What to do: July 4th Edition

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Check out some ideas from the Fandads of things to do this weekend throughout the city and a sneak preview of what's to come next weekend. We will have a poll up next week on our Facebook page to vote on a name for these around town posts that we do.

Despicable Me 3 Review and Giveaway

Disclaimer: The Fandads teamed up with Fandango for this giveaway. All thoughts and opinions are our own and no, a minion does not have a fart gun to our heads so we say good things about the movie.

When you see Gru and the Minions on the big screen you know that you will be in for a good and silly time. In this third movie of the series we not only get the silliness that we are used to with the minions, but we also get a little bit of heart in the story between Gru and his brother Dru. Don't worry, it's not as sappy as it sounds.

T-Shirt Thursday

The Fandads were fortunate enough to watch Spider-Man: Homecoming last night and it was awesome! Coincidentally this month's Marvel Collector Corps shirt is also awesome!

Straight out of Peter's closet!

Check out Spider-Man: Homecoming next month and keep your eye on Fandads.com for upcoming screenings, you never know what you might win!

Cars 3 Coloring Sheets and giveaway

Disclaimer: The Fandads have partnered up with Fandango for this giveaway and receive compensation for this team up. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

We previously did a post with some activity sheets for Cars 3 and we have some coloring sheets to keep you and your children busy if you want to relive revisit some of your favorite characters from the hit movie. There is also a giveaway, but you must keep reading.

Transformers: The Last Knight Premiere and Review

Last week the Fandads were invited to the U.S Premiere of Transformers: The Last Knight. The premiere was held at the Civic Opera House in downtown Chicago and had everything you could ask for in a premiere: a red carpet, inflatable Transformers and celebrities. This was the first time that the Fandads have ever been invited to a premiere of a movie and it was a pretty memorable experience. 

T-shirt Thursday!

I am NOT having a good day with technology. Camera doesn't work, phone won't upload pics, Air Book won't charge...ugh. About the only thing that's gone right today is that both Loot Crate and MCC boxes showed up today!

More Than Meets the Eye!

This beauty showed up today in our Loot Crate. Very timely as Transformers: The Last Knight is in theaters now! (Funny how that works) The Marvel Collector Corps box also had a nice shirt, but we'll feature that one next week!

Thanks for reading!

The Adventure Continues, #ThanksBaby

Disclosure: The Fandads have partnered with Life of Dad  and Pampers for this promotion. 

Remember those mornings when you would just wake up and not want to get out of bed? There have been many times in my past that I would wish that the days would just fly by. A lot of the times I would not want to get out of bed, but I knew that I had classes to attend and a job to go to, so I did it. I would go through those monotonous days and just feel like this is what my life was going to be. To quote Aesop Rock "Wake, Work, Sleep" and that is not what I wanted for my life.

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray review

Disclaimer: The Fandads received a copy of Beauty and the Beast for this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

With the home release of Disney's Beauty and the Beast fans of the animated movie can relieve all of their favorite scenes from the comfort of their own home. The Blu-ray has all the bells and whistles like most home releases:commentaries, behind the scene featurettes but the one bonus is the inclusion of the sing-a-long version on the disc. 

Father's Day Gift Guide

(Disclaimer: Some of the items on the list are affiliate links but all thoughts and opinions are our own.)

It's that time of year again. That time where you start seeing the "Dads and Grads" (why are these two always combined?) signs everywhere and you start wondering what tie you should get your father this year.  Well, if you are in that particular dilemma right now, put down that tie and check out our list of things that dads would like for Father's Day.

ARMS Review

Disclaimer: The Fandads were provided with a downloadable copy of ARMS for this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

ARMS has been in heavy rotation around the Fandads.com studio for the past couple of weeks. When I found out we were going to have early access to the game it was an awesome and unexpected surprise. Our access came along the same time that the Global Testpunch was happening and it gave me a good chance to try out the game with a lot of other people.

There are a variety of modes to check out online!

My first impressions were that it was a unique game. It's kind of hard to describe and/or compare to anything else. Yes, it's a fighting game, but it's also something else. Grappling? Wrestling? Not quite, but there are elements somewhere in there.

The learning curve seemed to be tough, especially in "thumbs up" mode, which I assume is the way the game is meant to be played. (Thumbs up mode is basically having one Joy-Con in each hand and controlling your fighter by moving your hands and punching to attack.) I got my rear handed to me pretty easily and frequently, even on lower difficulty settings. Master Mummy is the only character I've actually gotten to be somewhat proficient with. Seeing as how I was having some difficulty with the game, I thought I'd give the next generation a try.

I let my girls play for a while, with an extra pair of Joy-Cons they were both able to experience the game in "thumbs up" mode, and they had wildly different experiences. One of my girls was frustrated and couldn't get the game to do what she wanted it to. Unfortunately she ended up being upset and quickly gave up on the game. Daughter #2 though, couldn't get enough. She was sticking and moving like a pro and quickly decimated her sister. She then moved on to me and it wasn't pretty. I can 100% assure you that I wasn't trying to let her win and she mopped the floor with me.

Although it was fun for her, I believe that this is one of the issues I have with the game. My five year daughter was able to beat me to a pulp by essentially button-mashing with the right character. Again, it might be me and my lack of experience with the game, but it didn't interest me enough to want to keep playing it so I could actually get better.

The Hoops, V-Ball, and Skill Shot modes offer some depth to the game, I actually found those modes more enjoyable than the fighting, but the "story" mode, or Grand Prix, didn't hold my attention. The characters aren't very interesting either. Yes, they look cool, and ARMS is definitely different, but it still wasn't wowing me.

Determined to give it more of a chance, I let my "focus group" AKA students at school, try it out. Well,  it turns out maybe this game isn't for me. The kids loved it. the characters, the colors, they really got into it. They also didn't seem to be having too many problems learning the controls. I'm sure part of it was because kids are so quick to pick up games these days, but it also could have been that they were playing "traditionally" with the Joy-Cons. I didn't want any kids accidentally punching themselves so I had them play with one Joy-Con each and it seemed to work out well. I actually started playing this way and with the controls attached to the Switch and the game seems to be a bit more bearable this way. I guess it's just not my cup of tea.

So my final verdict is that Dads could probably give this one a pass, if you're into fighting games there are definitely better options out there. That being said, this might be a good pick up for the kids. There isn't any blood and the characters are pretty abstract. It's rated E 10+, so it's good for anyone 10 and up but my kids, both under 10, seemed to be fine with it.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

T-Shirt Thursday

Today's T-shirt Thursday shirt comes from our friends at Super7. We featured them a few weeks ago with the Veritech Fighter t-shirt and this time we are featuring them again with another awesome shirt. This Hawkins Power & Light shirt looks vaguely familiar...almost like I have scene this scene before. The image on this shirt is fantastic in how it brings up memories of old Activision games box art and reminds me of Pitfall in a way. I bought this shirt for my wife at C2E2 a few months back and I think I want to get one for myself.

When you get a chance, check out Super7's website and browse the other fun shirts that they have there.

Black Panther Teaser Trailer is here!

If you were watching the NBA Finals tonight you might have caught the first teaser trailer for Marvel Studio's Black Panther and it was amazing. If you have not seen it check it out below and be prepared to have your mind blown. 

Resident Evil Vendetta One night only Screening

Hey friends, what's better than playing Resident Evil on a big screen television? How about watching a Resident Evil movie at the theaters. Yes, friends Fathom Events is having a special one night only screening on June 19th of Resident Evil:Vendetta. Now, while this is not the Milla Jovovich Resident Evil, this is the third in a series of computer animated Resident Evil movies.

Cars 3 Activity Sheets and Screening

Lighting McQueen is heading back to the big screen in Cars 3 later this month and to get your ready for that day we have some cool activity sheets for you and your children. From a race track maze to building an actual race track to race with your children, we have got you covered. For our friends in Chicago, we have something extra for you, keep reading to find out what.

Wonder Woman Premium Statue Giveaway

Disclaimer: Sideshow Collectibles is an affiliate with Fandads and they are sponsoring this contest. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

With the release of the new Wonder Woman movie the Fandads have the fantastic opportunity to be involved in an awesome giveaway with our friends at Sideshow Collectibles. Sideshow is giving our readers the opportunity to win this fantastic Wonder Woman statue. All you need to do is click on this link and and write "Fandads" in the box that asks where you learned about this contest.

Handcrafted with austere beauty and fierce determination, Princess Diana of Themyscira dons her iconic costume of stars and stripes, sworn to protect the world and uphold her mantle as Wonder Woman. Granted divine superhuman powers and superior combat skills, the warrior princess is ready to gracefully accept any challenge, armed with her golden Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets, and tiara. The Wonder Woman collectible figure carries a long spear across her shoulders, and her iconic shield grasped firmly at her side - but above all, she carries the Amazons’ message of peace and justice.

Contest ends June 8th. 

Pretty simple and easy to do. Enter today!

T-Shirt Thursday!

The Goonies Never Say Die!

I have to say that my Loot Crates have been somewhat lacking as of late, that being said, this month's edition was awesome!

Wonder Woman review and giveaway.

It is kind of crazy when you think about it, but Wonder Woman has not had a big screen appearance in all of her 75 years until Batman v Superman came out last year.  The movie itself was decent, but when the chords from the electric cello drops and she appears on screen you sat up in your chair and probably said to yourself, “Oh, things are going to get good now.” Well friends, not only did it get good, but her first full-length movie took that to another level. Yes, Wonder Woman was worth the wait.