Drama

Drama movie reviews

Insurgent-Teen Movie Review

Insurgent is the second installment in the very popular Divergent series. As in the first film, Insurgent is set in futuristic Chicago, where people are divided into factions based on human virtues. Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent). Insurgent continues following the lives of teenagers Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) and her boyfriend Four (Theo James). In this film the young couple are on the run from Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), the leader of the Erudite faction. Tris and Theo are on a mission to stop the powerful alliance from tearing their society apart, while hoping to figure out the secret to a better future. Based on the best-selling book series, Insurgent is an action packed, suspenseful film.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: August 5, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will it Appeal to Most Pre-tees/teens? Yes

Talking Point:

There is an all-star cast, to name a few; Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer and Miles Teller.
Tris is a strong character who wants to protect and save everyone. She’s willing to risk her life for the innocent victims whose lives are in jeopardy.

Sexual Content: Mild

It’s implied that Tris and Four have a sexual encounter. We see them kissing, while sitting on a bed. They remove their shirts, we only see their bare backs.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

The violence is very disturbing especially when subjects are involved in virtual reality simulations. They’re forced into a a room with glass walls. The subjects are attached to cords, which are hanging from the ceiling. They’re injected with strong drugs and we see their memories, fears and special relationships. In one simulation we see someone trapped in a burning building, while flying through the air.
In the real world, there is a war. We see characters shot and killed, fist fights and stabbings. Many characters are injected with mind-control devices, which causes them to commit suicide.
Tris and Four are injected with truth serum. We see the needles going into their necks. If the subjects are not telling the truth, the serum causes great pain, which we saw with Tris.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “d–n,” “h–,” and “sh-t.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

We see character’s drinking wine.
Throughout the film we see character’s injected with powerful drugs. These drugs are very dangerous, causing great pain and even death.

Will it Appeal to Most Kids? Yes

Pre-teens/teens that have read the books will most likely enjoy the movie.

As I previously mentioned, Insurgent is a very action packed suspenseful movie. Parents need to be aware of the excessive and disturbing violence throughout the film.

Cinderella-Kids Movie Review

“Be kind and have courage,” were Ella’s (Cinderella, played by Lily James) mother’s dying last words. Ella honors her mother’s request and is a very kind and courageous loving young lady. After her mother’s death, Ella and her father remain very close and enjoy their lives together, however Ella’s life dramatically changes when her father decides to re-marry. Sadly he becomes very ill, and unexpectedly dies shortly after the wedding. Ella is left with an evil stepmother and two evil stepsisters. Continue reading →

Chappie- Teen Movie Review

The concept of being pulled over by a robotic police officer seems very strange, however that’s how it was in Johannesburg, South Africa. Set in 2016, the city of Johannesburg’s police force mainly consisted of robots. The storyline is centered around a particular police robot named Chappie, who’s been programmed to become the first robot who has the ability to think and feel for himself. However when a group of thug’s kidnap Chappie, they teach this innocent robot to become like them…shooting, looting and selling drugs. That’s when the battle begins, and that’s when poor Chappie gets involved in illegal activities…ones he was never built to do. Chappie is a dramatic Sci-Fi movie with a lot of disturbing violence and profane language throughout the film.

Rating: 1/2 bucket out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 16, 2015
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will it Appeal to Most Teens? No

Talking Points:

Deon, Chappie’s maker, encourages him to read, paint and better himself. He tells Chappie he can do whatever he wants to do in life. Deon also makes Chappie promise not to get involved with the thug’s criminal activities. Good parent/child conversations.
The movie was very disturbing, we saw the gang’s abusive way of living filled with drugs and crime. Chappie seemed like a child, not a robot; he was kidnapped and forced into their evil ways, which was hard to watch.

Sexual Content: Moderate

We see a brief porno clip on someone’s TV… full frontal female nudity.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

The villains encourage Chappie to do evil and disturbing things to innocent people. Chappie manhandles people, leaving them on the streets covered in blood.
We see several characters shot and killed.
There are violent battles between men and robots. A man is shown crushed and torn in half by a metal claw.
Chappie is beaten and set on fire.

Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

The f-word is said numerous times throughout the film. We also hear “sh-t,” “a–,” “h—,” and “b–ch.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive

Characters are shown smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol throughout the film.
We see one of the thugs counting their drug stash.

Will it Appeal to Most Teens? Yes

I interviewed some teenage girls who loved Chappie (the robot) but didn’t like the film. One girl said, “I loved Chappie, he was so cute, but I didn’t like seeing him tortured.”

Chappie-Teen Movie Review

The Lazarus Effect-Teen Movie Review

The Lazarus Effect follows a group of medical students who are doing research… not to cure cancer or other life threatening diseases, but to bring back the dead. Initially they revive a deceased dog, however when they decide to resurrect a human, things don’t go so well. The woman comes back to life, but not the sweet person she once was. Now the students must figure out how to handle the consequences of a project they should never have begun.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 16, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Several of the medical students realize that trying to play God…isn’t the right thing to do.
The film is named after the Bible’s Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. This could spark an interesting parent/child conversation.

Sexual Content: Mild

Character’s are shown kissing.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

We see large needles injected into human heads and animal heads.
A character is crushed to death in a metal cabinet.
A woman kills someone by grabbing their head and squeezing it.
Someone dies by choking on an e-cigarette.
A woman is electrocuted, we see burns and welts on her ring finger.

Crude and Profane Language: Moderate

We hear the f-word. Also, “sh-t,” “a–,” “h–,” “d–n,” and “b–ch.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see character’s smoking regular and e-cigarettes.
Characters are shown drinking wine.

Will it Appeal to Most Kids? Yes

I interviewed some pre-teens after the film, they love horror films so of course they liked this movie. However they were hoping it would be scarier.

The Lazarus Effect-Teen Movie Review

McFarland USA-Kids’ Movie Review

Inspired by the 1987 true story, McFarland USA follows the life of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner). Jim has a hard time keeping a teaching/coaching job, as his temper gets the best of him. Eventually Jim and his family head to McFarland, Ca, an impoverished agricultural community, where he accepts a job teaching Science and PE. Jim sees the potential of these hard-working Latino boys, and starts a cross country team. Jim not only coaches these boys to become better athletes, he instills some valuable lessons that change their lives forever.

Rating: 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 2, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will It Appeal to Most Kids? Yes

Talking Points:

There are wonderful messages and inspirational scenes. Initially the Whites are uneasy about their new environment, and the Latino community feels the same about their new arrival. However, both cultures learn to accept and appreciate each other. Great parent/child conversation.
Coach White stresses the importance of school and attending college.
Young kids may get bored, as it is slow in parts.

Sexual Content: Mild

There’s talk of a teenage girl who got pregnant out of wedlock.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

We see a guy wearing a bloodied t-shirt after getting into a fight. The fight is off-screen.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “d–n,” and “a-s.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

Characters are shown drinking beer and tequila.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

I interviewed a group of middle school age boys who really liked the film. They run cross country, and said they can relate to the strenuous work outs.

Overall this is a wonderful inspirational sports drama, one for the whole family.