Poppin' Off Early Edition- Best Movies of 2013

I saw lots of movies this year, here are some of the ones that I think are the best (and that I can remember watching. Isn't that horrible?! I have the worst memory, seriously). (As always, if you haven't seen these movies yet and would like to, please read at your own risk. There could be spoilers.)

Family movies:

Monsters University. I am a big fan of Monsters Inc, so I came to this movie with huge expectations. And they were met. The story was good, the graphics were great.....I just loved it. And so did my kids, which means a lot. There were a couple of kid movies that didn't impress them as much this year *cough*Planes*cough* 

Despicable Me 2. Minions!!!! I love the Minions! And the story was cute too. It was able to stand on its own even though it was a sequel. 

Honorable mentions to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Frozen and Turbo.

Movies Based on Books:

Ender's Game. I got excited about this movie while walking some of the sets at San Diego Comic Con over the summer, and the movie did not disappoint. I haven't read the book, so I'm not sure if its true to it or not, but the movie was just outstanding. 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This movie was so much better than the first. It had enough length to cover what needed to be covered, it didn't lack on the emotional disparity of the situation in the Districts and in the Quarter Quell, and some of the characters really held their own this time. Effie for me, made the biggest change. You could see that she was realizing what the Games really were about, and some of her scenes had me near tears (and I am not a crier for movies). Another one was Johanna Mason, the District Seven tribute. She starts off racy (stripping in the elevator anyone), but she always comes through for Katniss. And Peeta.....he was much more of a babe in this one. Gale, who? Team Peeta all the way!

Other:

Don Jon. The subject was so unconventional for a mainstream movie, but I think that's what made it great. Loved the cameos by Channing Tatum and Anne Hathaway, but wished Brie Larson had more of a speaking part.

Elysium. I thought the concept was neat, Matt Damon didn't suck at acting and even Jodie Foster did a nice bad guy.

This Is The End. This is good if you need a laugh. I love these guys, and you really can't expect a high quality film when they're all together (I'm sorry, you can't).

Did I miss a movie? Disagree with my choices? Let me know in the comments!

Poppin' Off- Feed Project+Target and Monsters University

So this week's Poppin' Off is another two-fer, but these things aren't really related to one another. I just really love Monsters University and the Feed Project/Target collaboration.

*There are no intentional spoilers here. But if even vague overviews ruin things for you, do not continue reading*

Okay, Monsters University. Monsters, Inc came out my senior year of high school and I fell in love with it. All these years later,and not only do I still love it, but my kids love it. So we were all really excited to hear about Monsters University being released. I finally got to see it this Tuesday and it was such a cute movie. If you're worried about it being a rehash of Monsters Inc, don't be. Aside from seeing some of the characters from the first movie, there are no similarities. It shows you Mike's journey to his first dream of attending Monsters University and how he meets Sulley. It was really surprising to me that their educational journey didn't go as planned (its really hard to talk about it without giving that part of the story away), but it also wasn't because Disney is always good for a hidden morals lesson. And there were two big ones in this movie, which I can appreciate. The first: your actions have consequences, and you better be prepared for them. And secondly: work hard, keep moving forward, and you can achieve your dreams (which is a theme they put in a lot of their movies, Walt Disney was big on that). The movie is great, it really is. I definitely recommend seeing it, even if you don't have kids.

For the past few month I had been seeing magazine adds for a Target and Feed Project collaboration. I almost marked it on my calendar, that's how excited I was (am) for it. The Feed Project was founded by Lauren Bush Lauren in 2007, and each purchased Feed item helps feed families around the world. The collaboration with Target is especially great because 1) the proceeds are going to feed families here in America and 2) the pairing with Target has brought the price point down a little bit, so its affordable for more people. I've already purchased the kitchen towels, the snack bags, and the two pack deck of cards and I fully intend on buying more before the collaboration is over. All the items are super cute, and it goes towards a great cause.