Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

Probably my favorite movie of all time, Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss is a classic.

Wikipedea (the source of all things unverified) says, "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (1988) is a television comedy film written by Jean Shepherd and directed by Dick Bartlett, based on the 1968 short story by Shepherd. A satire of childhood recollections of annual family vacations, the film follows the Parker family (of A Christmas Story) as they travel to a Michigan lakeside camp, the eponymous Haven. It was a co-production of The Disney Channel and PBS, and aired in that order, and was released on video."

One reason that this movie is dear to my heart is that I first watched it with my hubby as we were dating back in 1993. He introduced it to me as one of his all time favorites and it has been one of mine ever since. I don't think a lot of people are familiar with this gem so I've made it my movie review for April. It's the perfect summer vacation adventure.

It's a wonderful family movie, full of laughs and situational (spell check says that's not a word but I'm leaving it) comedy that most of us can relate to. The author of the tale, Jean Shepherd, has a way of telling a yarn that tickles my funny bone every time. So if your looking for a fun summer family watch, and you haven't seen it, I recommend this one. My only reservation is that it's hard to find a good copy that's available. I don't think Disney has ever re-released it on DVD and the copies that are out there are poor at best, made from the VHS versions.

I see that you can watch it complete on Utube at the moment. It's not great quality but you get the idea. (click --  Ollie online )

Movie Review: Cinderella

Saw Cinderella this week and loved it.
It's clean, romantic, follows the old cartoon version but is not cheesy about it and yet it varies enough to be fresh. I love re-tellings of old classic fairy-tales and this one was well done..
The actors did a fabulous job and were well cast. I saw some familiar faces but they played their parts so well you had to really think about it to recognize them. I'm not naming names here as I'm terrible at names anyway, but you know who they are. Well done.
It's the best Disney movie I've seen in a long time, my husband even said it was good and he usually falls asleep during a movie unless people are dying.
I recommend it to romantics of all ages. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.


(thank you to http://helloawesomelife.com/2015/01/05/cinderella-2015-trailer-review/ for the photo I 'borrowed'.)

Movie Review: Dinotopia

Okay, time for my first ever movie review.

Just watched last night, for the second time, the movie Dinotopia.
(Photo taken from internet: maxresdefault.jpg : James Gurney illustration.)

This movie is inspired by a book written, and illustrated, by fantasy artist James Gurney. It's a beautifully illustrated book published in 1992 by Greenwich Workshop.
The movie is about four hours long, but does not drag. It takes you with a pair of brothers whose plane crashes and strands them in a strange and unheard of land called Dinotopia.

As the name implies the land is populated not only by humans but by dinosaurs. No one ever leaves Dinotopia. The brothers eventually see that they have to become a part of this society. Carl, the rebel is assigned to a hatchery where baby orphan dinosaurs are hatched. David, who ironically is afraid of heights, is assigned to the skybax riders school. He has to learn to ride large pterodactyl like birds.

Things are not as ideal as they may seem at first in this land. The prime sunstones are failing and the carnivores are on the rampage. In order to restore the sunstones and the peace, they need to go to the land beneath to get more stones. Part of the problem however is that the land beneath is forbidden and protected by carnivorous monsters.

David and Carl end up being the only ones who are not so limited by tradition that they do not dare to try. They, with the help of a rather nasty fellow who betrays them in the end, find the land beneath and restore the prime sunstone, thus, saving Dinotopia.

I like this movie. I had forgotten what a fun little adventure it was. The land created by James Gurney is delightful. The story is entertaining and it's fairly well acted. If you like Journey to the Center of the Earth, you would probably like this movie. I would recommend Dinotopia to viewers of all ages.