Traveling to our children's homes for Christmas is always packed with a myriad of activities and rushing. Wrapping then packing a truckload of gifts and hoping for decent weather is always the first hurdle. This year, not so bad. We made it to our daughter's the 23rd of December and had plenty of time to prepare for our Christmas Eve get together. We are her "basement renters" in the winter when we visit the area...as my 7 year old grandson reminds me! It's easier for him to visit us in his basement than it is to travel 4 hours...plus he thinks he can play by Nana's rules down there instead of Mom's rules upstairs. Sly dog!
Anyway, Christmas Eve afternoon and evening was hectic with the adults, two 7 year olds, a 5 year old and 2 one year old children. Trust me, you couldn't walk through the house without kicking a kid, dog or present. My son in law is a little OCD so the wrapping paper was his nemesis for a couple hours. It all was heartwarming and fun of course.
Christmas for us was up at 5:30 to be at our son's by 6 to watch the 3 other grandchildren open their gifts. Then back to our daughter's to finish watching the other 2 finish their gifts and help put some supper together. Trust me after those 3 days, I was ready for some quiet time! SOOO...the day after Christmas my husband and I asked two grandchildren (7&5) if they wanted to see a movie. I figured "Great", two hours being entertained then some supper then home to kick the feet up. HMMMPH.!
We get to the theater about 20 minutes early for the 1:30 showing of "Jumanji". I noticed the parking area was packed so as my husband was parking the car, we went in to get tickets. Not a long line (Whew). But that was because the 1:30 showing was already SOLD OUT! The ticket sales lady said "we still have some seats for the 3:00 movie but they are almost gone". Of course I ask for 2 seniors and 2 children before she had time to put out the closed sign!
We decide to eat a late lunch before returning 30 minutes prior to show time. Hey, I saw the lines at the first visit! Again my husband drops us off to park and while walking in I take the tickets from my purse and YIKES, there are only 3 tickets. Now, I didn't count the tickets when I received them earlier, nor did I even look at the amount I paid while swiping my card. I rush to the ticket window and plead for just ONE more ticket..even if it's just a space along the wall...but NOOOO. So, I have to give my husband the bad news that only one of us gets the pleasure of seeing the movie with our angelic grandchildren! I could tell how crestfallen he was as he hurried back the way he came yelling..."I'll be back in a couple hours" over his shoulder. Traitor.
Remember, we are 30 minutes early (25 by this time) and as we go find the theater number I notice a snaking line down one wall turning to snake down the opposite wall... hmm... I'm thinking maybe it's for the bathroom. No such luck. It's the line to enter the theater for the showing! Again, remember I have a 7 and 5 year old that I am sure are going to ask for candy or popcorn any minute and I am NOT giving up my place in line. As luck would have it, they didn't, I didn't have to leave the line, and they opened the doors after 15 minutes of waiting in line.
Trust me, if I hadn't already promised the movie, I would never go through all this headache. I couldn't understand why it was so crowded on a Tuesday afternoon with 2 theaters showing the same movie. Then I looked at my tickets again and someone said: "it's always busy on $5.00 Tuesdays!" OOOHHH, school is out and all movies, all day are only $5.00! Sort of makes me wish we were staying one more day and went to the movie on Wed.!
Jumanji (2017)
Directed By: Jake Kasdan
Written By: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner
Dec 20, 2017
Dec 20, 2017
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale
Rating: PG-13 (for adventure action, suggestive content and some language)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Runtime: 112 minutes
Studio: Columbia Pictures
When four high-school kids discover an old video game console with a game they've never heard of--Jumanji--they are immediately drawn into the game's jungle setting, literally becoming the avatars they chose: gamer Spencer becomes a brawny adventurer (Dwayne Johnson); football jock Fridge loses (in his words) "the top two feet of his body" and becomes an Einstein (Kevin Hart); popular girl Bethany becomes a middle-aged male professor (Jack Black); and wallflower Martha becomes a badass warrior (Karen Gillan). What they discover is that you don't just play Jumanji--you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they'll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves--or they'll be stuck in the game forever...Runtime: 112 minutes
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Jeanie G's Review
SO, on to the movie. "Jumanji " was worth the wait. I am glad I bought the 3:00 tickets and I'm glad I waited in the line to get a seat. I really loved the first Jumanji movie with Robin Williams and I also loved the sequel. They did a great job of making the old new and keeping the humor and excitement alive. The first movie took place in real life "outside" of the game. This edition takes place "inside" the game and I thought that was brilliant. If you are any type of gamer (experienced or not) you will appreciate the storyline and innuendos written into the script. High school students serving detention find an old Atari game (ancient to them) while cleaning out a storeroom and decide to play. After choosing their characters then get "transported" into the game and must save the world of Jumanji to get out alive. The "Rock" Johnson, Jack Black and Kevin Hart are hilarious. I had not seen any reviews or looked at any ratings and didn't even know who was starring in this film. If I had I might have been a little leery of the type of humor but I was pleasantly surprised.
Now even though they kept it clean (even for a PG-13), I counted a couple of "Oh shits" and a couple "bad ass" and two chaste kisses. No harsh foul language or nudity or sexual innuendos. WHEW! Of course, what does my 5 1/2 year old (going on 20) remember most about the film? One of the high school girls was a "bad ass" and there were two kisses. Plus, one of the girls was turned into a male character and she had lost her phone that had been "attached" to her hand!
I don't know the critic's rating nor do I care, the three of us laughed out loud during the move, neither of them asked to get out of their seat for anything and the movie was highly entertaining! I would see it again and I rarely give that kind of accolade. Only "Dirty Dancing" and "Sixth Sense" earned that from me.
If you get a chance, grab a grandchild and spend the day eating, standing in line and laughing at a really well done movie!
The whole day got 5 "gleaming" sheep from me!
Sharon's Review
The Breakfast Club meets Tomb Raider.
Went to see Jumanji with my husband and 16-year-old daughter. The trailer pretty much sums up the movie. It was silly fun with 13-year-old boy humor (dick jokes galore) but predictable. Pretty much a cookie-cutter action comedy with stereotype characters aimed at the preteen crowd.
It is worth checking out if you like that kind of movie, but you can wait for the DVD. It would have gotten a 3 Sheep rating from me, but Dwayne Johnson is nice to look at, and the ending was touching.
We all gave it 3 1/3 "Dance fighting" Sheep
SharonS
Wow. Sounds like you had a busy holiday. I loved the first Jumangi and can't wait to see this one. I love that they took it inside the game instead of brining the game out to real life. I'm so glad to hear that it was worth all the chaos to get in. :) Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristin! I may be of the senior persuasion but have always been a closet gamer and appreciated the storylines! I hope you enjoy!
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