Espions en herbe 4: Tout le temps du monde

...Took the family (5 year old son, 2.5 year old daughter) to see Sky Kids 4 today..

Speaking as an adult who saw all 3 of the original SPY KIDS movies in the theatre, this is easily the worst of the series. Joel Mchale (who i have actually become a fan of based off his THE SOUP and COMMUNITY work), Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara give some incredibly bad performances. Embarrassingly-so. Jessica Alba does what Jessica Alba does (thank the Gods she's cute and met Robert Rodriguez), and Jeremy Piven....actually i liked Piven. His character had an interesting story- arc, and he gives a solid performance.

Some of Ricky Gervais' one-liners were funny, too.

The rest of the film was pretty unbearable.

However, speaking as a parent who was out hoping to show his kids a good time, i actually have to give this movie a solid rating. My 2 kids enjoyed the heck out of it, from the talking dog to the baby decking a bad guy, the kids loved it. And my son had a lot of fun keeping track of when to engage the AROMASCOPE scratch card.

A nice film for younger families, i think.

The real purpose of a movie is to entertain (escapism) - to distance you from your problems for a short period of time. If you will look at this movie from the perspective of a person viewing movies for entertainment purposes, then this movie is good (not very good since there are a lot of better escapist movies out there). If you look at it from the perspective of a movie critic, then this is a horrible movie, filled with clichés and poop jokes.

The first film of this franchise may have had some cliché plot points, but it didn't rely on poop and fart jokes to move the story or try to make the viewer laugh.

This movie has the usual 'stepdaughter-hates-stepmom' and the 'geeky brother' story lines along with the happily ever after ending. It seems the movie thinks that watching these story lines is entertaining to kids, when in fact, it's not (speaking from my perspective as a 13 year old kid). To be frank, it's quite annoying.

However, this movie doesn't lack on the entertainment value. CGI all-around, gadgets everywhere, this movie has tons of cool stuff to keep the viewer at the edge of their seat. There are jokes that if you watch first may seem funny, but in the end will make you think "is that joke really funny, or is it offensive".

Bottomline is, this movie can be good or bad, depending on your perspective. To me, it's escapism at its finest.

Anyone who hates this movie as much as some of the previous reviewers do, has obviously forgotten what it's like to be a kid.

The latest addition to the Spy Kids collection has at its core the values that all the previous movies had as well - it's all about kids becoming more mature, and about pulling together as a family. Sure, I could do without quite as many fart gags, but I never liked those when I was a kid, either. Featuring Jessica Alba as Marissa Cortez Wilson, and Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara returning once again as a grown up Carmen and Juni Cortez - the original Spy Kids - this movie has some great action sequences and special effects, and it all adds up to a great experience for kids of all ages - even kids who are all grown up.

I loved all three previous Spy Kids films, and even primed myself by watching them again this past week. I took my 15 year old daughter to see this one for her birthday today, and she absolutely loved it, as did I. She hasn't seen all three of the other ones, so she didn't recognise any of the cool gadgets at the OSS' Spy Kids Division, but that didn't keep her from having a really good time. I hadn't watched a movie in 3D in probably 30 years - back when you had to wear those goofy green and red cardboard glasses, and if you didn't wear the glasses you couldn't make any sense of the picture - so watching this in the relatively new RealD 3D format was a real treat.

Score: One point off for the modernized version of the failed "SmelloVision." My daughter and I both decided to abandon the "Aroma Scope" cards after the first three scents really didn't smell like much of anything. But a bonus point at the same time because unlike SmelloVision, which blasted the smells right in your face, now you have the option of not using the scratch-and-sniff cards if you don't want to. So one point down, and one point up. But one point off for having just too many jokes and gags based on bodily functions. The movie would have been just fine without them. I give it an 9 out of 10.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D

When you've got two active adolescent agents in your home, you've got to ensure you have plenty of Flintstones Cyanide Pills on hand.

Fortunately, the step mom in this family adventure is an ex-intelligencer.

Trading in her cloak and dagger for diapers, femme fatale turned housewife Marissa (Jessica Alba) is called back into action after the villainous Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) begins to steal time.

But when the Timekeeper targets her stepchildren (Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook), Marissa must divulge her past, which ultimately leads to their tutelage under a former Spy Kid (Alexa Vega).

Now, the new recruits and their robot dog (Ricky Gervais) must stop the Timekeeper before it's too late.

The fourth installment of the Spy Kids franchise, All the Time in the World is a fart infused, infantile, chroma keyed atrocity.

Besides, as an undercover child agent, wouldn't most of your assignments involve you luring in online predators? (Red Light)

I have often said that in order to enjoy mindless movies like "Transformers", we should "leave our brains at the door of the cineplex". Well, in order to enjoy this "Spy Kids" sequel, we need to lower our IQ to the level of four-year olds! 'Mindlessness' doesn't quite cut it, it is juvenile indulgence, meaning, it is only for kids below five.

And if you have been following the cinema ads and promos, you would know that this movie comes in 4D - with the added dimension of 'smell'. For that, viewers are given a numbered card (called Aroma-Scope) so that they can scratch-and-smell when the number appears on the screen. This is a childish gimmick aimed at kids. For adults, it is more of a nuisance because the scents are faint and the exercise distracts us from the action on the screen. Although there are many fart and poop scenes, the Aroma-Scope only provides scents of chewing gum and other edible stuff (thank goodness for that). History has demonstrated that all smell-o-vision gimmicks mostly stink.

Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) is such a dedicated spy that even when she is nine months pregnant, she manages to take down notorious villain Tick Tock (Jeremy Piven) before going into labor and retiring from her spy duties. Her aim is to devote all her time to her newborn and her step-kids, Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook) and hubby Wilbur (Joey McHale).

Soon, however, she may not have that much time. One year later, Tick Tock and accomplice, The Timekeeper (also Piven), are back at their attempt to rob the world of 'time' - and Rebecca, Cecil and their 'guard dog' Argonaut (voice of Ricky Gervais) must save the world (what else?). Also, they team up with Marissa's niece and nephew, Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara reprising their former Spy Kids roles) to make this mission a family reunion of sorts.

Writer-director Robert Rodriguez seems to be milking the same old cinema-script cow, urging parents to spend more time with their kids. This 'message' has been used by almost all family movies throughout the decade. The time-theft and time-travel conceits can be puzzling to children even if they allow Rodriguez to make use of all sorts of time-related gags. Of course, Rodriguez cannot resist the poop and fart gags, as well as throwing food all over the place. These, I understand, are the laugh-out-loud staple for American kids below five.

Among the cast, Blanchard and Cook are suitably cute and effective as the new title characters. Bringing back former Spy Kids, Vega and Sabara, is a good idea, adding a nostalgic touch for parents in the audience. Ditto that for Danny Trejo's short cameo as Uncle Machete. However, the irony of Daddy Wilbur being a 'Spycatcher' on TV is lost on the kids and scores no points with the adults.

As for Jessica Alba (as Marissa, the younger sister to Antonio Bandera's character), she provides the main box-office lure, nothing more. Strictly kids' stuff. (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)