Tag: Family

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Movie Review

The Million Dollar Duck (1971) Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Sci-Fi – G – The Million Dollar Duck (1971)

This is under G because it is about a duck laying Golden eggs.

Director: Vincent McEveety

Writer: Roswell Rogers (Screenplay) Ted Key (Story)

Starring: Dean Jones, Sandy Duncan, Joe Flynn, Tony Roberts, James Gregory, Lee Montgomery

Plot: Professor Dooley takes home a duck from his research laboratory as a pet for his son, but soon finds out that it lays golden eggs.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Million Dollar Duck starts when scientist Professor Albert Dooley (Jones) sees his experiment go wrong. Leading to him needing to find a new home for his duck, which his son Jimmy (Montgomery) adopts naming Charlie.

When Charlie starts laying eggs, it seems strange, but to make matters stranger. They are gold eggs, which Albert starts using to solve his money problems. While his neighbour Finley Hooper (Flynn) looks to expose the truth about the new gold coming into the trade.

Thoughts on The Million Dollar Duck

The Million Dollar Duck is a fantasy sci-fi that will see a struggling family discover they have a duck that will lay golden eggs. Easing their money problems, causing bigger problems within their lives. The story will address a father not giving his son enough attention in life. General troubles with money and being overly interested in trying to make history with science. Along with the typical greed side of things.

The film does offer up an interesting think piece, while keeping the family central look about the events involved. The performances are solid enough, getting the laughs when needed. While never letting the characters develop enough to be outside the typical roles we know.

Final Thoughts – The Million Dollar Duck is an easy watch Disney family friendly film.

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Movie Review

Christmas Thieves (2021) Movie Review



Director: Francesco Cinquemani

Writer: Mario Bellina, Ferdinando Dell’Omo, Andrea Fazzini (Screenplay)

Starring: Tom Arnold, Douglas Dean, Gabriele Greggio, Michael Madsen, Katie McGovern, Esmeralda Spadea

Plot: Two young kids end up spending Christmas eve alone and they mistake two burglars for Santa

Runtime: 1 Hour 17 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Christmas Thieves starts when two burglars Frank (Arnold) and Vince (Madsen) find themselves needing to find a hiding place, finding themselves in a home with two children Liam (Zaini) and Olivia (Zaini) whose mother a policewoman has gone to answer the alarm.

As the two men pretend to be the babysitters, they look after the children for the night, where they start to learn they should be living their lives.

Thoughts on Christmas Thieves

Thoughts – Christmas Thieves is a family film that finds two burglars looking after two children during their latest job, where the two children look to bring out the best in the two men during the Christmas period. This is a film that doesn’t seem to have the connection it would like, with the bumbling burglars getting in over their head and everything seemingly being forgotten about when it comes to their criminal ways. By the end of the film you will feel like there was a lot more to come, with the mix of an animation tale from the bedtime book, looking to reflect real life, being the main attraction towards the positive in this film. (Including Genres, Settings, Special Effects, Music, Costumes, Everything non-story or acting)

Final Thoughts – Christmas Thieves is a flat Christmas movie, lacking an magic or spark.

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Movie Review

The Adventures of Snow White & Rose Red (2018) Movie Review ‘One for the Youngest Members of the Family’

The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red – One for the Youngest Members of the Family

 

Director: Andrew Balog, Victoria Batista, Nicole Coady

Writer: Olivia Anderson, Alexandra Marello (Screenplay) Nicole Coady (Story)

Starring: Demetra Zorbas, Callista Zorbas, Andrew Balog, Madeline Balta, Daniel Batista, Matt Beekman

Plot: Snow White, a kind girl with a passion for animals and books, is best friends with her sister, Rose Red, an outgoing girl with a curious spirit. They spend their days roaming the forest and playing pretend. But it’s not long before they learn that the woods they have lived in all their lives are nothing short of magical.

Runtime: 1 Hour 14 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red starts as two sisters Snow White (Demetra Zorbas) and Rose Red (Callista Zorbas) travel around their local forest meeting many different characters from fairy tales, including Rapunzel (Balta), Prince Charming (Batista and Alice, heading to Wonderland. Each encounter will see the pair looking for a different solution to help the people of the woods get through their troubles.

Thoughts on The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red

Thoughts – The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red is a nice little series of fairy tale adventures that follow the sisters meeting other figures from fairy tales as they help them with the problems the tales present, now they will look for non-conflicted solutions, while giving the message of inclusion for all. Everything we go through is simplified to make it easier to present to the youngest audiences out there, not offering enough for the mature audience, holding it back from being a complete family film. This is an interesting concept, but never manages to feel as convincing as it should be, trying to go in the opposite direction of the Brothers Grimm of fairy tales, trying to push heavily on the idea everyone in life can be good.

Final Thoughts – The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red is one of the purest family films, targeting all the good in life.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – World Cinema – E – The Elephant and the Butterfly (2017) Movie Review

Director: Amelie van Elmbt

Writer: Amelie van Elmbt, Matthieu de Braconier (Screenplay)

Starring: Isabelle Barth, Thomas Blanchard, Judith Chemla, Kristof Coenen, Alice de Lencquesaing, Lina Doillon

Plot: Dour ex-boyfriend Antoine (Thomas Blanchard) returns to his Belgian hometown where he reunites with his ex-lover and the mother (Judith Chemla) of their five-year-old girl, Elsa (Lina Doillon), whom he has never met. Through an unexpected turn of events, Antoine suddenly finds himself left alone to take care of the young, inquisitive and spirited youngster. Produced by the Dardenne brothers.

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Charming

Story: The Elephant and the Butterfly starts when Antoine (Blanchard) looks to visit his ex-girlfriend Camille (Chemla) who has been raising a daughter Elsa (Doillon), she doesn’t want to speak to Antoine, but when her business meeting occurs, she is left with no other option to leave Elsa with Antoine.

With Antoine left alone with a young child, he does the right thing by caring for her, until he forgets the keys, forcing him to take Elsa back to his own home, waiting for Camille to return, getting to know his own daughter for the first time.

Thoughts on The Elephant and the Butterfly

Characters – Antoine moved away from the town he had with his former girlfriend, now he has returned, he finds himself being asked to first meet, and then look after the daughter he never met. While things with Elsa do go well, his own personal life starts to suffer, though the joys of being a father shine through for him. Elsa is his daughter, the daughter he never met, she is like every 5-year-old, she just wants to explore the world. Camille is Elsa mother and the ex-girlfriend of Antoine, she has made a life for her daughter, but business has forced her into turning to Antoine for help with her for the first time.

Performances – Thomas Blanchard in the leading role is great to watch, he shows the connection a father is first trying to make with a daughter, looking at the time together with such delight, while also showing moments that his character isn’t prepared for parenthood. Lina Doillon is cute as they come as the daughter, she fills the screen with joy at all times.

Story – The story here follows a man that returns to his home town to meet his daughter, where he ends up having to look after her for a weekend, while her mother is on a business trip. This does show the bond grown between a father and daughter over quick time, it does also show the highlight of the problems between the two adults. It is told in such charm that makes you believe this is done for the right reason.

Settings – The film does take the father around his local area to spend time with the daughter, it shows us just how close they will become over the short time.


Scene of the Movie – Beach day.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sudden ending.

Final Thoughts – This is an easy to watch charming movie about building a relationship with a child, after not spending any time together.

Overall: Enjoyable.

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Movie Review

Hope’s Legacy (2020) Movie Review

Hope’s Legacy – Enjoyable Family Film

Director: Douglas D Maddox

Writer: Douglas B Maddox, Simon K Parker (Screenplay)

Starring: Dyan Cannon, Taylor Lyons, Allen Williamson, Ken Arnold, Jodi Dawson

Plot: Sometimes hope is all you need, but sometimes it can be hard to find. Faced with the death of her beloved grandmother, Lizzie now focuses on the farm, her horses and three day eventing. With her upcoming marriage to James threatened and challenged by a beautiful girl from James’s past, Lizzy must learn to stand on her own two feet but with Legacy by her side she can do it. It’s a competitive world but she’s determined to make it work in ‘Hope’s Legacy’. Lizzie will need to conquer her bullies and overcome 3 competitions including, show jumping, cross country and dressage with her young horse, Legacy. Her manger, is by her side all the way but her past catches up with her and Lizzie. Lizzie needs to make a choice to stop it all or go for the gold.


Tagline – Sometimes hope is all you need, but sometimes it can be hard to find.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hope’s Legacy starts when Lizzy Evans (Lyons) loses her grandmother, leaving Lizzy the ranch including the horses, Hope and Legacy, Lizzy isn’t sure whether she can handle it, but with her boyfriend James (Williamson) support, she takes on the ranch, with Linda (Cannon) coming into to help including train her in dressage.

Lizzy’s life takes another turn when James proposes to her with both their family’s not always supporting this decision and the skilled rider Bethany (Reed) looking down on Lizzy taking part.

Thoughts on Hope’s Legacy

Characters & Performances – Lizzy has just finished college and now her life is moving so fast, first getting the ranch from her late grandmother, secondly getting engaged, third getting back into horse riding and finally dealing with trying to fit into the world created, seeing people warn her about the decisions she is looking to make. Taylor Lyons shows us all the uncertainty her character must go through during the film, needing to show us the biggest emotions she must go through. Linda is an old friend of Lizzy’s grandmother, show has returned and offered to help Lizzy on the ranch, she does have a secret about her life, one that Lizzy could help with, as she looks to create a chance for her own granddaughter. Dyan Cannon brings the wise character to the film well through the film. James is the boyfriend of Lizzy that looks to support her through her difficult time, proposing to her along the way. Allen Williamson does well to be the support character Lizzy needs through the film.

Story – The story here follows a young lady that gets left a ranch and is left with plenty of big life decisions at a young age, with loved ones around her to support her prepare for life, earlier than she was prepared for. This is a story that will focus on the idea that life can come at young people fast, it is a sequel that picks up on Lizzy’s life after college, when she was looking to start and now she is given a chance to work in her passion. It shows that sometimes somebody can be left in a position of not knowing everything going on in their own life can make them feel insecure.

Themes – Hope’s Legacy uses a lot of family based themes, showing us that family can always be there for each other through the difficult times, with most of the film set in and around the ranch, showing the beauty of the countryside around people.

Final Thoughts – Hope’s Legacy Enjoyable family drama, that shows the importance of having people around you in the most difficult part of your life.



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Movie Review

The Key to Christmas (2020) Movie Review

Director: Jason Mills

Writer: Jason Mills (Screenplay)

Starring: Sadie Silcock, Kiana Passmore, Samriddhi Singh, Sarah Houghton, Katherine Aplen, Camryn Macdonald

Plot: When a disgruntled elf takes over the North Pole, she turns time backwards and Santa Claus begins getting younger fast. It’s up to a loyal elf, a little girl with a magic key, and the now-teenage Santa to save the future of Christmas.


Tagline – Unlock the Holiday Spirit

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Key to Christmas starts when Santa (Osbourne) is on his latest rounds for Christmas, only to discover the labels have been mixed up on the presents, returning to the North Pole, he turns to Winnie (Singh) to take the blame because of her past mistakes.

When Winnie decides to take revenge on Santa for firing her, it is up to a loyal elf Lovey (Alpen) and a little girl Kirra (Macdonald) to save Santa from being taken away from Christmas forever.

Thoughts on The Key to Christmas

Characters – Santa has always relied on his elves to do the work to make Christmas the best time of the year, when he notices a mistakes from the Head Elf, he fires her, leading to her using magic to make him go backwards in time, getting younger stuck away from the home unable to change the events. Winnie is the head elf that gets fired, she isn’t taking this lightly and decides to plan her revenge by sending Santa away and taking over operating in the North Pole, refusing to give out any presents. Lovey is one of the most loyal elves in the North Pole, one that will try to bring Santa back to the North Pole, risking everything along the way.

Performances – When we look at the performances, we do have a few actors portraying Santa due to the de-aging side of the story, which will give us different laughs along the way. Camryn Macdonald is good as the young girl caught in the middle of everything. Samriddhi Singh as the elf that wants to destroy Christmas brings us a menacing performance, with Katherine Alpen bring all the joy of Christmas with her elf.

Story – The story here follows Santa after he fires his head elf, only for the head elf to look to get revenge by making Santa de-age stranded away from the North Pole, with one loyal elf being the only one that can save Santa and Christmas for the whole world. When it comes to Christmas stories it is always hard to find an original one, here we have a new original take on a Christmas film, seeing how an elf turned evil with their desire of power, with the idea that Christmas is now at risk with a de-aging Santa, going through different ages, which will add to moments of humour. We still get the message of Christmas over, being friendly, nice and treating each other with respect too.

Family – This is a family film that could be enjoyed by whole family, it has the meaning of Christmas all over it.

Settings – The film uses two main locations, the North Pole where Winnie has taken over and the everyday world in which Santa finds himself needing to deal with de-aging and it not being Christmas.


Scene of the Movie – De-aging gets good laughs.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The calendar doesn’t come off as clean as it could.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun family Christmas movie, it will get laughs and brings us a brand-new original idea for Christmas Movies.

DVD/VOD Release Date:11/10/20



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Movie Review

Hidden Orchard Mysteries: The Case of the Air B & B Robbery (2020) Movie Review

Director: Brian Shackelford

Writer: Brian Shackelford (Screenplay) Joyce Fitzpatrick (Story)

Starring: Gabriella Pastore, Ja’ness Tate, Carlos Coleman, Diane D Carter, Kim Akia, Donovan Williams, Orlando Cortez, Tim Davidson, Davey Moore

Plot: Two teenage girls of color named Gabby and Lulu, become amateur detectives in their small town of Hidden Orchard, when a new Air B and B in their neighborhood gets robbed. Everyone in town is a suspect, and these young sleuths are determined to find out who did it and why.


Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun Family Film

Story: Hidden Orchard Mysteries: The Case of the Air B & B Robbery starts as we meet the two best friends, Gabby (Pastore) and Lulu (Tate) who know their neighbourhood like the back of their hands, which sees them getting an increased number of Air B & B properties in the area.

The two girls decide to start their own investigation into the robberies in the neighbourhood, involving the number of Air B & Bs, this will see them talking to everyone in the neighbourhood and learning more about the residents, things they didn’t know before.

Thoughts on Hidden Orchard Mysteries: The Case of the Air B & B Robbery

Characters – Gabby is dealing with adapting with a new stepmom in her life, she has a photographic memory which helps in how the two are investigating the case. Lulu is the best friend of Gabby, she wants to lead the investigation into the robberies, pushing Gabby into using her skills more often than not. The two best friends have excellent chemistry and have worked together for most of their young lives. We do meet a host of residents of Hidden Orchards, everyone is a potential suspect, with the girls knowing details about them all, needing to get to know more as they look to solve the crime.

Performances – Ja’ness Tate and Gabriella Pastore are great together, they make us believe they are best friends, with every interaction between the two feeling natural. The rest of the cast are strong through the film, bringing their characters to life with ease.

Story – The story here follows two girls that decides to work together to solve a spring of robberies in the area, which sees them putting together the clues, looking into the suspects from their neighbourhood. This does play into the amateur sleuth detective movies, with kids wanting to solve the crimes in the neighbourhood, we rely on the chemistry of the two leads to carry the story, with their determination being the reason everything could get solved. We might not get too involved with the crimes happening, but we are also focusing on friendship over anything else here.

Settings – The film uses the setting to show us how the neighbourhood is close and still manages to have secrets.


Scene of the Movie – Tanisha and Tyrique Watson are scene stealers in the film.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have seen more of the crimes.

Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable family film that shows the importance of friends, while trying to solve a neighbourhood crime, with excellent chemistry from the two leads.

Overall: Enjoyable Family Film.

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Movie Review

Horse Camp: A Love Tail (2020) Movie Review

Director: Joel Paul Reisig

Writer: George Saunders (Screenplay)

Starring: Richard Karn, Jason London, Jo Ambrosia, Kristin Mellian, Teri Lee, Kristen Ryda, Rachel Sowers

Plot: It’s a new year at summer horse-riding camp but everything is different this time—a new head counselor, new friends to make, and to spice things up, the ranch hand (Richard Karn) has a crush on the head riding instructor (Terri Lee)! When he is too nervous to reveal his feelings, the campers put competition aside and rally together to help him win over her heart while building friendships that will last a lifetime.

Runtime: 1 Hour 21

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Coming-of-Age 101

Story: Horse Camp: A Love Tail starts as we see Kimberly (Ambrosia) return to a horse camp Black River Ranch, one of the most prestigious ones for young women. She wants to reconnect with the old friends, only they barely remember her, to add to the drama the head rider Stacy (Ryda) finds herself replaced by Bonnie Lightyear (Lee) a rider with a huge amount of experience.

As the summer continues, the girls get to learn the valuable life experiences they needed to learn about at the life as they look to step into adulthood.

Thoughts on Horse Camp: A Love Tail

Characters – Kimberly is returning to horse camp for the first time in years, she wants the friendship to once had with the other girls and doesn’t take long to fit back in. Riley is the popular one who believes she is better than the rest of the girls, she learns quickly how to enjoy herself with the other campers. Jerry works on the camp and falls for the new experience trainer and needs the campers to help him make his move, Bonnie is the experience rider that is one of the best in the world, she is her to teach not only the instructors but the campers, while catching the eye of Jerry. Stacy is the social media celebrity that has been waiting for the chance to be head rider, not happy about it, but learns from Bonnie through the summer. One of the few weaknesses of this film is the pure number of characters we do meet, we have too much going on with the different characters certain characters don’t get to see the growth they require.

Performances – We have a big cast in this movie, nobody stands out above the rest of the cast, while nobody looks out of place, everybody in the film is good through the film and showing us the different problems they are facing and chemistry they have between themselves.

Story – The story here follows the members of a prestigious horse camp, from the owner, counselors, instructors down to the campers as they spend the summer here learning about life and finding directions in their own lives. This is a nice tale about learning who you are in a location that encourages people to come together in life, through summer camps. We do have a lot going on with the pure number of characters we have, which doesn’t always give all the characters enough time to shine. We do get the overall lesson about doing the right things in life, learning to better themselves for the future.

Settings – The film is set entirely on the horse camp, it shows the location everyone will be spending the summer away from the busy life.


Scene of the Movie – Learning the lessons.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do have too many characters who could get lost in the shuffle of the story.

Final Thoughts – This is a good coming of age movie, it does show us just how important life can be for everyone around you, even if we do end up with a couple too many characters.

Overall: Enjoyable coming of age story.

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Movie Review

The League of Legend Keepers: Shadows (2019) Movie Review

Director: Elizabeth Blake-Thomas

Writer: Isabella Blake-Thomas, Jonathan Brayley, Bob Nevens Jr (Screenplay)

Starring: Richard Tyson, Jake Brennan, Isabella Blake-Thomas, Britt Flatmo, Abigail Titmuss, Ethan Munck, Victoria Lopez, Michael Piccirilli

Plot: A horror film for children. A family of archaeologists find the fifth pendant that has been missing for centuries. Unfortunately a spirit has also been searching for this pendant. Once all pendants are brought together the shadows from the past are released. Will Sophie be able to save her town from the shadows?

Runtime: 1 Hour 12 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun Family Adventure

Story: The League of Legend Keepers: Shadows starts as the Carson family, Edward (Piccirilli), Katie (Titmuss), Sophie (Blake-Thomas) and Emma (Jellen) are starting their next adventure in California, where Edward’s work has taken them next. Sophie must get used to a new school, with her making friends with the bullied neighbour Edison (Eggerling).

When Edward makes the discovery, which is one of the biggest legends around in California history, the pendants bring to life the shadow people under the control of Ohanzee (Tubert) that have been searching for them, forcing Sophie to figure out how to save the people.

Thoughts on The League of Legend Keepers: Shadows

Characters – Sophie is the teenager daughter of a famous explorer, she has grown up around the world getting the sense of adventure along the way, she has always been fascinated by different stories from around the world including the one surrounding Ohanzee. She is immune to bully’s behaviour and will prove herself in the field by being the one that must battle Ohanzee. Edward is the archaeologist father that has taken his family around the world, his latest job sees them finding themselves in trouble needing to learn about the secret group that have been protecting the world. Travis is the man that recruit Edward on this latest exploration and he knows even more about the legend they might be disturbing. Edison is the science fanatic who lives next door to the Carson’s he becomes friends with Sophie and learns to start standing up for himself.

Performances – Isabella Blake-Thomas in the leading role does stand head and shoulders above the rest of the cast, bringing the modern fearless teenager to life. Richard Tyson, Michael Piccirilli and Gabe Eggerling complete the main cast without every putting a foot role and letting Isabella take centre stage.

Story – The story here follows a family of explorers that will face need to fight an evil the helped discover in the world before it is too late. This does feel like it is one story that would easily work to make the audience entertained, it gives us a legend that could be real that needs to be explored that would create peril, but not be the darkest one they could face, being almost an introduction to characters we could follow for years to come. This is a story that everyone could follow and does have a couple of real-life school issues that Sophie deals with through her adventure in the film.

Family – This is a film that the whole family could enjoy, it will have a couple of more adult laughs, while turning the adventure into a family affair.

Settings – The film takes us to California which while looking great, it just doesn’t seem like a location you would be discovering legends.


Scene of the Movie – Facing the evil.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The League of Legend Keepers introduction.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun family film that can be enjoyed by all the family, it brings us an adventure a family must go through together to save the day.

Overall: Fun Throughout.