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    Movie Reviews

    Jackie

    Jobs-Teen Movie Review

    Kids are getting ready to go back to school, and the Apple stores are busy…why is that? It’s because of the innovative entrepreneur Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher). Jobs had a vision, and nothing was going to get in his way. From Apple I to the i-phone…this is an extraordinary story about the life of Steve Jobs.  It all started in 1976, in the Job’s family garage, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple Computers.  We learn about Job’s trials and tribulations, his ups and downs, but more importantly his passion and intense work ethic that has changed technology, and the world forever.

    JobsRating: 3 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: November 26, 2013
    MPAA Rating: PG13
    Best Age Group: 15+
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent Content: None
    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
    Will it Appeal to Teens? No

     

    Talking Points:

    Though he was a difficult person, and very to work for, Jobs was a leader and inspirational man. He had a vision; he wanted the Apple products to be user friendly. He wanted a quality product with stylish designs. That’s what was most important to Jobs, and he succeeded. Great parent/ child conversations.

    Ashton Kutcher does a great job of portraying Job’s unusual personality.

    The film scratched the surface of Jobs’ life, which was disappointing. After reading the biography of Steve Jobs, and learning all the fun and interesting facts of Apple, I was hoping the movie would be more riveting.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • We saw Steve in bed with a couple of different women.
    • His girlfriend, at the time, confronts Steve saying she’s pregnant with his baby. He responds violently, saying it’s not his child.

    Violent Content: None

    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

    • The f-word was said twice. We also heard “d–n,” “a–,” “h–,” and “b–ch.”

    Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

    • Steve drops acid; it’s noted as a turning point in his life… for the better.
    • We see Steve and his friends smoke marijuana.
    • We see characters drinking beer and mixed drinks.

    Will it Appeal to Teenagers: No

    • With Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, and popularity of the Apple products, one would think this would interest teens. However, the film touches the surface of Steve’s life. There’s a lot of dialogue that may be boring to many teenagers.

    Overall Jobs is an appropriate film for pre-teens and teenagers, however with the mature subject matter, it may not interest kids.

    Elysium- Teen Movie Review

    It is the year 2154, there are two classes of people; the haves and the have-nots. The haves live on a man-made space station called Elysium. It’s a beautiful, pristine area; robots do the dirty work and the citizens live a life of luxury. They don’t even have to worry when they’re sick, most of the citizens own a body scanner that can heal any disease or illness. The have-nots live on an overpopulated Earth, filled with crime and poverty. However there is hope for these two worlds to come together. Max (Matt Damon) an ordinary guy living on Earth, desperately needs to get up to Elysium. He has radiation poison, and has only five days to live. So he embarks on a dangerous mission to get up to Elysium; not only to save his life, but the millions of people living on Earth as well. Elysium is an R rated movie with a lot of graphic, disturbing violence throughout the film.

     

    ElysiumRating: 2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: December 17, 2013
    MPAA Rating: PG13
    Best Age Group: Adults
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent Content: Excessive
    Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will it Appeal to Teens? No

     

    See a clip of my review here!

    See the trailer here!

    Talking Points:

    {Spoiler Alert} Max is a wonderful character, he sacrifices his life for the millions of people living on Earth.

    The film will spark some interesting parent/child conversations regarding politics;  healthcare and immigration.

    This film is very dark with a lot of disturbing images.  It is an R rated film, so kids under 17 must be accompanied by an adult.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • A bad guy threatens to rape a woman (a friend of Max’s). He sniffs her hair, while she’s holding her sick daughter. This was disturbing.

    Violent Content: Excessive

    • Max is beaten up by two droid policemen, one even breaks his arm.
    • There are numerous fights and injuries throughout the film; people violently stabbing, punching and kicking one another.
    • We see a part of a man’s face blown off, which was disgusting!
    • A woman gets skewered in the neck with a piece of glass, she dies.
    • There are a lot of deaths, civilians are shot down with missiles and blown up.
    • We see doctors drill into Max’s head.

    Crude or Profane Language: Mild

    • The f-word was said consistently throughout the film. We also heard, “a–,” “b–ch,” “h–,”  and “p–y.”

    Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • Characters are shown drinking beer.
    • We see Max taking pills.

    Will it Appeal to Teens?  No

    Elysium is an action packed film. As I previously mentioned, it is an R rated, so kids under 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Having said that, I do not recommend this film for teenagers due to the graphic, disturbing violent content and the excessive profane language.

    Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters-Kids Movie Review

    Camp for a demigod is not all fun and games. Percy Jackson, the half-human son of Poseidon, and his best friends; Annabeth (Athena’s daughter) and Glover (a satyr) are back at Camp Half-Blood. Initially things were going well, until a mechanical bull stormed into the camp and broke the barrier that protected the demigods from strangers entering into the camp. To save their home, Percy and his friends embarked on dangerous mission to the Sea of Monsters (Bermuda Triangle). They wanted to find the mythical Golden Fleece which has the power to save their training ground and their home…Camp Half-Blood. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, based on Rick Riordan’s fantasy books series, is the sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. It’s an action packed film for the whole family.

    Percy Jackson- Sea of MonstersRating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5
    Release Date: December 17, 2013
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Best Age Group: 10+
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent Content: Moderate
    Crude or Profane Language: Mild
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes

     

    Talking Points:

    Positive messages of bravery, humility, forgiveness and the importance of family are woven throughout the film. Great parent/child conversations.

    The Percy Jackson book series is very popular with elementary school children. Parents need to be aware of the violent content  that may scare young kids.

    Sexual Content: None

    Violent Content: Moderate

    • Luke, Percy’s friend who turned into an enemy, attacked Camp Half-Blood with a mechanical bull. The bull tore up the camp, but Percy stopped the bull by jabbing a sword down his throat.
    • There were several battles with fist fights and weapons.
    • A Cyclops attacked Percy and friends, though they escaped without injury.
    • Percy and another character were eaten by a monster. To escape, they used a special gun to blow a hole in the monsters stomach.
    • Kronos, Poseiden’s evil father, attacked anyone he could get his claws on, he even ate an innocent victim.
    • We saw a  flashback that involved Percy and his friends as children. They were chased by a monster in the forest; this may scare youngsters.

    Crude or Profane Language: Mild

    • “D-mn,” and  “b–ch,” are said.
    • Name calling such as; “stupid,” and ‘moron.”

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • We saw characters drinking wine.

    Will it Appeal to Kids?  Yes

    Overall Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a wonderful action packed film, one that elementary kids and pre-teens will enjoy. Parents need to be aware of the moderate violence throughout the film.

    2 Guns-Teen Movie Review

    DEA agent Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and U. S. naval intelligence officer, Marcus ‘Stig’ Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) are both undercover officers, and both on a mission to take down a Mexican drug cartel. However after a failed attempt, they realized they must stay together to survive the ruthless gangsters who want to see them tortured and dead. While on the run, the two men learn a lot about each other, and the corrupt government officials they’ve been involved with. 2 Guns is an action packed adventurous film, one that teenage boys may find entertaining.

    2 GunsRating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets.
    Release Date: August 2, 2013
    MPAA Rating: R
    Best Age Group: 17+
    Sexual Content: Moderate
    Violent Content: Excessive
    Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will it Appeal to Teens? Yes

     

    See the trailer here!

    Talking Points:

    There is an all star cast, to name a few; Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Bill Paxton and James Marsden.

    Amongst all the violence Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg were a great team; very humorous and entertaining together.

    There were some very disgusting parts in the film. A character urinated on his hands before hitting Bobby and Stig with a bat, earlier in the film we saw this same character unconscious and covered in his own vomit.

    This is a violent film; we see corrupt government agents, stolen cash, human and animal torture, we also heard several foul discussions regarding body parts.

    Sexual Content: Moderate

    • We saw two character’s laying in bed together; the man was shirtless and the woman was only wearing a skimpy pair of panties. We saw her bare chest.

    Violent Content: Excessive

    • Character’s are tortured by a CIA operative as he tried to get information from them. He put tacks in a man’s hand, he shot a victim in the leg, leaving him in agony,  and threatened another man by pointing a gun at his crotch.
    • Stig and Bobby are hung upside down in a barn, while a gangster tortured them with a bat.
    • There are several punches, viscous brawls and explosions throughout the film.  In addition to all the fights, a lot of character’s are shot to death.

    Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

    • The f-word, “sh-,” “a–,” and “d–n,” “b–ch,” and “h–,” are said through the film.

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • We saw character’s drinking alcohol.

    Will it Appeal to Teens? Yes

    Overall this is an action packed film. Parents need to be aware of the, brief nudity, excessive violence, potty humor and profane language. This is an R rated movie, kids under 17 must be accompanied by an adult.

    The Smurfs 2- Kids Movie Review

    The wicked wizard Gargamel (voice of Hank Azaria) is back, and he’s more wicked than ever. This time Gargamel has a new creation; a diminutive race of little stinkers, known as the Naughties.  The problem is, he wants to transform them into Smurfs, but he doesn’t know the secret spell. Unfortunately, Smurfette is the only one that knows the spell to make the transformation happen. So Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and takes her to Paris. Now the Smurfs and their human friends go to the City of Light, with hopes to rescue their friend.

    The Smurfs 2Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: December 2, 2013
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Best Age Group: 5+
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent Content: Moderate
    Crude or Profane Language: Mild
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes

     

    Talking Points:

    The importance of family is the core message woven throughout the film.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • A couple of the Smurfs flirt with each other.

    Violent Content: Moderate

    • There is some slapstick violence, brought on by Gargamel. He falls off the Eiffel Tower, gets crushed by a falling taxicab, and he’s even thrown to the sky by fireworks.
    • Character’s are punched, tripped and hit in the head.
    • Gargamel turns humans into animals.
    • A gigantic cat tries to eat the Smurfs and humans.

    Crude or Profane Language: Mild

    • Character’s don’t swear, but smurf is used in place of profane words such as; “son of a smurf,” “holy smurf,” and “Meryl smurfing Streep.”
    • Name calling such as; “moron,” “dim-witted toad,” and “imbeciles” are said.

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • Character’s are shown drinking wine.

    Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes

    Overall The Smurfs 2 is a fun, animated film for young kids. Parents may get a little bored, however the kids will be entertained.