TGIF: Weekend Movie Plans

On movie night, at our house, it tends to get a little chaotic. Hub and CJ live for action packed thrillers; I love romantic comedies. The girls, as all would assume, just want kid films (nothing more, nothing less). Quite honestly, because this happens all the time, I don’t think we’ve ever had a true “movie night”. It always ends up being more of a “movie weekend” just to appease everyone.

So our plans this weekend, aside from going to a birthday party this evening, are to vegetate in front of the TV and not leave the house. School started this past Monday so the whole clan is tired and in desperate need of “lazy time”. There’s no better way to accomplish this than with a butt load of movies and a few bags of popcorn. The ideal weekend, if I do say so myself!

We have a number of movies to watch this weekend and I think I’ve got everyone’s genre covered. I have Brooklyn’s Finest for the boys tonight, The Backup Plan for me tomorrow night (everyone will watch) and I have iCarly iSpace Out! and Go, Diego, Go! for the girls. They’ll probably watch these during the day, which is typical.

Here’s a preview of the movies we’ll be watching:

Brooklyn’s Finest

Actors: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes

Street Date: July 6, 2010

Runtime: 132 minutes

DVD SRP: $29.98 (find it on Amazon for $15.49 & eligible for Free super Saver shipping)

Rated: R (for bloody violence throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language)

Synopsis:

Experience the volatile and deadly world of one of New York’s most dangerous precincts through the eyes of the men and women pledged to protect and serve. Starring Golden Globe winner Richard Gere, Oscar nominee Don Cheadle, Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes, Brooklyn’s Finest “grabs you and doesn’t let go until the final frame (Mike Sargent, WBAI Radio).

When NYPD’s Operation Clean Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, three conflicted New York City police officers find themselves swept away by the violence and corruption of Brooklyn’s gritty 75th Precinct and its most treacherous criminals. Each man finds himself spiraling toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny, in this action-packed crime drama directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day).

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Audio commentary with Director Antoine Fuqua
• Chaos & Conflict: The Life of a New York Cop
• Boyz N the Real Hood
• An Eye for detail: Director Featurette
• From the MTA to the WGA: Writer Featurette
• Deleted Scenes

Official Website

My Thoughts: Okay, by default, I’m going to watch and enjoy this movie. One of my two favorite actors (Richard Gere and Wesley Snipes) are in it. I’ve never seen a movie with these actors in it that wasn’t good. I think Ethan Hawke is pretty good too…

The movie itself sounds very intense and I think CJ and Hub are really going to enjoy it (as will I)…

On our menu for this movie: sodas, popcorn and pickles- yum!!!

The Back-up Plan

Street Date: August 24, 2010

Actors: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin

Runtime: 104 minutes

DVD SRP: $28.95

Rated: PG-13

Synopsis:

Jennifer stars as Zoe, a single New Yorker who dreams about meeting Mr. Right, having a baby and living happily ever after. But after a string of Mr. Wrongs, Zoe commits to her back-up plan: to take on motherhood alone. Zoe’s plan proves far from foolproof when moments after her procedure she’s swept up into a whirlwind romance with Stan (Alex O’Loughlin), the man of her dreams. Can Zoe hid her pregnancy until Stan is ready for the truth? Or will the truth send him packing? The Back-up Plan is a hilarious romantic comedy about courtship, love, marriage and parenthood-but not necessarily in that order!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• movieIQ + sync; a new and immersive BD-Live movie watching experience that uses a connected real-time movie database.
• A bouncing bundle of hilarious deleted scenes and a making-of featurette including an interview with Jennifer Lopez.

Official Website

My Thoughts: I just know I’m going to love this movie. It was a hit when it ‘hit’ theaters and I just can’t wait to watch it. I’ve seen all the trailers, explored the website and it looks too fun to not watch.

Personally; I love movies that involve life, love, happiness and family. To me, those are always great movies and make for a great evening of fun! I’m going to let the girls watch it too. Though there may be a little ‘adult’ humor involved…I really don’t think the girls will catch on to all of it. They’ll just know that mom and dad are laughing and they’ll join in.

On our Menu for this movie: Ice cream, cookies, hot cocoa and maybe a candy bar (or two)

iCarly iSpace Out!

Street Date: August 31, 2010

Actors: Miranda Cosgrove (Carly), Jennette McCurdy (Sam), Nathan Kress (Freddie)

Runtime: Approximately 144 minutes

DVD SRP: $16.99

Rated: Not Rated

Episode Synopsis’:

• iSpace Out – An eccentric billionaire asks the iCarly gang to perform the first live web show from outer space and they must go through a series of tests to make sure they’re fit for space travel. Back at the loft, Spencer is visited by a mysterious little girl.
• iWas a Pageant Girl – Sam reveals she used to compete in pageants and convinces Carly to compete against her long-time rival in the Miss Teen Seattle pageant.
• iEnrage Gibby When Gibby discovers Freddie and his girlfriend in a compromising position, he vows revenge and challenges Freddie to a fight. Meanwhile, Spencer’s art career really takes off when the local paper incorrectly reports his death.
• iFix a Popstar When Carly, Sam and Freddie agree to make a music video for a pop star who’s trying to make a comeback, they discover that the pop star is out of shape and untalented. Meanwhile, Spencer has trouble dating a woman when he discovers she’s Gibby’s mom.
• iWon’t Cancel the Show When Sam ends up in jail, Carly and Freddie vow that the web show must go on. They try to enlist Spencer’s help at the last minute, but he has a date he can’t cancel.
• iBelieve in Bigfoot Carly believes Bigfoot exists and convinces her friends to embark on a search to prove it.

Official Website

My Thoughts: Though we’ve seen every episode in this DVD release a couple of times; they’re always a blast to watch. The girls and I love iCarly and the gang. We watch the show everyday and when a new episode airs on Nickelodeon- all play time is over until they’ve watched it.

What makes this DVD release extra special is (just as they did a ‘bonus’ episode of Big Time Rush before), the girls are really looking forward to watching the bonus episode of Victorious. Piper is absolutely in love with Tori and has so much fun singing their theme song.

As for iCarly- they rock in my house!!! We always watch the show and will continue to do so for many years to come!!!

On our menu for this movie: cereal, toast and orange juice (come on…these shows are best watched while eating breakfast when you first wake up)

Go, Diego, Go!

Diego’s Ultimate Rescue League

Street Date: August 31, 2010

Runtime: Approximately 94 minutes

DVD SRP: $16.99

Rated: Not Rated

Episode Synopsis’:

• Diego’s International Rescue League Diego has assembled an elite team of world rescuers to endure a challenging test that will earn them their World Rescuers’ Patch. Diego’s team includes Juma- the African desert expert, Shanti- the Indian forest expert, Burgin- and expert driver and surfer from Borneo, Yang- a panda rescuer who can climb up the tallest and most treacherous mountains of China, and team captain Diego- who’s rescued animals from every corner of the globe- even the frozen tundra of Antarctica! The team assembles on Rescue Island, where they must race against the clock in their Rescue-Flyer to identify and return five mystery animal eggs to their respective habitats before time runs out.
• Ocean Animal Rescuer Bottlenose wants to become an ocean animal rescuer just like Diego and Baby Humpback Whale. Bottlenose must swim fast and rescue the baby sea turtle from a giant wave that could devastate the population. Then Diego, Baby Humpback, and Bottlenose must work together to rescue the ocean animals from a dangerous oil-spill before it gets too close to their natural habitats.
• Diego Rescues Prince Vicuna Prince Vicuna embarked on an extensive exploration and has yet to return to his parents, the King and Queen, who long for their lost son. Diego and Messenger Vicuna are quick to develop a plan of action. Diego and Messenger Vicuna run into some trouble as they realize the Prince is over the mountain, near Puma Pass. Diego decides to use a special climbing hook and rope to climb up the mountain toward Puma Pass to rescue the Prince. After a successful rescue, we take the Prince back to Vicuna Valley, and reunite him with his joyful parents.

Official Website

My Thoughts: What can I say? I have always enjoyed Go, Diego, Go! (along with all the other features aired on Nick Jr.). I love how they get kids involved when watching. Kids have fun with Diego. He’s helpful, knows everything there is about animals and encourages kids to get involved!

My girls have not outgrown Diego yet, nor have they outgrown Dora either. They love Nick Jr. and all the shows that are featured.

On our Menu for this show: probably anything we could bring together for lunch…with popcorn too!!!

Looks like we’re going to have a pretty fun filled weekend. I’m ready to vegetate, watch movies with the kids and just have a nice relaxing time in the house. I hope you guys have a fun weekend planned too! Take care and thanks for reading.

Disclosure: I received each of the titles above – for free – via Special Ops Media, Carl Samrock PR and The Carpel Group for the purpose of my candid review. I was not given any monetary compensation for my services nor did receiving product influence my thoughts and/or opinions on the product. Thank you.