Jackie

Home-Kids’ Movie Review

“Home is not a home without family.” That’s what Tip (Rihanna) says. Tip is a young girl who’s the only human left on Earth. When an alien race, called the Boov, conquer Earth and relocate all of the human population, Tip manages to hide from the aliens. Feeling sad and alone, she desperately wants to find her mother. The day she meets a fugitive Boov, called Oh (Jim Parsons), things begin to change. Initially they don’t trust one another, though after much time together they develop a special bond and eventually become good friends. The misfit couple come across several adventures as Oh is on the run from the Boov’s enemies, and Tip is on the run to find her mother, and to be home once again. Home is a wonderful animated film for the whole family.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: July 28, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

This is story about the importance of family and caring of others.
The movie highlights some dangers of social media as Oh accidentally sends an evite to the whole universe; inviting them to a house warming party.
There is a lot of potty humor. Oh brushes his teeth with a toilet brush. There are several jokes discussing the difference between going number one, number two or number three. Two Boov’s discuss their “pee break.”
Oh lies a lot… the Boov turn green when they lie.

Sexual Content: Mild

When a Boov stumbles in a trap, he’s hit with dirty laundry and some makeup. We see him covered in pink with a bra on his head.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

The villains use gigantic earthmovers to try and destroy the Earth’s surface. Slapstick violence ensues with the destruction of cars and buildings.
A character repeatedly bonks others on the head with his staff, which he calls the “shusher.”

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

Name calling…”lying fart face.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: None

Will Kids Like It? Yes

I interviewed a family with a 4 year old son and 6 year old daughter. The two kids loved the film, they thought the characters were fun and didn’t get scared by the bad guys.

Overall this is a wonderful animated film with fun loving characters.

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

Unfinished Business-Teen Movie Review

A simple handshake is all Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) really wants and needs to close a business deal. It had been a year since Dan quit his sales job and started a company selling metal manufacturing byproducts. After working hard and trying to support his family, Dan finally got the sale he was waiting for. In order to complete the deal he and his two associates had to travel to Europe, go over the numbers, and have some papers signed. However it wasn’t that easy for the three business men, they came across a lot of obscure adventures and mayhem…while hoping for that final handshake.

Rating: 2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 16, 2015
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Though this is a very raunchy R rated comedy, there are some pleasant scenes involving family, and the importance of being there for one other. Dan’s ultimate goal was to make money for his struggling family.

Sexual Content: Excessive

We see a group of naked people (male and female) in a unisex sauna in Berlin.
Characters go to a gay festival, we see a guys privates and some suggestive posters.
There are several crude and sexual conversations regarding male/female body parts, masturbation, oral sex and more.
There are two explicit sexual scenes with nudity, movements and sounds.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

Two male characters slap each other several times.

Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

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

Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive

Characters are shown drinking a lot, beer whiskey and tequila.

Will teens Like It? Yes

The film is very goofy and inappropriate, but teenagers may find it entertaining.

Overall this is a very inappropriate R rated comedy. Parents need to be aware of the excessive sexual content and profane language throughout the film.