Movie review: The Muppets

My family took a break from the hecticness that is December to check out the new Muppet movie. My husband and I were fans of the original Muppet Show. We've even shown a few of the episodes to my daughter. (I think it was, specifically, the Star Wars episodes.) Needless to say, this movie was right up our alley.

Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) are brothers that share a love of The Muppet Show. Years later, even after the show has gone off the air, the two of them continue to watch old recorded episodes of the show. When Gary decides to take his long-time girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles for their 10th anniversary, he decides to take his brother with them to see The Muppet Studio. Walter accidentally finds out that oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) is going to buy the studio in order to tear it down so he can drill for oil. Together, Gary, Mary, and Walter help Kermit the Frog get the gang back together to raise $10 million to keep their studio and the Muppet name.

Despite a tiny candy problem (my daughter lost a tooth in a Milk Dud), we all had tons of fun. As usual, there were a bunch of cameos that we giggled over. The songs were extremely fun, if a little cheesy. My favorite was Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" sung by Camilla and her chickens. And there was even a montage for finding some of the Muppets. Miss Piggy got a "let's travel by map!" (Even though some cheap conferencing could have done the trick.) Everything was perfect for a Muppet movie. Jason Segel hit this out of the ballpark.

TV Review: Grimm

Last week, I talked about ABC's fantasy drama Once Upon A Time. Now I'd like to talk about NBC's fantasy drama Grimm. The two shows are similar yet so different. Both shows revolve around fairy tale characters in the real world. However, where Time is a pretty straight forward drama, Grimm is a gritty police drama.

Nick Burkhardt (David Guintoli) is a homicide detective who recently finds out that he is a descendent of the famous Grimm brothers. However, the Grimm brothers were more than just fairy tale writers. They were part of a group of hunters that fight supernatural creatures. Now that Burkhardt's powers have been activated, it is up to him to protect humanity from the evil creatures in the world.

I am always very excited when fairy tale series come to television. Even though I know in my heart that they could be very disappointing, I always set aside time to tune in. Unfortunately, Grimm is not a very good show. Despite wanting desperately to enjoy it, I found it severely lacking. Instead of focusing on the fantastical creatures, we are relegated to watching Burkhardt try to solve a crime without letting anyone, including his partner Hank (Russell Hornsby), know that the responsible party is an animalistic creature masquerading as a human. It is painful to watch Burkhardt trying to figure out what is going on. Even though his Aunt Marie (Kate Burton) left him a trailer full of information about the various creatures, he barely touches any of it. Sure, there are a few scenes of him slowly paging through a book but that isn't anything like real research. If the show wanted to focus on the police aspect, they should stop being so half-hearted about it. There are plenty of good cop shows to show them how to do it.

It's not always a good idea to compare shows. However, since Once Upon A Time and Grimm both debuted around the same time and contain the same underlying plot, it's difficult not to compare them. Time is a great fantasy drama that drops hints about the true identity of each character. Grimm, on the other hand, is muddled and doesn't seem to know what it is. I am going to give Grimm a few more episodes to redeem itself. I'm just not going to hold my breath waiting for redemption.

TV review: Once Upon A Time

It has been quite some time since I've seen a MUST SEE television show. Once Upon A Time fits the bill. Airing on Sunday nights at 8:00PM (Eastern) on ABC, the show takes the classic fairy tale characters and throws them into the real world. While that isn't a new plot (see: The Charmings from the late 80s), this does have a bit of a different take on it.

The series revolves around the fight between Snow White and the Evil Queen. Snow White married her Prince Charming. At the wedding, the Evil Queen storms in and threatens to destroy Snow's happy ending. Fast forwarding a few months, a troubled Snow White is pregnant. She turns to Rumpelstiltskin, who can see the future. He informs the princess that the queen will banish everyone to a realm with no happy endings and that her unborn child will be their savior. The queen unleashes her curse, not only transporting everyone into our world but also wiping all of their memories.

I think what I find most interesting about the show is trying to figure out what the fantasy world counterparts are for the real world people we meet. The heroine, Emma, is, of course, Snow White's daughter. Ten years before the first episode, she gave up a son for adoption. This boy, Henry, is the glue that holds everything together. He brings Emma to Storybook, Maine to help the town regain their memories and restart time. As of the second episode, the only explanation for Henry knowing about the fantasy world is that he believes a fairy tale book that his teacher, who is Snow White, gave him is fact.

Both my husband and I highly recommend this show to everyone. As a matter of fact, he turned it on for our 9-year old daughter this morning. There is nothing really scary in it (yet anyway) so the kids are likely to enjoy it. And the plot is good enough to keep the adults interested as well. It is definitely a show that is good for all.

Jdorama review: Yankee-kun to Megane-chan

Title: Yankee-kun to Megane-chan Also known as: Flunk Punk Rumble Broadcast dates: 4/23/10 - 6/25/10 Number of episodes: 10 Genre: Comedy Cast: Narimiya Hiroki, Naka Riisa, Hongo Kanata, Koyanagi Yu, Kawaguchi Haruna Plot: Shinagawa Daichi (Narimiya) used to be a good student. Now he is a yankee deliquent. He meets Adachi Hana (Naka) and finds out her secret. She used to be a yankee. Adachi takes it upon herself to reform Shinagawa's bad habits. What is good: I love Narimiya's facial expressions! What is bad: Some of the side characters are a little one-dimensional. Letter rating: B

I heard a lot of good things about Yankee-kun to Megane-chan so I decided to give it a try. Thankfully, the series lived up to the rumors. Both Narimiya and Naka performed their roles beautifully. Not only did they handle the comedy bits well, they also had great chemistry together and pulled off the drama aspects too. I was a little disappointed in some of the secondary characters, but they are secondary so it doesn't detract from the series as a whole.

This is a definite must-watch.

Jmovie review: Space Battleship Yamato

Title: Space Battleship Yamato Release date: 12/1/10 Genre: Space Drama Cast: Kimura Takuya, Kuroki Meisa, Yamazaki Tsutomu Plot: Earth has been destroyed by an alien race called Gamilas. The only hope to save Earth is a radiation reduction device on planet Iskandar. What is good: Surprisingly, Meisa Kuroki's acting is pretty good! What is bad: On the flip side, Takuya Kimura doesn't live up to his potential. Letter rating: C

My husband is a big fan of the original Space Battleship Yamato anime from the mid-70s. I enjoy watching KimuTaku so I figured this would be perfect for the both of us. Since it was our 10th wedding anniversary, this is what we watched as we snuggled close.

Maybe it's because we're so familiar with the original anime that this seemed to fall short. It's not an awful movie, but it definitely seemed to rush things. When the ship arrived at Iskandar, I turned to my husband with a surprised "Already?!" At the same time, my husband missed the noise from the original Wave Motion Cannon. My husband was also uncomfortable with the changes made to Mori Yuki. In the original, she was a rather feminine nurse, though she did get additional responsibilities later in the series. In the movie, she's a brash ace pilot. Quite a huge different, to say the least.

In all, both of us liked the movie. I would probably sit through it a second time. However, hardcore Yamato fans should be careful. This isn't the same old battleship anymore.

Jdorama review: Shiawase ni Narou yo

Title: Shiawase ni Narou yo Also known as: Let's Be Happy Broadcast dates: 4/18/11 - 6/27/11 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Romantic Comedy Cast: Katori Shingo, Kuroki Meisa, Fujiki Naohito Plot: Takakura Junpei (Katori) is one of the most successful advisors at a company that helps people find their marriage partners. Yanagisawa Haruna (Kuroki) is a beautiful yet heartbroken woman who suddenly decides to enter the company as a member. When Takakura falls in love with Yanagiawa, life turns topsy turvy. What is good: The path Takakura and Yanagisawa's relationship takes is slow but very realistic. What is bad: Some of the side characters were a little annoying. Letter rating: B

I am a big fan of Katori Shingo but I've never really watched any of his dramas. Luckily, I enjoyed it. I thought that all of the main actors did very well. Though, I have to admit that my favorite character was the bumbling Komatsubara Susumu played by Ohkura Koji. I almost wish he was the main characters of the series.

If you do decide to watch the show, keep in mind that it is about relationships. Therefore, the story doesn't progress particularly fast. Also, there are a few throwaway characters that are brought in to either cause problems or just fill some time. Neither of these problems are enough to keep the show from being entertaining.

Also, if you've watched Boss, keep an eye out for the cross-over collaboration. Boss will take over the drama world!

JDorama review: Boss 2

Title: Boss season 2 Broadcast dates: 4/14/11 - 6/30/11 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Detective Cast: Amami Yuki, Takenouchi Yutaka, Tamayama Tetsuji, Toda Erika, Mizobata Junpei, Kendo Kobayashi, Nukumizu Youichi, Hasegawa Kyoko, Narumi Riko Plot: Two years have passed. Nodate (Takenouchi) has received a promotion, thanks to the work of Osawa (Amami) and her team. Now it is time to bring the team back together. What is good: Amami Yuki is an amazing actress. What is bad: Kimoto (Toda) is missing from most of the series. Letter rating: A

I absolutely loved the first season of Boss so I was looking forward to the second season. For the most part, it didn't let me down. The only part I didn't like was Kimoto's "banishment." While they tried to replace her with two characters, it just wasn't the same. Granted, I would love to see Kurohara Rika become Kimoto's protege of sorts. That would be a pretty awesome spin-off.

My favorite part of the series is that it is a detective series but it keeps humor in their lives as well. It's not all stuffy or anything. I am really looking forward to news of a third season.

Busch Gardens

Who could go to Williamsburg without visiting Busch Gardens? While this is the finale of the vacation posts, we didn't just go to the park for one day. My family had 7-day bounce passes that allowed us to visit Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and Colonial Williamsburg as many times as we wanted. So we ended up spending one full day at the park, as well at eating dinner there a few nights.

Busch Gardens in Virginia is a European themed amusement park. The park is divided into countries: Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and New France. (New France is actually western-themed. It's based on the French colonies in North America's Old West.) The rides mostly match up with their country's theme. For example, Escape from Pompeii, a thrilling boat ride, is in Italy while Alpengeist, a ski lift themed roller coaster, is in Germany. The food vendors also line up with the appropriate country. Ireland has stew and pork loin, but New France has wood-smoked chicken and ribs. The park, as a whole, is a delight to wander through.

During this trip, we decided that my daughter would try her first roller coaster. Since she loved Water Country, she agreed to try it out. (Our family rule is "You have to try it before you say you don't like it.") We picked Apollo's Chariot, the only coaster in the park that does not have loops. (The idea of loops freaked her out.) While my husband and I loved it, my daughter, unfortunately, did not. Ah well. Instead, she liked the more "classic" rides - bumper cars, Roman Rapids (a white water rapid ride), and Turkish Delight (that ride in almost every park that spins in a circle, forcing you to squash your ride partner). There were a few others that she enjoyed but these were the main ones.

I think my daughter's favorite part of the park was the nightly fireworks display. Called IllumiNights, the main fireworks are launched from the train bridge between Italy and Germany. (The best spot to watch them is on the pedestrian bridge between those countries. Just make sure you are on the train bridge side and not the Loch Ness Monster side.) Smaller side fireworks are occasionally launched from both Italy and Germany as well. Of course, there is a soundtrack to go along with them. My daughter loved the display. It was a nice way to end the day.

Amazingly, Busch Gardens is one of those amusement parks that you can enjoy even if you don't like rides. The various European stores and restaurants are enough to keep someone interested for most of the day. However, I'd really recommend giving the Loch Ness Monster a try. It's one of my favorite roller coasters and I only hope that I can convince my daughter to ride it one day.

Water Country USA

On Wednesday, we left our hp netbooks at the hotel and went over to Water Country USA. It is a pretty typical water park. There are something like 12 different slides plus a pool, a wave pool, a lazy river and another lazy river-type attraction that doesn't use inner tubes. (I scraped my knee on that last one.) And, of course, there is a water-based acrobatics show, though we didn't stick around to watch it.

This was my daughter's favorite part of our vacation. This is also the first year she's actually enjoyed going on water slides. We hit every slide, except for two. Vanish Point is a brand new slide that basically drops the floor out from under you, which didn't sound very fun to us. (Well, I think my husband wanted to try it but neither my daughter nor I had the guts for it.) Rampage is a water toboggan that looked interesting but we were getting pretty tired by the time we got to that area of the park.

The rides that we did go on were awesome. I normally don't like slides that go through tunnels. (I have this fear of getting stuck in them.) However, I sucked it up and went on all of them for my daughter's sake. I tried my best to keep my eyes open the entire time and managed to have a lot of fun. I think, if we had a few more days to spend in Virginia, we would have gone back to the park for another day. It was definitely a great time.

Virginia Living Museum

The Virginia Living Museum was a few blocks down the street from our hotel. While we mainly went to see their Laser iPop show in the planetarium, my family also enjoys zoos and aquariums. (As a side note, I would totally love to have a laser show on the ceiling in my house with the booming 5.1 home theatre system for the soundtrack. Ah, dreams.)

The VLM is basically a little bit of everything thrown into one place. There is an outdoor zoo-type area with beavers, raccoons, red wolves, bobcats, and other animals. Along the outdoor path, there are a variety of plants and trees nicely pointed out with orange circles accompanying their information blurbs. Through September 5, a butterfly house compliments the outdoor attractions. Inside, you'll find the other half of the butterfly exhibit, which features activities for the kids. Also inside is the aquarium/aviary section of the museum. The various fish and birds of Virginia can be found in habitats similar to where they would be found in nature. Each section has two stories. The first floor features the fish, while the second floor highlights the birds.

While the VLM was nice, it was rather small. We were able to visit every section of the museum, including spending time in the butterfly play area, in a couple of hours. Luckily, we were allowed to leave the museum and return for the laser show. I must admit that the laser show was excellent. The music selection kept us quietly singing along while the lasers entertained our eyes. I thought it was much better than the Laser Floyd shows I've seen.

If you are in the Newport News area and need to fill a few hours, the VLM is worth checking out. Just don't expect to spend an entire day there.