Blue Sky Studios, the creators of the movie Ice Age, have released their newest feature animated film, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, which opens in theaters today.

The movie is based on Dr. Seuss’ very short children’s storybook, which is impressive since the movie is 1 hour and 28 minutes long. A recent Washington Post review described the movie as: “A computer-animated feature that strikes an amiable balance between honoring the text and the dictates of contemporary animation, the film is as good as one could hope for in this era of post-literate impatience.”

Through a bit of magic (and no, not Disney magic…but rather, Blue Sky magic), Horton’s screenwriters, creative directors, and members of the production, art & technical teams created a tremendous amount of new material to develop it into a full feature film.

The movie, Horton Hears a Who!, features the famous voices of comedic actors Jim Carrey (Horton), Steve Carell (Mayor), and Carol Burnett (Kangaroo).

The movie has received rave reviews by movie critics, so go check it out and see for yourself whether it’s as good as it’s cracked up to be!

We welcome your comments!

Flickr Photo Credits: Horton Movie Poster by divxplanet and Steve Carell/Mayor by MyCine

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Monday, March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day! Once a year, it’s your chance to be Irish — so, adorn yourself with green from head to toe (and avoid getting pinched…unless you like that sort of thing - yow!)

St. Patty’s Day is all about shamrocks, green beer, leprechauns, and corn beef! There are festivals, like the Guiness St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Riverfront Park, NC where you can experience Irish music, dance, food, artisans, and booth displays.

For additional local festivities and parades, try the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Concert at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, CA, featuring Irish bagpipers, Irish bands, street performers, and floats. There’s also the Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Harrisburg, PA or the Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration in Grand Ledge, MI…just to name a few!

For those wild, late night party-goers, check out the Miller Lite ShamRock St. Patrick’s Day Block Party in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp District where thousands flock to the area to experience live music, hot DJs, great food and green beer with 40,000 sq ft of Astroturf (cool!) in the streets!

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated outing, enjoy the Thistle and Shamrock: California Philharmonic Pays Tribute to Celtic Culture performance on Saturday night to see the Cabar Feidh pipe band and Celtic dancers.

But, if you’re interested in something more low-key, you might want to head over to your nearby local pub for a tall glass of Guinness!

• Gene McCarthy’s Irish Pub in Buffalo, NY
• Kell’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in San Francisco, CA
• O’Shea’s Irish Pub in Charlotte, NC
• O’Donoghue’s Irish Pub in Scottsdale, AZ

And to depart with an Irish blessing:

“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you ever step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

Flickr Photo Credits: Shamrock by jciv and Leprechaun by OZinOH’s

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Things are heating up for the presidential candidates as they aggressively campaign across the country in pursuit of the official party nominations. In exactly one week, twenty-four states will hold primary elections on Super Tuesday (February 5th) to select the delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions. According to CNN Politics, Super Tuesday is “the biggest single-day showdown of the race.” A record-breaking voter turnout is anticipated on both sides.

Although Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, swept through Florida today, rival Barack Obama is still energized by his South Carolina win last Saturday. John Edwards, who is trailing far behind without a single victory continues to forge ahead, confidently asserting that he is still the “strongest general election candidate.”

On the Republican front, top candidates battling it out are Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani remains the underdog.

The day before Super Tuesday (February 4th), join the Identity Politics and the Presidential Election symposium for an engaging talk about race, gender, religion and sexuality in the upcoming presidential election with Stanford University Professors Clay Carson, Michele Elam, Paula Moya, and Deborah Rhode. Facilitating discussion about the candidates can certainly be helpful if you’re still trying to finalize your decision.

If you’re interested in volunteering to help run campaign booths, there are plenty of ways to get involved - just contact your nearby representative. If you’re politically charged and are organizing events in your local area, be sure to add them to the Zvents search index!

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Super Bowl XLII is just around the corner in Glendale, Arizona, just west of Phoenix in the new home of the Phoenix Cardinals, University of Phoenix Stadium. The new digs are a replacement to the Cardinal’s long time home at ASU Stadium in Tempe and the 88 luxury suites and 25 acres of surrounding retail and entertainment make for the ideal destination for this year’s big game.

We all, perhaps, think of the Super Bowl not for the game itself but the commercials, half time show, and guacamole (it has been said that American’s eat more guac on Super Bowl Sunday than the rest of the year combined) but we at Zvents noticed that it isn’t about Sunday as much as as the amazing list of things to do in Phoenix leading up to February 3rd.

Catch Chris Rock, February 2nd, at The Best Damn Super Bowl Party Period as he performs at their after party live at Ultra Lounge at Prive Super House. If you are lucky enough to score tickets, go for the entire event which starts Thursday with Jenny McCarthy, Ludacris and Holly Robinson Peete of the Hollyrod Foundation who is in town for fashion show fund raiser, “Gridiron Glamour.”

If fashion is your thing (wait… this is a football game isn’t it?), players wives come together to host the Off the Field Fashion Show, a benefit for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital on February 1 from 10am - 2pm. The event gives attendees an opportunity to visit the new SouthBridge real estate and retail development in Scottsdale, said to rival Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive.

Rather party with the celebs? Just opened Taste Ultra Lounge is hosting Friday Night Lights on February 1st with Hugh Hefner, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, and Jamie Foxx making an appearance. The “Tao inspired nightclub” has been one of the hottest places to be in Arizona since its opening in October, 2007.

On January 31st, P. Diddy (or is it just Diddy now?) is hosting a block party outside mega club Axis/Radius in Scottsdale. This two-story dance club has been a Scottsdale epicenter for over a decade and continues to throw the best party in town. You might as well bring a sleeping bag (or Red Bull) to stay first in line for Snoop Dogg on Friday night, Kid Rock and Bud Bowl on Saturday, and (ahem) Girls Gone Wild after the Super Bowl.

If you get past the crowd and inside Axis/Radius on Thursday, you’ll find Nick Lachey hosting the Super Skins Kick Off Party while P. Diddy performs under the stars. We encourage you to find a moment of peace from all this hype and sign up with Nick for the Superskins Celebrity Golf Classic. Multi-platinum recording artist Nick Lachey and two-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson have partnered with Prime Cuts Productions to form the Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic prior to Super Bowl XLII. Proceeds from the event, a special Super Skins Online Auction and Super Skins Party, will benefit multiple charities including “The Nick Lachey Foundation” and ” The Jimmie Johnson Foundation.”

Believe it or not, we’ve just scratched the surface and we’re out of breath. Take advantage of Navteq’s Map Network Super Bowl XLII Event Guide which covers just about everything going on in Phoenix related to the game; otherwise, search Zvents for much more in town or stay tuned and we’ll share other opportunities to party in desert.

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Two fiction bestsellers have made their way to the big screen. Atonement and The Kite Runner are currently featured in movie theaters and have arguably remained true to the books. Interestingly, both movies share the same deep sense of emotion (even though they differ significantly in plot) with underlying themes of childhood betrayal and redemption as an adult. A.O. Scott’s New York Times review captures the crux of both movies accurately with this description: “fundamentally about guilt and the attempt to overcome it, and about the tricky, tragically imperfect power of art to compensate for real-life crimes and misdemeanors.”

Atonement, based on the novel by Ian McEwan, is a British romance about how a 13-year-old, irreversibly changes the course of many people’s lives when she accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit. Following this act, the girl continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood wrongdoing over several dramatic decades, eventually leading to personal transformation.

The Kite Runner, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini, tells the story of an Afghan refugee who witnesses a horrible incident as a child, betrays his friend, and walks away. Throughout his life, he’s plagued with regret, which leads to his “epic quest for redemption.”

Of course, the challenge has always been whether or not the films can live up to their original sources. You be the judge…do they? We certainly welcome your comments!

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