When 2016 came to an end, Chris and I had one thought of something that we wanted to do in the New Year: go on adventures with our children and see more of our beautiful country. We live in Northern Ireland and it is a wealth of beautiful scenery and lots of things for families to do. We are lucky enough that we can travel easily to Republic of Ireland too and take in the sights there.
We decided that this month we would write little "to visit" list and hopefully tick one of those off each Sunday when we have a family day. We currently want to do the Gruffalo Trail, visit Dublin Zoo, the Tayto Park, see the boats at Bangor Marina and much more. One downside of January is that we are pretty skint after Christmas, some January birthdays and after a routine eye test, I need stronger glasses which means I've had to fork out a small fortune for new ones. We don't drive either so going on these adventures means paying for the bus or train to get there so they are sort of on the back burner until we get settled into February. I'm sure we aren't the only family feeling the pinch so here's how we are being adventurous without even leaving our living room.
Adventure movies! I love a movie that I can get completely lost in and feel like I've been transported to another dimension. Here are my top movies for escaping this year:
We decided that this month we would write little "to visit" list and hopefully tick one of those off each Sunday when we have a family day. We currently want to do the Gruffalo Trail, visit Dublin Zoo, the Tayto Park, see the boats at Bangor Marina and much more. One downside of January is that we are pretty skint after Christmas, some January birthdays and after a routine eye test, I need stronger glasses which means I've had to fork out a small fortune for new ones. We don't drive either so going on these adventures means paying for the bus or train to get there so they are sort of on the back burner until we get settled into February. I'm sure we aren't the only family feeling the pinch so here's how we are being adventurous without even leaving our living room.
Adventure movies! I love a movie that I can get completely lost in and feel like I've been transported to another dimension. Here are my top movies for escaping this year:
1) The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies
If you aren't family with the whole LOTR/Hobbit franchise, where have you been?! In this final instalment, Thorin Oakenshield and the Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed the wealth of their homeland, but now face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying Dragon Smaug upon Lake-Town. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has sent forth legions of Orcs to attack the lonely mountain and Bilbo Baggins ends up fighting for his life as five great armies go to war.
2) Inception
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best there is at extraction; stealing valuable secrets inside the subconsciour during the mind's vulnerable dream state. His skill has made him a coveted player in industrial espionage but has also made him a fugitive and cost him dearly. Now he may get a second chance if he can do the impossible: inception, planting an idea rather than stealing one. If they succeed, Cobb and his team could pull off the perfect crime. But no planning or expertise can prepare them for a dangerous enemy who seems to predict their every move.
3) Gravity
Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is an engineer on her first shuttle mission with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). On a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone, thethered to nothing but each other and spiralling out into the darkness. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen that is left.
4) Pacific Rim
When legions of monstrous alien creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a deadly war began. To combat them, humans devised massive robots called Jaegers as weapons. Controlled simultaneously by two pilots, even the Jaegers proved nearly defenseless against the Kaiju. Now on the verge of defeat, mankind must turn to a washed-up former pilot and an untested trainee teamed in a seemingly obsolete Jaeger.
5) Jupiter Ascending
Jupiter Jones was born under a night sky with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning toilets and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine, a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along.
6) 300: Rise of an Empire
In this new chapter of the 300 saga, Greek general Themistokles is pitted against massive invading Persian forces who are ruled by the god-king Xerxes and led by Artemisia, the vengeful commanders of their navy. Knowing his only hope of defeating the Persian armadais to unite Greece. Themistokles leads the charge that will change the course of the war.
Are there a few of these movies that you haven't seen before but like the sound of? You can buy them here.
Happy watching!
(We received a bundle of DVDs for inclusion in this post.)
