Tag Archives: movies

Family Movie Night: Fat Panda Edition

Aug
31

Posted by: Josh

HAHA! So even though I built this damn website I apparently don’t know how to use it and accidentally PUBLISHED this post well before it was done baking. So if you saw this post in your feed reader before TODAY then just DISREGARD, and enjoy the real deal. With links!

I don’t know where it came from or why, but we recently instituted Family Movie Night. It’s now an institution, bearing all the privileges and exclusions therein granted, by ME, and also my family, who shall remain nameless at this time (Maggie & Eleanor) okay fine I named them. I guess you could say it started with the movie in the park a couple weeks ago, if you wanted to say that. I haven’t decided. But since then, we’ve fallen in love, and now we need about 52 movies a year to properly fund the venture (of love). And it’s an institution. Got it?

The first official Family Movie Night offering was Kung Fu Panda. Which was originally Netflix’d by this guy, being ME, for myself, but deemed appropriate for the family by this guy, MAGGIE, who I know, despite the almost constant kicking and punching and jumping portrayed by animated animals (including a snake, YEAH, a kung fu SNAKE) with expensive voices. And so it was thoroughly enjoyed by the family, but especially by Eleanor, who loves to see fat pandas really make it as kung fu masters. Did I mention Family Movie Night is a strictly at-home event? Because we’re not MILLIONAIRES, or even THOUSANDAIRES, or even could you maybe send us a couple fivers in the mail because it would REALLY help us get through this month thank you. Also, Friday night is the night, and you don’t take your 2.75-year-old to the movies on Friday night.

So it was awesome! We made popcorn, we ate popcorn, we turned the lights down, we watched the movie and Eleanor got to stay up WAY past her normal bedtime, and so did I. You guys, I was bouncing all over the place. Jack Black voices the fat panda hero, and I have to tell you, I am really so proud of Jack Black. I know that’s weird, because I didn’t raise him from a pup or even know him or anything, but I remember enjoying the antics of Tenacious D back in college, watching the HBO shows, and falling in love (<3). Fun facts you didn’t want to know about Jack Black: he’s a JEW, just like me! And he dropped out of UCLA, just like me! (just kidding I’m not some kinda of drop-out loser like Jack Black, summa cum laude baby, and making the bank to prove it STOP LAUGHING). And now Jack Black is leading man materials (sorry Kyle), putting talented voice actors out of work. So proud. My baby’s all grows up. This is where Maggie cocks her head and furrows her brow at me, but that’s okay because Brian understands (insider reference, or at least it would be if anyone but Brian were reading this right now HI BABY!). ANYWAYS so we watched that movie, and then Eleanor attempted to perform a flying roundhouse kick on Maggie, and BEDTIME!

Then of course Eleanor wanted to watch “the panda one” all weekend, so we did that, and then sent it back on Monday, and she cried. But then, before long, it was Friday again, and we had a new movie, Monsters vs. Aliens. Despite its just-as-expensive voice cast, this one was no panda. Jack Black wasn’t even IN IT. But this time around we did it even righter. We got pizza from Tomato Joe’s (who accidentally made our mushroom and olive pizza with cheddar, and did you know they will put cheddar on your pizza if you want it? and even if you don’t? and then they made a new one properly SANS cheddar and gave us the cheddar one too and if you’re wondering, it tastes like pizza with CHEDDAR on it), had popcorn and cookies, and you guys, I don’t even think it matters what the movie is, because FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT! The most exciting development of our lives, no REALLY!

My advice: you should be like us and watch movies at night too.

Comments: 7
Categories: Eleanor, Family, Josh, Maggie
Tags: Family Movie Night, flying roundhouse kicks, Jack Black, Kung Fu Panda, movies, pizza, Tenacious D

Cloudy with a Chance of Crazy

Aug
23

Posted by: Josh

Cheap thrills last Saturday when we saw a movie in the park. The cost? Zipple. Unless you also bought a house while you were there, which is what they were selling, and which we did not (unless Maggie snuck off while I was chasing Eleanor around, but she looked pretty comfortable on the picnic blanket so I’m going to doubt that there are any mortgages I’m unaware of). The movie, which is one of Eleanor’s favorites (also mine!), was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. If you haven’t seen it, see it. If you have seen it, unsee it. Just kidding. That’s physically impossible, and also very not advisable, because this movie is hilarious, and has a LOT of sardine references.

Bonus: Valencia shelled out for free kettle corn AND drinks. Sugary drinks, not drinky drinks, but still pretty good. Thanks Awesometown! That was awfully awesome of you, he said with a straight face. We brought a picnic dinner and enjoyed the popcorn, and I took a lot of pictures with Maggie’s “old” camera. If you’re a regular reader, you can guess that I also spent a good amount of time chasing Eleanor around the park, at least until the movie started. Then, believe it or not, she sat down and watched about two-thirds of it before losing her mind and running around in the dark babbling hysterically (as she is wont to do). All in all, a lovely evening!

Here’s Eleanor, really considering a Lennar box. In the end, she decided on racing around the grass trailing a big bag of popcorn behind her instead.

As part of the good times, Awesometown handed out bubbles to all the kids! Naturally, Maggie snatched them all up and proceeded to blow 24 bottles of bubbles into the air.

Sometimes, just for kicks, Eleanor runs at top speed with her eyes closed. Not her problem, right?

The movie didn’t start until it got dark, so we were out past bedtime! Living it up in Awesometown!

Eleanor tried to fit two handfuls of popcorn into her mouth at the same time. Success!

Then Maggie ate her face. Success!

Since Maggie claims to have seen the movie like a bah-jillion times already, she brought her own entertainment. Yup, nothing like reading about post-apocalyptic death marches to brighten up the evening.

Comments: 1
Categories: Eleanor, Josh, Maggie
Tags: cloudy with a chance of meatballs, movies, park, popcorn, the road, Valencia

Eleanor’s First Trip to the Movies

Jul
22

Posted by: Maggie

We took advantage of Josh and I being off work for the Monday holiday following the Fourth of July to take Eleanor to her first movie in a theater, Toy Story 3. I’m sure I’ve mentioned many, many times that Eleanor is not the type of kid who sits still, ever. So we waited to see a movie that we knew would hold her attention. She loves the first two Toy Story movies. She talks about Woody and Buzz all the time, and tells us that she’s a cowboy or shouts, “to infinity and beyond!” We hoped that the familiar characters would keep her in her seat for the length of the film.

I snuck a couple quick shots before the movie started:

Even though we knew she would be excited to see her favorite characters in a new story, we expected to have to get up and leave the theater before the movie actually ended. But we were wrong.

She did really well. She didn’t stay in her seat the whole time, but she only got up to stand in front of her seat or to alternate between my and Josh’s laps. We were so happy! We can’t wait to take her to another movie!