Movie Mayhem Day 6 (BONUS!): Where the Wild Things Are

This movie was not that good.  It had a lot of sad parts, but it had some good parts, too.  If you're little, you'll be more likely to enjoy the movie.  It could be kind of scary for little kids, though.

I think it's hard to make short picture books into movies.  There's just not much plot in them to turn into a movie.  Remember my tip about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?  Kind of the same problem here.

Movie Mayhem Day 6: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

One thing you have to know about me is that I love the book The Lightning Thief.  So, I had a hard time enjoying the movie of Percy Jackson and the Olympians:  The Lightning Thief.  They cut out about half of the book and some of my favorite parts.  Then, the movie made some things much more important than they were in the book, like Persephone's pearls. 

Some of my favorite things that they cut out were the fight on the Greyhound bus that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover fought with the furies; the Tunnel of Love scene in the old abandoned water park; when Percy meets Aries and challenges him; and all of the stuff about Kronos.

What I did like about the movie was some of the action and the scene at Aunty M's (even though they didn't eat burgers there).

I think they might have a hard time making the rest of the books into movies.  They might be able to do the second and the fourth books, but the third and the last books are so much about the Titans and Kronos that this movie didn't give the background that you'd need to make them into movies.

One cool thing about the movie is that, even though I don't know the person who played Annabeth, my dad had the brother of the actress who played Annabeth as a student a couple of years ago and even went on a trip to India with him.  Isn't that interesting?

So, my recommendation would be that you might like the movie if you haven't read the book.  But, I'd really recommend that you read the books, because they're some of my favorites.

Movie Mayhem Day 5: The Spy Next Door

The Spy Next Door is a great movie.  There's this awesome spy dude and his girlfriend and three children.  It's a great spy movie.  The bad guys are trying to catch the spy.  It stars Billy Ray Cyrus, George Lopez, and Jackie Chan as the spies.

The action made the movie really exciting, but not only that.  The bad guy kept wearing weird clothes and costumes and that really made me laugh.

The movie included amazing spy gear.  My little cousin Charlie, who is 5 years old almost, loves spy gear.  We got him some for Christmas.  He always wants me to play spy with him when I'm visiting northern Indiana where he lives.  But the last time I was there, he scratched me and kicked me.  So, I decided not to play with him anymore that trip.

The kids in The Spy Next Door had some great traps they set.  That was very entertaining.

I think you should see The Spy Next Door!

Movie Mayhem Day 4: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was a good movie the first time I saw it, but it was a horrible movie the second time I saw it.  That's weird.  I guess it's because there's not much plot to it.  I thought it was funny the first time.  The second time I was bored.

I really liked Steve, the monkey with a device that allows him to talk.  He was funny.  But, the problem is that he doesn't talk all that much.



The movie is based on my mom's favorite picture book of all time.  I think they should make a movie out of the picture book sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh.  If you don't know that book you should check it out of your local public library, or buy it, or search for it online.  It's a good book and so is the original.

Movie Mayhem Day 3: G-Force

Personally, I think this movie was just okay.  I'm recommending it only for little kids.  I really didn't like it all that much.  It was okay, but it wasn't really, really, really good.  You'll probably only like it if you're a kid who likes war stuff and fighting . . . hamsters fighting, basically.

G-Force is about these talking hamsters who are trained and really smart.  They are fighting to save this thing that could destroy the world.  They work with a fly and a mole. 

The movie can be sad at times, but I wouldn't say it is one of my favorites.

Just in case you want to see it, though, I won't spoil the twist ending.  My dad knew who the bad guy was the whole time.  Then he whispered it to me and it kind of ruined the movie.  He's mean, but smart.

Movie Mayhem Day 2: Up

Today’s movie is Up, which is a fantastic story about this boy and a man.  I think the boy is goofy, funny, and kind of stupid.  For one, he’s silly when he tries to go to Carl’s door to earn a badge.  He says, “Good afternoon, my name is Russell and I am a wilderness explorer in tribe 54, sweat lodge 12.  Are you in need of any assistance today, sir?”  Carl’s not interested, of course.  Russell even offers to help him cross all kinds of things.  Not just the street.

I think it’s a good movie for the adventures they go on and the talking dog they meet.  It can be a little scary at times, but not too bad.  You’ll think it’s good if you watch it all the way through.

Carl hooked up all these balloons to his house so that he could go away to Paradise Island where he and his wife had always wanted to go.  They never got a chance to go and then she passed away.  That was sad for Carl.

Russell, on the other hand, is goofy and happy pretty much the whole time.  He has no idea that he’s being a pest and people don’t want him around.

If you are in a family with a kid or two who are old enough to watch a movie, this is a good choice for the whole family.  Parents will enjoy it, as long as they don’t get too sad about Carl and his wife.  Kids will enjoy it, especially Russell and Kevin the crazy bird and Doug the talking dog.

I give it my highest rating of five multi-colored helium filled balloons!  The professionals agree with me, because it’s nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award.

Movie Mayhem Week!

This week I'm going to tell you about movies I think you might want to see and let you know if you should watch them.  They are going to be Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, G-Force, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Up, Nim's Island, and The Spy Next Door.

Today I'll tell you about Nim's Island.  It's a good kid's movie about Alex Rover, who lives in her house, and Nim, who lives on an island, which is not named for us.  Nim's father is also featured.  A bunch of bad pirates come to try to take over the island.  So, Nim has to use all of her tricks to try to stop them . . . even blowing up a volcano to keep them off the island.  She also shoots lizards out of catapults.  There's an awesome seal who teaches Nim how to swim.  In return, Nim teaches the seal how to walk around on land, clap its flippers, play soccer, and a bunch of other cool moves.

Nim's Island is a good movie, if you like adventure, trickery, strategy, and that kind of stuff.  If you like the Indiana Jones movies, you'll probably like this movie, too.

Don't Chew on Your Shoe

Don't chew on your shoes.  It's really disgusting and it's bad for your shoes.  They're also dirty and have germs.  Your shoes will end up slimy and gross.

My brother used to chew on his shoes when he was a baby.

Hooray Buffet!

Chinese food is really good.  But, if you go to China Buffet, I recommend that you don't eat the pizza and fried chicken and salad bar.  The Chinese food and the sushi are what you should get.  If you want pizza, go to DeAngelo's or Dominos or some other pizza place.  If you want fried chicken, go to KFC.  If you want an eggroll or fried rice, go to China Buffet.  It's good.

The soft ice cream is really good for dessert, though.  It's the only thing I'll give you permission to eat that is not Chinese or Asian food.

Salty Intervention

My mom has too much sodium in her.  She uses too much salt.  She is an addict.  I think she should stop.  If you have a problem like this, you need to stop, too.

One More Time!

At your grandma's house, there are a lot of things you can do, like playing Wii and stuff.  But, there's one thing I absolutely love to do:  videotaping!!

Here's an example.



Obviously, I like to dance.

The Diminishing Returns of Snow Days, The Restorative Power of Dance

When you have the first snow day, it's fun. But if you have a lot of snow days in a row, it becomes a lot less fun. So, you should be thankful for a snow day. After a few snow days though, it's just boring. You can make a day better, though, by developing your own victory dance. Everyone should have a victory dance.

A Emankcin Pit

Here's another nickname tip.  Write your name backwards on a piece of paper and then say it.  That will make a good nickname.  For example, mine is Nivlac Drawde.  My brother's is T-Narg Selrahc.  My mom's is really funny:  Arbed. 

My cats would be Odorf and Neppip.  "Woem!"

What's yours?

A "Beary" Special Announcement

I'm proud to announce that there is a new comic book in development.  It's a comic book whose author you already know . . . ME!!

You'll learn the title of the comic book at the end, but first I'll tell you something about it.  It has action.  It's funny.  There is sadness, strategy, trickery, and fighting -- kung fu, if you can believe it!

If you're interested in this comic book, you might contact me and I'll try to ship it to you when I have finished it.  I probably won't be able to send it to some of you.  Others I can.

Now for the unleashing of the name:  The Flight of Brown Bear.  (It will have a sequel called Brown Bear in the Arctic.  And a threequel called The Final Brown Bear Battle.  But those are a ways off.)

Pay No Attention to the Lateness of This Tip

If you happen to forget to do your tip on the day you're going over to your friend's house for a birthday sleepover, you should just do two tips on the next day.  Then maybe no one will notice.

Overnights

Sleepovers are really awesome.  You get to go away for the night and not have to be with your parents.  Lots of times you can do some cool stuff that your parents wouldn't let you do at home.  So, if you can convince your parents to let you go on a sleepover, you definitely should try.

My tip for convincing your parents to let you go on a sleepover is ask them around when you're six or seven.  Tell them about a really good friend you have and maybe it will work, especially if it's your best friend.

My tip is for Charlie Brown:  You are kind of an idiot for being so hung up on the Little Red-Haired Girl.  No offense, but you're kind of weird.  She obviously doesn't like you.

Give it up!

Another Three-Word Cure All

Snow. Days. Rule.

Swab the Throat, Matey! Arrrrrgh . . . .

Being sick is terrible, espcially if you have a sore throat.  You might have to get your throat swabbed to test for Strep.  It hurts.  Bad.

In Remembrance

If your grandparents are still alive, you should spend time with them, play with them, and really enjoy and love them.

I was lucky to get to spend time with my Grandpa Kip.  I miss him a lot.  But I also have a lot of great memories of my times with him.

Grandpa Kip

July 4, 1943-February 8, 2009

Super Sore Loser

Hey, Colts and Saints fans.  Well, the Saints won.  I don't like the Saints at all.  They're dumb.  I wanted the Colts to win.

So, if you're a Saints fan, enjoy it.  Because the Colts are gonna beat you again sometime soon.

This isn't so much a tip today as a comment.  Boo Saints.

Guess Who's $1 Richer Tonight!

Here's how to earn a dollar the easy way:  scam your uncle.  Bet him that you can be quiet -- without saying a word -- for 20 minutes if he'll give you a dollar.  It's especially effective if you talk nonstop all day prior to the bet.  Then it'll be worth it to him to give you the dollar just to keep your mouth shut.

Super Tip

There is this thing called Justice League.  It's about these guys that get to fight villains and destroy bad guys.

You can collect figures and DVDs.  I have about 50 action figures and the space ship.  I used to have the Watchtower, but it broke.

My tip to you is that you should rent the videos from Netflix and see what you think about them.  I think they're really good.  But, before you get all crazy for it, you need to be careful.  If you get the wrong kind of Justice League, your collection can get all messed up.  So be careful which one you choose.

Ninjas vs. Assassins

I love ninjas.  Assassins are cool, too.

This is a weird question that you guys might be able to answer.  Who would win if assassins and ninjas had a battle?

Personally, I don't know which one would win.  I hope that the ninjas would win, because they're my favorite.  On the other hand, I do like assassins who get to the last level and get their ninja certification so that they're ninja assassins.

My ninja name is "Moon."  Sun is my weakness, so I have to wear a brown blindfold and black cloak.  I can see through the blindfold, but it's not easy.

What's your ninja name?  You should have one.  Don't forget to figure out your weakness and your clothes.

The Best . . . Bar None

There is a nutrition bar called the LARABAR.  It's really delicious.  It's filled with nuts and has a few wonderful flavors.  Here are some examples:  lemon bar, cherry pie, apple pie, key lime pie, peanut butter cookie.

You should try one.  In Bloomington you can buy them at the big new Kroger on College Mall Road and Bloomingfoods, but not Marsh.

Pretending to be Phil

Today is Groundhog Day.  You probably know what that means.  But, do you know the real fun of Groundhog Day?  Well, for one, you can kind of act like a groundhog.  Two, you can ask your teacher to allow you to read all day, because you're pretending to be a groundhog and hibernating and reading.

Here's the bad part, though:  If you try to ask the president to be allowed to stay in bed all day and play video games or read or play with your action figures so that you can act like a groundhog on Groundhog Day, he'll probably say no.  I think it would be cool, but they haven't allowed it to happen.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Oh, by the way, I'm sorry for you people who are sad about six more weeks of winter.  I kind of like winter, so I don't mind that the groundhog saw his shadow.



P.S. My grandma was the first to get yesterday's first three Hink Pinks correct, but she missed the fourth one. My dad's facebook friend Ryan got all four correct, so he was the first to get the fourth one. The answers were: (1) Boy toy; (2) Mouse House; (3) Car bar; (4) Cheap Peep. Way to go Grandma and Ryan!

Your Brain is Like a Muscle

You need to exercise your brain for it to stay strong, smart, and healthy. One way to exercise your brain is to do brain teasers or riddles. One kind of riddle that my parents and I like to do is the Hink Pink (or Hinky Pinky or Hinkety Pinkety).

A Hink Pink is a riddle that has a two-word rhyming answer. For example, foot gear that is the color of the sky would be a "Blue Shoe."

Here are a couple more. If you can figure out an answer, leave it in the comments to this post. The first correct answers are the winners of the day.

1. A male kid's action figures.
2. A rodent's dwelling.
3. Where automobiles go for a drink.
4. An inexpensive sugary Easter candy.