DVD Favorites
How To Train Your Dragon 2-Kids Movie Review
Hiccup, his beloved dragon Toothless, and the rest of the gang are back. It’s been five years since the dragons and vikings have been peacefully united living on the island of Berk. Some are having fun dragon racing, while Hiccup and Toothless are traveling through the skies exploring new worlds. They come across a lot adventures, however when they discover the secret ice cave, things get complicated. They find themselves in the center of a developing war. Now it’s up to the Hiccup and Toothless to stick to their beliefs and keep the peace.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5
Release Date: November 11, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
Talking Points:
There are wonderful messages woven throughout the film regarding the importance of family, and the positive impact it has on ones life.
The character’s (except for the bad guy) in the film are fun-loving and entertaining. Kids in the theater were laughing at the comedic parts.
Though this is an animated comedy, there are some intense and emotional scenes. For example, a main character dies. During this scene I heard a child crying in theater.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A couple kiss.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There are dragon and human battles with fire and explosions, causing several casualties.
- Character’s are hit by dragon fire and dragon ice.
- The villain, Drago, is evil and doesn’t hesitate killing anyone.
- Dragon trappers use sophisticated nets to capture their prey.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
Overall this is an entertaining film, however parents with young kids need to be aware of the excessive violence and some emotionally intense scenes.
The Fault In Our Stars-Kids Movie Reviews
There’s nothing like young love!!! It feels like the sun is always shinning and you’re overwhelmed with joy. However with teenager’s Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) it’s not that simple. Though they are madly in love, they’re both suffering from a life-threatening disease…cancer. The young couple meet at a cancer support group and it’s love at first sight. With their upbeat attitude and love for one another they learn to cope with their fatal disease and make the best of a horrible situation. The Fault In Our Stars, based on a best-selling young adult novel, is a comedy and a heartbreaking love story, one that will appeal to teenagers, especially girls!
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: September 16, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
Talking Points:
Hazel and Gus go through a lot ups and downs, however they make the most of what they have and find joy in their lives. Great parent/child discussion.
While the subject matter is intense, the film is also funny with likeable characters.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- We see a teenage couple kissing in a parking lot and the boy squeezes the girl’s breast.
- Hazel (17) and Gus (18) have a sexual encounter. They passionately kiss in bed while taking off their shirts and her bra. We don’t see them naked, as they’re covered by the sheets.
Violent Content: Mild
- Gus’s friend Isaac throws some of Gus’s sport’s trophies against a wall and demolishes them in a fit of anger.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word is said once, we also hear “a–,” “b–tard,” “h—,” “b–ch,” and “d-mn.”
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
- Gus continuously puts an unlit cigarette in his mouth…he claims it’s a metaphor.
- In Amsterdam, where the drinking age is 16, Gus and Hazel drink champagne at a fancy restaurant.
- One of the characters is an alcoholic, we see him continuously drinking out of a flask.
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
The theater was filled with pre-teen and teenage girls. I interviewed a group of girls from Northern Hills Middle School, who all loved it. Some comments were:
- ” There’s enough boom boom boom, this was a touching , but sad love story.
- “It was so real.”
Overall this was a wonderful, though sad, teenage romance. Parents need to be aware of the moderate sexual content. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 13 and up.
Maleficent-Kids Movie Review
Is there such a thing as true love? Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), a young and powerful fairy didn’t think so. She had been heartbroken by Stefan (Sharito Copley), a young human peasant boy who desperately wanted to be king. After several years apart, Stefan is instructed to kill Maleficent as she defeats the current king in a battle. He burns off her wings instead, claiming that he killed her. Devastated by Stefan’s betrayal, Maleficent turns into a dark, cold hearted, evil person and wants to seek revenge. She casts a spell on Stefan’s newborn daughter Aurora (Elle Fanning), sentencing her to a deathlike sleep when she turns sixteen. However, things change when Maleficent secretly watches over Aurora during her childhood years, and secretly protects her from any danger, not even realizing her nurturing effect. Maleficent eventually learns the power and happiness that true love can bring… and that there is such a thing as true love.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: November 5, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
Talking Points:
Though very dark and violent for a PG rating, there is a powerful message about love. Initially Maleficent was filled with evil and hatred, however when Aurora came into her life, she realized that true love is real. She was ultimately filled with peace, love and happiness.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
- There are battles with sword fights, chains and a dragon.
- Monsters, made of wood, are scary and violent.
- Maleficent is very sensitive to iron, it burns her skin. Stefan, the villain in the film, traps her in an iron net wanting to kill her. He also threatens to kill her with an iron knife while she’s sleeping.
- Aurora pricks her finger with a needle, we see a small amount of blood.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
Overall this is a wonderful story, however parents need to be aware of the violent content throughout the film.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2- Kids’ Movie Review
The graduation march “Pomp and Circumstance ” was playing as Valedictorian Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and her boyfriend Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) receive their high school diplomas. Now they have to face the real world. Being the good and moral guy he is, Peter tells Gwen that he can’t see her anymore. Though he’s madly in love with her, he had promised her dying father that he would stay away from Gwen, due to his dangerous double life as Spider-Man. Now Peter must try to move on and face his role of saving lives as a superhero. Continue reading
Captain America: The Winter Soldier-Kids Movie Reviews
He’s not a big guy, he’s deemed unfit for the military, but he’s a dedicated American…he’s Captain America. Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans) teams up with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to take down a Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier. Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place right after the end of The Avengers, it’s a fun, though violent, entertaining film about a great American superhero.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Release Date: September 9, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Talking Points:
Captain America is a good guy and always wants to do the right thing. He even tries to save the bad guys! He’s a good role model for kids.
There’s an all-star cast, to name a few; Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie and Cobie Smulders.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A couple passionately kiss.
Violent Content: Excessive
- There are a lot of fights throughout the movie which include brutal and violent punches, kicks and stabbings.
- Captain America takes a lot of abuse as he’s shocked with a Taser, stabbed, shot and brutally beaten.
- There are several explosions.
- Characters are shown with open wounds and broken limbs.
- There are car, truck and plane crashes.
- An innocent cleaning lady is shot and killed.
- A man is pushed off a high building.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear “sh-t,” “a–,” “b–ch,” and “h—,” a few times each.
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- We see characters drinking champagne.
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Overall this is an exciting movie, parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 12 and up.