Tag: family

Movie Reviews

A Bundle of Love and Laughs | Review of ‘The Secret Life of Pets’

By Cynthia Ayala

The Secret Life of Pets starring Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate & Ellie Kemper Universal Pictures Image Credit: IMDB

“The quiet life of a terrier named Max is upended when his owner takes in Duke, a stray whom Max instantly dislikes.”

—IMDB

Where should I start? As an animal lover, I adored this movie, and as a filmgoer, I loved it. This movie had a compelling story to it that also didn’t shy away from what it means to be an animal and an animal lover. Pets get lost all the time, their collars break off, they get taken by animal control, or they are just abandoned. This film touches all of this making this a dynamic movie to behold. The best part about that is that it has a lot of heart, it has a lot of strength, and it has a lot of humor in it. This film is an adventure in the eyes of lost dogs and his friends as they try to find him and bring him back home.

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Movie Reviews

Colorful, Adventurous, but Poorly Written | Review of ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’

By Cynthia Ayala

Alice Through the Looking Glass starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter & Anne Hathaway
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image Credit: IMDB

Alice returns to the whimsical world of Wonderland and travels back in time to help the Mad Hatter.

    —IMDB

Another vibrant whimsical film following Alice (Mia Wasikowska) through Wonderland and Time in order to save her best friend, The Mad Hatter. Why? Because he Mad Hatter has gone Mad, and not in a good way…or so everyone thinks. This leads Alice through an adventure of time travel, but Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) warned her that she cannot change the past, only learn from it.
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Movie Reviews

A Fun Solid Animated Feature | Review of ‘The Angry Birds Movie’

By Cynthia Ayala

Th Angry Birds Movie starring Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad & Danny McBride
Columbia Pictures
Image Credit: IMDB

Find out why the birds are so angry. When an island populated by happy, flightless birds is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to three unlikely outcasts – Red, Chuck and Bomb – to figure out what the pigs are up to.

—IMDB

Okay, let’s be honest here: no one expects Angry Birds to be good, after all, it’s based off a game where you throw birds into pigs because they are stealing eggs. But guess what, this movie was actually incredibly entertaining, and much like with Warcraft, the writers were able to put together a strong story and strong characters based on a mobile game that had very little of both.
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Entertainment & News

Book of the Month Poll – July 2016

By Cynthia Ayala

Hey there avid readers and book lovers, another month means another book of the month poll where you get to vote on what novel you believe should be the book of the month for July. If you want your favorite to win, remember to share and encourage others to vote. You can leave your vote in the comments section with just the title of the vote, likes on the comment will not count, but replies mentioning which novel you would like to win do. You can also head on over to Pollcaster by clicking the link here or on the picture below. Here are the selections for this month:
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Movie Reviews

‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Forms a Perfect Circle | Review of ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’

By Cynthia Ayala

Kung Fu Panda 3 starring Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman & J. K. Simmons
20th Century Fox
Image Credit: Kernels Corner

Living large and loving life, Po realizes that he has a lot to learn if he is going to fulfill the next challenge from his beloved instructor. After reuniting with his long-lost father, Po must transition from student to teacher and train a group of fun-loving, clumsy pandas to become martial-arts fighters. Together, the kung-fu brethren unite to take on the evil Kai, a supernatural warrior who becomes stronger with each battle.

—Google

Kung-Fu Panda 3 is the third and film in the Kung-Fu Panda franchise and delivers laughs and love on every level.
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Book Reviews

An Enigmatic Gothic Tale | Review of ‘Black Rabbit Hall’

By Cynthia Ayala

Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Amber Alton has spent all her summers in Black Rabbit Hall, there was always a light that lit up the country estate. Summer was perfect, until the day that devastation struck. Now the perfect summers became ghosts of what they once were.
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Entertainment & News

Weekly Reading List #27

By Cynthia Ayala

Hey there readers! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Mine wasn’t that bad, I worked a 9+ hr shift at the theater and it wasn’t as busy as it was last year and no one gave me an attitude for once! Everyone was in the Christmas spirit which made me very happy. And it’s nice to be around my coworkers who are all amazing. I love my bosses and my coworkers and they really are appreciative of all the hard work. The theater may not pay me enough but at least I have a job and great bosses for which I am grateful.

But anyway, I hope that everyone spread the cheer and had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. Here’s what’s coming up on my reading list soonish followed by a short piece of what I’m reading now. I thought I should include that since it’s been a while since I last posted one of these updates.
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Movie Reviews

A Hilarious Next Generation Film | Review of ‘Vacation’

By Cynthia Ayala

‘Vacation’ starring Ed Helms & Christina Applegate
Warner Bros. Pictures

Rusty Griswold, the youngest child from 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation is all grown up with a family of his own and fond childhood memories of a certain family road trip to Walley World, “America’s Favorite Family Fun Park.” Like his father, Clark, Rusty wants to forge closer bonds with his own family – wife Debbie and boys James and Kevin – so he buys a souped-up Albanian van and convinces them to set off on their own crazy cross-country jaunt to Walley World.

—Erin Demers, Rovi

Fans of the original never fear, Vacation had all the wit and charm of the originals and was pure hilarity.
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Book Reviews

A Delightfully Deep Ghost Story | Review of ‘The Accident Season’

By: Cynthia Ayala

The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Corgi Childrens

Every year, it is the same. In October, bones break, skin scrapes and danger haunts every step. Every year Cara and her family become inexplicably accident-prone, and with each passing year, the season becomes one of obsession and fear. However, Cara has a haunting feeling that something else is connected, something that may connect to a missing friend. Are they connected or is the family obsession driving her mad?

Published August 18, 2015 by Corgi Childrens, The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle is a contemporary young adult paranormal mystery that follows young Cara as she and her family navigates growing up while surviving the curse that plagues their family every October.
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Movie Reviews

An Emotional Groundbreaker | Review of ‘Inside Out’

By: Cynthia Ayala

Inside Out starring Amy Poehler & Phyllis Smith
Walt Disney

For Riley, growing us just got a little harder. Uprooted from her Midwest life and sent to San Francisco where her father starts his new job, Riley has to start all over. Riley, like everyone, is guided by her emotions who life in the control center of Riley’s mind. They are Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness and they help advise her through everyday life, influencing her decisions and the way she acts. But even her emotions need to adjust, and they aren’t doing too well when Joy and Sadness get sucked away into Core Memory. And as they travel back, trying to find their way back, the other emotions have to try and navigate the world without them.
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