Entertainment | Page 2 of 89

Despicable Me 4, rote minion and baby hijinks for ages 8-13

Adding a baby to the cast of characters in a sequel is the canary of intellectual property death. The most obvious offender for us is Muppet Babies, but there have been many others. Angel, Murphy Brown, Friends are the first ones that rip off of the top of my head. And while casual fans of those shows or the movies that have hit that creative dearth might struggle to remember the specifics, they can vaguely recall that entry as the one with the baby. Despicable Me 4 is the one with the baby and lest there be anyone who didn’t suspect that’s a major plot point, there’s a baby on Gru’s back on the DVD’s cover. One of the minions is beside him, channeling its best yellow-Men-In-Black impersonation with a ray gun of sort in its gloved-yellow hand.

Despicable Me 4 adds a baby and exposes Gru and co. to a higher standard that doesn’t measure up to previous films.

The sweet spot for 8-11 YO minions, but not past that

The Mad Files Review: Nostalgia and Humor Explored

I bought a Mad Magazine at our local comic book store a couple of years ago. As a teenager, back in the early-to-mid 80’s, I read Mad Magazine quite often. My friends and I would sleep over, share our monthly copies, bring the Mad paperback books we’d collected, read silently and occasionally repeat one of the jokes aloud. My favorite flip-flopped between the art by Sergio Aragones, Spy Vs. Spy, and the Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions segments. If The Mad Files: Writers and Cartoonists on the Magazine that Warped America’s Brain! had a song that played along while you were reading it would be Little River Band and Reminiscing.

The Mad Files, a collection of funny and thought-provoking essays about the genius irreverence of Mad Magazine brings back good love.

Take an essay-bourne trip down Mad Magazine Memory lane

Unlocking the Universe, an irresistible look at the Webb Space Telescope

Not knowing something isn’t always a sign of intelligence because sometimes you just haven’t been exposed to the content. Non-fiction ‘illustrated books’ are a great way to introduce things to young readers when their brains are forming their learning pathways. These books are meant for elementary school ages, but defy what people normally think of when they think of them. More often than not, they’re smarter and operate at a higher perceived level then what people expect. Unlocking the Universe: The Cosmic Discoveries of the Webb Space Telescope is living large in that section of the library now.

Unlocking the Universe offers a mix of reference book smarts, illustrated book ease and the wonders of space to ages seven and up.

Smart, but gets smarter and isn’t pretentious

Horizon of Khufu is VR the way that you imagine its potential will become

Just under 30 years ago I came to Atlanta for a business trip and the client wanted to impress us by taking us to a “VR experience”. It was VR, but it was the mid-90s version of it that has us tethered via a thick cord that constrained our movement as we navigated a series of lines that were akin to Pong or a very primitive first-person-shooter game. Horizon of Khufu: Journey in Ancient Egypt is not that version of VR. This is a wholly immersive VR experience that puts you into old town Khufu. You do still have to wear the glasses. However, as an entertainment experience for the price point, it’s challenging to put Horizon of Khufu in a league with anything else.

Horizon of Khufu is what you knew VR could be. It’s a story-driven, interactive journey that takes you to Giza and back.

Ignore how you look with the headset on and jump into the water

MomoCon: A teen’s take on this all-age anime, manga and video games con

Our children have been going to Momocon since they were four and six. They were rabid about Pokémon for a year or two and gravitated towards board games, one of them has fallen in love with wrestling and both of them have always loved the cosplay that they see. Eight years on they were both very eager to go to MomoCon, but I wasn’t sure what would interest them the most when we got there.

As our children get older, their desire to go to MomoCon hasn’t stopped, but the things that they want to do there have changed.

Put Momocon on the calendar

Dia de Disfraces, un libro que passé el Navidad Musica exam

I just finished a contract where I was teaching advanced French to high school students. It was great practice for my guttural language skills and allowed me to read their library of French books. In this class library was a couple of dozen children’s books of all ages, with many of them being aimed at lower elementary school. I love it when I teach a foreign language and the teacher has a library of books in that language for students who are learning it. Dia de Disfraces is one of those illustrated books that are great for Spanish classrooms for a couple of reasons.

Dia de Disfraces is a charming illustrated book in Spanish about dressing up and being yourself, even when others aren’t with you.

Every library needs a handful of 2nd language books

A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures, fun learning you don’t expect

I love books like A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures, An Illustrated Encyclopedia. It’s an entertaining reference book with dozens of critters that I hope to never encounter and that students are intrigued by. This is the sort of book that will hook mid to upper-elementary school students who have caught the ‘animal bug’ and need to do those first essays. As a saving grace to those educators who have to read or listen to those essays, A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures has multiple dozens of them that they haven’t heard of before. The odds of having your educator’s eyes gloss over because you’ve heard about the Brazilian Death Beetle one too many times.

A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures: An Illustrated Encyclopedia is a fun, fresh take on the critters that stoke the imaginations of kids aged 8 and up.

reference books need not be borning nor cookie cutter

Six Flags Over Georgia parking tips and a culinary trick

The current rage in our area for kids aged 14 and up is to go on roller coasters. I feel as if I’m 85 years old when I write that statement. Roller coasters and thrill rides are a constant and when I was 14 years old, much to the bewilderment of my parents, I wanted to go on them too. The bewilderment is still a constant, but this time it’s our 14-year-old who was slightly bemused (or secretly pleased), that I wanted to go on the rides now. Parents of thrill ride kids have it coming when they have to the chaperone and when it was my turn to visit Six Flags Over Georgia I did my homework.

We went to Six Flags Over Georgia and found the best, most affordable way to park. It was also a chance for us to utilize our go-to theme park eating strategy.

I love theme parks….and saving money