Jackie
Interstellar-Teen Movie Review
“I love you forever and I’m coming back.” That’s what Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) told his 10 year old daughter Murphy as he was leaving for an extremely dangerous and difficult mission. There had been an environmental disaster which wiped out most of the Earth’s food supply. Cooper’s mission was to travel through a wormhole near Saturn, which would lead he and other explorers to a new galaxy, with hopes to save mankind.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 31, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12 +
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
The film is thought provoking and will spark some great parent/child conversations regarding the importance and power of love and family.
Coop accepts the mission through the wormhole to save humanity. Leaving his family was devastating, however the films portrays that love is stronger than anything in the universe.
There is an all-star cast, to name a few; Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Matt Damon and John Lithgow.
The movie is creepy and disturbing in same context as the film, Gravity. While explorers are up in space you constantly wonder if they’ll make it home alive.
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- Two astronauts fight in space. One tries to murder the other and cracks the visor of his helmet.
- Characters die in explosions, one character died being after being thrown around by a huge wave of water.
- There’s not a lot of physical violence, however the storyline is creepy and disturbing. We see people on Earth suffering and scared while trying to get food and shelter.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word is said once, we also hear, “sh–,” “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” and “h–” sporadically throughout the film.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see character’s drinking beer.
Will Teens Like It? Yes
Overall this is an intense and interesting drama. Depending on the child, I feel it’s appropriate for kids ages 12 and up.
Planes: Fire & Rescue
Athletes get injured and sometimes have to change their course in life; it can happen to crop dusters too. Crop duster, Dusty Crophopper (voice of Dane Cook), had the goal of becoming the number 1 racer in the country, however when he realizes his engine is damaged, he decides that he wants to get certified as a firefighter. Now the action and adventure begins as Dusty helps his friends battle a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to be a real hero.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: November 5, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to teens? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: None
- Mild flirting amongst a female sports car and a “handsome” helicopter.
Violent Content: Mild
- We see a massive wildfire, started by a bolt of lightening. Cars,tractors and a train are all in grave danger.
- When Dusty is in a river, he’s shown hitting rocks and logs.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- Car and planes are shown drinking at a local bar.
Overall this is a fun entertaining film for young kids.
23 Blast-Kids movie review
Travis Freeman (Mark Hapka) has it all, he is a high school football star, he is very intelligent and he is a ladies’ man. However Travis’ life suddenly changes in the fall of his junior year; he is infected with bacterial meningitis and becomes blind. 23 Blast highlights Travis’ life, and how this teenage boy handles his devastating setback. Based on an inspirational true story about friendship, family and hope.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 13, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Talking Points:
Initially Travis locks himself in his bedroom, wondering why this happened. However, after several months he eventually learns to accept his handicap and makes the most of his life. Great parent/ child conversation.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Two teenagers passionately kiss.
- Mild, innocent flirting amongst teens.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- We see hard hits on the football field
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “D–n,” and “h–l,” are said.
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
- We see teenagers at a party drinking out of red cups. One boy drinks right out of the keg and is shown drunk.
- We see a troubled teen drinking beer.
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Overall this is an inspirational sports drama. Depending on the child, this is appropriate for kids ages 10 and up.
The Book Of Life-Kids Movie Review
Who will Maria (voice of Zoe Saldana) marry? Manolo (voice of Diego Luna), a sensitive guitar player whose family wants him to be a ruthless bullfighter, or Joaquin (voice of Channing Tatum) Manolo’s best friend. Both men are madly in love with Maria, however things dramatically change when Manolo is bitten by a poisonous snake. He travels through the underworld on a Mexican holiday called The Day of the Dead. This is a magical day when the spirits of the departed return to earth to receive gifts from living family members. Now Manolo sees a whole new world, but the only thing he really wants is to return to his true love and win her heart. Narrated by a museum tour guide, The Book of Life is an animated film about death, the afterlife and true love.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: October 17, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to kids? No
Talking Point:
- The characters are good people who strive to do right thing. One character says that true hero’s are selfless. The story highlights the importance friendship and love.
- The animation is great with cute and colorful characters.
- With the mature and deep subject matter of death and the afterlife of the Mexican culture, kids may get bored. There’s also a romantic element to the story, which may not appeal to kids.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Two couples kiss.
Violent Content: Moderate
- Though this is a story about death, we only see on person die.
- We see characters pounded and beaten.
- We see prayers for the dead, skeletons, afterlife worlds, and a godlike Candle Maker. Though animated, parts may scare young kids.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking wine.
- A stumbling character says he was at four different bars.
Will it Appeal to kids? No
- This is an animated film with an adult storyline. Overall I don’t think it will appeal most kids.
Pirates Code: The Adventures of Mickey Matson-Kids Movie Review
Mickey Matson (Derek Brandon) and his best friend Sully (Francesca Derosa) are back in the exciting sequel to Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure. In this film Mickey and Sully take on a dangerous mission to save the country from the evil villains, Admiral Ironsides (Frank Collison) and his crew of modern day pirates. Ironsides and company have a plan to destroy every electronic device on earth, which would change the world forever. Now the two young heroes must work together and prevent Ironsides from succeeding in his evil mission. Pirates Code: The Adventures of Mickey Matson is an action packed, adventurous film, one for the whole family.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: October 17, 2014
MPAA Rating: NR
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Talking Points:
There is a wonderful message from Grandpa Jack (Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future) as he stresses the importance of team work, and that working together is the most powerful weapon. Great parent/child conversations.
The film is a Michigan based movie which is exciting for Grand Rapids residents. The cast visited the DeVos Children’s Hospital and had a special showing for the patients. The producers plan to have many showings of the movie at children’s hospitals nationwide.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
- We see characters hitting and punching each others. They also use “battle sticks” to fight one another.
- Pirates use ray guns to shoot kids and adults.
- We see character’s throwing knives and other weapons at one another.
- A character with brass knuckles punches another character.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling such as “snot nosed kids.”
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Overall this is a fun entertaining movie. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 7 and up. Parents need to be aware of some of the violent scenes that my scare young kids.