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    Ocean Paddler Magazine

    Ocean Paddler Magazine

    Sports and Magazines & Newspapers

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    Introducing the new ‘Paddle Press Media’ iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch App – the home of Ocean...

Paddington 2 (2017)
Paddington 2 (2017)
2017 | Animation, Comedy, Family
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The Perfect Family Movie
I'm always wary heading into the cinema to see a 'family' movie, especially those featuring a CGI main character interacting with live human actors. Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Smurfs, The Scooby Doo movie - they've all done a pretty good job of destroying the genre, along with countless others. Even the better films struggle to engage the interest of kids and adults alike. But Paddington is just different. The sequel greatly improves on an already enjoyable first movie, and to be honest it's pretty difficult for me to write anything negative about it at all.

The story is a simple one. Paddington wants to buy a very special present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, and sets his sights on buying her a lovely pop-up book of London landmarks, London being the one place she always wanted to visit. The book is quite expensive though, so Paddington sets about earning the money himself. Unfortunately things go very wrong, with Paddington ending up jailed for a crime he did not commit.

An all-star cast play a huge variety of strange and wonderful characters, but the best of them all is the villain of the story. Hugh Grant gets to ham things hilariously up as Phoenix Buchanan, an actor longing for the limelight once more, reduced instead to starring in dog food commercials. Visual gags are carefully staged, then perfectly executed and the whole movie provides the ideal mix of laughs, peril, warmth and charm. The perfect family movie!
  
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
1998 | Horror
A pretty meh reboot.
H20 finds Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role of Laurie Strode. For 20 years she's been in hiding from Michael Myers, she's been staying at a college campus with her son John (Josh Hartnett), but Michael is hunting them down.

H20's plot is less weird than the last couple of outings in the franchise, but it still feels a bit silly. The movie opens up showing Michael Myers doing some investigation to find out where Laurie disappeared to, which it just so happens that the nurse from the original movie had in her house. It was kind of a dumb start, and it never fully recovers from it.
There were 3 different masks used, resulting in obvious differences from shot to shot. One mask was particularly terrible, it looked like a clown mask.
The movie does benefit from a decent supporting cast including the likes of Michelle Williams, LL Cool J, Adam Arkin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and even Janet Leigh.
Tonally, H20 is somewhat cheesy, it shouldn't be taken too seriously, though who would at this point in the series?

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later will entertain fans of the series and horror fans alike. But don't expect it to be anything especially good.
  
    My Town : Farm

    My Town : Farm

    Games and Education

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    * Pay once & Play forever + receive FREE updates! No ads and no IAP * Feed the animals, Gather the...

    Crime City Car Driving

    Crime City Car Driving

    Games and Entertainment

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    Car driving is always fun. Getting into a car after committing a crime is the most adventurous...

Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration
Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration
Julie Barker | 2018 | Children, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love children's books. I love reading them to my 4 year old son to help instill the love of reading I had as a child and still have now. When I heard about Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration by Julie Barker, it was a book that I wanted to read with my son. We both ended up loving this book!

The plot is pretty straightforward although there are subplots like a bull destroying a fence and everyone coming together to fix the fence and Hitch's smaller brother trying to ride a bull for 8 seconds. The lessons are all the same and teach the lesson of coming together to solve a problem as well as no matter how big, small, or different you are, if you persevere, the end result will be worthwhile. Both are fantastic lessons for children and adults alike! Even though this book is part of a series, there are no cliffhangers, and it could be read as a standalone. There's also a happily ever after. My 4 year old was enthralled the entire time with this story and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next!

The dialogue and writing in Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration is easy enough for children to understand for the most part. I love how each problem is solved and the next problem is presented, yet everything still flows smoothly. I did notice a couple of grammar mistakes, but they were only minor and easily overlooked. I wouldn't say they took away from the story though.

I thought the characters were lovable for children. For those that have never read a Hitchin' Post story, Hitch is a jackrabbit who talks and acts just like a human. He's very adorable and such a fun loving character! We get to meet all of Hitch's brothers in this book. Mitch was mine and my son's favorite character perhaps because he is the smallest.

My son and I loved the illustrations. They were beautifully drawn as well as being drawn in a fun way to hold a child's attention (which we all know is no easy feat). The illustrations are so lively and very colorful. I loved all the country and western pictures especially. My favorite being the barn after it's patched up. My son loved the jackrabbits and the 4-wheeler the best.

Overall, Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration is such an adorable book that's sure to bring a smile to anyone, young or old alike! With fantastic illustrations and an unforgettable main character, children will be begging their parents to buy them the rest of the books in the series. (I already know what my son will be getting for his birthday - more Hitchin' Post books!) I would definitely recommend Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration by Julie Barker to everyone aged 3+.
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(A special thank you to Julie Barker for providing me with a paperback copy of Hitchin' Post and the Tornado Twistin' 4th of July Celebration in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)