The Great Movie Reviewie

The opinions expressed here are those of a movie loving Momdad and the tribe of children that dwell with me. I am a single parent with four children so most of the reviews will be about movies we caught on Netflix and not the latest release. We might disagree, but hopefully I can save you a wasted couple of hours here and there, and guide you to a memorable and satisfying experience whenever possible.

We rate the movies as mostly good or mostly bad indicated by an ice cream cone or a pile of poop.

The panel consists of

Oliver 9 months
Isabel 3
Liam 5
Fallon 15
Me 36
and occasionally our extended family and friends of various ages, genders, and dispositions.






Bedtime Stories (2008)

Directed by Adam Shankman. With Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce. A family comedy about a hotel handyman whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true.


Here's an official review from Cinematical.


It sounds like a can't-miss concept: a Disney movie about a guy who tells wonderful, fantastic bedtime stories that actually come true in real life. And when the guy is Adam Sandler, how can this possibly be a bad movie? Aren't you buying tickets online for your entire family right now, even as you read about this possible cinematic land of delights? Except that watching Bedtime Stories is about as delightful as peeking into your Christmas stocking and finding it empty except for a few lint-covered peppermints.

Here's Ours

Once again Holly wood has tried to create a movie for both children and adults that satisfies neither. The anemic plot and weak characters make it hard to care for anyone at all. Even Adam Sandler is disappointing, using the same tired shtick ineffectively. He seems as bogged down by the empty story as the rest of us. And Keri Russell who showed uncommon brilliance in movies such as "Waitress" and "August Rush" (a big family favorite here) seems out of place in this movie. I can only assume that independent movies weren't paying enough and she took this part for milk money.

Here's the scoop
Safe for all kids. A lot of the plot will be over their heads but the romance is implied and the violence is pretty much non existent.

Here's the Breakdown

The baby gave it one big drool.
Isabel wasn't interest at all...ever.
Liam only paid attention to the story time bits and spent the rest of the time playing Bakugan. When I told him it was bedtime he didn't protest and missed the end.
Fallon said it had a few good moments, but mostly because they stood out from the bad stuff.
Family friend Ken said he endured is tortuous story line to the end.
I lasted half and hour and cleaned the dining room instead (That was more fun.)

The final verdict: