a clean, cheesy, predictable chick flick

If you like that sort of thing, then you'll love Leap Year!

I had heard mostly negative reviews of this movie. Things like "generic" and "uninspired". Because of this, I never had high hopes for it even though I wanted to see it after watching the previews. So when I put Leap Year into my Netflix queue, I was expecting pretty much exactly what I got; a cheesy and predictable rom-com.

I think it was because I wasn't expecting much, but I didn't hate this film as much as the critics did. In fact, I kinda liked it! For sure there were some pretty slow parts (like her whole traveling to Ireland escapade), but once she arrives and starts her cross-country trek with the mysterious Irish stranger, there are a few funny and/or idealistically romantic scenes that really redeemed this movie for me. Plus, an added bonus, it was clean! With only a PG rating, there was no language, no sex, nothing you'd be embarrassed to watch with your grandmother, and I found that rather refreshing. Too many movies add scenes that really don't need to be there and practically ruin the movie. But this one steered clear of anything offensive, which made for a nice surprise. It's definitely not the best chick flick or rom-com I've ever seen, but I'm adding it to my list of "I'd watch it again if it ever comes on TV" movies.

We've got ourselves a little musician

 

 

Utah State Fair

We took Sara to the Utah State Fair the day before it left town. She liked going on the rides she was big enough to do. I think her favorite by far (although the photos do not capture it) was the wiggle worm.

 

 Can't you just see the excitement on their faces?! 

Rob rode with her the first time, and then she wanted to ride again, so I went with her because Rob was about to lose his lunch! Haha, just kidding, but he didn't think the ride was nearly as fun as Sara did. After her second turn, I literally had to pry her little fingers off the lap bar. She did NOT want to get off!

She didn't enjoy the merry-go-round quite a much however.

 

 

But she thought the train was okay. 

 And she really loved the big slide! As you can see, I did too.

 

We both wanted to ride it again but the line was too long. 

And to leave you with the ultimate Utah State Fair experience, here is a video of Sara dancing to the music that was playing as we waited for the pig races to start. Yes, that's right; I said pig races. We had front row seats (on the ground) right in front of the racing circle. Sara loved every moment of it.

 

mommy's shorts

Sara decided to put on a pair of my pajama shorts the other day. This was the result (after some help from mommy).

despite the excessive eye poking

I thought this was a good movie.

{via}

Yes it was weird, which is to be expected with the story itself and with Tim Burton directing it, but I would actually criticize that it could have been weirder. The weirdness was actually a little tame I thought. But overall I thought it was an enjoyable and visually entertaining adaptation. The plot is nothing like that of the original animated Disney version, but contains most of the same characters and is supposed to happen 10 years after that encounter. Alice returns to "Underland" to "embark on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror." (so says the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis.)

I liked the themes of Alice discovering that anything is possible if she believes it is, and of breaking through social expectations to stand up for herself, make her own decisions, and find out what she really wants out of life. Or as the film put it, to find her "muchness".

Plus, the use of green screen filming and hybrid human/CG characters (such as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen) was interesting to learn about in the bonus features.

I must say as a point of warning: even though this film earned a PG rating (for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar), I would not recommend this movie for very young kids. The scary parts would probably be a little too much for them to handle. Sara (20-months) started watching it with us and enjoyed the beginning, but once things started to get a little dark down in Underland, we paused it and put her to bed before finishing the rest of the movie. I'm not sure what age to say it would be appropriate for, but I would suggest previewing it before letting your kids see it (if they haven't already!).

Overall rating: worth the watch.