I'm sick and tired of this cold winter weather. No joking, I'm literally sick with a head cold! I can't wait for spring to finally show up, though I dread having allergies. With me being under the weather, the weekend was an absolute bore. However, I did get caught up on a few DVDs that I needed to watch. I have two of the reviews written and posted already. Hopefully, I can get the third review published later today.

Has anybody seen Dumb and Dumber To? I purchased the DVD (it was cheaper than the Blu-ray) and watched it last Thursday. I watched the original 1994 film repeatedly during my teenage years and I'm one of the few that actually liked the 2003 prequel Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd. Despite reading many bad reviews, I was eagerly looking forward to the sequel. Let me just say that the Farrelly brothers tried a bit too hard, resulting in a half-way funny & uneven comedy. Don't get me wrong, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels did a good job reprising their roles and I thought Rachel Melvin was adorable as Penny, but the plot and the jokes could have been better written.

Another Jim Carrey film that I did enjoy was 2004's Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events, which is based on the same children book series by Daniel Handler. The movie was based on the first three books of the series and I thought it was a pretty good movie. Too bad the rest of the books were never adapted. It was announced back in November that Netflix is going to produce a series based on the books. This is great news, but I don't have a subscription to Netflix and I don't plan on ever getting

Sofia the First: The Curse of Princess Ivy
Voice Cast: Ariel Winter, Wayne Brady, Sara Ramirez, Travis Willingham, Darcy Rose Byrnes, Tim Gunn
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Retail: $19.99
ASIN: B00QXA0TNE
Running Time: 114 minutes
Rating: TV-Y
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD tomorrow from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is the full-length adventure Sofia the First: The Curse of Princess Ivy. As an added bonus there are three additional episodes - The Amulet of Avalor, Princess Butterfly and The Emerald Key. Plus, it comes with a Free Color-Changing Necklace.

Sofia the First has been a big hit on Disney Junior ever since it debuted in 2013 (the pilot aired in the latter half of 2012). The series follows an eight-year-old named Sofia (voiced by Ariel Winter), whom becomes a princess when her mother marries King Roland II. She also becomes the step-sister to Princess Amber (voiced by Darcy Rose Byrnes) and Prince James (voiced by Zach Callison). The King gives her the mystical Amulet of Avalor, which gives her the ability to communicate with animals and lets her summon other Disney Princesses when needed.

The Curse of Princess Ivy marks the third television- movie (about 45 minutes) and centers on Princess Amber learning about Sofia's amulet. When Prince Amber steals the amulet, it unleashes a curse that summons the evil Princess Ivy (voiced by Anna Camp), who plans on taking the crown and turning the entire kingdom black-and-white! Princess Sofia and Princess Amber must team up with Tangled's Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) to retrieve the amulet and stop Princess Ivy.

The Amulet of Avalor (episode 14) finds the thief Cedric stealing the amulet and Princess Sofia is on the hunt to retrieve it. Princess Butterfly (episode 19) centers on Princess Amber asking Cedric to magically make her a butterfly costume for the All Hallows Eve costume ball, but the costume will not come off and it is up to Princess Sofia to save the day. An Emerald key from the kingdom of Hakalo washes up near the castle in The Emerald Key (episode 38) and it is up to Sofia to find the key's true owner.

Horse Camp
Director: Joel Paul Reisig
Starring: Jordan Trovillion, Dean Cain
Studio: ARC Entertainment
Release Date: February 24, 2015
ASIN: B00QAE26MU
Running Time: 107 minutes
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD this Tuesday February 24, 2014 from ARC Entertainment is the teen/family drama Horse Camp. The film is co-written, directed & produced by Joel Paul Reisig and stars Jordan Trovillion (Jack Reacher) and Dean Cain (ABC's "Lois & Cark: The New Adventures of Superman"). There are no extras or special features on the disc.

Horse Camp centers on a shy teenager named Kathy (played by Jordan Trovillion), who has low self-esteem. Her father (played by Dean Cain) offers to send her to France for the summer. However, Kathy has other plans as she wants to attend the Black River Horse Camp for girls, but she is afraid to ask her parents' permission to go as her father was injured badly when he use to be in the rodeo. Eventually, she does get approval from her partents.

Upon arriving at the camp, she is instantly bullied by the camp's "mean girl" Stacy (played by Kristen Ryda, whom is also an associate producer of the film), which doesn't help her social problems at all. Luckily, she meets the kindhearted Lisa (played by Rahcel Sowers) and they begin a friendship that is until the popular girls take notice of Kathy's horse riding skills. Soon Kathy's attitude starts to change for the bad as she is determined to take the Camp Princess throne from Stacy.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

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1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

Is there anything that makes you not return to a blog or not want to look at it even for the first time?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

If a blogger hasn't written a new post in several weeks or months, then there's a good chance I might not return to that blog very often.

I haven't used a jump rope since my early elementary days, but I wasn't very good at it as I had two left feet. Despite the fact that I still have two left feet, I thought I would still try out the Ultra-speed Cable Jump Rope from Naturalico.

Jumping rope is a great cardio exercise that can workout your entire body (arms, core, legs). It can also increase your muscle strength and correct your balance.

This jump rope is a lot different than the ones I remember from my childhood. While the handles are still made out of plastic, the rope is made out of wire. It is an adjustable rope, so you'll need a pair of wire cutters to cut the wire the correct length based on your height. I'm 5'9" so I had to cut the wire quite a bit to get the correct length for my size.

The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya
Director: Isao Takahata
Voice Cast: Chole Grace Mortez, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Darren Criss, Lucy Liu,
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 17, 2015
Retail: $34.98
ASIN: B00PHSDS0E
Running Time: 2hrs 18mins
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
 
Arriving on Blu-ray today, Tuesday February 17, 2015, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the critically acclaimed Japanese anime The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya. The film is produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Isao Takahata. The American dubbed version features the voices of Chole Grace Mortez, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Darren Criss, Lucy Liu, Hynden Walch, James Marsden, Beau Bridges, Dean Cain, Oliver Platt, Daniel Da Kim, George Segal, John Cho, Emily Bridges and Liam O'Brien. Bonus Features include: "Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya" - 86-minute documentary on the making of The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, Announcement of the Completion of the Film, Japanese Trailers & TV Spots and US Trailers.

The film has received a 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has won several awards, including Best Animated Feature awards at the Toronto Film Critics Association, 40th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, 35th Boston Society of Critics Awards, 36th Mill Valley Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, 8th Asia Pacific Screen Award and the 68th Mainichi Film Awards. It has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film for the 87th Academy Awards.

Based on the Japanese folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya tells the story about a bamboo cutter Sanuki no Miyatsuko (voiced by James Caan), who discovers a miniature girl inside of a glowing bamboo. He brings the girl home to his wife, Ona (voiced by Mary Steenburgen), and names her "Princess." They are shocked when the miniature girl magically turns into an infant.

As the days pass by, Princess (voiced by  Chole Grace Mortez) grows extremely fast and before long she starts hanging out with the children in the village, whom gives her the name "Takenoko" (Little Bamboo)! She develops a close relationship with her friend Sutemaru.

The Homesman
Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank
Studio: LionsGate
Release Date: February 17, 2015
Retail: $19.98
ASIN: B00PPGZMFM
Running Time: 123 minutes
Rating: R
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD and Blu-ray today is the critically-acclaimed western-drama The Homesman. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones (whom also co-wrote and directs the film), Hilary Swank, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter and Meryl Streep. Special Features include 3 in-depth behind-the-scenes featurettes - Origins, Shooting The Film and Beyond The Western.

Based on the novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. The Homesman centers on a 31-year-old spinster, Mary Bee Cuddy (played by Hilary Swank), whom traveled from New York to Loup City, Nebraska Territory. She successfully runs a small ranch, but she has had trouble finding a husband as men rejected her because she is too "plain".

Hilary Swank ("Mary Bee Cuddy") stars in Lionsgate Home Entertainment's THE HOMESMAN.

The land has been very harsh to the residents, and three women, Arabella Sours (played by Grace Gummer), Theoline Belknapp (played by Miranda Otto), and Gro Svendsen (played by Sonja Richter), have had an extremely hard life and all them have gone insane. One was raped by her husband, one lost her child to diphtheria and one even killed her own child. Reverend Dowd (played by John Lithgow) decides that the women should be sent to a church in Hebron, Iowa that takes in women with mental illnesses. At first he asks for one of the husbands to escort the women, but Mary Bee volunteers to take on the dreadful task.

Zombieworld
Directors: Jesse Baget, Adrian Cardona, Rafa Dengra, Luke Asa Guidici, Phil Haine, Peter Horn, Jared Marshall, Cameron McCulloch, David Munoz, Adam O'Brien, Zach Ramelan, Paul Shrimpton, Vedran Marjanovic Wekster, Tommy Woodard
Starring: Bill Oberst Jr., José María Angorilla, Marc Velasco, Noé Blancafort, Salvador Llós
Studio: Image Entertainment
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Retail: $27.97
ASIN: B00P8LS666
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD on Tuesday February 24, 2015 from Image Entertainment is the zombie-bloodfest anthology Zombieworld. The film features short films directed by Jesse Baget, Adrian Cardona, Rafa Dengra, Luke Asa Guidici, Phil Haine, Peter Horn, Jared Marshall, Cameron McCulloch, David Munoz, Adam O'Brien, Zach Ramelan, Paul Shrimpton, Vedran Marjanovic Wekster & Tommy Woodard and stars Bill Oberst Jr., José María Angorilla, Marc Velasco, Noé Blancafort and Salvador Llós. There are no special features or extras besides the Short Film - "Marathon Apocalypse."

"There is nowhere to hide...nowhere to run.... the Zombie Apocoalypse has come, and our world now belongs to the dead! From Irleand, Canada, Australia, Europe and all over the U.S., the bone-chilling news reports tell the same gruesome tale - waking corpses terrorize and devour the living. Only a few desperate humans find the courage to stand and fight for their last chance at survival. But the hordes of undead keep coming, and there's only one thing on the menu - us."

Zombieworld centers on a worldwide zombie apocalypse and one of the last newscasters, Marvin Gloat (played by Bill Oberst Jr.), is determined to stay on the air and inform the world of the zombie invasion, despite the fact that he has been infected.