The 6th movie in the Fast and Furious series is, to my mind, the most exciting, if far-fetched of them all!  I was riveted and felt my heart pounding in my chest almost all the way through the action packed 2 hours! I would not have left the theatre for anything, in case I missed a single minute.

The movie begins with Diplomatic Security Services Agent, Luke Hobbs, (played by the hunky Dwayne Johnson) and his team,  investigating the destruction of a Russian Military convoy.  Hobbs believes that ex British special forces soldier, Owen Shaw, (played by Luke Evans) and his sidekicks are responsible,  and realising that it wont be easy to track Shaw down, he decides to enlist the help of the brilliant ex professional con, Dominic Toretto (Played by the suave Vin Diesel) and his hand picked gang.  After a successful heist in Fast and Furious 5, the gang, including ex FBI agent turned criminal, Brian O’Connor (played by the gorgeous Paul Walker),  decides to retire, and enjoy the fruits of their labours.  However, they remain wanted fugitives.

Toretto is not keen to work with the law, but Hobbs makes him a tempting offer and reveals to him that his dead lover, Letty Ortiz, presumed dead, is still alive and working with Shaw.

Toretto summons his team from far and wide and the fun begins!

A number of heart stopping “fast and furious” car, formula One, and even airplane chases, gun battles, spectacular explosions, and lots of surprises make this movie an adventure of note!

The ominous ending leaves the way clear for yet another sequel, so be prepared for more of the same in the near future.

Oh boy! Oh boy!  The teens are going to love this movie, especially the boys.  But, moms and dads will enjoy this exciting fast paced extravaganza too.

Written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin,  the film will be released countrywide on Friday, 24 May, and has been classified 13 LV.

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supplied by Shakira Sheikh, devoted mom to 2 beautiful boys who loves cooking, crafting and working for Jozikids and Kznkids.

The perfect  family soup for a cold South African winter’s day. This very easy to make healthy, hearty and tasty soup is a great hit with everyone, especially the kids.

Ingredients:
1 small onion diced
1/2 kg chick breasts cubed
white pepper
tumeric powder
salt to taste
1 green chilli finely chopped
ginger and garlic paste
olive oil
2 tins creamed style sweet corn
2 cups boiled water
2 cups boiled milk
handful fresh coriander chopped

Method:
Braise a small onion.
Add cubed chicken, less than 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, and salt to taste.
Add 1 teaspoon ginger; garlic paste.
1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder
When chicken is done – add 2 tins creamed style corn
Add 2 cups water.
Add 2 cups boiled milk.
Add 1 chili finely chopped and handful coriander leaves finely chopped.

Serve hot with bread sticks.

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supplied by Shakira Sheikh, devoted mom to 2 beautiful boys who loves cooking, crafting and working for Jozikids and Kznkids

A nice hearty warm soup with a slight spicy tinge, suitable for all. My kids love it and its is a great hit with all my guests. It can be frozen and taken out the night before to defrost for the next day.

Ingredients:
1 large butternut diced
3 carrots medium sized diced
1 large potato cubed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
salt to taste

Method
Braise one small sliced onion in a bit of olive oil
add one large butternut – diced
add 3 carrots diced
add 1 large potato cubed
add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
add 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
and salt to taste

Cook until mushy.
Once mushy, add to liquidizer and liquidize into a pulp.
Put back into pot or serving dish and garnish with chopped fresh coriander  or springonions and a dollop of sour cream.

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by Tanya Kovarsky, mom of toddler Max,  dishes up a good dose of Jewish guilt to herself daily. She’s a freelance trainer, copywriter, editor & blogs at Rattle and Mum and Dear Max. 

My parents got divorced when I was 13, in my first year of high school and at a difficult stage where I just wanted to be like everyone else – including a nuclear “normal” family. My life shifted immediately and I found myself stuck in the middle of two parents – one who was bitter, resentful and depressed, and the other who resented the other’s bitterness and depression. I often felt like a peacemaker, pawn and casualty in their divorce, and it broke me at times.

So, when I faced my own divorce two years ago, my ex and I vowed then that our toddler (two yrs at the time) would come first, putting aside our own sadness and occasional pain and anger.

My son didn’t ask for two homes, or to have his little family separated and new partners brought in, so my aim is to carve the smoothest road that I can out of a hard-impacting event. Here’s how we have done it:

Showing mutual respect

It’s important to me that my son sees that his parents respect each other, that they can organise his birthday parties together, and never badmouth each other, lest he ever feels negatively towards us because of it, or feels like he has to choose one over the other.

Communicating

The truth is, I don’t know how I could parent successfully if I didn’t communicate regularly with my ex. We are in constant touch about our son, whether it’s a query about his routine, marvelling at his use of the toilet (I may or may not have sent him some pics of my son on the loo), or brainstorming what to do about his whining or tantrums.

Supporting each other

And there are times where I’ve been sick, or tired, or working on a deadline and have asked my ex to look after our son on “my” nights or days with him, and he has done so gladly. Because this is how good co-parenting works, I think.

Perhaps it’s overcompensation over my parents’ divorce, the guilt that I have for my son, or maybe it’s because I don’t “work” well in warring situations that I’m trying to lessen the impact this divorce has on my son. But whatever it is, I’m working hard at keeping my son the centre of mutual respect and parenting, rather than the middle of sparring and anger.

And while most divorcing parents say it, and with meaning and the best intentions, things often get in the way of executing it. Anger, fear, grief and resentment prevent us from putting our kids first, but I’m glad that my ex and I are able to practise it.

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Reviewer  Daniel Janks

A beautiful wandering fable of real lives without any explosions.

Bottom Line

What a great film. The film is interesting, engaging, moving and thought provoking, all without being self-consciously arty and off-the-beaten-track. It’s an easy watch that’s really worth watching.

Plot

It’s more a bunch of grapes than a grapefruit. The film is made up of many small sub-plots that interweave themselves and softly touch each other here and there. The married man thinking of cheating on his wife. The young pretty girl who turns to turning tricks to help herself out of her life. The dentist in love with is dental aid. The father searching for his daughter. The jilted Brazilian beauty. Each story is powerful, and touching and relevant. Their intermingling is brilliantly done and holds our attention as much as the narratives themselves.

Acting

Each of the performances is immaculate. A hell of a claim, but true none the less. The cast is made up of un-known (to me) European and named Hollywood actors. And all deliver desperately real, really believable and intensely moving performances, none really better than any other. Each vignette shines, and each performance sparkles.

Directing

Fernando Meirelles is a genius, another tall claim, but again, I think, a true one. Along with his other films like City of God, The Constant Gardner, and Blindness, 360 seems to come from no-where. No big hoopla, no big glitz or glam, but huge integrity and major punch. 360 is masterfully directed, especially considering each small story has so little time to tell itself. But each is rich and fully formed. A real achievement of both writing and directing.

So…

If you like art-house, and even if you don’t, go see it. Go go go. But if you think Saw, The Fast and the Furious or Transformers are the best films ever made, maybe give it a skip.

Don’t take your kids cos there’s some boobies, some sex and they might not know what’s going on at any given point. This is more of a date-night flik.

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Reviewer  Daniel Janks: actor, creative director, writer, cynic, father, husband. He was born in 1977 and has still not died. He loves many things, chief among which are his mythic wife and odd girl-child.  Visit his website

Iron Man 1, brilliant.
Iron Man 2, OK.
Iron Man 3, Really good but a bit of a mystery.

Plot

This is where the film kind of confuses me. It’s sort of about a bunch of super human geyser elements trying to blow things up. But it’s also about a terrorist organisation trying to the teach the world a lesson. But the two are sort of the same thing, but not really. It’s also sort of about Tony Stark having panic attacks, but we’re not really sure why, and it’s also sort of about his Iron Mannery getting a bit out of control, but I fail to see how that’s a problem.

So while I’m not sure what the film is about, I am very sure I really enjoyed it. Especially the comedy aspects, which, having been present in number one and two, are almost omni-present in three. Keep a close eye on The Mandarin, he’s not what he seems, but what he is, is infinitely better.

Acting

Look, it’s Iron Man, right. So Robert will be cute and funny and tragic and stuff. And he is. And Gwyneth will be pouty and disapproving and sexy-like. And she is. And Don will be, well Don will be Don right? He always is. None of them are going to get any Oscars, but they know that as well as we do. It is what it is, and it’s awesome. Except for Sir Ben. Sir Ben might get an Oscar. He won’t, but he maybe kinda could.

Directing

Jon Favreau, hands over the reins to Shane Black, who did a better job with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but a good job here. It’s not rocket science and he doesn’t get in its way.

So…

It’s Iron Man. It’s good solid super-hero fun. It’s what Thor wishes it was and what The Avengers couldn’t have existed without. Go see it, you know you want to, and you won’t be disappointed. Just a bit befuddled.

Take the 13+ kids, but be careful, you’ll enjoy it as much as they will.

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Review by Joy Dembo, 

It is hard to believe 20 years have passed since the block buster, Jurassic Park, hit our screens in 1993.  Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park was a Universal Studios/Steven Spielberg sci-fi triumph.

The computer generated animation was so incredible that one almost believed that the dinosaurs were real. In fact, this movie was a real trip back to the Jurassic age.

My children were very young when the first Jurassic Park movie was released but I bought them the video and they subsequently watched it over and over. But, trust me when I tell you that the third dimension really adds to the excitement.  Even though I knew what to expect, I was engrossed, and I can confidently say that you will be too, despite the fact that you have probably seen it.

Watching John Hammond, the eccentric millionaire, create the ultimate theme park, featuring real dinosaurs, cloned from fossilised dinosaur DNA…. and all the drama that followed…. brought it all back to me, and even though I enjoyed every minute of this 3D offering, I almost envied the youngsters who haven’t seen it before, as they are in for an extra special treat.

It is not without good reason that Jurassic Park is still the 16th highest grossing film ever made – quite an achievement when you consider how many classic films have been made over the years.

Sam Neil as the Paleontologist, Dr Alan Grant and Laura Dern, as the Paleobotonist, Dr Ellie Sattler, are as amazing as ever, and Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough complete the impressive cast.

The movie is being released on Friday, 10 May, at cinemas countrywide, and has been classified PG 10-12.

Grab some popcorn and treat yourself and your kids to a MAMMOTH 3D adventure!

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reviewed Tiffany Markman, mom to a two-year-old, tries to balance her workaholism with cuddling her daughter, reading books, consuming caffeine & reining in her intrinsic kugelry. Follow her on twitter.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

I have a precious friend who lost her daughter 10 days before her due date. She spent seven minutes with her baby, total. But I believe she would have been a 100% mommy. An absolute natural. She was born for motherhood.

Then there’s me. I’ve been a mother for two years. I’m not a natural. I had a rough start. I muddle my way through mostly, at 80% (which is, in fairness, still an A). But I feel confident saying that, 24 months in, I’m a good mommy.

Now, am I more of a mother than my friend? I’d like to think not. The more I dwell on it, the more it seems that motherhood shouldn’t be something you experience only once you have a baby. It should be something that comes from holding a child in your heart. Even for a short time. However, it’s possible that I’m being idealistic.

I can’t decide.

Photo credit: Pinterest

I have another two friends. Neither one is an actual mother. But each one has a child in her life that utterly defines her. That is part of her every decision, holiday and memory. That these two friends ‘mother’ (verb) these young girls is unquestionable. But does that mothering make them mothers? No. (Yikes, this is confusing.)

So, it seems that not all mothers are intuitive motherers and some women who are unbelievable motherers aren’t actually mothers. Which is an interesting paradigm.

My husband says that being a mother (he extends this to being a father too, obviously) means permanence. It means having a person in your life whose wellbeing, sleep, food, mess, manners and mood are defining parts of your every day, night and waking thought. Who, if they’re not with you 24/7, are in your head 22/7.

On this basis, being a mother goes beyond being pregnant or having a god-child/niece. Because it doesn’t come and go. It just is, for twenty or thirty years.

Yes, there are people who probably shouldn’t be mothers (Toddlers & Tiaras moms, this means you), but there are so many more who should be. And this Mothers’ Day, my wish is for all of the women who so badly want to be mothers to know the joys, the pains, the guilt, the drama, the laughs, the exhaustion and the snot. To be able to take their mothering up a notch on the permanence scale, to the non-stop.

Amen.

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Having a child shifts your life priorities drastically and with babies comes tons of lessons, fun and immeasurable love that you could not even have come close to fathoming prior to motherhood. However, let’s all admit it without feeling guilty, there are some things we wish we hadn’t taken for granted.

Here’s my top 10 list of things I wish I had not taken for granted but I don’t mind not being able to do anymore:

1. Being able to have a long, leisurely shower/bath without worrying that the house is being painted red, with your lipstick!

2. Sitting down and eating a whole meal without having to get up once to tend to your tot.

3. Wearing dangly/hoop earrings.

4. Leaving the house with just your keys and handbag.

5. Sleeping in on a Sunday morning.

6. Going on date night without having to worry about babysitters.

7. Sharing a bottle of water and not wondering if there’s backwash in it.

8. Keeping pens/make-up/glassware where ever you felt like and not only on hard to reach shelves.

9. Watching any TV show you wanted, whenever you wanted.

10. Wearing a low cut top without fear of being exposed by a little hand tugging at it.

What’s on your list?

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by Mia Von Scha, 

Becoming a mother is one of the most intense and life changing events that can occur in a lifetime: It usually comes with your first real taste of unconditional love, but also with a host of stressors and challenges that most of us are simply not prepared for. This is normal, and being a good parent does not mean that you have to enjoy parenting all the time.  However, with Mother’s Day approaching I thought I would share with you some of my favourite tips for being a happier mother.

1. Be gentle with yourself. 
Understand that it is normal to have mixed feelings about being a mother, that we all have bad days, and that everyone loses their temper sometimes. Allow yourself to be human, to make mistakes and to not always be on top of things.

2. Let go of expectations.
Every day will have its own challenges and its own natural flow. Trying to predict and control how each moment of each day should be leads to stress and disappointment. Relax, and trust that it will all be ok in the end.

3. Remove the word “should” from your vocabulary.
Realise that most of your suffering comes from internally labeling things as good or bad. Life just is as it is, and our mental judgements about what should or shouldn’t be happening or how other people should or shouldn’t be behaving are a sign that we are resisting life as it is. Try for one day to simply catch yourself making one of these judgements and ask yourself who you would be or how you would feel if you could never think that thought again.

4. Focus on the things you have to be grateful for.
Focusing on the positive in our lives is one of the quickest and easiest ways to start feeling better and enjoying life again. Every day has something good about it – start noticing small things to be grateful for and watch how this grows.

5. Keep company with positive, supportive people.
Positivity breeds positivity. Make a vow with yourself to quit moaning and complaining and to spend time with your “glass half full” friends.

6. Breathe, slow down, and take some time out for yourself.
Life with kids can be pretty fast paced and busy, and the best thing that you can do for yourself and your family is to take some down-time. Set aside 30 minutes a day to relax, meditate, go for a walk, or simply lie on your bed and read a book. Taking time to recharge your own batteries means you’ll have more energy and patience for those around you.

7. Pause before reacting.
Time-outs are not just for kids! We all have times where we are overwhelmed and out of control, and taking a few minutes to breathe and re-centre yourself helps you to shift from reacting to responding.

8. Laugh a lot and often.
Laughter is one of the most healing responses that we are capable of as human beings. Make an effort to look at the lighter side of life, seek out funny movies or Google things that cheer you up. Make a habit of only forwarding on those emails that lighten your life.

9. Be present.
If there is one gift that you give yourself and your kids this mother’s day, make it the gift of presence. Let go of the past, allow the future to take care of itself, and focus in on the only moment that you have – this one right now. Being fully present in your life and with your kids is the most rewarding, enriching, and life changing practice that you can engage in. Your past (even the last minute) is gone, and can only be accessed in your mind. The future, too, is only accessible in your head – there is no other way to get there. This leaves this moment as the only reality you have. Get out of your head and into your life and feel the joy of connecting with your kids where they are – here, now.

Wishing you an incredible Mother’s Day!

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