Imagine That

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: June 12, 2009

DVD Release Date: October 6, 2009

Plot 411: An finance exec uses his daughter's imaginary friends to pick stocks for clients.

Review: Eddie Murphy plays Evan, a bigwig workaholic who faces some competition from Johnny (Thomas Hayden Church), a new guy in his company. Johnny is using his native American roots to pitch financial decisions to clients. He swoops in and begins taking Evan's clients. During this time, Evan is babysitting his daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi) for the week. She is having trouble adjusting to the divorce of her parents. Her mom is played by Nicole Ari Parker. To cope, she is unusually attached to her blanket, which she uses to escape into make-believe lands. However, when her fairy princesses begin giving extraordinary stock tips, Evan does all that he can to get their advice. Even though this is supposed to be a kid's movie, I think adults would be the best served by watching it. The movie has several funny scenes (I mean, it's Eddie Murphy for goodness sake), but I didn't feel like there was a ton of things to offer kids. The movie focuses on the lack of involvement Evan has in his daughter's life and how he is consumed with success and status at work. We could all heed this movie's advice and probably be better off as a result.

Watch It: But don't expect another The Nutty Professor performance.

Skip It: And set your kid up with How To Train Your Dragon instead.

How To Train Your Dragon

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: Marhc 26, 2010

DVD Release Date: TBD

Plot 411: A young Viking doesn't fit in with the rest of his people and befriends their long-time enemy.

Review: Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup, the son of a Viking leader named Stoick (Gerard Butler). Everything about Hiccup screams the antithesis of a Viking. He is scrawny and weaker than his peers, which adds to the ridicule he receives from just about everyone in town. He just isn't able to fit into his society depsite all his best efforts. However, this attribute turns out to be his saving grace. I won't say any more because it would ruin the already quite predictable plot for you. Needless to say, this film isn't touting any new moral lessons for us, or our kids, to learn. Still, the action was really enjoyable and there were some definite funny moments. Craig Ferguson is good as Gobber, an old warrior who must teach the next generation to fight dragons. The best part for me was the animation. How do they manage to make clouds, water and fire look so real? It even looks like you can reach out and touch Hiccup's hair as the ocean breeze blows it around. These tiny details make you realize that DreamWorks is definitely the studio leading the pack. Also providing voice support in this film are America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig.

Watch It: Because it's definitely better than the trailers make it out to be.

Skip It: If you usually turn on the subtitles so you can understand all UKish dialects. You might want to wait for the DVD for this one.