I’m probably more in love with "Transformers" than "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (read my review here). They’re both rock-em sock-em movies with giant robots, but the first one had more plot and character development, in my view. Well, as much as you can have in a movie about giant robots. 

THE DVD: The 2007 action flick directed by Michael Bay centers on an ancient battle between two extraterrestrial robotic clans, the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons. But the key to who wins this battle is held by a teenage boy, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf). Also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Jon Voight, and John Turturro.

("Transformers" is also now available in a two-disc Blu-ray edition. As with the DVD, it includes new deleted scenes and 25 minutes of bonus features; available on June 16 from from Paramount Home Entertainment.)

THE GIVEAWAY: I have FOUR “Transformers" DVDs to give away.  

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, July 11, 2009. Be sure to include a valid email address. Winners will be drawn randomly. I’ll email the winner for their snail-mail address after the contest ends. Good luck!

Image: Amazon.com

When my kids were little, one of our favorite books was "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi and Ron Barrett. I think I liked it probably more than the kids. Just the idea of having food raining down on you whenever you’re hungry is a pretty entertaining idea. Ok, my adult-self thinks it would get really messy, but my kid-self says bring it on!

The animated big screen version hits theaters Sept. 18, 2009, and features the voices of Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Mr. T. Yes, Mr. T! It’s directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who’ve done some episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and other TV shows and a few movies.

The official site doesn’t give a lot of clues about the story, other than the raining-food part, but it still looks cute as all get out. And of course, on the site you’ll find fun downloads and games, like 3D Food Fight, Stump the Monkey, and Sticker Studio. Here’s the trailer playing in theaters right now:

Remember that episode of "The Twilight Zone," where the couple gets off a train and ends up in a town devoid of human life and everything seems fake and it turns out they’re on an alien planet and are now the playthings of a little girl? "Planet 51" is sort of like that.

Ok, that might be stretching it a bit, but an astronaut plants a flag on a planet that turns out to be filled with aliens mowing their lawns and barbecuing in their backyards. It’s a mind-twister because the humans are the aliens, and the astronaut is the one trying to get back home.

"Planet 51" is an animated family movie directed by Jorge Blanco and featuring the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, and John Cleese. No rating yet, but I’m guessing PG. It hits theaters Nov. 20, 2009.

I’m such a sucker for Disney movies with cute talking animals. I hope "G-Force" is as cute as it looks. From producer Jerry Bruckheimer, it’s a 3-D comedy adventure about a covert government program that trains animals for espionage work.

Armed with the latest high-tech spy gear, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws! Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan, Penelope Cruz, and Nicolas Cage provide voices. The movie also stars Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, and Steve Buscemi, and hits theaters July 25, 2009.

Watch the trailer here, and check out the official theme song for the movie, by Flo Rida:

I really don’t have much history with Astro Boy, but the movie looks like a lot of fun! It’s a CGI-animated movie coming to theaters Oct. 23, 2009.

“Astro Boy” began as a Japanese manga series and TV show first broadcast in Japan from 1963 to 1966. The story follows the adventures of a fictional robot named Astro Boy and lots of other fun characters, too.

The movie is set in futuristic Metro City, where Astro Boy (voiced by Freddie Highmore) is a young robot created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive “blue” energy, Astro Boy has super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed, and the ability to fly.

The young robot goes on a search which eventually leads him back to Metro City to save everything he cares about.

“Astro Boy” also features the voices of Kristen Bell, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, and Eugene Levy.

Images: TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Movie: Imagine That * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: June 12, 2009
Runtime: 107 minutes	Directed by: Karey Kirkpatrick
MPAA Rating: PG for some mild language and brief questionable behavior	Gecko Rating:

"Imagine That" is a predictable movie, but it also has some sweet moments of father-daughter bonding.

Eddie Murphy plays Evan Danielson, a successful financial executive who spends more time crunching numbers than with his 7-year-old daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi). He’s divorced from Olivia’s mom, Trish (Nicole Ari Parker), and the two share custody. 

When Evan gets a chance to move up in his company, he has a crisis of confidence that affects his work. It doesn’t help that he has to compete for the new job with his company rival, Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church).

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My pal Julie Bonner, who blogs at DisneySociety.com, had an opportunity to talk with Yara Shahidi, the girl who plays Eddie Murphy’s daughter in "Imagine That."

The movie hits theaters tomorrow, June 12, and Yara had some fun things to say about it. Have you seen the trailer with the pancake scene? That was her favorite scene (it would have been mine, too!).

She said that Eddie Murphy didn’t actually eat the pancakes; instead, he threw them over his shoulder and pretended like he ate them. I can totally see him doing that.

Read Julie’s interview here, and see what Yara had to say about Queen Latifah and  learning karate, as well as her philosophy: "If you don’t enjoy it, then don’t do it."

My kind of girl! Check out her official site, and watch the trailer below:

Image Credit: © 2009 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Where’s Waldo? With Universal Pictures! The studio has picked up the movie rights to the classic children’s book series, and they plan to make a live-action family film.

Illustrator Martin Handford is the man behind the popular character, a guy dressed in a red-and-white shirt, wearing glasses and carrying a walking stick. The challenge is to find Waldo on book pages crowded with colorful characters and scenes.

Previously at Paramount and Nickelodeon, the movie project has bounced around until landing at Universal. The original project centered on Waldo, now 30, who traveled through time after accidentally activating a time machine.

Universal will partner with producer Illumination Entertainment, whose animated "Despicable Me" is set for a 2010 release with Steve Carell and Jason Segel lending their voices to the movie.

Image: Amazon.com; Source: Hollywood Reporter

Kids, pirates, and sweet bayou creatures populate this fun family movie with a message.

THE DVD: In "Labou" (on DVD May 19, 2009), three unlikely friends get lost in the Louisiana bayou while searching for the dreaded ghost of Captain LeRouge, whose treasure-laden ship was lost more than 200 years ago. With the help of a magical swamp creature named "Labou," the kids stay one step ahead of two crazy oil moguls, but can they find the treasure and save the swamps before it’s too late?! Read more here.

THE GIVEAWAY: I have one copy of "Labou" to give away. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, May 23, 2009. Be sure to include a valid email address. A winner will be drawn randomly. I’ll email the winner for their snail-mail address after the contest ends. Good luck!

After the jump, check out some clips from "Labou"…

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Here’s a fun DVD for anyone who loves sweet family stories involving cute animals.

THE DVD: "Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts" (new on DVD May 19, 2009) stars Kyla Pratt  (Hotel for Dogs, Fat Albert), who returns as animal whisperer Maya Dolittle. Maya’s off to college when a Hollywood starlet seeks her out to help with her depressed Chihuahua. But when she experiences the excitement of Hollywood, Maya’s plans for college get put on the backburner. With her faithful sidekick, Lucky, Maya sees past L.A.’s rich and famous and stays true to what’s really important in her life. Read more here.

THE GIVEAWAY: I have one copy of "Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts" to give away. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, May 23, 2009. Be sure to include a valid email address. A winner will be drawn randomly. I’ll email the winner for their snail-mail address after the contest ends. Good luck!

After the jump, check out clips from "Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutt"…

Read more