2008 has been the year of 3-D glasses at the movies. And "Fly Me to the Moon 3-D", the first feature film to be made in 3-D (all others were made in 2-D and then converted), is out on DVD.

In the movie, three young flies follow their dream and get inside the Apollo 11 spaceship that's heading to the moon. They help the astronauts complete the mission and also get help from family and friends to get back to Earth.

The plot is very basic and all of the characters are a bit flat. This movie is not even close to a Disney, DreamWorks or Blue Sky Studios production. It's the first film from Belgium animation studio nWave, and they've got some work to do.

The animation is pretty nice, especially the scenes involving the spacecraft. But the best thing about "Fly Me to the Moon" in the theaters was the 3-D, which was extraordinary. But you don;t get the effects on the video. 

"Fly Me to the Moon 3-D" is rated G. It is safe for everybody to see, but it's designed for little kids, say, 8 and under. Most older kids and parents will be pretty bored with the story and the dialogue.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Fly Me to the Moon 3-D" gets a C.

The film sat on a shelf for awhile before being released this past summer. It didn't do well at the box office. Don't waste your money by buying it. If the kids are interested rent it for a few days. They'll only want to watch it once.

Three years ago, after the release of his 6th Star Wars film ("Revenge of the Sith"), George Lucas said he was done with the franchise, at least as far as the big screen was concerned. But then came "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", which fits between "Attack of the Clones" and "Sith" in the series, but is ANIMATED.

Anakin Skywalker has completed his training under Obi Wan Kanobi and is now a full Jedi Knight. The Empire is still battling rebel forces from the dark side and Skywalker and his new apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, must go on a mission to rescue Jabba the Hutt's baby son, who's been kidnapped by Count Dooku.

There are other familiar characters in "The Clone Wars" as well, including Yoda, R2-D2 and C-3PO, but most of the voices are done by different people than in the original movies.

For me, "The Clone Wars" is a disappointment. The animation is not good. In fact most of the characters look like Legos. The film is all action - non-stop battle scenes, with not much of a story. And the dialogue is pretty corny.

The movie is rated PG. Even though it's cartoon violence there's so much of it that I don't recommend the film for kids under 6.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" gets a D+.

This movie was meant to get fans excited about the new TV series which is now on Cartoon Network. They never should have released it in theaters. I guess if you like the series you'll want to rent this movie. If you're not watching the series don't waste you time with this film. 

"Swing Vote", which came out in August, gives us a look at what could have happened in this past November's presidential election. The movie provides an interesting and funny look at what would happen if it came down to one person to decide the next President of the United States.

Kevin Costner plays Bud Johnson who, by accident, is chosen to break the tie between the two candidates: the current President (played by Kelsey Grammer) and the challenger (played by Dennis Hopper). Bud doesn't know or care much about politics but his 12-year old daughter (played nicely by newcomer Madeline Carroll) does. And she (and we) get to witness how both candidates try to win her father's vote.

"Swing Vote" is a comedy, but it also has some serious moments, especially toward the end when everyone has to decide just how far they will go to win. The movie has a fantastic cast and some great acting. And it does teach a little about the American political system, even though we will probably never have an election come down to one vote.

"Swing Vote" is rated PG-13 because of a lot of bad language. Younger kids probably wouldn't enjoy it anyway, but older kids who may be into politics will.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Swing Vote" gets a B!

Even though it's a "smaller" film, with no special effects, stunts or explosions, it's still worth seeing. 

After seeing this third installment of "The Mummy" series I say the series is officially DEAD.

Brendan Fraser is back in his role as archeologist Rick O'Connell. He and his wife (now played by Maria Bello) are retired from the killing mummy business, until they are asked to go on one final mission to deliver a valuable artifact to China. There they meet up with their son, who's too old to really be their son, and together they must kill the mummy of the evil Dragon Emperor.

There's more attempts at comedy in this 3rd "Mummy", but the attempts don't work. The acting is corny throughout the film and there are several obvious mistakes in the plot. 

The special effects are impressive at times but in this day and age you need more than just special effects to make a successful action/adventure film. You need a good story and believable characters and "The Mummy" doesn't have either. I was bored for most of the nearly 2-hours of the movie. I think fans of the series will be very disappointed.

"The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is rated PG-13. There's plenty of the usual action violence and some bad language. And there are some scary characters, including a 3-headed dragon and some Yetis that make the film a little too intense for young children. Kids 8 and up should be o.k., but there are a lot better movies that they should be seeing than this one.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" only gets a D+.

After this disaster let's hope Universal considers bringing a new action series to life and lets "The Mummy" rest in peace. 

It's the #1 movie of 2008 and the second-highest grossing film of all-time. And it's out on video just in time to rake-in millions more in DVD sales for Christmas.

 "The Dark Knight" is not exactly a "family film." It's rated PG-13 because of loads of violence, disturbing images and some bad language. However, so many families saw the film this summer the film, including kids as young as 3 and 4 years old (as I saw at the showing I was at), and so many more will be seeing it on DVD, that I've got to give my take on the blockbuster:

Christian Bale does a nice job reprising his role as the Caped Crusader. This time Batman has to deal with the evil Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger) who's blowing up buildings and killing people all over Gotham City. Ledger does an incredible job. He's already begun receiving  nominations for his performance and will undoubtably win several awards.

In fact, the acting is solid all around, including nice supporting work done by Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. While the plot is pretty basic: good versus evil, Batman isn't alone in fighting the Joker. New District Attorney Harvey Dent also wants to get rid of all of Gotham City's criminals. Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart) also wants to marry Bruce Wayne's former girlfriend, Rachel, who Wayne is still in love with.

"The Dark Knight" is long and, at times, confusing to follow. The good thing is that, with the DVD version you can watch scenes over and take breaks (it is two-and-a-half hours long). With all the PG-13-related material and this is not a movie for younger kids.

But older kids and adults will love the action, which is fantastic. Most of the stunt work was done the old fashioned way - with stunt men! And the special effects are top notch.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "The Dark Knight" gets a solid B.

The DVD has plenty of features...including the six IMAX scenes in IMAX format, which really doesn't help you unless you've got a 40 foot video monitor in your house. 

If someone asks you to "Meet Dave", say "No Thank You."

"Meet Dave" is Eddie Murphy's new comedy. Problem is - I didn't laugh once the entire movie.

Murphy plays the captain of a spaceship that comes to Earth from another planet to steal the salt out of our oceans. They need the salt to keep their people alive. The ship is designed to look like Murphy's character so that he'll blend in with humans. Meantime, the real people from this planet are very small and they live inside the ship.

The movie is supposed to teach lessons about friendship, love and sacrifice, but the audience can't care about any of that because the film is simply so boring.

Elizabeth Banks plays a young mother who Dave, the spaceship, becomes friends with. Austyn Myers plays her son. His performance is not very good. But it fits in nicely with the rest of the movie.

"Meet Dave" is rated PG because of a couple of scenes involving guns. Other than that, it's safe for all ages, but that doesn't mean you should see it.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Meet Dave" gets a D. 

It's got a great chance of getting on my Worst Films of the Year list.

Brendan Fraser stars in "Journey to the Center of the Earth." It's the first of two films that Fraser starred in last summer and it's a pretty good one.

Fraser plays Trevor, a scientist and professor who isn't doing too well in either area. His nephew Sean (played by Josh Hutcherson) comes to live with him for a week while his mom sets-up their new home in Canada. While going through a box of stuff that belonged to Sean's father, who died when he was a baby, they find a copy of the book - Journey to the Center of the Earth- with a lot of notes in it. Sean's father, who was also Trevor's brother, was an explorer, and he died while trying to find the real center of the Earth. So Trevor and Sean head to Iceland to continue the search.

The movie is an exciting roller coaster ride thanks to the 3-D effects, which are outstanding. Not only do you get the usual spitting water and poking stick 3-D trick, but all the action scenes look great in 3-D as well. In fact, "Journey" is the first live-action 3-D adventure film shot completely in the digital format.

The story is simple, but it works. And the acting is o.k. I did have a problem with how many of the scenes were edited - very jumpy. But that's only a minor problem.

"Journey" is rated PG, for a few mildly scary scenes, which you probably already have seen in the trailer. Overall, it's safe for the entire family.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D" gets a B. And you've got to see it in 3-D if you can. The 2-D version won't be as much fun (probably a C).

"Journey" was one of the last films being released by New Line Cinema. There is the hint of a sequel at the end. If there is one, it will be produced by Warner Bros.

Abigail Breslin stars in this first American Girls film that made it to theaters - "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl." And now it's out on DVD.

The movie is set in Cincinnati in the 1930's, during the Depression. Breslin plays Kit, a 10 year old girl who wants to be a newspaper reporter. Her father works at a car dealership, but loses his job. So he leaves for Chicago to look for work.

Kit and her mother have borders move into their house, including a librarian and magician. They're played by Joan Cusack and Stanley Tucci. The house gets robbed and a hobo boy who works at the Kittredge house gets blamed. But Kit knows that he didn't do it. So it's up to her and her friends to solve the crime.

"Kit Kittredge" is a family drama, with some funny moments and a little "Nancy Drew" thrown in. Overall, the film tells a nice story that's quite heartwarming. And the acting is good. Fans of the American Girl series will be pleased with the movie. But you don't have to own the dolls or read the books to enjoy it.

"Kit Kittredge" is rated G. It's fine for everyone (even boys).

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" gets a B!

The script and acting make this a lot better than Abigail Breslin's last film, "Nim's Island". And it's funnier. 

I can describe "Hancock", in two words: Very Odd.

Hancock is a superhero who lives here on Earth and looks like a regular person. But he acts like a bum and is mean to everybody and even when he saves people he causes so much trouble that no one likes him. One day he saves Ray, played a Jason Bateman, from being killed by a train. Ray does like Hancock and decides he can change Hancock's image and make him into a true hero.

From the original trailer I had high hopes that "Hancock" was going to be a fun action/comedy. But most of the funny scenes were in the trailer and they're all in the first half of the movie. The second half includes a surprising twist and then story gets very violent and serious.

"Hancock" is rated PG-13 and could have been R. Along with the violence there's a ton of bad language, some actually spoken by kids. If you are a parent thinking of having your kids see this movie: don't even think about it!

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Hancock" gets a sad, but true, D+.

This was Will Smith's fifth 4th of July film, and it's his worst. It's an action/sci fi/adventure/romance/drama/comedy that doesn't focus enough on any of those areas to be any good.

"WALL-E", 2009's film from the amazing folks at Disney/Pixar, is a lot more serious than their usual movies and, for me, a bit of a disappointment.

WALL-E is a robot who's been left behind on Earth to clean-up after all the humans leave to live in outer space. His name stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class. He and a cochroach friend are all alone on the planet until a space ship returns to Earth to check things out. Wall-E immediately falls for Eve, a robot who's job it is to look for new life.

The pair get separated and most of the movie is about them getting back together and trying to help the humans return to Earth.

I expected "WALL-E" to be much funnier than it is. It's more of an adventure/love story. The animation, as always in the Pixar films, is phenomenal, especially the scenes in outer space. And the voices are good. You Pixar fans will be happy to know that John Ratzenberger makes his regular appearance.

"WALL-E" is rated "G" but I don't recommend it for real young kids because I think they be bored by the lack of action and laughs.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "WALL-E" gets a B, which is o.k., but it's the lowest grade I've ever given a Disney/Pixar movie.

See it, but don't expect to have as much fun as you did at "The Incredibles", "Cars", and "Ratatouille."

And, the best part of the DVD collection Pixar is the short film "Presto", which is about a magician and his rabbit. It's hilarious, providing more laughs in 5 minutes than "WALL-E" does in 100.