Chicken Little is a kids movie, so I wasn’t expecting that much when I saw it. The only reason I saw the thing in the first place was because my little sister wanted me to go with her to the theater. I have to say, even for a kids movie, Chicken Little is pretty mediocre.

The general plot of the film is this: Chicken Little is trying to clean up his reputation after upsetting the townspeople by claiming the sky was falling, when he realizes that the sky actually is falling. He and some of his friends set out to solve this problem without alerting anybody in the town or causing any type of panic.

I don’t know about anybody else, but when I think of a children’s movie, I think of films like The Lion King, Bambi, Aladdin, Toy Story, or stuff like Finding Nemo.

These are films that are made for kids, but still have enough in them that adults can actually watch them without feeling too annoyed. Chicken Little has none of that. The plot is thin and hard to follow, the dialogue is silly, and the way the characters randomly break into classic 70’s and 80’s songs every 20 minutes is really out of place and horribly annoying. It just has no real entertainment value to it, unlike some of the more recent Pixar/Disney films.

While I was in the theater I noticed that it was packed with kids my sister’s age (around 8 years old), and most of them were quite visibly bored. This is really a film that is suitable for toddlers, not children over the age of four. Your kid may possibly like this film, but be prepared to be bored and annoyed out of your mind.

Let me know what you think of this movie by adding your comment below.

If you enjoyed Cheaper By the Dozen, you’ll love the sequel. Though sequels are not always what they’re cracked up to be, this one is great.

Steve Martin plays Dad Baker, who is affectionate to his family and it comes through as realistic affection, not a lot of sappy goo. Bonnie Hunt plays the mother and puts on a great performance managing her brood. Alyson Stoner plays daughter, Sarah, who is entering adolescence and her performance is brilliant. The scene of love’s first kiss comes off so well that it will take you back in time to your first kiss. The scene is tastefully done with elegance and the innocence and shyness of youth.

Dad and Mom Baker decide to gather their clan together for the final fling of the summer at a rented cottage on Lake Winnetka. Unknown to Dad Baker, his high school nemesis, Jimmy Murtaugh has built “The Boulders,” a fabulous home directly across the lake from the cottage. The two men take up their rivalry where it left off years before. At a Fourth of July clambake, Jimmy shows off in his usual annoying manner. Mayhem sets in when the fireworks are inadvertently set off early and destroy everything within range.

Sarah falls in love the moment she sees Eliot Murtaugh, who played by Taylor Lautner and Eliot feels the same way about her. Sarah thinks she’s not pretty enough for Eliot and begins to experiment with makeup. The results are catastrophic.

Cheaper By the Dozen 2 takes us back in time to our early teens. It shows how sensitive thirteen year olds really are. One very heart warming scene is when Sarah’s older sister, Lorraine shows her how to properly apply makeup for a girl her age. Sarah is transformed into a beautiful young woman and the scene is done so well that it touches the hearts of the audience.

Surprisingly, Jimmy’s new wife, Sarina, who is played by Carmen Electra, is very nice. The audience has to wonder how she ever got hooked up with Jimmy. She loves all eight of her step children, is pretty and sexy and is well liked by Mom Baker. Sarina intervenes when husband, Jimmy, goes on his ego trip and puts him in his place, which delights all viewers.

If you want to take the entire family to a movie, take in Cheaper By the Dozen 2 because it is the one to see. It is much better than “The Family Stone,” or “Yours, Mine and Ours.” Cheaper By the Dozen 2 shines and is great family entertainment. Highly recommended.

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Based on C.S. Lewis’ timeless classic, The Chronicles of Narnia tells the tale of four young siblings — Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter — during World War II. In an attempt to protect the children from the Nazi bombings in urban England, they are sent to an estate in the countryside to safely ride out the war.

It is within the confines of this house that the children happen upon a wardrobe while playing a game of hide and seek. What they find in this wardrobe is a portal to the magical world of Narnia. The children enter this strange world filled with otherworldly creatures. There they discover what was once a peaceful land that is inhabited by centaurs, dwarfs, and other friendly talking beasts.

But Narnia is under the spell of the evil White Witch, Jadis. Jadis has cursed the land to eternal winter. The children, with the assistance of the noble Lion King, Aslan, work to break the witch’s spell and restore Narnia to the peaceful and enchanting place it once was.

For the most part, Narnia doesn’t disappoint. It stays true to the book in terms of plot and characters. The one problem I do have with movies such as this is that the Narnia you see on screen could probably never live up to the Narnia one has pictured within their own imagination after reading the book. While I felt that emotionally the movie still struck the right cord, it just did not, and could not ever, match the vision I’ve held of Narnia since I first read the book as a child.

The other problem I had with this movie is that, it’s supposed to be geared towards children, yet, quite frankly, I would think twice before bringing children to this movie, as some of the scenes are fairly scary and violent.

On a related note, I must also say that when “blue screen” technology and CGI effects were first seen in movies they seemed cutting edge and awe inspiring. Maybe I’m just becoming jaded, but to me these special effects nowadays just seem to be anti-climactic and overused. Just my two cents.

Overall the performances in this movie were wonderful. Tilda Swinton, (from The Beach), turns in a truly hateful performance as the evil Jadis. Equally good was veteran actor, Liam Neeson, playing the majestic Lion King. The children were also surprisingly good considering their acting experience was fairly limited.

In general, I would recommend this movie as a good holiday outing. Despite some reservations about young children finding the movie too scary, the Chronicles of Narnia should have you leaving the theater feeling satisfied.

Did you find this move as enjoyable as I did? Let me know what you think by adding your comment below.

Yours, Mine and Ours, starring Dennis Quaid and Renee Russo is a remake of the 1968 movie starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. Let’s just say that after seeing the 1968 movie, there’s no need to see the 2005.

Basically, the problem with this movie is its predictability. There is almost nothing in the movie that can not be predicted. For example, when on the sailboat, Frank, played by Dennis Quaid, tells everyone to be careful of the boom, otherwise someone might get knocked in. Guess what? Someone gets knocked overboard. Not only that but who couldn’t predict that two large families thrown together by marriage wouldn’t get along?

As for combining two families, with a total of eighteen children, in today’s world, it would be impossible not to be poor. Yet these people have a live-in housekeeper, Dad has an office, Mom has an art studio, and of course, none of the eighteen children are going without. Just a little unrealistic!

As for the premise of the movie, it’s the reunion of two high school sweethearts, who after seeing each other a couple of times, decide to get married without even consulting their children. He has eight children and she has ten. Once they are married, it, of course, has the never-ending story of the two sets of kids not liking each other or messing up the house or getting into trouble.

Beyond the fact that the Yours, Mine and Ours is predictable, it will catch a few laughs. After all, you’ve got Dennis Quaid and Renee Russo playing Dad and Mom, and Linda Hunt playing as the housekeeper. Maybe not as good as the 1968 Lucille Ball version, but it will provide you with some entertainment.

Please share your thoughts about this movie.