The Hobbit 3: The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit 3: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I can't say I understand why The Hobbit took 3 separate movies when each of the LOTR books is much longer as was fit in one film each (even if the extended editions are beyond epic and the final movie had about 3 "conclusions" in it). If anything, it made it feel like it was drawn out more than it should have been, especially since this last film is little more than dwarf stubbornness and a lot of fighting. Seems like a silly reason to die after everything else that they've been through. Also did get some amusement out of the elf, Thranduil, riding the Elven Elk (which looked more like a huge moose).

The Hunger Games 3: Mockingjay Part 1

The Hunger Games 3: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


We weren't incredibly interested in seeing this one "on time" given it's part one of two, and you have to wait another year for the ending. This first part, while sometimes rather dramatic, is very slow in it's pace. Likely this is because, being part 1 of 2, it is primarily meant to set the stage for the ending rather than really being it's own stand alone film. We'll likely re-watch this just before the sequel comes out and see if that helps with the attention span and draw any, or if it at least does help set up things in the final film.

House of Mouse

House of Mouse (2001)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Mickey and the other original Disney characters host a comedy house that shows various classic short films and skits to entertain an audience full of various characters from all the Disney films (Ariel, Beast, Snow White, Timon, Pumba, Hades, Jafar, etc). There are even certain nights that are dedicated to the villains instead of the heroes, especially as Stinky Pete and other would be billionaires (like Scrooge) attempt to take all the profit out of the House of Mouse or risk closing it down. Overall it's a random series of comedic entertainment that is perfect for small children as it doesn't require a long attention span and hosts a large variety of characters for them to play with.

MasterChef Junior

MasterChef Junior (2013)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I had heard of this show only when one of the winners guest starred on the more popular MasterChef, but had yet to see any of it. Just our luck that we came across the finale cook off when looking for something interesting to watch one evening. It's amazing what these young chefs come up with, especially given they have no guidance or help throughout the program. Not sure if that makes it more or less thrilling than the full fledged version given there are obvious limitations to what these young chefs can do at the moment. Maybe if they were moving on to restaurants or other jobs after the show it would make more sense. Until then, it's just kind of an impressive placeholder.