Movie Day: Beauty and the Beast 3D

King's take:
We're doing this on paper because the computer is not working. I can't believe this. I don't get it.
We saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D.
We went into the theater and got some 3D glasses. I used the gift card for tickets. We got a small popcorn to share, and then we headed into theater 14. We watched previews. There was the Arietty preview, that Miaka wants to see. There was the Disney Pixar Brave movie. I think that would be a nice movie to see.
It took a while for the lights to go out. Miaka said the lights reflected off the 3D glasses and made it hard to see.
First there was a piece called Tangled Ever After.
Then they started the actual movie. Belle went to get a new book. Her father was trying to make his invention work and then headed off to the fair. Until the horse, Phillipe, went the wrong way, and he wasn't at the fair, he was at the Beast's castle. The Beast was not happy and locked him up in the tower until Belle came to rescue him.
Gaston wanted to marry Belle, but she refused.
Gaston did not give up.
Belle went to the castle to rescue her father. Then she met the Beast. She said "What have you done to my father?" and she offered to take her father's place.
The Beast gave her a room. He wanted Belle to come to dinner, but she said "I'm not hungry." She wouldn't come out and the Beast lost his temper.
Then there was the Be Our Guest song. I think that was a great song.
Then Belle went to the west wing on purpose, even though the Beast had told her not to. She lifted up the glass case for the red rose and the Beast got angry and told her to leave. She ran away and then she was going to be eaten by wolves, until the Beast saved her life.
Then Belle was trying to treat the Beast's wound, but he said "Ow!" and wouldn't stay still. Belle said "this may sting a little."
Belle's father Maurice wanted to rescue Belle, but no one would help him. So he set off on his own.
Gaston's plan didn't work.
Best part: When the Beast and Belle got married and all the servants in the castle were human again.
It was a great movie. Except for when the Beast got stabbed in the back by Gaston. Gaston fell off the tower and the mountain.

(We got the computer to cooperate again about then, so we did a video interview.)
Video link: (will be added when I can get YouTube to cooperate and let me upload the video.)


Miaka's take: 
I'd been looking forward to seeing this movie since I noticed that it was being re-released, this time in 3D. I enjoyed Beauty and the Beast the first time it was in the theater, some 20 years ago or so, and I thought it would be a good way to see what a 3D movie might be like. Considering the 3DS tends to give me a headache pretty fast, I was a touch iffy on the whole concept, so trying it with a movie I already knew I liked was important.
Fortunately for me, the whole experience was quite smooth. Well, except for a minor hiccup with the tickets. I'd forgotten that 3D movies cost more to see in the theater. (I presume the extra cost is there to cover the glasses and equipment.) King had a gift card to be used for the purchase of the tickets, but it was $6 short of the cost of 2 tickets for a 3D movie. Fortunately, he was able to pull out 6 $1 bills, with a little coaching. Once we had the tickets, he headed over to the concessions counter and asked for a large popcorn. I assured him that a small popcorn would be more than enough for the two of us. "A large is for the whole family to share. There's only two of us, so a small is plenty."
He was loosing stray kernels of popcorn, like a flower-girl scattering petals, the whole way to our seats in the theater. We were the first to arrive for the showing, so we had our pick of seats. King chose a row in approximately the middle of the theater, a little to the forward side. The theater we go to has stadium-style seating, and King's selected seats were perhaps five or six steps up from the entry floor level. I poked at him to go sit in the very center of the row. My reasoning for this is twofold: it provides optimal viewing position, and it leaves plenty of end space in both directions for others to grab seats in the same row, if needed. This showing, it wasn't needed. I think about 3 or 4 other people came, though I suppose that's fairly expected for a noontime showing on a Thursday that's not during vacation week. It is a kids movie, after all.
King pretty well covered the events leading up to the movie--yes, I fussed a bit about the lights still being on, because they reflected on the glasses (which I kept trying on) and made it hard to see things through the glasses. Also they played the trailer for the latest Ghibli film, which I am already making plans to see with friends when it comes out next month, as we did with Ponyo.
The movie started off with a short about Tangled. Personally, I thought it was rather silly and was looking forward to it being over. Then again, I really only enjoyed Tangled because Flynn reminded me (and my friends watching with me) of one of Archi's characters.
Once the movie actually started, it was awesome! The 3D worked quite well, actually, even with the stained-glass set that starts off the story with the tale of how the Beast came to be. I have, of course, had bits of the songs stuck in my head all day. Also I could not quite resist singing along a little in the theater. The movie was just as excellent as I remembered it, and the 3D had been very carefully applied with a subtle hand. Backgrounds came to life even more, and it was like looking into a diorama (the edges of the screen seem quite sharp as they interrupt the picture). I was very pleased to see that they hadn't really changed anything to make the 3D more apparent, simply added it where it fit, seamlessly. I don't really know enough about the details of how animation or 3D effects work to go on about it much more. Well, that and I wasn't really paying attention to the 3D as much as to the movie itself.
After the movie, Archi picked us up and we headed back to my place. In the car, King and I discussed doing the video review and what to have for lunch. He decided he'd rather have a ham and cheese sandwich than wait around an hour for pizza to arrive.  Upon our arrival at my place, King enjoyed his ham and cheese sandwich, and a chocolate cupcake for desert (I made cupcakes Wednesday night because the house was cold). Lunch eaten, we went to the living room to try and create the video review. That was when I discovered that my computer didn't want to work with me today. We did a written review for a bit, and then suddenly the computer started cooperating again and we were able to craft a video review. Once that was completed, we put in the Rayearth dvd to watch until it was time for King to head home.
For some reason it takes forever to upload one of the video reviews to YouTube...

Movie Day: The Adventures of Tintin

King's take:
We saw The Adventures of Tintin!
I think it was good.
The captain, Captain Haddock, was trying to get his ship back.
The cat came in the window and the dog chased it. They broke a lot of things, and they knocked over the ship. That made Tintin very angry at Snowy.
Favorite part: My favorite part is when Tintin found the scroll for the ship and the two policemen arrested the bad guy.
Funniest part: Well, when the dog hung onto the falcon, and the captain had to fight for his ship.
"Miaka, you liked it when they were sword-fighting?"
"I adore sword-fights!"
Only a true Haddock can solve the riddle!
The secret weapon, the Milanese Nightingale! The singer gave the captain a headache and he had to cover his ears. Her voice shattered the glass! Then the falcon stole the ship. I hate that falcon.
Tintin got it back, but if he didn't let it go the captain and Snowy would go overboard and die.
(At this point, lunch arrived and King lost interest in having me write down his thoughts.)

Miaka's take:
Right across the top of the movie posters, it says that both Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson worked on it. I may not know much about movies, but I know those names, so I knew this would be impressive. The Adventures of Tintin definitely met my expectations! A wonderful, rollicking and hilarious comedy adventure.
We made good time on the trip from my place to the movie theater, in spite of the snow still coming down, the roads we took that hadn't been plowed yet, and Patch's phone GPS attempting to confuse us--it didn't like my route that skips several traffic lights. Patch liked the route, though the roads were often not plowed as they're not considered important enough to bother with, apparently. We'd left my place at noon on the dot, and still arrived at the theater in time to buy our tickets for the 12:15 showing and head in to grab seats just as the last of the previews was playing. Patch was kind enough to volunteer for a snack run, so King had popcorn and a drink--water, because his throat is still bothering him.
The movie itself was truly excellent; my only regret is that my husband didn't get to see it too. The bumbling police officers are a silly little treat, and there is all manner of adventure! Sword-fights, gunfights, grand chase scenes, things that explode; pretty much all anyone could want from a story of adventure. Including a 'sword-fight' between giant cranes!
Bits and pieces of Tintin's character reminded me of Kudou Shinichi from Meitantei Conan (Detective Conan/Case Closed), one of my very favorite characters. As mentioned above, I adore watching sword-fights on screen, not that I can really explain why. Chase scenes are also wonderfully exciting, somehow even more so when they include the occasional random bit, such as the tank caught inside a building, which ends up chasing Tintin all the way to the docks, with a part of it looking almost reminiscent of the City Escape level in Sonic, where the hero is running from a big ol' truck. This will get overly wordy rather quickly if I keep going on about bits I particularly liked. It's a good movie, go see it.
By the time the movie let out, the snow had stopped falling, though the plows still had a good bit of work to do. It being about two or so in the afternoon, we were all getting a bit hungry, so off we went to Blake's for a late lunch. (Patch tagged along today as he had the day off work and was also interested in seeing the movie. He provided transportation.) The way plans worked out, there wasn't any real chance to record King's take on the movie with anything other than words on paper, so I set about writing it down (my handwriting being rather swifter and more legible than his) while we waited for our lunches.
Lunch was tasty, and lively with discussion of various topics. King capped it off with a sundae (Archi gave me a coupon yesterday because it had been sitting in his wallet). Moose Tracks and Caramel Caribou ice cream, topped off with hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry (which King let me have, as he doesn't care for cherries).
Mom had granted permission for King to be out and about most of the afternoon, and asked only that the boys head for home by about 5pm, so King requested a stop at my place to catch another disc of Rayearth. Even skipping both openings and endings, we didn't manage to make it through the whole disc before they had to go. Ah well, we'll finish it next week. I've also noticed that honey water really seems to help his throat; he doesn't cough nearly as much after drinking some.

Movie Day: Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked

King's take:
We saw Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked.
I think it was good except for the volcano part. The volcano was about to erupt.
No one was helping. Only Brittany and Alvin were trying to build a shelter.
Simon got bit by a spider which made him think he was a French guy Simòn.
Zoe was obsessed with the treasure and caught Jeanette by a rope and wanted to get more treasures.
My favorite scene was when the Chipmunks and the Chipettes helped build a raft. Simon and Jeanette were missing and not on the raft.
(The rest of the review is video-recorded, though the sound is actually very soft, as my computer's basic mic was simply too far away to catch as much sound as I would have liked.)
Video Review

Miaka's take:
Today we went to see a movie King chose, Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked, which is the latest movie in that series. I must honestly admit that I was not really looking forward to this movie. The difference in ages between King and myself means that I'm old enough to remember the Saturday-morning cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks, while he is not. I don't really care for the whole live-action and CG thing, and I tend to appreciate Alvin & co better in small doses. King wanted to see it though, so we went. It was actually better than I expected, though I must admit I wasn't expecting much.
We arrived at the theater in plenty of time for the show, planning to go to the 12:10pm showing. Upon reaching the front of the ticket line, however, we were told that there were only 3 tickets left for that show, and the cashier recommended we attended the 12:20 showing instead. King decided he was fine with that and bought the tickets, after which we headed over to the concessions counter to pick up popcorn and drinks. Once we had our goodies, I decided to go sit at a table for a moment while I sorted myself out again and gave my husband at heads-up that we were attending a later show. Of course, I then decided while waiting for him to pick up the phone that we really ought to be in line... so we went up to enter the theater proper while I was on the phone and juggling snacks, drinks, and purse. Fortunately, nothing got spilled and everyone was willing to be patient with us for a moment while we found our tickets and then our way.
Once in the actual theater, it took a bit to find seats, and we ended up in the second row, the seats just behind the wheelchair-parking section (meaning there wasn't anyone in front of us). We settled in and took off our jackets, careful not to take up more space than we needed, as the show was nearly if not entirely sold-out. I don't think I've been in a theater that full for quite some time, but I suppose that's to be expected with a kids' movie matinee during school vacation.
The movie, as I mentioned before, was better than I had thought it would be. I found it rather amusing to watch Simon and Alvin effectively swap personalities. However, I still think I liked them better as cartoons.
After the movie, Archi picked us up and we headed back to my place, chattering the whole way. I think we may have confused Archi a bit, since he hadn't seen any of the movies, and like me, was familiar only with the cartoon from when we were little, back in the 1980s.
At home, we ordered pizza and then wrote up part of the review, then recorded most of it to put on YouTube. King was initially having trouble deciding if he wanted to do a video review or just write it all down, so we ended up with a little of both. With the review done and lunch eaten, I set him up in front of the TV so he could watch another disc of Magic Knight Rayearth season 2, as he's been clamoring for each week. I made sure everything was working well with the DVD player, then went to another part of the room to work on a sewing project for a bit. He got to watch one full disc before it was time for Dad to pick him up and take him home. I think he had fun. He certainly seemed to enjoy the movie. Let's see what next week brings!