Goosebumps 2

At the title implies this is a sequel to the 2015 movie Goosebumps which had two teens working together to stop author R.L. Stine's creations after they are set free from his books. This time its three teens working together to stop author R.L. Stine's creations after they are set from a book. Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris) are the typical kids in the movie that are bullied by the popular kid and his gang of misfits. On the side to start earning some money for themselves, Sonny and Sam, start a junk cleaning business (yes, they do go there with the puns) when they are called to clean an old abandoned house that once belonged to famed young adult horror writer R.L. Stine. Finding a secret room, they open a trunk that contains an unfinished manuscript from the legendary author that frees Slappy the puppet. The movie takes in a small town in New York that was once a testing ground for a large electric testing tower for Nikola Tesla, Slappy is out to bring the elements and characters of Halloween to life setting out to start a family of his own. The two boys joined by Sonny's old sister, Sarah (Madison Iseman) to stop Slappy from using Tesla's tower to magnify his magical powers of being able to bring Halloween to life permanently. It's a very basic sequel story to the original that sees many of the same characters once again running amok in the real world. Jack Black reprises his role of R.L. Stine briefly towards the end of the movie, do not go see this thinking he has as large apart in this as he did in the original if you’re looking for some Jack Black humor. This is one that I would say is a hard pass on the theatrical experience unless you have kids that are die-hard Goosebumps fans or begging to see it after enjoying the original. This is one that feels created for the direct to DVD and streaming market, but, is being release because of its tie-in to Halloween. I did get a little bored with it about half way through its 90-minute runtime which made it feel longer that was largely due to it hitting the checkboxes of this type of family film and many beats of the first movie which is very briefly mentioned in one scene. If you are looking for a decent family Halloween theater experience and have a slightly older child, I recommend choosing The House with A Clock in Its Walls the other Halloween movie that recently came out with Jack Black that is still playing in many theaters. For myself this sequel just didn't do anything that enhanced the first movie and the storyline is very basic with characters that I had no emotional connection to. I would wait for next year and check it out when it's on streaming or they release a movie 2-pack and you want to create a Halloween movie night for the family at home with some snacks from the store that won't break your wallet after you had to pay admission for yourselves and/or children. C. I apologize for the briefness of this review as I write this we are getting ready to leave for a small family vacation to the Florida Keys. 

After movie I went to my new go to Milkshake place, Vivoli, at Disney Springs where I see most of my movies and had their featured shake of the month the Chocolate Cauldron. Which I quite enjoyed as their chocolate is not overly strong combined with the white chocolate waffle cone made it quite enjoyable on a hot afternoon. I probably would not necessarily get this one again as I do not love chocolate on a regular basis.

Hotel Transylvania 3 (DVD)

The Drac Pack is back and this time they are out to have a good time, putting the hotel duties on hold for a vacation. When Mavis (Selena Gomez) notices her dad, Dracula (Adam Sandler), acting a little suspicious lately around the hotel she figures it’s the stress of work and decides everyone needs a vacation, booking a monster only cruise is this what Drac needs or is there something else lingering inside the vampire. The movie starts out with a backstory of how Dracula has been hunted by Van Helsing for years, why did we not know this until three movies in, because he is going to be related to one of the new characters we meet on this cruise. Captain Emily, she may be human, but, she is set to give these monsters the vacation of a lifetime and maybe even throw in some surprises along the way which may or may not include trying to kill every monster on the ship. Hotel Transylvania for me the franchise is starting to lose some steam, this one felt like the third movie and having a new villain show up that wants to take over it feels done many times before. There is some humor in using cruise amenities such as the kids club for Wayne and his family and shore excursions for a couple examples. There is a nice story of Dracula who lost his wife feeling lonely and Mavis seeing her dad looking for another that’s not her mom. Sadly, that kind of takes backseat to the let’s kill the monsters plot, it’s still there but I don’t think worked as well as it could have. I missed seeing this in theaters and do not feel I missed out on that experience, the DVD I bought felt right for this one. I think deserves a little more than just streaming service, if you are past the physical disc point or don’t want to run out to Redbox I would say rent a digital copy of it. It will keep the little ones entertained with the monsters you and styling as well as give parents some scenes they could relate to. The DVD I purchased came with two mini movies which one shows how the kids got their puppy who appears in the movie which I felt was an added bit to the story. Other than the two mini movies only thing else was a commentary track and a digital copy of the movie. I would say wait for the holidays to purchase when it goes on a decent sale, if you are a completionist like I am and what the franchise otherwise renting it will be more cost effective for those not fully invested into the Drac Pack. C.

Not the prettiest I have made
Pineapple Shake
https://www.thespruceeats.com/pineapple-milkshake-recipe-1945862

Smallfoot

Yetis are real and have existed for quite some time, but, why have we never seen one. Well the opening sequence explains through a series of stones with drawings the mythology and world the Yetis live in, including having a Yeti each morning sling shoted across town to ring a gong with his head to awaken a glowing snail to crawl into the sky. That job belongs to Dongle, voiced by Danny DeVito, it is his son, Migo (Channing Tatum), that we first meet and introduces us to the Yeti society and way of life. Migo is excited that he is going to start training to ring the gong except on his practice flight soars past it out of the village and on the side of a mountain, where a plane has crashed and encounters its parachuted pilot, a human, a Smallfoot that is whisked over the side of the mountain by his parachute. Migo heads to town to tell everyone he saw the mythical Smallfoot and is stopped by the Stonekeeper voiced by Common. The Stonekeeper wears dozens of stones each one with a rule or way to live by, one of which is Smallfoots do not exist and by claiming Migo saw one and it is grounds for banishment from the village. Banished from his home he learns there are a few Yetis that believe Smallfoot exists and willing to help Migo descend through the clouds surrounding their mountain top, under the cloud cover is an entire world he never knew existed. In a nearby town an Animal Planet like host, Percy (James Cordon) finds himself struggling to stay relevant with streaming sites. With an idea to dress his associate up as a Yeti and fake a Yeti sighting to get views, he stumbles upon a real Yeti that takes him up the mountain to prove to everyone Smallfoot exist and get himself un-banished. When Migo arrives home the Stonekeeper takes him deep inside the mountain to explain why the rules they have exist and that the clouds surrounding their mountaintop is steam that is created unknowingly by the citizens daily thinking they are just living normal life. It seems long ago Yetis lived down where humans are, but we’re attacked by spears and guns forcing them to their secluded mountain top home where humans can’t survive. Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick (Over the Hedge;2006), written by the guys behind Bad Santa and based on a book called “Yeti Tracks” by Sergio Pablos that focuses on a heavy message of question everything and shows that ignorance is not bliss get muddled into an average CGI feature film. It’s a relevant message about should you trust everything one person or system believes is honest and is safety used as a means of control. Rated PG, I think most of these morals will go over the heads of the main demographic that is going to see this one. Also, this story of basically totalitarian society is inside a CGI movie that has some very basic character design and is a musical with largely forgettable numbers. For many laughs it results in what I call Looney Toons humor such as giant pieces of mountain falling on a Yeti or falling from great heights creating character outlines deep into the snow. This is the 5th film from a Warner Animation Group the people behind The LEGO Movie, the opening song similar concept, though the level of detail in LEGO did not find itself into this movie. If you have a young one that has seen a trailer and must see it, seek out a cheap morning showing and don’t spring for the 3D, while some landscape shots show the depth of field looking off the mountain it’s not enough to justify the up charge. This is one I’d say wait till it hits a streaming service you subscribe to if you can. C.

Vanilla Over The Top Milkshake