Kung Fu Panda 2 - Movie Review

Po (voiced by jack Black) is back in the second installment of Kung Fu Panda! The Dragon Warrior is still keeping China safe, supported by the Furious Five - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross). The villain this time round is a peacock, Lord Shen, who is bent on taking over China. He is collecting all metal to build cannons and is raiding villages. Po and the Furious Five must stop Lord Shen but seeing his minions triggers a flashback in Po of his real parents abandoning him when he was a baby. Po is determined to find out what happened to his parents while still focusing on their mission.

Kung Fu Panda 2 was a great movie for all ages. It was really fun to watch, and in 3D was pretty cool. The story was interesting but I wished there were more dialogue between the Furious Five and Po. I have read that there are four more installments of Kung Fu Panda, so hopefully the next few movies focuses on the other characters. The best character of the movie was Po's dad, Mr. Ping, voiced by James Hong. So funny! I definitely recommend checking this movie out!

Kung Fu Panda 2 is out in theatres everywhere now.

The Muppet Movie Teaser

Have you seen the teaser trailer for the newest Muppet movie? I love the Muppets and think they are hilarious! I'm really looking forward to it!

Free Sample of Sensodyne Toothpaste

Walmart is offering free samples of Sensodyne toothpaste through their website. Check out the Walmart website here to sign up for your free! Great for people with sensitive teeth!

Free Quatchi Plush (May 28-29) - Lower Mainland Only

This weekend's freebie is the medium sized 13.5 inch Quatchi plushie. The offer is limited to one per person, while supplies last. You can also order online now and can get a free Mukmuk plush with an order of $25 or more.

The Vancouver location has closed down for the season, so this offer is only good at the Burnaby location at 6741 Cariboo Rd in Burnaby.

For more information on the warehouse location and hours, check out their website.

The First Grader - Movie Review

The First Grader is based on the true story of 84-year old farmer who decides to go to school when the government announces free education for all. Oliver Litondo plays Maruge, an old man who was a former Mau Mau tribesman, who goes to the new school to be enrolled. After being turned away several times due to some reason or another, the school authorities let him in. The teacher, Jane Obinchu (Naomie Harris) sees Maruge's determination to learn how to read and starts helping him after school hours.

Set in Kenya, the movie shows some history in flashbacks of Maruge suffering in the British prison camps. Litondo and Harris does amazing jobs of portraying the characters, showing the deep passion they have to their country and education. The First Grader is a truly inspiring film and goes to show you are never too old to learn.

The First Grader comes out in theatres in Canada June 3rd.

The Hangover Part II - Movie Review

The Wolfpack is back in The Hangover Part II, the sequel to the hit released in 2009. Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) once again finds themselves waking up from a drunken blackout with no memory of what happened the night before. They are in Thailand for Stu's wedding to Lauren (Jamie Chung) and have headed down to the beach for a drink, bringing Stu's future overacheiving brother-in-law, Teddy (Mason Lee) along. Phil, Stu and Alan wake up in a seedy hotel room in Bangkok only to find out Teddy has gone missing. They find his finger in a bowl of water. Not only that, Stu has a new tattoo on his face and Alan's head is shaved. The trio scramble to find clues from the previous night to locate Teddy, all the day before Stu's wedding.

While The Hangover Part II has it laugh-out-loud moments, a lot of it seems over the top. The movie relies a lot on sight gags and lacks the ingenuity of the original movie. Galifianakis is even more pathetic in this movie and Ken Jeong, reprising his role as Mr. Chow, is crazier than ever. Because of the exotic location, The Hangover Part II feels darker than the first movie. There are definitely a few good laughs throughout the movie and I would recommend it to any fan of The Hangover, but don’t expect the comedic genius from the original.

The Hangover Part II comes out in theatres this today, May 26th.

EAT! Vancouver (May 25-27)

EAT! Vancouver's food and cooking festival is back again and this year I'm planning to go for sure! As someone who loves food and loves to eat, I'm really excited and looking forward to checking EAT! out for the first time. There will be plenty of food samples, promotions, celebrity chefs and demonstrations. For adults, there will also be a beer and wine tasting section. EAT! Vancouver is happening this weekend, from May 25 to May 27 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Downtown Vancouver. Tickets are $16 at the door, but buy then online and save $2.

For more information on the show, check out the website here.

Free Breakfast @ Subway (May 31)

Subways across Canada are offering a free breakfast sandwich and a 12oz coffee from 7-10am on May 31st! It's a ham and cheese egg muffin melt and Seattle's Best Coffee. Mmm, sounds good to me! This offer is only at participating stores (they usually have a poster hanging up somewhere). Make sure to go early because everyone loves free breakfast!

Free MukMuk Plush (May 21-22) - Lower Mainland Only

This weekend's freebie is the adorable 9.5 inch MukMuk plushie. This little marmot is the Olympic Mascot's sidekick and is nice and round and hug-able! The offer is limited to one per person, while supplies last. You can also order online now and can get a free Mukmuk plush with an order of $25 or more. They also added a bunch of Canucks merchandise, if you are looking to add to your collection!

The two locations of the Olympic Merchandise Warehouses are at 8410 Ontario St in Vancouver and 6741 Cariboo Rd in Burnaby.

For more information on the warehouse locations and hours, check out their website.

Deal on PlayStation Move Bundle

Here's a two step deal for my readers looking to buy the PlayStation Move software bundle at a good price. Superstore has the software bundle on sale for $79.99 (Regular $99.99). But wait! Best Buy is selling theirs for regular price but you get a free game of your choice ($40 value) when you purchase it! From what I can tell, the games you can choose from are Heroes, Eyepet, Start the Party and Fight (I may have gotten some of the names incorrect). And you guessed it - bring the Superstore flyer over to Best Buy and price match! Because Best Buy offers an additional 10% off the difference, you would be getting the move bundle for $77.99 + a free game! Pretty good deal, if you ask me! Best Buy is offering the same promotion for the Xbox Kinect Sensor bundle (free game selection is Dance Central, Kinectimals, or Kinect Sports) but there is no sale on the Kinect.

Xbox Kinect Games Only $19.99 @ Superstore (May 20 - 26)

Superstore is having a mega sale on a few Xbox Kinect games this week! Save a whopping $30 on these games: Dance Central, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Joy Ride. Go early as they probably have a limited stock. And remember you can also price match at other stores (Best Buy & Futureshop will also give an extra 10% off the difference, Zellers, Walmart).

Win a Sponge Bob Alarm Clock!

One of my favorite Nickelodeon characters is Sponge Bob! And Sweeps4bloggers is hosting a contest to win your very own Sponge Bob alarm clock! It's apparently made of a spongy material, so that's pretty cool. I would love to win this because I'm still a kid at heart! Get your chance to win as well by entering over here.

FREE Amazon Gift Cards - Swagbucks & Irazoo!

Swagbucks is an awesome search and win site where you can earn rewards FAST. It's easy to do and you get 30 swagbucks right away if you use the link below. So far I have cashed out for $330 Amazon.ca gift cards. There are tons of prizes to choose from, like other gift cards, cards, comics, Wii and PS3 consoles, Nintendo DS, you name it! So many prizes to choose from!

All you have to do is search and you might be rewarded with points. The fastest way to earn is through swagcodes, that are released several times a day. You can find it through their blog, searchbar, facebook, twitter, etc. Also there are points for daily polls, checking out the survey link and the daily special offers link! Now they have also added SwagTV, where you watch videos and earn 3 swagbucks for every 10 videos you watch. As well, they have partnered up with all of those Groupon type deals, and if you buy a coupon, you are rewarded with swagbucks!



Irazoo is another great search and win site that I've been using for even longer than Swagbucks. They recently changed it so that it's just like Swagbucks - you win points for searching, and there are also treasure codes. As a summer special, they brought back the rate and earn portion of points - when you do a search, you can comment and rate a site for 50 points. They limited it to 100 points a day though (used to be 300!).

Canadians are only allowed to redeem for Amazon.com gift cards, but if you live in the states, you have access to the other prizes as well, like gaming consoles, cameras, computers and other gift cards. I have already cashed out for $170 Amazon.com gift cards!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Movie Review

The long awaited fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie is finally here! On Stranger Tides finds Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) searching for the fountain of youth with his ex-lover Angelica (Penélope Cruz), who also happens to be Blackbeard's (Ian McShane) daughter. Geoffrey Rush is also back as Barbossa, only he has joined the British navy and has lost a leg to Blackbeard. Everyone is after the fountain of youth, which gives life to the person who drinks its water but at the cost of another's life. However, to do things correctly, two chalices must be found and a mermaids tear must be extracted.

Johnny Depp still plays Captain Jack Sparrow very well, sort of a crazy floppy character. Much of the movie was long and you never really get why he gets thrown into going after the fountain of youth. A lot of the jokes seemed forced and it's obvious that Disney keeps putting out 'Pirates' movies just to make money. While better than the last two 'Pirates' movies, On Stranger Tides is a far cry from the genius of the original 'Pirates' movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl. On Stranger Tides is great for some swashbuckling fun, but don't expect too much.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides comes out in theatres this Friday, May 20th.

Bridesmaids - Movie Review

Lillian (Maya Rudolph) and Annie (Kristen Wiig) are best friends and when Lillian gets engaged, she asks Annie to be her maid of honour. She accepts, though her own life is falling apart - she lost her bakery, her boyfriend, shares an apartment with super creepy British siblings, and is now in a relationship that is going nowhere. Suddenly Annie is thrown together with a bunch of women she doesn't know and is instantly threatened by Lillian's new best friend, Helen, who is everything she is not - rich, confidant, sophisticated. They try to one-up each other which results in some pretty hilarious scenes.

I really enjoyed this movie - I was a bit apprehensive since Judd Apatow was producing it and he is known for more crude jokes and movies, such as Knocked Up. Not that Bridesmaid is without it's share of gross jokes, no doubt thrown in to attract males audiences, but the story itself is smart and Kristen Wiig did and amazing job (She's my current favorite on SNL!). Bridesmaid really shows the strength of friendships and how easily they can turn sour. Described as The Hangover for women, Bridesmaids certainly delivers. I definitely recommend this movie, though don't bring your parents along!

Bridesmaids comes out in theaters this Friday, May 13.

Free Triscuits

Triscuits is offering all their Facebook fans a free box of Triscuit crackers and a recipe booklet! Just check out their Facebook page here, like the page and submit your info. Your coupon will be mailed to you.

Potiche - Movie Review

Potiche is a French comedy set in 1977 about a trophy wife, Suzanne (Catherine Deneuve) who gets the chance to run her tyrannical husband's (Fabrice Luchini) umbrella factory when he falls ill, at the urging of the Mayor, played by Gerard Depardieu. She is extremely successful and improves the morale of the employees and improves business as well. Gender discrimination is pertinent in this movie so it is a triumph to women when Suzanne is able to run the factory so well and when is asked to give it up, runs for mayor and wins!

Potiche is a very cute movie and the actors did a great job while dealing with an important topic. It's a light movie that's sure to entertain. Potiche is out in theatres now.

Lady Gaga - Judas Music Video

Lady Gaga's newest music video, Judas, came out last week - is it just me, or do you think her videos are getting weirder and weirder? There are tons of religious imagery in the video that are probably stirring up controversy with religious groups. What do you think of Judas? It's nothing Madonna hasn't done before.

Canucks 2011 Playoffs - Game 5

My sis was lucky enough to score a pair of tickets to Game 5 of the Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators playoff game today, courtesy of The Cactus Club! They were sweet seats too - row 12, centre ice! Unfortunately, the Canucks weren't able to finish off this series and lost the game tonight 4-3, due to some sloppy and/or accidental goals. *sigh* It was fun to watch though, as I have only been to games in the regular season. The atmosphere is definitely different, more charged. And let's not forget those playoff towels! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Let's go Canucks! Game 6 will be ours!

Look at all the playoff towels!

We had awesome seats!

So promising.

eee, Kesler!!

This one is for you, Winnie!

Singing the anthem.

My favorite line!

The Green Men!

Rinne

Loading up the tshirt launcher.

I love Fin's playoff beard!

Wake up, Luongo!

Faceoff

Block that shot!

I <3 Kesler!!!

Towel Power!!!!

Some art on the sidewalk outside Rogers Arena.

5 cent Coca Cola (May 7)

Mac's is participating in Coca Cola's 125th anniversary celebrations by offering a coupon for a 414ml bottle of Coke for the original price of only 5 cents! All you have to do is print out this coupon and bring it to any Mac's, Circle K or Couche-Tard store tomorrow, May 7th. Delicious and refreshing!

Free Comic Book Day (May 7)

Tomorrow is the annual Free Comic Book Day! Every year on the first Saturday of May, comic book stores across Canada are given comics that are especially printed to give away to the public for free! It's a great way to introduce comics to people or to add to your collection. Make sure to get to the stores bright and early as there may be a limited supply.

For participating locations, check out their website!

Free Dove Nourishing Oil Care

Dove is offering a free sample of their new Nourishing Oil Care hair care products! Just head on over to the Dove Canada Facebook page here, like the page and fill in the form! The sample will be mail to you in 6 to 8 weeks.

1/2 Price Starbucks Frappuccino (May 6-15)

Starbucks Happy Hour is back! From May 6 to 15 between 3-5pm, buy any Frappuccino blended beverage for half the price! Plus Starbucks is introducing a new flavor - Mocha Coconut! Sounds interesting. Who can resist this delicious cool drink? I know I can't! I will be there next week, work or no!

Free Schick Quattro @ Winners

Starting today, participating Winners locations will have samples of the new Schick Quattro Raspberry Rain razor for women. Just an added little bonus of shopping at Winners! This offer is only good while supplies last, so make sure to check it out!

Coca Cola 125th Anniversary Celebration (May 7)

Coca Cola is turning 125 this year and they are celebrating their anniversary this Saturday, May 7th by holding free events! There are celebrations happening in three cities: Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Coca Cola has partnered up with WagJag (a deals site like Groupon), so make sure you head over to their site and sign up for an account. They will handing out original 237ml glass Coca Cola bottles for free. There is also an outdoor concert. These Kids Wear Crowns will be in Vancouver at Robson Square from 3 to 4pm; Duke Squad will be in Montreal at Boulevard de Maisonneuve between 6-8pm and in Toronto, Kardinal Offishall will be performing at Yonge-Dundas Square between 6-7pm. Sounds like a pretty awesome event! Maybe I will see you there?

BOGO Poutine @ New York Fries

To celebrate Mother's Day, New York Fries is offering a Buy One Get One Free poutine coupon. The coupon is valid until May 8th. Print your coupon out here. Enjoy!