Tag: Reviews

Frozen

At the weekend we took the children and saw Frozen, we saw the 3D version in a small studio style cinema and I have to say that the 3d effects were excellent and well used rather than gimmicky.

The story is based on the fairy tale ‘The Snow Queen,’ but has been Disneyfied with songs and other talking characters. The funniest characters are the snowman Olaf and the reindeer. There are the usual good and bad characters although some of them do not turn out to be as they appear! The children loved the songs and the visual appearance of the film is great.

Based as it is on a fairy tale it works well and there are some moments which younger children may find frightening, at one point a huge snow monster chases two of the characters down a cliff and SPOILER ALERT one of the sisters becomes a frozen statue for a few minutes. At this point a girl of approximately four years old was inconsolable! Anyway the story does have a happy ending, and the message behind it is clear, love is good and fear is bad and depending on which emotion you happen to be feeling magic for good or bad will come out of you.

A good sign in a kids film is a lack of fidgeting and on the whole mine were riveted enough to sit still and watch the film and were able to give details about it the next day, the thing they seem to have remembered the most are the songs which the five year old has been constantly singing and the snowman. My favourite line is when he is talking to one of the other characters and trying to convince them that love is strong and says ‘some people are worth waiting for.’

Yes it is somewhat formulaic and if you are looking for a film that is new and original then maybe this isn’t the right one for you. If you are looking for a film that will keep your children happy and hold your attention as well then this will work , and for any Disney fan, especially those who liked Tangled, then this is a must see! Not too long for smaller children and not overly simplified for the older ones a good film to see over the Christmas holidays. 4.5/5 0.5 deducted for too much schmaltz!

Zumba Fitness XBox 360

Having enjoyed the first Zumba games for the X-Box I awaited the release of this game with interest. It was billed as being bigger and better than the first outing and indeed in many ways it is. The graphics are more lifelike, the music and background environments more varied and interesting. There are also more instructors featured and in the classes, particularly the 45 and 1 hour classes they are all featured.

The game works in a similar way to the previous one, with the added benefit of voice control, having said that I have found that this feature is not very responsive, the hand signals do seem to be better in this game but even so it still take a fair amount of time to navigate through the various menus to the game itself, there is also a lengthly introduction video which if you miss the opportunity to skip holds you up for a couple of minutes.

The game itself can be played for 20, 45 or 60 minutes at low, medium or high intensity. You can get a sample of each class before you start. If you prefer  to practice a single song or learn a step you can do that by following the appropriate link in the main menu.

As stated the graphics are very different from the original game, the classes take place in a variety of places including rooftops, clubs and swimming pool. The thing that takes some getting used to is the way the camera angles change even mid-move. Like many of the dance games a next move indicator appears just before you need to carry it and rather than the ‘encouraging’ comments from the instructor are gone and replaced by an image of you and your moves. Instead of the zumba double points you collect stars and if you get a big enough chain of moves correct you trigger zumba euphoria. This means that the screen seems to have a mist over it for a small amount of time. Once you get used to the odd camera angles and the euphoria mode you’ll find the graphics more detailed and useful than the previous version.

Included in this version is a calorie counter, however having played the game at different levels and for different lengths of time I have come to conclude that it isn’t very accurate. I also run a lot and 45 minutes running monitored with a GPS monitor burns approximately 450-500 calories depending on speed, according to the game 45 minutes of mid-intensity zumba burns over 900! Anyway that aside I think this game is an improvement on the previous one and suitable for all levels of ability. I would definitely recommend it a fun way to tone up and burn calories!

Review of Baby Be Mine by Paige Toon

This book was entertaining, compelling and emotive. The lead characters, especially Johnny, Meg and Christian as well as the supporting cast, particularly Dana, Lena, Bess and Joseph make up a world that is believable and interesting. They are well developed and the reader often takes side. The first person narrative makes the story more immediate and it is seen though the lead character, Meg’s eyes making us privy to her varied emotions and helping us to side with her. My one criticism of this book is that at the start it seemed to take a long time to get going. Whilst I expect it to take me a couple of chapters to get to know the characters and work out their motivations I felt that establishing Meg’s feelings of guilt and worry about the paternity of her child got in the way of the plot.

Having said that once the plot got going it was brilliant and I found it very difficult to put the book down, often sneaking upstairs to read a few more pages while the kids were busy as I wanted to find out what happened next. The storyline is fast moving, takes in France, LA and Oxford and the pace suits the story and the complications in the characters lives will make you cross, happy and move you all at the same time. I won’t give too much of the plot away as that would ruin it for you, if you read the blurb you know that there is going to be emotional upheaval and difficulties for all involved. The settings are convincing and the first person narrative really helps to involve the reader in the story. The ending is convincing and fitting.

I hadn’t read a Paige Toon book before but on the strength of this one I shall be sure to seek out more.

Review of The House by the Sea by Santa Montefiore

I received this book as a review copy, I admit I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy the story. I needn’t have been. The books 2 main protagonists Floriana and Marina are both well drawn and the reader can identify with them. The two settings, Italy and Devon, are vivid although I preferred Floriana’s Italy as this seemed more evocative.

If there was one criticism to make it would be that perhaps some of the minor characters in particular those in the estate office are a little stereotypical. Having said that the plot on the whole is kept quite tight. The two settings do mirror one another to some extent but not so that the reader is fed up. The sub-plots are intriguing and all the characters have their own ideals and motivations which then impact on the lives of others.

The anguish of Marina can become a little wearing as can the vileness of Clementine but it needs to be accepted that both these characters are behaving in the ways they behave because they are well developed characters not just plot devices. The use of Rafa, the artist in residence as a cure-all for the hotels problem is a clever way of uniting the problems of the various characters. The sub-plot of Baffles will keep you guessing.

All in all a book I would recommend, it has a little bit of everything, love, forbidden love, mystery and intrigue.