Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

I'm Back!

I'm back... even though you didn't even know I was gone!  Sunday we returned from a 2 week vacation to Florida!  Why Florida?  Well, if you know anything about me (even if you don't and per chance read my profile) you'd know I was born & raised in Florida.  So when it comes time to visit the family I can't really complain that I have to go to one of the biggest tourist traps in the world.  This round we (my husband, me, & our 4 yr old daughter) rented a house in Orlando with the in-laws.  Now that we've gone this route, I can't imagine ever doing anything different (well, other than the costs!)  The house had plenty of space so we weren't stepping on each others toes, it had a heated pool (someone was in the pool 1-5 times a day), it had a game room, and was one exit down from Disney!  It might have been a once in a lifetime trip, and trust me, we saved for a long time to make it happen.  It was great seeing my family again, due to living on different continents we only see each other roughly once a year.  And even squeezed in time to see some old friends!  Obviously there is so much to tell, but I'm not going to overload this post.  Plus I have plenty of stuff to take care of around the house, there's rounding off the unpacking and the realtor scheduled 2 viewings at the end of the week.  Basically this week is going to be a series of working my butt off and naps to get adjusted to the time difference (what a combo)!
Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!
:) Danica

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Movie Time #2

I'm not exactly sure how I find the time to do it, but I watch a lot of movies.  I've been a movie fan since my grandpa bought me a VHS series of Disney Classics when I was around 8yrs old.  I watch all types of movies, sci-fi, drama, romance, action, etc. etc.  (But no horror flicks for me!)  I've previously blogged about movies, giving my oh so desired opinion, ha-ha!  You can see those reviews here : Chick Flicks & Movie Time #1.  And here's the next round, just a portion of the movies I've watched over the past two months. 

The Dark Knight Rises
My husband is a huge fan of the new series.  I enjoyed the older more colorful Batman series, Val Kilmer/George Clooney days.  But I have to admit the latest installment wasn't so bad.  Anne Hathaway isn't one of my favorites, in my mind she's still just the awkward girl from The Princess Diaries.  But Tom Hardy made up for that, even though he gained weight and they covered his face.  No matter what the bad guys in the "darker" series are well done and keep the movies interesting.  And I'm definitely curious about JGL's role in the next film.  Would I watch the movie again?  I already have and will again in the future.

Total Recall
Since I never watched the original with Arnold Schwarzenegger I didn't have much to compare it to, which made it obviously more enjoyable.  Some people I've talked to thought the women weren't good choices, but I think Kate & Jessica did just fine.  I enjoyed the movie from beginning to end, whether predictable or not.  I liked the action and the hint of love, and I really enjoyed the futuristic feel to it.  I haven't seen many movies with Colin Farrell, but he did well and was believable.  I feel they could have done more with the movie, but possibly conformed to keep it similar to the original.  Will I watch it again?  Yes, definitely.

G.I. Joe - The Rise of Cobra
I love this movie.  Action movies are one of my favorites, and this one adds futuristic technology, a little romance, and some humor.  I've always enjoyed a movie that kicks ass, this goes back to the days I watched endless JCVD movies as a preteen.  Plus I like it when they develop movies based on things I remember from my childhood, still waiting on a He-Man & She-Ra movie though.  I'm thoroughly looking forward to the 2nd one, which comes out in 2013.  Again JGL is in it, who ever knew he'd turn to action flicks after 3rd Rock From The Sun.  Have I watched this movie repeatedly?  More times than I can remember.

Lawless
This doesn't exactly fit into the usual movie's I watch, it's on the slow boring side.  I actually thought my husband would enjoy it, but he refused to watch it with me.  I have to admit, I fast forwarded through parts of the movie, this might have contributed to my disappointment in the end.  I waited and waited for it to get interesting, then they killed off the only character worth anything.  Obviously the point of the movie was about the younger brother moving up and developing himself but I just couldn't get into it.  I also expected something to happen romantically between two of the characters and it never quite panned out.  Will I watch it again?  No.

Prometheus
I haven't watched a true sci-fi flick in a while.  My husband doesn't enjoy alien movies so I have to watch them in my own time.  (I did get him to sit through Attack the Block, though).  I tried everything to convince him this film had nothing to do with the movie Alien (which I never saw) but he knew better.  I didn't find it to be too scary, but I did look away on occasions.  The cast did o.k., but I do wish they had brought in more big names like Charlize Theron.  The robot did well, and turned out to be the most interesting character.  There were things I didn't pick up on but I'm sure a quick look at IMDB would clear that up.  Do I plan on watching it again?  Probably not.

The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey
As expected, the movie was top notch.  The money they put in to it is obvious.  I heard complaints about it being in 3D but we had no issues.  I don't feel it needed to be in 3D but it didn't take away from the movie either.  The detail was amazing, the storyline interesting, the characters well chosen, I can't complain.  And even though the movie was 3hrs, I could have watched more... I actually expected about 30 minutes more.  We had great seats, front row of the balcony!  Will I watch this one again?  Maybe.  Will I watch the next one?  Definitely.  Do I wonder why they make so many and drag the series out?  Yes, but money is the answer.

Hope you enjoyed my quick reviews, done my own way.  I also hope you check out at least half of the movies I mentioned!  And keep an eye out for more reviews in the future.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Wordless Wednesday #32

Link up here for Wordless Wednesday!
 
Our curious camera compilation can also be found here...

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Disney On Ice

Yay, after a long wait it was finally time for the Disney On Ice show on Sunday!  A couple months back my husband & one of his friends teamed up to score points with the wives & kids... they bought 2nd row seats to Disney On Ice!  Not only did they treat us to a quality show they were also sure to buy the kids fun things during the show, like spinning Minnie lights, Mickey binoculars, Tinkerbell snow cone cups & Disney balloons!  And after the show we all popped into a pizzeria before picking up the dogs from the in-laws.

The show was 90 minutes with a break, which was perfect for the kids.  And like expected, Disney did a great job.  My only issue was it was in Dutch and I wasn't able to sing along to the songs (I understand Dutch, just don't know the Disney songs in Dutch).  But when Beauty & The Beast hit the ice, I was singing in English no matter what.  Even though many of the Disney prince & princess aren't original, they're still magical.  Every time I see them I think of the endless great movies I watched repeatedly as a kid.  The ones I get to watch again now that I have a daughter.  So many of the great fairy tales have inspired my writing as an adult.
 
Besides Disney royalty their were the usual characters, the only ones my tot seems to care about... Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, & Pluto!  There were a lot of fun themes touching on holidays, from birthdays to Christmas, and through this they were able to incorporate many more characters.  I think the brochure said there were 50 in total.  We did miss Rapunzel & Flynn from Tangled, though!
 
During the 90 minute show only one couple fell, ouch!  A lot of it was skating for fun, but there were a few couples that were able to perform incredible moves.  The show wasn't just for the kids because the moms & dads were getting eye fulls of extremely fit skaters all the while.  My husbands favorite was Princess Jasmine, her outfit did enhance everything.  And mine had to be David Kawena from Lilo & Stitch, it was what he wasn't wearing that was so nice, ha-ha! 
 
When I lived in Florida I took Disney for granted.  The money and effort they put into everything they do from shows, to movies, to even the theme parks, is top quality.  They make dreams come true for young and old, thanks Walt!
 
My husband took so many great photos, but I'll only include a few.  Thanks again to my great husband for a wonderful day! 

Friday, December 14, 2012

Christmas Shopping

It's time for dreaded Christmas shopping again.  Just in case you missed the post, I am a big 'ol scrooge.  Every year I plead with my husband to change our ways, and yet every year some how we wait until the last minute to go shopping.  So not only are we shopping (which we don't like), we're shopping under pressure and fighting large crowds while doing it (prime ground for bickering).  My husbands work schedule has been slammed for months now so there's no time for shopping after work.  Last weekend we were all sick, leaving this weekend to shop.  And now somehow our schedule is filled with everything but Christmas shopping, argh!  I feel sorry for the guy, he hasn't had a break in forever and now he doesn't even get a moment of relaxing down time this weekend; any spare moments will now be filled with unpleasant shopping.  While being pushed through the stores, disagreeing about Christmas present budget, and trying to keep a 3 yr old entertained while going store to store, I am going to have to keep one thing in mind.  We get to go see Disney on Ice this Sunday.  It'll give us all a moment to regress to childhood, take in a well done Disney show, and also see the twinkle in our daughters eyes as she gets to watch the characters from the 2nd row!