Disney's Upside Down Magic - our thumbs-up review

 

Disney's Upside Down Magic (cc Disney)

Disney Channel (DSTv 303) premiered Disney's Upside Down Magic on 29 January. We as a family enjoyed the movie so much, and Miss Fine watched it more than once. The movie has all the important elements she enjoys now: magic, suspense, humour, friends and friendships, action, and of course, teens being teens. The outsider element of the nerdy characters of the Upside Down Academy proofs that we don't all have to conform to be valuable. 

We give the movie 5/5 for perfect family entertainment. Hopefully a series is on the  cards, or in the making?

See the trailer here: Disney Upside Down Magic trailer on Youtube

We love Arctic Justice - WIN tickets

Arctic Justice in cinemas from 24 January 2020

Going to a cinema to see your favourite movie is still a great outing! Especially for the family. We saw Arctic Justice (see also Arctic Dogs or Polar Squad in other parts of the world) at Cedar Square yesterday morning. It is a sweet movie, with a number of life lessons thrown in the mix. The director is Aaron Woodley, with a great cast including Jeremy Renner, Heidi Klum, James Franco and John Cleese.

We have two tickets up for grabs for a reader of this blog. See below.

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Arctic ice - such a cool awesome movie with great lessons: “Be true to yourself!” #ArcticIce #hosted Swifty and his ragtag group of friends must band together to fight an epic battle. It’s only when Swifty embraces his natural abilities that he is able to save Taigasville—and the Arctic—from utter destruction. #MoviesToSee #MoviesForThrWholeFamily #ThingsToDoWithTheFamy #SterKinekor #EmpireEntertainment

A post shared by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Jan 26, 2020 at 2:51am PST

Marnie's World pre-release screening - WIN tickets for family

Marnie's World - Ster-Kinekor

Ster-Kinekor is having pre-release screenings of Marnie’s World on 26 October. Check out the trailer, Marnie's World on YouTube.

"Pampered pussycat Marnie who does little more than eat and sleep all day is lured into becoming a secret agent. Marnie teams up with a bunch of runaway animals, including a crazy donkey, a chicken and all their friends and sets off on a dangerous mission to track down a gang of notorious thieves."

BEE MORE - Inspirational Bumblebee

Bumblebee - CC Transformers South Africa

Bumblebee, the movie: It's 1987, 20 years before the events of the first Transformer movie. Charlie, an 18-year old not so ordinary girl, discovers a yellow beetle in the local junkyard of a small California beach town. Her dad, who has taught her how to work on cars, has died, and together with a scared and broken Bumblebee they are able to help each other. The antagonists are Sector 9 (a government Agency led by Agent Burns) as well as the Decepticons from Cybertron. See the Trailer

Bumblebee - CC Transformers South Africa

Bumblebee released here on 21 December, and it's still on the circuit. The whole family loved this movie. Most kids can identify with Charlie. She is a worthy female role model for our girls. We, Hubby and I,  also downloaded the Bumblebee soundtrack and has been listening to all the eighties music. We love the eighties time period of the movie.


The movie has been graded for fans from 10 years and older. They are very strict now with the age restrictions. Luckily Miss Fine just made the mark. 

The character of Bumblebee inspires fans to be more when they need motivation and courage. Educational Psychologist, Melanie Hartgill, has put together a list for parents, teachers and caregivers on how to help kids embrace kindness, fearlessness and confidence. To be the BEST they can BE!

Summer of rest

2018 was a tough year. We are still in the last throes of it, and 2019 are going to be tough as well. But, amidst it all, we are having a great rest and great times with family and friends. We even had three days of Christmas. How blessed is that?

Coming to a cinema near you: Smallfoot - Win tickets

"Get Yeti" - SmallFoot Movie poster

Yetis or BIG Foots. Who knew they would be afraid of a SMALLfoot? Thinking of  a humans as a monster mythical creature... This is definitely a must see for the whole family. The movie will be in Ster-Kinekor cinemas from 28 September.

Perfect for the upcoming school holidays. Even better: Watching Smallfoot at the Kid's Cinema would be the perfect outing.

A Yeti called Migo (Channing Tatum) has a run-in with a small foot (a human) after a plane crashes in the Yeti world up in the clouds. Migo is terrified and curious of small foots because Yetis believe they are mythical creatures, in the same way small foots think of Yetis.   When Migo tells his tribe about his encounter, the tribe starts to panic and the stern elder of the tribe banishes him for telling tall tales.
With the help of Meechee (Zendaya) and the Smallfoot Evidentiary Society (S.E.S), which Meechee heads, Migo must come down to Earth and capture a human as evidence that small foots exist. The journey is hilarious, with lots of twists and turns, but it’s equally heart-felt with a message that sometimes what we fear, fears us too, and to never judge anyone based on what they look like.

HOW TO WIN TICKETS TO SMALLFOOT (FILM)

Two readers of this blog can each win a set of 4 family tickets each.

These are the participating cinemas that the winners can win tickets:

Greenstone
Mall @ Carnival
Cedar
CapeGate
N1
Parow
Promenade
Sandton
Gateway
Mall of Africa
Cresta
Eastgate
Blue Route
Cavendish
Tyger Valley
Bayside
Somerset
Irene

HOW TO WIN:

1. Comment below with the Ster-Kinekor cinema (listed above) where you would like to go and see the movie.
2. The competition starts today, and ends Friday 28 September at 12pm.
3. Only residents of South Africa who can get to the cinema by own transport is eligible.
4. The winner will be selected by Random.org and it will be announced here and on Facebook.
5. An entry is only allowed when you have not won here in the past three months.

Good luck, Smallfoots! ;-)

Thanks, Ster-Kinekor, for the opportunity, and for giving us two tickets as well to attend. 


WINNERS:

Congrats to Jessie McKay and Leandra du Toit. Please send your email addresses?

Sgt. Stubby, An Unlikely Hero - Review

#SgtStubbySA

Sgt. Stubby is an unexpected movie, with an unexpected hero. The animated movie of the war trials and heroism of a stray dog during the First World War are epic. Especially since it is based on a true story. The dog formed a strong bond with a his master and battalion. He managed to stay with the dough-boys of the 26th "Yankee" Division at the onset of America's involvement in WWI in Europe.

Stunning Kids' Cinema at Sandton City Mall and how to win a birthday bash

Ster-Kinekor Kids' Cinema at Sandton City Mall

We were invited to a movie at the newly revamped Ster-Kinekor Cinema at Sandton City Mall on Sunday. Miss Fine was truly impressed. She said the seats are really REALLY comfy. Luckily Mom and Dad also get bigger chairs higher up, but some parents ventured onto the smaller seats.

Mom and Dad's view from higher in the cinema

Hoener met die rooi skoene Movie - It's schweet!

Hoener met die Rooi Skoene Premiere at Cedar Square

Hoener met die Rooi Skoene - Translation: Chicken with the Red Shoes🐔👠
(What a crazy movie title, but all is revealed, don't worry!) This new Afrikaans movie starts to show in cinemas on 27 January.

We had the pleasure of attending the premiere at Cedar Square last night! We had a great time eyeballing our local celebrities!

The movie is fun and witty with eccentric characters which makes it well worth the watch! Luckily it is not slapstick humour. We enjoyed the first James Bond scene, and wish there were more of it. The movie could have been a bit shorter, but what do I know? (It was a weekday night, and we were tired!) Lizz Meiring is a genius with the way she portrays a character. This is good escapism, and one of our better Afrikaans movies!
The movie had English subtitles and I hope it will be released like that?

It’s not a children’s movie or a fairytale; neither a drama, but a thriller-comedy from renowned director and producer, Koos Roets.

“It’s an unusual, funny and clever murder mystery filled with unexpected twists and turns. It will keep you on the edge of your seat whilst laughing uncontrollably,” says Lizz Meiring, who is seen in the role of Bonnie van der Byl.

Hoener Met Die Rooi Skoene is magical and original with a cast of unique characters, perfectly suited for the film setting – Klaarstroom, a gem hidden in the heart of the Klein Karoo.

Bonnie is a receptionist at the internationally acclaimed De Waal Theatre Group. Whilst chatting away on the phone, as per usual, her boss, the successful, but unpopular businessman and impresario, Du Toit de Waal (Deon Lotz), is murdered.

Bonnie discovers him on the office table behind her with a dagger in his back.  She phones the police and then goes closer to the body to inspect the situation.  And of course, she collapses, as she always does.  She is woken by the flashlight of Constable Mickey Mentz (André Weideman), only to discover that the body is nowhere to be seen.

The perfect setting for a “who did it?” murder mystery filled with unexpected moments of laughter, twists and turns, orchestrated by Bonnie, her parrot Napoleon and the irritable, flammable, moody inspector, Captain Hendrik Greyling (Louw Venter).

When all the characters and their dirty secrets are brought together for cross examination, weird and wonderful secrets are revealed.

The local Afrikaans film industry is on fire!

Die Afrikaanse filmbedryf kook! Hoener met die Rooi Skoene #premiere #hoenermetdierooiskoene #hoenermovie pic.twitter.com/2u0JNSZV3Y

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) January 19, 2017

Evening made - @hoenermovie premiere @spierwinefarm #merlot #redwine#hoenermetdierooisko… https://t.co/ieY3RieN6N pic.twitter.com/dQ2SpyISAY

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) January 19, 2017

Red carpet pose @lizzmeiring @grethapers @louw_venter @hoenermovie #hoenermetdierooiskoene #hoenermovie @starburstpromotions

A photo posted by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Jan 19, 2017 at 9:54am PST

Barbie in an out of this world adventure – Starlight Adventure

Barbie Starlight Adventure

Barbie® returns for an adventure in an exhilarating new movie, Star Light Adventure. Flying through the galaxy to a faraway universe, the cosmic princess Barbie® and her adorable and trusty new pet Pupcorn will find a world like no other. But this world is in danger. The once bright and sparkling stars have started to slow their dance and fade. Barbie® has been set a new mission - to save the fading stars!

We were invited to a screening of this delightful movie. Although Little Miss does not want to share in class that she attended this event (“They are going to laugh at me!”), she loved the movie and the whole experience on Saturday. I do think that most girls (including me) still love Barbie!
(Some of us just don’t want it to be common knowledge! ;-)

At the beautiful Sci Bono Centre in Newtown

Cupcake decorating

Photo op with Barbie!!

Barbie Starlight Adventure Screening at Sci Bono

You can be anything!

Movie face!

The Barbie Starlight Adventure surprised me. (I needed the catch-up!) I was not aware that Barbie is going into space with cosmic adventures. Do you? There are no barriers anymore for little girls and their dreams!
You can be anything!
A great message that I would like to impart on my daughter on International Day of the Girl today!

So much excitement at #Barbie Starlight Adventure screening #youcanbeanything #starlightadventure @SciBono pic.twitter.com/Mt235EarDK

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) October 8, 2016

Dream big#Barbie #starlightadventure #youcanbeanything

Thanks @helloconversations_ for … https://t.co/yIddhr6sTB pic.twitter.com/UPVwoTdUul

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) October 9, 2016

Do your little ones still play with Barbie?

Win tickets to a pre-screening of The Secret Life of Pets at Ster-Kinekor this Saturday

Celebrate Heritage Day with pre-release screenings of The Secret Life of Pets at Ster-Kinekor this Saturday. This looks like a definite winner for a family outing at the movies!

"Set inside a Manhattan apartment building, a terrier named Max finds his status as favourite pet in jeopardy when his owner adopts a giant, sloppy and careless mongrel called Duke. After being dragged into the city and caught by Animal Control, they're sent to the pound, where they're recruited into an army of lost pets by a bunny named Snowball."
Starring voices of: Ellie Kemper, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart
Directed by:  Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney
Produced by:  Janet Healy

Here is a short trailer for you to watch and get a glimpse at all the exciting adventures ahead:
The Secret Life of Pets - Ster-Kinekor

We have 4 tickets to be won. It would be great for a family still undecided what to do on Saturday 24 September. This is a nationwide pre-screening, so winners can attend at any of their local Ster-Kinekor theatres.

The pre-screening times available for viewing on the Saturday as per follows:
9:15        11:30     14:00     17:00     19:30     22:00

To win 4 tickets:
1. Please comment below and tell me which pet in the movie trailer best describe your pet while you are away from home?
2. Please leave your email address and nearest Ster-Kinekor cinema in South Africa. (Check out the drop-down menu on Ster-Kinekor's website)

The winner will be announced on Thursday 22 September at 9 am SAST.
This give-away is only open to a South African reader who is able to get to the Ster-Kinekor theatre by own transport.


Congratulations!

The winner through Random.org: Charne Ayres!
I will forward your details! Enjoy the movie!

Ice Age: Collision Course - the Crazy the kids will love

Ice Age Collision Course is the fifth instalment in the series. Can they dream up any more crazy? Yes, they do! Luckily we love animated movies just as much as Little Miss.

The plot is crazy!

While trying to bury his acorn, Scrat accidentally activates an abandoned alien ship that takes him into deep space, where he unwillingly sends several asteroids en route of collision with Earth. Meanwhile, Manny is worried about the imminent marriage between Peaches and her fiancé, Julian, while Sid is dumped by his girlfriend, Francine, just as he is about to propose to her. During Manny and Ellie's wedding anniversary party, some of the asteroids strike the place and the Herd barely escape with their lives. Meanwhile at the underground, Buck fights a trio of Dromaeosaurs to return a dinosaur egg to its mother and later discovers an ancient stone monument, which he takes to the surface, where he meets Manny and the others...

Read more: Wikipedia: Ice Age: Collision Course

All the enjoyable characters are back from Ice Age Continental Drift (2012), including Sid, a ground sloth and his "Aunty Acid" granny!

There were some activations at Imax cinemas at a number of Ster Kinekor cinemas this past weekend. We only found the Ice sculpture, face painting and colouring stations after the movie at The Zone in Rosebank... (It was not on the same level.)

Little Miss had a ball!

Leopard face 

Ice sculpture 

Ice Age Collision Course is well worth the movies!


Disclaimer: We got tickets to attend the movie!

"How whoopsey-splunkers!" - The Big Friendly Giant is a delight to young and old

The Big Friendly Giant Movie started to show in movies on 1 July. It 's the perfect movie for families to enjoy together. It is the first ever Disney movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

I have been an avid reader and collector of Roald Dahl's books ever since I became aware of his wonderful humour and wit!

Who else can come up with conversations like this?

'Words,' he [The BFG] said, 'is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they always getting squiff-squiddled around.'
'That happens to everyone,' Sophie said.
'Not like it happens to me,' the BFG said. 'I is speaking the most terrible wigglish.'
'I think you speak beautifully,' Sophie said.
'You do?' cried the BFG, suddenly brightening. 'You really do?'
'Simply beautifully,' Sophie repeated.
'Well, that is the nicest present anybody is ever giving me in my whole life!' cried the BFG.

The BFG movie catches all of the the quirkiness and fantasy of the book!

The BFG movie - photo op

We had the privilege to attend the premiere of The BFG. It was in support of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust. They are setting up the children’s play areas within the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital, by means of stocking a library and mobile library for the use of the young patients, and their families visiting children undergoing treatment. The new hospital is scheduled to open in December 2016.

As part of this drive for the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital Trust they are requesting that you please bring a book or books (suitable for children, new or used, in good condition) to donate to this very worthy cause. You can place the book/s in the branded Book Bin at the cinema, and also at Mango Airlines check-in counters.

Book drop for The Nelson Mandela Hospital Trust

Wordless Wednesday #305 - Father-Daughter date today

A long anniversary weekend

We had a very quiet, but lovely weekend.
It was our anniversary as well, but we kept it low-key this year!
The budget had an impact, and it's 12 years! By now we have figured out we like each other, and we would like to stay... ;-)

No, each year I am reminded again of how lucky I am to be married to this guy! I would not want my life to be any different than being with him! Thanks, D!

We had a movie date on Sunday and went to see The Dressmaker! What a strange but delightful movie this is! But be warned! There are serious plots involved! I am still a bit dazed about all the twists in the movie!
Afterwards we had a light meal in Parkview, and that's all I want in life!
A dinner and a movie with my Hubby! It was a perfect anniversary!

We started the long weekend at our favourite Papachinos, and Little Miss told me to take this video! I don't know why or what, but when she says take a movie, I jump! I shared it on SnapChat (The chances of getting her on screen are few and far between!)


What did you do this past the long weekend?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - I am a fan!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is worth the wait! 

Hubby and I saw it yesterday. We bought tickets for The Student and Little Miss as well, but they were very strict with the 13V age restriction. When we booked it, there was a 13PG on the website!

The Student volunteered to see The Little Prince with Little Miss, who saw it for a second time! (Luckily Nu Metro exchanged the tickets for us!)

We owe The Student BIG TIME!

The favourite characters are back, but also with great new heroes, and Rey is my favourite heroine of all! 

I am not going to give away any of the plot, or shockers! 

Suffice to say that you won't be disappointed!

I am using all of the Star Wars Bitmojis here! They are just so much fun, and it seems they had inside info about the characters and plot!


What do you think of Star Wars?
Have you seen it already?

The New Trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens! #StarWarsTheForceAwakens

To get us salivating! A new trailer has been released!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is definitely one of the GREAT THINGS to look forward to in December!

Tickets are on sale now!!!

ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt.

Because...

Star Wars!

Who is NOT looking forward to it?

Win - Premiere tickets to Disney Descendants, a Disney Channel Original Movie

The teenage kids of Disney's villains are coming to the big screen in September 2015!

Disney’s Descendants is a contemporary live-action adventure comedy that introduces the teenage progeny of Disney’s iconic characters – most notably its evil villains.

Disney’s iconic characters are living out their happy endings in Auradon, a present day idyllic kingdom.  All defeated villains have been exiled to the Isle of the Lost, a remote island where they must spend their remaining days isolated from Auradon’s modern-day luxuries.  Time passes, and the teenage son of King Beast and Queen Belle is poised to take the throne.  His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making descendants of the villains stuck on the Isle of the Lost.  The teenaged kids of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella de Vil are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the teenage progeny of iconic Disney heroes.  The villainous parents see this as an opportunity to use their children to carry out an evil plan that will finally free. 

Three readers of this blog will be able to win tickets (1 ticket allows 4 people entry) to the premiere at IL Grande at the Movies at Montecasino in Fourways on 22 August 2015 at 10 am.

Please leave a comment on this blog about why you would like to attend?
For more info: Disney

The three winners will be drawn on Monday 17 August 2015 morning at 9 am.
(The winners must be able to get to the venue on their own accounts.)

Dove Cameron stars as Mal, teenage daughter of Maleficent

Booboo Stewart as Jay

Mitchell Hope as Prince Ben and Mal

Here's a short glimpse of what to expect:

Winners:

Congratulations!
Please send me your email addresses?

Top Gun relived - with a KFC Big Movie Night

We went to our second KFC Big Movie Night here in Johannesburg.
It is free AND so much fun!

We got to relive Top Gun again. The 80s vibe, fashion style and storyline that does not have that much meat (compared to what we are used to now!), but still very enjoyable!
The little 4-year old boy of a friend stretched his arms and took off each time the fighter planes took off with pyrotechnics and firework displays! Which made Little Missy run too, as well.
We had trouble keeping the jackets and hats on them, because it was ice ice cold. I was still defrosting the next day, but we had to stay until the end!
The kids loved the goodie bags with all the flying toys! And dancing for prizes... And popcorn!
We also had fun in the photo and video booths.

KFC Big Movie Experience

I hope we can do it again, only in summer next time, please!


Related post:
A Big Movie experience - thanks to the Colonel

Posted with Blogsy

Movie clip Monday #29 - 4 year old dancing to jazz music

The first Movie Clip Monday of 2013. She caught me taking the movie, and said "enough" at the end.
 (I have to sneak in a photo or movie clip nowadays...)

We had a great weekend, which started with a picnic and jazz evening on Friday night.

After I had spend an hour stuck in a lift on Friday afternoon, the rest of the weekend was pure joy!
I did not think I would become claustrophobic, but standing in the pitch-dark, and not knowing what is happening is quite frightening.

We had a power outage at work, and it's not fun when a lift door finally opens to only reveal a wall...
Not knowing on what floor you are coming from the tenth floor...

I have learnt that it helps tremendously if you know in  which lift you are climbing before you enter.
(Both of us in the lift did not know in which one we were.)

But it definitely helped that I had my cellphone with me. We could both phone and text our offices, and made sure that security and maintenance knew about us.

Because we only got a very harsh reply (maybe we pressed it too much?) each time we pressed the elevator button: "There's a power failure! Please be patient!"

---------------------------

Hope you had a great weekend?