Jackie

Logan Lucky- Kids’ Movie Review

The Logan family feels unlucky, and somewhat cursed. Even though, Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), was the star high school quarterback and homecoming king, his life eventually becomes more difficult as he can’t keep a job or a wife. Although he does have an adorable daughter with whom he’s very close. Clyde (Adam Driver), Jimmy’s brother, goes to Iraq after high school and gets part of his arm blown off. He eventually becomes a bartender. Then there’s Mellie (Riley Keogh), who is a supportive younger sister. As the Logan’s are feeling down while nothing is going their way, Jimmy comes up with the grand idea of doing a crime. So, Jimmy, Clyde, and Mellie attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina. Logan Lucky is an entertaining, comedic drama from the director of Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 28, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Mild

A female character wears revealing shirts and short-shorts.
It’s mentioned that Rihanna sings about her vagina.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

There’s a big brawl with several characters.
Prison inmates fight in the cafeteria.
A car is set on fire.
A character crashes a car through a store window.
We see a race car crash.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear the f-word once. We also hear “sh-t,” “d–n,” “h—,” and “a–.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

There are some scenes in a bar with a lot of social drinking.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall Logan Lucky is a comedic drama appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.

The Glass Castle-Kids’ Movie Review

“You learn from living.” That’s what Rex Walls (Woody Harrelson) tells his wife and children when his daughter asked why they don’t go to school. Rex loves his wife and four children more than anything. His dream is to build them a glass castle; a solar-powered, window filled home. He’s got the plans, and he even begins to dig a new foundation outside of one of their many run-down homes. Though nothing comes of his big dream. Rex is a big talker and he never lacks for a drink or cigarette. Sadly, his family most always lacks for food, running water, electricity and security. The Glass Castle is an intense drama based on Jeannette Walls’ best-selling memoir. It tells the story of a very dysfunctional family and how they survive living day to day.

Rating: 2. 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 7, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

There is an all-star cast. To name a few; Woody Harrelson, Brie Larson and Naomi Watts.
The children are very intelligent as they develop a love for reading and writing, however, they suffer from hunger, pain and other hardships.

Sexual Content: Mild

A man tries to force a woman into having sex.
The Walls’ parents are intimate with one another in front of their kids. We see them fully clothed on a bed passionately kissing.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

A child’s clothes catch on fire as she’s trying to cook hot dogs.
There’s a constant threat of violence as you never know what Rex (the alcoholic father) will do next.
It’s noted several times that the children haven’t eaten and that they’re starving.
A child, who can’t swim, is thrown in a deep end of a pool. Her father is trying to teach her how to swim. This is an uncomfortable scene.
A man is punched.
The film is disturbing as we see how the young children are not taken care of properly by their parents.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear “f–k,” “sh-t,” “a–,” “hell,” and “son of a b–ch.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive

A character is an alcoholic. We see him drinking alcohol throughout the film and smoking cigarettes.
A character tries to quit drinking and we see him suffer through a painful detox.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Mature teens who have read the book.

Overall The Glass Castle is an intense drama. Parents need to be aware of the disturbing violence throughout the film.

The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature

The animals are nuttier than ever in The Nut Job 2. This film continues the story of a group of park animals who must find a new food source when their beloved nut shop burns down. When they find a beautiful new park with green grass and trees they think life is great. However, things get complicated when the mayor wants to destroy the park and build an amusement park for a profit making venture. The rodents think their lives are over, though Surly the squirrel (voice of Will Arnett) steps up and puts together a plan to destroy the amusement park. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature is the sequel to 2014’s The Nut Job.

Rating: 4. 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 7, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The film highlights the importance of team work and family.
There’s a lot of bodily function humor.

Sexual Content: Mild

Two dogs fall in love and eventually have puppies.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

The construction site of an amusement park is destroyed resulting in fires and explosions.
The human characters tend to be the villains: a father and daughter are both sadistic in the way they treat animals. Animals’ lives are threatened by construction workers.
In a flashback, two animals nearly die in a hurricane.
There’s a lot of slapstick silly violence. Surly jumps out of moving vehicles, he’s beaten by a mouse, and he’s electrocuted.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear name calling such as: “moron,” and “dumb.” We hear “What the …?”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

A character was shot with a tranquilizing dart and appears drunk.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature is a kid friendly movie. Parents need to be aware of the moderate slapstick violence and bodily function humor.

The Dark Tower-Kids Movie Review

Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), a pre-teen boy, has very bad dreams at night. They’re so vivid and seem so real that when he wakes up he draws images of what he’s seen and puts them on a cork board in his room. He wants to figure out what these nightly terrors mean. His dreams are about a man in black who uses kids to try to destroy the world. There’s a Gunslinger who tries to stop him. Jake eventually realizes that his dreams are real; he meets the Gunslinger, Roland (Idris Elba), and he learns about the Dark Tower that protects the universe from monsters. He also learns that Walter (Matthew McConaughey), also known as the Man in Black, hopes to destroy the tower. The battle between good and evil begins as Jake and Roland try to save the world from the evil Man in Black. The Dark Tower is based on Stephen King’s Dark Tower book series.

Rating: 3 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 31, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? No

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

There’s a lot of guns and shooting. A boy learns to shoot a gun.
Boys fight at school; punching and hitting one another.
Character’s are shown stabbing with knives and hitting with heavy objects..
A chunk of glass goes through a character’s hand. We see a lot of blood.
There are explosions and earthquakes.
We see drawings of scary and disturbing images.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “sh-t,” and “h–l.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

A character takes a handful of painkillers.

Will Kids Like It? No

Overall The Dark Tower is a dark sci/fi film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.

The Emoji Movie-Kids Movie Review

A text can show a lot of emotions, especially with the right emoji. Happy, sad, frustrated, confused; emoji’s express the way a person feels. The Emoji Movie is a story about a world inside our smartphones. Each emoji is supposed to have one job or a certain expression. When the Meh symbol is pressed, Gene Meh, a young emoji, messes up and shows more than one expression. Now mayhem ensues in the world of emoji’s, and the adorable symbols try to handle the chaos while hoping they don’t get deleted.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 buckets out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 24, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Mild

There’s flirting between the emoji characters and human characters.
A character’s phone plays the song “Bubblebutt.”

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

Robots chase emoji’s and blasts them with lasers.
One of the robots is very scary and intimidating. At one point it seems as though all the emoji’s will be deleted.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

A character starts to say, “Oh “sh–, ” but doesn’t finish the word. We hear name calling, to name a few; “loser,” “freak,” “weirdo,” “stupid,” and “butt.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

There’s a beer emoji.
A character mentions, “Hack Daniels.”

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall The Emoji Movie is a fun, colorful and very kid-friendly movie. Adult’s may like it too.