutest ad ever. Watch. And love.

We are definitely going to be following the Awesomeness that is The Avengers on Facebook. And counting down to May 4th. (Thanks, Disney Pictures!)

I don't know about you, but in our family, nerdiness does not skip a generation.

So, any other uber-nerds out there? I know there are. Come on. Talk to me.

For the love of Belle - Beauty and the Beast in 3D

When my daughter, Amy Kikita was young, she was completely enamored with The Little Mermaid, as probably most 7 year olds were at the time. Ariel was spunky for a princess and went after what she wanted. I think she identified with those qualities.

Years later, Disney gave us Beauty and the Beast and when it was available on VHS, we promptly procured a copy and our sweet Lucy had found that Belle was a princess who had qualities she could admire.

My mom calls Lucy, "La Bella Lucy." And our Master Teacher throughout our homeschool years always called her "Lucy Belle." Coincidence?

I think not.

We had seen the stage show, Beauty and the Beast last year, but last week I was invited by Disney Pictures to the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood to experience Disney's Beauty and the Beast in 3D and I couldn't have stopped Lucy from joining me if I had wanted to. She was out-of-her-skin excited with the prospect of finally seeing the drama played out on the big screen. Not to mention that we just both happen to love being on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Check out the look on her face. Can't you just see her excitement?

Because it was Disney, and because it was at the El Capitan, we were treated to an amazing organist who played every song from the movie as we all took our places. (Totally made me happy.)

Then, Belle and the Beast came out to dance and welcome the audience along with canon blasts of rose petals. (Oh, yes!)

We got to don our 3D glasses, which I'm starting to kind of like. (I know. Shut up.)

And were treated to the new Disney short Tangled Ever After - The Rings, which was absolutely hysterical. Here's a preview:

When the movie began, we quietly sang along to each familiar song and even though we knew the movie by heart, decided that it was absolutely worth seeing it on the big screen. (The Tangled Ever After short was seriously laugh-out-loud funny. Almost worth the price of admission, but that's not important right now.)

And because I'm a big, sentimental uber-geek, I sat there thinking how cool it was to be sitting with a fully grown-up Miss Lucy Belle and enjoying that piece of her childhood as it came to life before us. And, okay...I might have wiped away a tear or two. (But I'll deny it if you tell anyone.)

I encourage you, if you've only seen the small screen version of Beauty and the Beast, or haven't seen it in all its glory, to find a theater playing Beauty and the Beast in 3D in your own town. It's playing in selected theaters opening this coming weekend, January 13th and runs through February 2nd. I swear you don't want to miss it.

And then, because the story is set in France....we ate crepes...

...and we lived happily ever after. ;-)

Did you see Beauty and the Beast back in the day? Are you planning on seeing it again this time around? Tell me.

{Disclosure: Disney Pictures invited us to the pre-screening of Beauty and the Beast 3D. The opinions about the show are my own and the crepes were delicious, but that's not important right now.}