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    Movie Reviews

    Jackie

    Despicable Me 2-Kids Movie Reviews

    Gru (voice of Steve Carell), his three adopted daughters, and the beloved minions are back in this sequel to the popular 2010 movie Despicable Me. Now we see Gru as a loving father, not the evildoer who wanted to steal the moon. However, problems occur when Gru is asked to track down an evil felon. Initially he’s not sure he wants to fight crime, though when partnered with the beautiful agent Lucy Wilde (voice of Kristen Wiig) he changes his mind; after all his girls have been wanted him to date more. Despicable Me 2 is a wonderful animated film for the whole family.

                                                

    Despicable Me 2Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: December 10, 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

     

    See the trailer here!

    Talking Points:

    There are endearing messages about the value of family. Gru was once a mean, unhappy man, but with the adoption of his 3 daughters, he turned into a caring and loving father.

    Despicable Me 2 is very entertaining;  it has a great storyline, fun music and interesting characters. It will appeal to young kids as well as pre-teens and even teenagers.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • Gru and Lucy kiss.

    Violent Content: Moderate

    • There is a lot of slapstick violence with characters bonking heads, zapping each other, and stumbling into one another.
    • Minions hit each other with clubs and mace.
    • A rabbit turns into a large monster and attacks a lab technician.
    • A group of minions were given a drug, they also turned into monsters running all over the place.

    Crude or Profane Language:Mild

    • Potty words are said such as; “poop,” and “butt.”

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • A character is knocked out from a “moose tranquilizer” dart.
    • A character drinks tequila spiked with snake venom.

    Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes

    Over Despicable Me 2 is a fun, entertaining movie for kids of all ages, parents will like it too!

    White House Down-Teen Movie Review

    John Cale (Channing Tatum) is a Capitol policeman in pursuit of his dream job…Secret Service Agent! There was one problem, John didn’t do that well in the military or get the best grades in college, so he didn’t get the job. After getting rejected, John and his young daughter, Emily, got a tour of the White House. Things started out great, especially since Emily was so enamored with politics and the President, however  while on the tour a group of paramilitary invaders bombed the rotunda, killing a lot of innocent people. Now it was up to John to  rescue his daughter and save the President from the awful attack. White House Down is an action packed movie one that teenagers will most likely enjoy.

    white house downRating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: November 4, 2013
    MPAA Rating: PG13
    Best Age Group: 11+
    Sexual Content: None
    Violent Content: Excessive
    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will it Appeal to Teenagers? Yes

     

    See the trailer here!

    Talking Points:

    John is a great character, he risks his life to help others.

    There was an all-star cast, to name a few; Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhall.

    Sexual Content: None

    Violent Content: Excessive

    • Initially we see a terrorist acting as a janitor. He blows up the Capital, killing a lot of innocent people.
    • The bad guys are precise in their attack. Scores of guards, soldiers, secret service and civilians die during the attack.
    • There are explosions as several building blow up.
    • The attacker is cruel and evil. He held a lot of people hostage in the White House. A young girl gets slapped and held at gun point by the terrorist.
    • There are brawls amongst innocent people and the attackers.

    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

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

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • We see a character drinking an alcoholic beverage.

    Will it Appeal to Teenagers? Yes

    Overall White House Down is an action packed film. Depending on the kid, I recommend this film for kids ages 11 and up. However, parents need to be aware of the violent content.

    The Heat-Teen Movie Review

    Can two completely opposite woman work together and be friends? Straightlaced Yale graduate and FBI agent Ashburn (Sandra Bullock), and crass Boston cop Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) can. Initially the two woman don’t get along as they’re teamed up to take down a powerful drug lord. However they eventually realize that with Ashburn’s brains and secret FBI files, and Mullins street smarts and no nonsense demeanor, that they do need each other to succeed in their mission. The Heat is an R rated comedy  with a lot of raunchy rumor and profane language.

     

    The HeatRating: 2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: October 15, 2013
    MPAA Rating: R
    Best Age Group: 17+
    Sexual Content: Moderate
    Violent Content: Moderate
    Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
    Will it Appeal to Teenagers? Yes

     

    See the trailer here!

    Talking Points:

    Mullins and Ashburn took their jobs very seriously. Mullins even busted her own brother for drug dealing, and put him in jail. She knew he’d be safe there.

    Amongst the raunchy rumor and profane language, there were some sentimental parts, as Mullins and Ashburn become good friends.

    Sexual Content: Moderate

    • We see woman dancing seductively at a night club while wearing low cut, revealing clothes.
    • There are a lot sexual comments and references;  talk about male and female body parts, oral sex and marital affairs.
    • Mullins and Ashburn find a used condom, several comments were made from that as well.

    Violent Content: Moderate

    • Knives are used a lot in this film. A hit man shows Mullins and Ashburn a set of knives, which he plans to cut them up with. He jabs a knife into Ashburn’s leg, then  briefly leaves the room.  Mullins pulls the knife out of Ashburn’s leg, then has to stick it in her leg again when the hit man comes back.
    • There are several gun shots, explosions and fights.
    • Ashburn tries to save a choking man in a restaurant. Instead of doing CPR, she cuts the man’s neck with a knife, then sticks her fingers and a straw into the open wound, hoping to find his larynx. We see blood everywhere…this was a discussing scene.

    Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

    • We heard the f-word, “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “d–k and “h–l,” a ton throughout the movie. Almost every other word was a swear word.

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive

    • We see characters with marijuana and cocaine.
    • Since the film is about bringing down a network of drug dealers, there is a lot of talk about drugs and illegal substances.
    • We see Mullins and Ashburn  doing shots, drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages while getting very drunk.

    Will it Appeal to Teens? Yes

    The Heat is a raunchy comedy with two leading funny actresses; however the film is very silly and not that funny. Parents need to be aware of the sexual references and profane language.

    World War Z-Teen Movie Review

    Gnashing their teeth, devouring humans and swarming in hordes with hopes to destroy the world. That’s who Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) had to contend with…Zombies.  World War Z centers around the life of former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane. He was once in war zones and dealt with several crisis’, and now it was time to focus on his wife and kids. However, when confronted by a world wide pandemic of zombies, he was the man who could save humanity, he had the experience and the skill, he was the man for the job!

    World War ZRating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: September 17, 2013
    MPAA Rating: PG13
    Best Age Group: 13+
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent Content: Excessive
    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will Kids Like It? Yes

    See the trailer here!

    Talking Points:

    The film was very well done! It seemed so real with great actors and amazing special effects.

    Gerry (Brad Pitt) was a loving father and husband. He risked his life to help others, with hopes to save the world from the awful pandemic.

    There were a lot of explosions, and character’s shot and mutilated. This film may be disturbing for some kids; see more details in the violent content.

    Sexual Content: None

    Violent Content: Excessive

    • As the zombies attack, we see hordes of people running and screaming trying to find safety.
    • We see the zombies bite and attack innocent people, though we don’t see a lot of close up shots.
    • We see humans firing guns point blank at zombies and trying to fight off the creatures.
    • People are attacked and bitten by zombies. Once bitten, a victim is transformed within 12 seconds to a zombie. The transformation was disturbing to see.
    • We see Gerry fighting off the zombies and crushing their skulls.
    • When a soldier’s hand was bitten by a zombie, we see Gerry chop of her appendage, before the venom could spread.
    • We see a plane crash and the victims falling to the ground. After the crash we see Gerry agonizing with pain, as a piece of metal is stuck in his side.

    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

    • Words such as; “sh-t,” “h—,” “a–,” “b–ch,” and “b–tard were said several times each throughout the film.

    Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • We see character’s drinking beer.
    • Gerry injects himself with a drug.

    Will Kids Like It? Yes

    • Kids that like horror films, will most likely be captivated by this movie.

    World War Z is a zombie, action packed thriller movie. Depending on the kid, and whether they like this type of movie, I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.

     

    Man of Steel-Teen Movie Review

    Clark Kent/Kal-E l(Henry Cavill)… a boy who was sent to Earth as a baby from another planet, a boy who grew up in Smallsville, Kansas; raised by farmers and loving adopted parents, a boy who helped those in need, a boy who became…Superman! Continue reading