May 19th, 2010 larry
A big welcome to our guest reviewer Megan (insert applause here)! She took her boys to see a preview of Shrek Forever After last weekend and here is what she thought of it…
DISCLAIMER: I have not seen either Shrek 2 or Shrek 3, so I cannot say anything about the continuing storyline in the series. However, as a stand alone movie I will say that Shrek 4 is very funny. I cannot recall the last time a children’s movie made me laugh as hard as this one did. It was well written, had a great soundtrack and can be enjoyed by young and old alike.
Shrek (Mike Myers) has settled into a life of domesticity with Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and has grown weary of the day to day routine. He longs to be an ogre and instill fear in people as he used to. Meanwhile, Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) is still upset that Shrek rescued Fiona before he was able to trick her parents in to signing over Far, Far Away to him. Rumpelstiltskin plays on Shrek’s vulnerability and tricks him into signing a contract that exchanges a day from Shrek’s past so that he can have one day to do as he wishes.
Unfortunately for Shrek, Rumpelstiltskin chooses to take the day Shrek was born so it’s as though Shrek never existed. Although he starts out enjoying his day by scaring everyone as he used to, he soon realizes that he has been duped. None of his friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), who has grown fat and lazy and, more importantly, Fiona remember him. In the alternate version of Far, Far Away Rumpelstiltskin is now king and Fiona is the leader of a group of warring ogres who have been forced to hide underground because they are constantly hunted by a group of witches working for Rumpelstiltskin .
The only way for Shrek to void the contract is to share “True Love’s Kiss” with his true love. He must convince Fiona that she loves him. Along the way Rumpelstiltskin does his best to keep them apart by using his witches to battle them. Of course true love always prevails in the end.
Rumpelstiltskin was my favorite character - the perfect combination of greed and buffoonery. He had different wigs for different situations, such as when he called to his lackeys, “Bring me my angry wig.”
I definitely recommend the movie. It was enjoyable enough that I imagine we will have a repeat viewing at the theater before it’s gone.
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May 11th, 2010 larry
Having enjoyed Iron Man 1 immensely, we just had to go see Iron Man 2 in the first weekend. With over $100 million in the first weekend, we weren’t the only ones who thought about it. Some of the the cast is back including Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper, Jon Favreau as the body guard, and Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man. They ditched Terrance Howard as Rhodey for Don Cheadle, brought in Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, and Mickey Rourke as the bad guy.
First, the plot, well, the plot is kind of all over the place. The movie has about 6 sub plots: the energy that keeps Tony Stark alive is also poisoning him; Mickey Rourke wants revenge from the Stark family because they stole his father’s inventions; Hamme (Sam Rockwell) is trying to take over Stark Industries as the number 1 weapons supplier; the government wants Stark to turn over Iron Man to the government; Pepper is taking over as CEO of Stark Enterprises; and Nick Fury wants Iron Man to join Shield. None of these stories actually fit together really well and the movie bounces back and forth between the different story lines. Jon Favreau (director) said in an interview he was confused as why they had Tony Stark admit he was Iron Man at the end of the first movie. The confusion continues in Iron Man 2.
However, this is an entertaining movie. Robert Downey is great as the wise cracking Stark who doesn’t seem to take anything seriously. His dialogue is very funny and keeps the audience laughing. Definitely the best non-action scene, is Tony Stark being grilled by a Senate committe about Iron Man. The Committee leader is Gary Shandling and the back and forth between Downey and Shandling is hysterical. The action is of course great.
I always think that if they can’t put together a plot, just go crazy on action. This is not wall to wall action unfortunately, but the fights against Mickey Rourke, Whiplash, are very cool. And in another scene Don Cheadle, War Machine, fights Iron Man (Iron against Iron) and the hand to hand combat between the two iron men is really cool. Scarlett’s Black Widow action scene is really cool but fleeting. Mickey Rourke is just a gross bad guy who plays the part well. He wields an energy whip that cuts through everything but Iron Man’s suite so the fights are pretty intense, repulsor blasts against laser whips.
So I was really confused walking out of the theater. I was definitely entertained but really can’t call this a great movie like the first one. It was definitely not as bad as a flop as the second James Bond with Daniel Craig but they missed an important opportunity. It is PG-13 but it was really just comic book violence, no swearing, and not a difficult story to follow. You should see this in the theater with really great sound because of the flying and explosions are immense. And if you are really into the comic book, Marvel is doing some really cool things getting the Avengers together and tying the Hulk (Robert Downey was at the end of the last Hulk), Spiderman, Iron Man, and the soon to be Thor and Captain America movies together.
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Larry
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May 4th, 2010 larry
After seeing Planet 51 on Saturday morning, my kid had so many questions about outer space we went to check out the new exhibit at the Adler Planetarium, Planet Explorers. Sponsored by Boeing, Planet Explorers is a fun way to educate kids on the space program. Planet Explorers is free with admission which is $10 for adults ($8 for Chicago residents) and $6 for kids ($5 for Chicago residents). Also, currently playing at the Planetarium is three movies: Night Sky Live, Cosmic Collisions (narrated by Robert Redford), and One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure.
But we were there to see the new Planet Explorers exhibit. The exhibit is a combination of interactive games and learning as well as physical activity. When you walk in, it starts with telescopes where you can look at a fake sky and practice looking at the stars. But we quickly found costumes which is the key to a successful museum visit. At the Shedd, you can wear SCUBA equipment and my kid played with the submarine for over an hour. At Adler, your kid can wear a really cool astronaut jacket and a moonwalk backpack. He didn’t take it off for the 2 hours we were there.
Once in uniform, we checked out the various exhibits. On the interactive game side, you can take off and land a rocket (you watch the planet get close while landing and far away on take off), you can also go through a countdown where the computer gives you information on space ships and asks you to hit different color buttons (fake smoke and fire show up at launch), you can search for your house by zooming in on the earth (you can actually get close enough to see your own house, our picture was about 2 years old because we still had the sandbox in the back), and you can steer a robotic arm in space to turn on different light, and you can use a joystick to dock your space ship at the space station. Through many of these games, you are exploring and learning about a fictitious planet called Planet X (which I told my kid was right next to Planet 51).
On the physical side there was just as much fun. There are remote control planet rovers that you can steer around the surface of Planet X, you can crawl under Planet X and pop up above the surface in these little bubbles to say hit to your parents, there were spongy moon rocks that you can use to build things or throw at your friends and parents, there was a space station erector set, and maybe most interestingly was an area that gave you the feeling of walking in space. This last exhibit was really interesting. The room was pitch dark with little points of light and you walked on a little bridge that was completely see through and dark underneath. It was pretty disorienting and my kid must have walked through it 50 times, pretending he was space walking.
All in all, our kid loved the exhibit and learned a little bit about space travel and the planets. The exhibits were still a little new and some of the technology was a little clunky, and in the case of the remote control rovers, really buggy. But if you want to walk into space in a fantastic astronaut jacket, this is a great place to kill a couple of hours.
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Larry and Donna
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April 28th, 2010 larry
My son and I were lucky enough to get a “sneak peak” at Emerald City Theatre’s upcoming show, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, based on Mo Willems wonderful books. The show will not be premiering until January 2011, but it was fascinating to see the early process of staging a production. In addition to Pigeon (January-March 2011), the upcoming Emerald City Theater season consists of Pinkalicious (August-October 2010), The Wizard of Oz (November-December 2010), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (February-May 2011). All shows will be at the Apollo Theater in Chicago, are recommended for children 3 and up, and are 60 minutes long. Even though the season doesn’t begin until August, Season Subscriptions are available now.
Emerald City is our favorite theater company for young children in Chicago. If you’ve been reading our reviews for a while, you’ll know we have recommend almost every show we’ve seen. They have a great knack for getting the kids laughing and participating that makes their shows really fun. Last week we were invited to a staged reading of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus that was performed for parents, children, educators, and theater folks. It was an opportunity for the director and cast to work through the script and get feedback from a small audience. Even though there were virtually no costumes or props we were all connected to the characters and stories.
It was especially fun to see the kids getting into the show- -they loved it and were totally involved. So it goes without saying that I whole-heartedly expect this show to be fantastic! They have created a 4 act format where the pigeon asks to drive the bus, eat a hot dog, have a puppy, and stay up late. I love the silly and dry humor of the books and even at this early stage they are hitting all the right notes. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
The other entries in the 2010/2011 season sound equally entertaining. It’s a great combination of current favorites and classics. Even though I do not have a daughter, I’d have to live under a rock not to know how popular the Pinkalicious stories are. The production they are putting on has had a super successful run Off-Broadway. It centers around our heroine getting sick and turning pink from head to toe. Mom, Dad and Little Bro have to convince her that eating greens will help her get better. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard of Oz are adaptations of the timeless stories we all love. The challenge with these is how to pare down the stories to fit one hour time frames. Emerald City did a great job with Cinderella and Peter Pan, so I have faith that these new productions will follow in their footsteps.
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April 21st, 2010 larry
Friday is cartoon night at our house. Both the Cartoon Network and Nicktoons provide a blazing lineup of cartoon action including Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Wolverine and the X-Men, Star Wars: Clone Wars (part 1 of the season finale on Friday), Batman Brave and the Bold, Teen Titans, Johnny Test, and Speed Racer. It is definitely a little testosterone heavy but combined with a D’Augustinos Pizza it is a great night. This Friday, two new series are premiering on the Cartoon Network, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, 7:00, and Generator Rex at 7:30
Ben 10 is one of our favorite cartoons, maybe our absolute favorite. Ultimate Alien is the 3rd incarnation of this series. Ben 10 was a young boy that found a watch (the Omnitrix) that can turn him into one of 10 different aliens (my favorite is a big red guy with four arms, called Four Arms. Then as a teenager, there was Ben 10: Alien Force. He teams up with his sister Gwen (who is a sorceress) and his friend Kevin (turns into the material he touches). His watch had new aliens like Humongasourus and Way Big. Now, in Ultimate Alien, his watch is called the Ultimatrix. There are new aliens and there are also Ultimate versions of old Aliens.
Ben 10 has great action, interesting stories, powerful alien characters, and great bad guys. Ben 10 is also one of the funniest cartoons out there. Ben’s bumbling faces criticism and sarcasm from Kevin and Gwen and there is quite a bit of name calling among friends. Ben’s watch malfunctions constantly and he turns into the wrong alien at the wrong time. If your kid is into superheroes, tune into Ben 10.
The makers of Ben 10 have a brand new series called Generator Rex. Rex is a boy who can turn parts of his body into different weapons. He has Smackhands that are huge fists to bully bad guys. His arm can turn into a rocket launcher and jet packs come out of his back. He can control other machines and actually cure evil machines as well, turn them into good guys. Rex has lost all of his memories so this is sure to be recurring theme as he tries to figure out who he is, if he has a family, and even his real name.
We’ll review both shows after the premiere on Friday night.
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April 14th, 2010 larry
Magical, Surprising, Funny. If you have a young child (3-6 years old), please go see The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favourites. I know you will love it. Three Eric Carle tales are read by a narrator and performed by truly gifted puppetry performers. The show has a short run at the Field Museum through May 2, 2010. Tickets cost $35 for adults and $25 for children 10 and under. Performances are every day except Mondays.
There are many reasons that this show is so perfect. First there is the wonderful puppetry. All the items glow under black lights, while the performers are dressed in black so they are completely invisible. This combination allows for very simple items to be used to great effect. The set pieces are just flat painted boards, but they elicit oohs and aahs from the kids as they move from one story to the next. The puppets range from flat boards for “Little Cloud” to more movable puppets for the “Mixed-Up Chameleon” and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” They are not complicated puppets, but they move with so much personality that the stories are delightful. Plus it’s a reverent and straightforward depiction of Eric Carles’ illustrations. Honestly you have to see the show to understand it’s simple beauty.
The intimate venue lends itself well to the production. If you are saying to yourself that you didn’t know there was a theater inside the Field Museum, that’s because there isn’t one. This show is in a large room, with a few chairs. Most of the audience sits on the floor. There is no stage, the set is on the floor in front of you. I was impressed that they do not pack the room. I was there for a sold out performance and it was very comfortable. Toddlers wandered around and all the older kids got to sit close to the performance.
Right at the start they announce that this is a “Non-Shushing Show.” This is good because I have been to few shows where the audience was so involved. Big “OH MY GOSHes” when Little Cloud broke the plane of the set and came towards them, to “WOOOW’s” at the set changes, to “HE’s GONNA EAT IT” as the Mixed-Up Chameleon admires the little fly. Of course the kids all got into saying the the famous line from Caterpillar, “But he was still hungry.” Adorable!
The three story structure lends itself very well to this age group. There is constantly something new to see and there is never a lull. The 50 minutes fly by and you want more. After the show the performers give away some of the secrets of the show and answer questions from the audience. The kids could not get enough of it as they were all so curious about the puppets and the effects. I’ll admit that I was fascinated too, and was shocked to learn that there were only two performers and one assistant. It was amazing what they accomplished - so simple and beautiful.
What more can I say - go see this show.
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April 7th, 2010 larry
Rink Side is located in Gurnee, directly in Gurnee Mills and is a combination of indoor sports and arcades for ages 5 and up. Rink Side is open 7 days a week including Christmas and Thanksgiving but we found it very conveniently open on Easter when even the bar we wanted to go to or lunch was closed.
We started with Mini Golf which cost $5 a person. The Mini Golf is black light lit with an underwater theme. Holes include hitting into a shark’s mouth, golfing underneath a turtle, with coral obstacles. The golf course wasn’t too dark or too difficult and the 5 year old got a hole in one when he took a break from looking at his bright white socks under the black light.
The arcade has a great deal where you get $5 of free tokens if you buy $20. There isn’t really anything unusual in the arcade but they have a big kids section (guns and battle), lots car and motorcycle racing, skeeball, mini-bowling, and air hockey. We didn’t think the games were that new or original, but it didn’t stop us from spending $20.
The laser tag is pretty straight forward. It was one level with cyclinders standing all over the arena where you can hide behind and ambush opponents. The laser tag arena takes up to 24 people which is great for parties. When it is not too crowded, they will begin a game whenever you want and you get about 15 minutes worth of playing time. Laser Tag is $6 per person or two games for $5 a person or three games for $4.
If that is not enough for you there is also an ice skating rink (for open hours, hockey, and lessons) and a tornado carnival ride. There seemed to be a million things to do at Rink Side and everytime we stopped playing, we saw something new to do. The people were especially nice and helpful which doesn’t alway happen at the bigger entertainment complexes. The food was nothing special but who has time to eat anyway when you have laser tag and ice skating. We don’t think this is the right place for kids under 5, maybe 4 at the youngest, but we did over 3 hours at Rink Side and could have done 3 more.
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Donna and Larry
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March 30th, 2010 larry
On April 10, The Verve Pipe is in town for the next leg of Schuba’s Family Series Shows. The band that formed in 1992 had a number one hit with “The Freshman” in 1997, and has kept touring and making music ever since. As they have continued to innovate, the band has now recorded a kids album called simply “A Family Album.” We got a chance to catch up with Donny Brown, one of the original band members and founders to find out about teaching music to kids and today’s music landscape.
Donny has been playing music every since he was a kid, starting with drums and moving to guitar as he started writing his own music. He had multiple brothers that sang lead in rock bands. Donny now teaches drums and song writing to interested musicians ranging from ages 6 to 43. Donny has advice for parents trying to get their kids interested in music, “The key is really listening to your kid and getting them to talk about music. Getting them to tell you what they like and don’t like, and showing them that you are really curious.”
According to Donny, kids will then get curious as well, “Once they are curious, and you cultivate it, the kids will take it from there. I have kids 7 or 8 years old in my classes, coming up with their own music, having the best time singing and playing. I listen to the music and its really good and they came up with it all on their own.”
Last year, The Verve Pipe were approached to contribute a song to a family compilation album, called Calling All Kids. Creating one song wound up creating bits and pieces of several songs, “Brian (co founder) and I wrote an idea or two. We sweetened each other’s ideas, realized that what we had worked and put a smile on our face. When our manager heard it, he said ‘It has great spirit, let’s go down this road and see where it goes.’”
And so, A Family Album was born. The album is a collection of funny lyrics laid on top of upbeat rocks songs. The album starts with the upbeat ”Wake Up” which proclaims “Its fun to wake up early.” The album talks about true issues that kids face in ”We Had To Go Home” which documents the different reasons you may have to quit having fun and go home (like bad manners). The band really hits a homerun with the anthem, “Cereal” that screams the chorus, “I love my cereal!” The song has become a morning ritual at our house to see who can yell it the loudest. We also have giggle during the countryish tune “Suppertime” which asks the real difficult questions like, “Why do they call it a hamburger when there is no ham in it? Why do they call it a sandwich when there is no sand it? I don’t care, I am still having it.”
The Verve Pipe has been touring all over the east coast doing rock and kids shows and it will be great to have them in Chicago. Donny talks about what is different about playing in front of kids, “You take strength from the innonce of the kids. There is no fooling them, they are going to tell you what they like and what they don’t. They have no filter and its a beautiful thing.”
And what would they like to teach the kids, “We feel so grateful to be able to play our music and to be listened to. We want to teach that lesson to the kids, be grateful to your parents and be grateful for life. Things cost money and that is why Dad has to work that extra shift. That is the way my Dad did it.”
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March 25th, 2010 larry
Friend, member and city-mom-of-3 Allison took her 5 year old daughter to see Beauty and the Beast Wednesday night at the Cadillac Palace Theatre and LOVED IT. The show is having a brief run in Chicago, March 25-April 4, 2010. Just checked and there are still tickets available for the Wednesday March 31st matinee. It would be a memorable Spring Break activity. Tickets are priced from $15-$77.50. Read Allison’s review here:
My daughter and I had the pleasure of seeing the fantastic performance of Beauty and the Beast tonight!!! It is the classical Disney story in all of its glory, complete with over the top costumes, dancing and of course, all the favorite songs. Parking near the theater is tricky and the parking garage is expensive. I recommend using the brownline to the Washington/Welles stop, walking the one block North to Randolph and the theater is right there.
The show is not just for the young Disney fans either, the crowd was filled with both men and women alike of all ages. Of course, it was extra entertaining to see all the “young Belle’s” dressed up and singing along. Although the performance follows the Disney tale we all know, there is added adult humor along the way to keep the grown-ups laughing too. My 5 year old daughter was highly entertained from start to finish, but I do recommend trying for an afternoon performance if you can. The show is long, about two and half hours total with a 15 minute intermission. It made for a late night, but definitely worth it! If you are unable to see this show, there are several other kid friendly Broadway shows to check out at the theater this summer and early Fall.
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March 17th, 2010 larry
After playing with our new Monster 4 LEGO board game all weekend, we decided to take a trip back to LEGOLAND to see what was new and interesting. LEGOLAND is in Schaumburg in the Streets of Woodfield Mall and showcases master LEGO creations, general LEGO toys and pieces, movies, and rides. Tickets are anywhere from $12-$22 a person depending on when you want to go, but unlimited access is only $32/year if you have a LEGO junkie.
The last time we visited LEGOLAND was right after they opened in Summer 2008. At the time we were very excited about the newaddition to the Chicago children’s scene. But I have to say many things have changed about LEGOLAND in the last year and a half, including my opinion of it.
The entire first floor that showcases amazing LEGO creations by Master LEGO Builders is very similar, if not identical to the way it was 2 years ago. It is educational, beautiful, and a highlight of the visit. You enter into Miniland Chicago. The LEGO people surveyed locals to find out which buildings were most iconic to Chicagoans and scaled them down perfectly. These replicas are stunning and it’s fun to go through and pick out your favorite architectural landmarks — brownstones, Sears Tower, John Hancock, and Museum of Contemporary Art are just a few. The space then flows into the Jungle Expedition, again a mind-boggling display of LEGO art. You can choose to pick up an age-appropriate scratch card so you can look around the Jungle and answer questions with your kids.
Next is the Hall of Fame with pop culture characters made of LEGOs, which brings you to the Dragon Ride, a tame amusement-parkish ride through a medievil world. It’s not scary, but does include a Dragon and a dark space with bats on the ceiling. Nothing looks too realistic since, of course, everything is made of LEGOs.
Upstairs is the LEGO Factory, which briefly and comically shows how LEGOs are made. All children get to take a souvenir LEGO as they exit. The 4-D movie is Bob the Builder and is an enjoyable 14 minutes. You wear 3-D glasses and the 4-D effects are added with blowing air, spraying water, and falling snow. The movie is very simple, but if your kids scare easily they may not like being surprised by the 4-D effects.
The LEGO Playzone, where all of the action is, has gone through major changes. All of which are negative. Where there used to be six different LEGO areas, organized by age, there are now only three. Gone are the areas for older builders, the “earthquake” zone, and the dedicated toddler area. The space is now being used for a weak revolving amusement park ride. Pretty disappointing considering this is LEGOLAND.
The car building area is different. Parents now have to hand over their ID to be given tires for your kid to build a car, so you’ll be watching like a hawk any time the car crashes and comes apart. There are a lot less options of LEGOS to build with as well. In the past you could make monster trucks and pull back cars, but all those pieces are no longer offered. There used to be car chassis, but now the kids just have LEGO to use. This isn’t inherently bad, but the cars do not stay together as well.
Kids still have a ton of fun in this area though. You can climb stairs to two different ramps to zoom your cars down. For little kids, you may want to help your kid out by standing at the bottom of the ramp to retrieve their car because it is quite competitive and kids swarm the cars at the bottom. Even better than the ramps is the race track. The race track is also a ramp with a silver gate that you place the cars behind. There are 5 or 6 slots for cars to race at a time. Pushing a button on the track causes a timer to count down from three. The light goes from red to green after the screen says 1, the silver gate lowers and the cars race down the track. Kids cheer on their cars, there are crashes, and the pandemonium to retrieve the car and place it back on the track for the next race is on. Sometimes, kids line up cars two or three deep for the race.
LEGO Girls has morphed into a girls area called Princess Palace. It is surprisingly isolated in it’s own little area. All of the LEGOs are some shade of pink, and cars are replaced with dolls, houses, and animals. I would not say that all of the girls were playing in Princess Palace, but definitely the majority. Right in this area is also a Model Workshop. Model builders will teach kids how to build complicated LEGO structures every 60 minutes or so. The climbing maze is still there as well.
The area with oversized LEGO’s is great, but I miss the dedicated toddler area. The day we were there, big kids were building forts and skyscrapers only to knock them over. There is no way it would have been safe for a little child to be in there with them.
Overall, my impression of LEGOLAND was not as good as it was two years ago. The rides and the 4-D movie are pretty lame. Kids might try them once, but they are no reason to visit LEGOLAND. Honestly, there is no way you come back to LEGOLAND for anything other then the LEGO Playzone, and they have made this area less family friendly then it was in the past. We had an enjoyable 1.5 hour visit, but I do not believe it is worth the entrance fees they charge. That being said, there are a lot of coupons for LEGOLAND out there. If you can get a 2 for 1 coupon or the $5 admission deal, you should go and see for yourself.
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Donna
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