Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Inspired by Ron and Judi Barrett's beloved children's book of the same name, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs follows inventor Flint Lockwood and brainy weathergirl Sam Sparks as they attempt to discover why the rain in their small town has stopped while food is falling in its place. Meanwhile, Mayor Shelbourne schemes to use Flint's latest invention for his own personal gain.
Sony has delivered a winner with this goofy and fun animated flick with enough giggles to please everyone - even those of us with a slightly warped sense of humour!  Best of all, there's a good point too: we are reminded to believe in yourself and accept who you are.
The animation was spot on, very colourful and at times psychedelic.  This was a real treat to watch on the big screen and I don't know who enjoyed this film more; it's a very close tie between my son and I.  One to watch for the school holidays.  I'm giving Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs five out of five stars.    ★★★★★

G-Force

Car chase? Check. Fire balls? Check. Talking animals that save the planet from scary toasters? Check. G-force seems to tick all the right boxes for a fun family outing at Skycity Cinemas.
"Believe in yourself" is the message of Bruckheimer's latest flick, G-FORCE, in which highly trained and evolved guinea-pigs save the world!
Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of SAM ROCKWELL), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of TRACY MORGAN), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of PENELOPE CRUZ), a lady martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of NICOLAS CAGE), the computer and information specialist.
The animation was pretty realistic and I am amazed at how, with each film that comes our way, the CGI hocus pocus seems to be getting better and better.  Big thumbs up to the guys behind the computer screens at Disney studios for making it so believable. 
Be warned, for those of you going with younger brothers or sisters, it might get a little scary for them towards the end.  At one point, my little boy dropped his popcorn and was in my lap covering his eyes faster than you can say MONSTER ROBOT, so be warned!
Happy endings all around, so I'm giving it three and a half out of five stars.                     ★★★✩✩

Up 

From Disney-Pixar comes "Up," a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfils his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has towed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Disney-Pixar invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth...

This film really has something for everyone; you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll "boo" the bad guys, and more importantly you'll give your grandparents a big hug afterwards.  I'm giving Up five out of five stars.    ★★★★★