Picture Book Review: Curious George and the Puppies

Curious George and the Puppies, based on characters of Margret Rey and H.A. Rey, Vipah Interactive, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1998.
One place you should not take George to is the shelter, especially when there are puppies around; and you should not tell George to stay by himself while you sign papers, and ask him to not be curious.  It just isn't going to happen.  However, the only good thing is the mother puppy, who gets loose with all the puppies, knows where her missing pup is, she can smell him of course.  So even thought the puppies get out and cause all kinds of problems, they are able to get them back in the cage, and guess what George gets to bring home.  I love Curious George.  Tony and I use to watch all the PBS episodes.

Movie Review: ****A Fish Story (2013)

This is a brilliant find from Netflix Instant.  It is presented from Lumberjack Films, and appears to be of Canadian origin; the actors are American or Canadian.  This movie is as intriguing as "Ghost," without the sexualized mumbo jumbo.  Nick (Sam Roberts) has put his family life on hold, building a cabin by a lake.  It is finally done, and he wants to introduce it to his family.  Just a few more touches, and he is going to take them fishing like he promised.  His best friend in the community is the chief of police.  He mentions someone his burglarizing many in the neighborhood, so as Nick drives to the cabin, this person jumps in front of him.  Avoiding the collision, Nick rolls the truck, and dies.  The chief comes upon him, and seeing someone fleeing from the scene, calls for backup, and pursues him, leaving Nick alone as he dies.
Turn of fate, the individual, Eddie (Eddie McClintock) who walked in front of him steals a boat, and crashes, and also passes away.  Nick is there to meet him in spirit.  However his body stirs.  Eddie doesn't want to return to his body, and allows Nick to do so.  This is an interesting twist, because Nick is given time with his family to keep his promise and say goodbye, but in the body of the many who caused his accident.  Nick's children have discovered the body, and take the injured many home.
This movie is a good presentation of a family in crisis.  Can they accept this man into their life; and how can he and they move on?
Very entertaining and engaging.  This is a good family film.  there is some drinking as part of the coping, but this is confronted in the movie.
Nick's wife is portrayed by Jayne Heitmeyer.  His children by Jordyn Negri, Jamie Spilchuk and Steven Yaffee.  Eddie McClintock has a very difficult role as he portrays two men in the same body, and has to convince us that he has changed.  Roberts has a double roll in production as he is also credited with writing the story.

Music Review: Brilliant Elvis Love Songs & Gospel favorites

I must admit the gospel favorites appeal to me more than the love song.  However this C.D. includes "Now or Never" which is a song that moves me and is a favorite.  Of the gospel songs I would personal recommend "Joshua Fit the Battle" and "I Believe in the Man in the Sky."  I like the feel of this music.  It is not the diet of rock and roll but more a gospel, jazzy kind of feel.

Picture Book review: Curious George at the Parade

Curious George at the Parade, based on Margret and H.A. Rey, Vipah Interactive, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1999.
George has a way of getting into trouble.  This time at the parade he mistakes a float with a palm tree and coconuts for a snack.  He pulls and pulls, and snap the tree breaks disrupting the parade.  However the other thing Curious George books have in common is somehow George saves the day.  This time he untangles the ropes on some of the big balloons, and ends up riding with the mayor.

Movie Review: ***Ice Age Collision Course (2016)

This is a the fifth in a series of Ice Age movies.  In this movie our Ice Age friends are faced with an asteroid headed to earth with sure extinction results as happened with the dinosaurs before.  This time the mammals are headed for destruction, but a sort of adventurer weasel, Buck (Simon Pegg) has figured out that they are doomed if they don't do anything.  This is a show also about relationship.  Our mammoth family (Ray Romano and Queen Latifah) is facing a daughter (Keke Palmer) getting married to a strange mammoth (Adam Devine), the saber teeth tiger (John Leguizamo and Jennifer Lopez) decide to have a baby, the sloth meets someone, the grandma sloth finds true love.  This movie is underscored with the nut chasing what ever it is, who gets in a space ship and knocks all the planets and everything around.  This character has been featured in many cartoons.
I took three boys, Skylar is three, he laughed the most, Jessi 6 says he was just angry, and Tony was mildly amused.  There were a couple spots of potty humor, but it didn't overwhelm the story.

Picture Book Review: Curious George's Dream

Curious George's Dream, based on the characters of Margret and H.A. Rey, Vipah Interactive, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1998.

This is another good book based on the characters of H.A. Rey and Margret Rey.  Again George is a curious monkey, but a good monkey.  In this movie, as the title indicates George has a dream.  He had a sad day at the amusement park because he was too small.  But in his dream George has a miserable time because he is too big.  Too big to hold the bunnies, too big to fit in a roller coaster car, and too big for the Man in the Yellow Hat to hold him.

James Bond Movie Review: ****^ Spectre (2015)

James Bond (Daniel Craig) delivers a punch.  Before M died she asked him to kill a man, and then attend the funeral.  Which he does, and there starts to find the vast organization.  He first goes to the widow, Lucia (Monica Bellucci) who has been marked by the organization for death.  She does not defect with Bond, givres him information about the organization.  Even when headquarters goes silent because all spy agencies have been compromised by Spectre which is putting dummy people in charge of the world's intelligence.  M (Ralph Fiennes) says Bond is on his own.  One major act, blowing up many towns, and they will be in.  The 007 program will be deleted.  C (Andrew Scott) is a major part in this, as he is a double agent.  

But Bond is on the trail after seeing an old nemesis, Mr White (Jesper Christensen) a member of Spectre he killed years prior.  How could that be?  Because of this lapse Bond goes to the psychiatrist, Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) the daughter of Mr. White for examination.  He tells her of her father's death, but she does not want to help him.  He is humiliated, but when he sees the psychiatrist being kidnapped he rescues her.  She blames him for her trouble.  However she is helpful.  Her father was in Spectre.  She agrees to go with him to discover what happened to her father.  They finally meet the head of Spectre, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).  He makes her watch the suicide of her father.  There is a terrible scene of Bond being tortured, with the girl and Bond's bomb watch saving the day.  This time Bond needs help.  There is a vast spy satellite network which is to go online and replace all spying agencies.  This is controlled by Spectre, and C is a big part.   M and Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) must tackle the new intelligence web and stop the bombs by hacking their computer system. C falls to his death in a fight with M.  

Bond confronts Blofeld, but can't get to him.  He discovers he has to save Madeleine.  He is able to save her and then he chases Blofield in a boat while Blofeld is in a helicopter.  The helicopter crashes with Blofeld inside.  He is arrested, rather than killed.

I think this Bond movie is very well done, with a good balance between action and intrigue.  Of course Spectre has a strongman.  Hinx (Dave Bautista).  At one time he pokes someone's eyes in.  But he is often chasing Bond and usually coming out on the best end of the fights.  

Updated after new watching of the DVD 12/11/2025