Poppin' Off- Summer Movies

I haven't been able to get the movies too much this summer, but here are the reviews for the ones I've seen lately. And there's probably some spoilers in here (especially for HTTYD2), so read at your own risk if you haven't seen any of these movies yet and want to.

22 Jump Street




This was one of the movies I was looking forward to seeing this year. It didn't disappoint, although it's focus on "doing everything exactly the same" kind of made the movie drag a little for me. The comedy was still on point, and bringing in Jillian Bell (watch her on Workaholics) was a really good choice, she played her part well. There was a hint of 23 Jump Street, but if they really make a third one...I guess thats up to them. They did have a lot of movie posters in the credits showing the potential ways they could drag out the franchise, but they were just jokes. What was funny though, was that a lot of people took them seriously when I went to see it, and one guy was like "Great! I should've left right when it ended. Now I know what the next movies are going to be!" And he was totally serious. 22 Jump Street is a fun summer movie, even if it is a little predictable.

How To Train Your Dragon 2



I really liked the first How to Train Your Dragon. I didn't like this one. I felt that it was really meant for adults. My husband and I took our children to see it because they really wanted to. My son (8) liked it. My daughter (4) hated it. She couldn't sit still (which she only does if a movie can't hold her attention), and thought the bad guy was too scary. I thought it was bullshit that they killed the dad off the way they did, and overall, the whole tone of the movie was dark. There was a lot of conflict in this movie, mostly internal dealing with Hiccup not knowing who he is and where he wants to go in life; but externally as well, with the bad guy trying to take the dragons. I was really disappointed with this one, I thought they could've done better.

Earth to Echo



Earth to Echo is another movie that my kids really, really wanted to see. So we saw it. It wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be. Its a cool little sci-fi movie for kids that doesn't get so deep they can't understand it. The premise has been compared to E.T., but I didn't really gather that from the movie at all. It focuses on three boys who live in the same housing community, but are being forced to move due to construction. Of course, it comes out later that the construction is a cover for trying to find Echo's ship. Anyway, the boys spend their last night together trying to find Echo (through maps that this little alien has sent to their phones) and then helping him find his way home. Its filmed predominantly Blair Witch style, handheld camcorders and Go-Pros, so if motion sickness is an issue for you, I would suggest taking some Dramamine before you watch this (I did). Its a good movie to see during matinee prices, or it'll be a good one to rent once it hits Redbox.