Kung Fu Panda is the 2008 kids film starring the voice of Jack Black. It’s the story about a lazy, irreverent slacker panda, named Po, who is the biggest fan of Kung Fu around…which doesn’t exactly come in handy while working every day in his family’s noodle shop. Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po’s dreams become reality when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five — Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey — under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it’s up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master into reality? Po puts his heart – and his girth – into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.

Budget: $130 million
Director: Mark Osborne
Starring (Voice):
Jack Black
Angelina Jolie
Ian McShane
Dustin Hoffman
Seth Rogan
Lucy Liu
Jackie Chan
David Cross
Michael Clarke Duncan

While Titanic isn’t James Cameron’s first hugely successful film, it is surely one of the most notable. Back when the 1997 film was still in productions – the size of the final budget was almost unheard of and periodically, there would be articles bashing Cameron on how much money he was spending on a movie. Then – Titanic was released and ticket sales for the film hit record numbers – literally breaking records and becoming the highest grossing film of all time. Only to be done again 13 years later by the same man.

Overall, as most people know – Titanic is a fantastic film, perfect for renting, owning, or by any other means. Oscar Winning Film.

Budget: $200 million
Director: James Cameron
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Kate Winslet
Billy Zane
Kathy Bates
Frances Fisher
Gloria Stuart
Bill Paxton
Bernard Hill

How to train your dragon is a great 2010 kids and parents film. It’s about a young viking kid that is a little different from everyone else. The world they live is full of monsters and dragons. Each viking is expected to learn how to kill the dragons and defend themselves.

The film centers around a boy that is reluctant to kill dragons and at the same time has saved one from entrapment and starvation. They end up becoming friends. Eventually, the vikings will have to the battle of their life as they attack and defeat the ultimate dragon.

Overall, it is a really great film to watch.

Budget: $165 Million
Director: Dean DeBlois
Starring (voice):
Jay Baruchel
Gerard Butler
Craig Ferguson
America Ferrera
Jonah Hill
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
T.J. Miller
Kristen Wiig

After the awesomeness of the first Transformers, people were really excited for this one to come out. Overall, it was a good film, but unlike the first one, this film seemed to be more about the special effects, Megan Fox, and a forced plot. Most of the things I recall reading about the film, turned out to be momentary snippets that didn’t amount to much.

The film is about Megatron being brought back to life by a crew of Decepticons that are hiding on earth. From there, they have to find the key to a machine that has been hidden on the planet for thousands of years. The Decepticon behind all this is named Fallen.

So, the film, while loaded with action and awesome special effects, really lacked an attention grabbing plot. For a film that is 150 minutes long, you really need one of those.

Budget: $200 million
Director: Michael Bay
Starring:
Shia LaBeouf
Megan Fox
Josh Duhamel
Tyrese Gibson
John Turturro
Isabel Lucas
Rainn Wilson
Ramon Rodriguez

Bolt is a great Kids & Family film by Disney. The plot is about a dog that doesn’t know that week after week he is saving the life of a little girl on a TV show. He thinks he really does have powers and is a super hero.

One day, he thinks the little girl is kidnapped and in an attempt to save her, he gets crated up and shipped across the country. Lead by the idea that the little girl is in trouble, he is joined by a cat and a hamster, as they race across the country to find and save his friend.

The movie is hilarious, with some sad moments, especially with the homeless cat and when Bolt finally realizes, he is just another dog.

Budget: $150 million
Director: Byron Howard
Starring (voices):
John Travolta
Miley Cyrus
Susie Essman
Mark Walton
Chloe Moretz
Malcolm McDowell

Most people love this film when they see it, even if they didn’t quite understand what was going on all the time. The film itself, with the unique cinematography, lighting and action makes it a great film. What’s gonna make it even better is that Sin City 2 is scheduled for release next year, with Sin City 3 following the year after.

Most of this film was shot in front of a green screen, which gives credit to the actors, since most of the time, they were responding and acting to things that weren’t there.

The movie is loaded with action, hot women, and an all star cast.

Budget: $40 million
Director: Frank Miller
Starring:
Bruce Willis
Clive Owen
Brittany Murphy
Jessica Alba
Mickey Rourke
Alexis Bledel
Benicio Del Toro
Michael Clarke Duncan
Rosario Dawson
Jaime King

Monsters vs. Aliens is a great kids movie. Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is getting married and she’s also hit by a meteorite just outside the chapel. From the moment on, she becomes a giant and is quickly snatched up be a secret government agency and whisked off to a secret facility. From that point, she joins a rag tag group of monster and are called upon to help save the planet and human race from an alien that has come to get the quantonium that Murphy accidentally absorbed.

The film is great for the whole family, with a few moments of adult related content. Parents will really enjoy the Stephen Colbert (President) scenes.

Budget: $59 million
Director: Rob Letterman
Starring (voice):
Reese Witherspoon
Seth Rogan
Paul Rudd
Hugh Laurie
Stephen Colbert
Rainn Wilson
Will Arnett

Back in 2006, when this film was in theaters, people were buzzing about it like crazy. I remember asking someone who went to see it, if it was any good and what was so good about it. His answer “it’s the best man’s man film I’ve ever seen.” I was busy and didn’t think too much about it at the time – hell, I hadn’t even seen a trailer. But when I finally saw it in the stores on sale, I took the chance and bought it.

What a great man’s man movie. To this day, this Frank Miller film is awesome. Of course the women that watch it too seemed to get something from it as well. But for me, this film has yet to get old, boring, been there, done that. It’s still a great film, even four years later.

You can buy it a lot cheaper today, so if the chance arrives, cease it.

“This is Sparta!!!!!”

Budget: $65 million
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring:
Gerard Butler
Lena Headey
Dominic West
David Wenham
Vincent Regan
Michael Fassbender
Tom Wisdom
Rodrigo Santoro

Chris Van Allsburg authored this wonderful book more than 2 decades ago, and it just goes to show that something really wonderful is never really outgrown by many. This is his legacy for the coming generations to enjoy. The power of imagination is endless, especially for kids. Come aboard the Polar Express, be elated, delighted, and enjoy the amazing artistry. It wouldn’t really hurt to buy the DVD, you won’t regret it. It can pretty much be a treasure to keep.

Trivia: This was the first mainstream film to be simultaneously released as a 3D IMAX presentation

Plot Outline: On Christmas Eve, a doubting boy boards a magical train that’s headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus’s home.

The tagline says “Journey Beyond Your Imagination”…well, damn right it is! This movie definitely came right on time during the holiday season of 2004, therefore it was rightfully dubbed as the holiday film event of the year.

It would have been nicer if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a 3D version, but still this movie doesn’t fail to entertain. My childhood memories came back in flash upon seeing these well-missed turtles

I know that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went on top of the box-office hit list at its opening weekend (March 28, 2007) and went head to head with the graphic epic 300 but I believe the kids of today are not familiar with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This turtle superheroes belong to the early 90’s as cartoon favorites, went kaput for a while, and now they’re back with a vengeance.

There’s one action scene that I admire in the movie – Leonardo and Raphael (in his Nightcrawler protégé character) squaring off in the rain. I think that’s a certain improvement in animation action scenes. Go watch the movie. And don’t forget to collect the toys too.