A Modern Mother

Never Say Never 3D European Premiere and our 60 seconds with Justin Bieber

  
Yesterday was a bit surreal. Paramount Pictures invited us to the European premiere of Never Say Never 3D, the biopic film of Justin Bieber's rise to fame from ordinary kid to You Tube star to selling out Madison Square Gardens.What's refreshing about Bieber is he is not a Disney/Nickelodeon manufactured creation. He is social media success story, using YouTube and Twitter to develop a loyal fan base that fuelled his explosive rise to stardom.

It's hard to describe exactly how loyal his fans are. When we arrived at the O2 the line of excited teens clad in purple already snaked around the corner. I Heart JB signs were everywhere. As we had a coffee in Starbucks, two girls that couldn't have been older than my babysitter, saw our press passes and asked if I could Pleeeaze help them meet Justin. We love him.

Tangled out today in the UK! (colouring pages attached)

Sponsored post

Well today is the big day: Tangled is out in UK cinemas! I'm really curious how it will be received. My girls loved the film, and I hold an affintity for it after meeting the people behind it on a recent press trip. It has all the characteristics of a blockbuster, and darn it made me cry twice!

If you see it this weekend, please let me know your thoughts. And if you want to extend the experience, I've attached some colouring sheets to occupy your little ones.There are more colouring sheets and activites here.

Enjoy!

Download TANGLED_Color_Sheets_WEB_07-27-10[1]

Tangled -- meet the sidekicks!

Sponsored post

 

We're still laughing about Tangled. I think we are going to see it for a THIRD time, when it comes out at the end of the month.

Thoughts on The King's Speech

The handwritten note on the door of our local cinema says it all about the enormous popularity of this film: "All of today's showings of The Kings Speech are sold out".

It's been a couple of weeks since the UK release and it's still difficult to see the story about King George VIth and Lionel Logue, the speech therapist that helped him get over his stammer. I had to call around to several cinemas; most preempted recordings with a message about limited or non-availability of tickets to see the film. After Googling the film, I finally got tickets at larger cinema about 30 miles away.

The first thing that struck me was the age of the audience. I had to get up several times to let ladies with beige jackets and pleated skirts get to their seats. I wondered when the last time most of them had been inside a cinema and was intrigued as to what brought them out on a rainy evening.

What we thought of Disney's #Tangled

Sponsored post

One of the best things about being a mum blogger is getting a sneak peak at films before they are released. Sometimes I even get to go on press junkets, and meet the talent behind the films and ask all sort of mum-type questions. I love it!

The girls and I recently saw Disney's 50th animated film, Tangled. It is the story of Rapunzel. You know the one, where a gorgeous girl with long hair is stuck in a tower and is rescued by a handsome prince?

It sounds terribly twee and predictable, doesn't it?

It's not! Disney turned this tale on its head. Yes it has the signature princess, but it is much more. The film touches on issues as such child abduction, a mother's love, growing up and there are even some spiritual tones.

Meet the talent behind Disney's Tangled

Sponsored post

 

The highlight of my press junket to Disneyland Paris was meeting some of the talent behind Disney's new animated film Tangled. Press junkets are a whole experience in themselves; I could write an entire post about them. I was the lone blogger amongst a large group of European press, and a guy from one of the mainland nationals kept eeking in all his questions before anyone else could breathe! I did my job though and managed to get in a few parent-focused questions.

Love Story on Stage Review

Sponsored post

Where shall I begin? I first saw Love Story when I was about 10. It flickered on our 12-inch black and white Sony TV, while I snuggled warmly into our worn honey-coloured sofa. I felt very grown up. My parents let me stay up to 11 pm to watch the end, having previously debated whether or not I was too young for the content (plot spoiler: the main character dies of leukaemia). By the end of the evening, I remember hiding my face behind a cushion, trying very hard not to let my older brothers see my tears. I think that was the first time I had such a strong emotional reaction to a film.

The Social Network: Here comes another bubble...

This is still my all-time favourite YouTube viral video. In honour of The Social Network, you MUST watch it. There are so many insider references, I love it!

PS -- hubby has a whole wardrobe of blue shirts and khaki pants.

 

Blind love

After more than eight years in the Disney vaults, Oscar-nominated Beauty and the Beast has been dusted off and is about to be released in Blu-ray this Autumn.

This tale of blind love is one of my favourite Disney classics: "Belle" falls in love with the "Beast" when she discovers the kind-hearted being inside.

Who would you cast for The Help?

I was so excited to hear that Kathryn Stockett's The Help is being made into a film, as we speak! Apparently it is the most excitement Mississippi has seen in a long time.

Last Spring I suggested that my book club read The Help, and everyone really liked it. The group is usually split, but the general consensus was that it was a good read and it sparked a whole evening of interesting conversation (sometimes we only spend a half hour on the book and then go on to more meaty subjects such as school gossip).

The Help takes place in Mississippi in the 60's and is about the relationship between women and the almost exclusively black maids that cleaned their homes and helped to raise their children.

And you think YOU have hair problems!

Disney's Tangled, due out January 2011, is a story of adventure, heart, humour and hair—lots and lots of hair. Think Rapunzel. The trailer sure got me giggling. Go on, have a peak...

 

 

 

Barbie meet Ken

I couldn't resist posting this just-released clip from Toy Story 3. It's the scene where Barbie meets Ken for the first time. Ken is one of my favourite new characters from the film ... and he never quite figures out he's just an accessory for Babs! Enjoy.

My day at Pixar Studios (and I'm not telling if Andy takes Woody to college)

 
About 25 bloggers from around the world were at Pixar Studios last week to get a sneak peak at Toy Story 3 and find out more about how the studios' iconic animated films are made. Wow. This place is super cool; it's like a cross between a computer, a college campus and a very large movie theatre. Former Pixar CEO Steve Jobs designed it to be a place to share ideas and you can see them bouncing off the walls and landing in the frothy lattes and machiatos, then sipped by 30-somethings wearing frayed jeans and trendy tweed caps. You walk into an open area the size of a football field, framed by open brick and stainless steel beams. Lurking in every corner are characters from the films .... a larger than life fuzzy blue Sully (Monsters Inc), a curvy McQueen and his gang from Cars, and of course, the beloved Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. There is a restaurant, coffee bar and company store. The preferred mode of transport seems to be rollerblades and scooters. Small clusters of coffee tables, sofas and chairs dot the area ... and if you squint you can just imagine employees discussing the plot of the Bear and the Bow (2011). I personally am very excited about this one: it's set in Scotland and will feature the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson.

Are you available Tuesday? Want to see The Blind Side for FREE?

What are you doing Tuesday 16th March?

Want to see the Oscar winning The Blind Side at a special preview screening before its nationwide cinema release on 26th March?!

This is not a contest, it's first come, first served. There's bound to be a cinema showing near you -- it's at 30 across the UK! (see list below.)
 
For your chance to attend a special daytime preview screenin, simply enter the below code at www.seefilmfirst.com to get your complimentary pair of tickets! Ask your friends. Go wild. Hurry before they are gone!
 
Code: 560634
 

I really wanted to like Motherhood

I wanted to like the film/DVD Motherhood. I really did. All the elements were there -- a hassled mum with a seemingly slacker hubby, Uma Thurman AND Minnie Driver. And the main character is a mum blogger. A mum blogger! I should have loved it.

Well, I didn't and neither did the three other mums who watched it with me.

The overriding theme -- how much mums give up when they ditch work in order to stay home with the kids -- fell flat. It was a bit contrived and not very funny. Even Uma Thurman couldn't save this film. None of us could identify with the main character. 

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

FYI -- we were given this DVD to review.

I've put my (nearly) eight-year-old to work. Here's her first review: the DVD Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

It was great! It was about a boy called "Flint." He changed water to food with a machine he invented. It wasn't a very good idea because there was a spaghetti and meatball tornado. Then giant food rolled to all the people all over the world while Flint was trying to turn the machine down.

At the start it rained hamburgers. The next day it rained orange juice, bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast. Then it rained ice cream for Calum's birthday (the police man's son).

The fairest princess of them all?

Disclosure: I received free tickets to see this film.

Sorry, I had to borrow that headline from a review in The Times. It was too good to ignore.

Sunday we dragged ourselves into London to see an advance screening of The Princess and the Frog, Disney's newest 2D animation film that caused a mountain of controversy and speculation during its three years in the making.

Why? It's Disney's first black princess fairytale. African Americans have been waiting for this for 86 years. Oprah was consulted. The internet ranted. Disney took all into consideration.