Action
Action Movie reviews
San Andreas-Kids’ Movie Review
Ray’s (Dwayne Johnson) world is falling apart…emotionally and literally. Though he has a wonderful career as a search and rescue pilot he is a very sad and lonely man. One of Ray’s daughters passes away from a tragic accident. His wife, Emma (Carla Gugino), divorces him and moves in with her new boyfriend; who happens to be an extremely wealthy man. However there is one bright spot in Ray’s life; his beautiful college-age daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario). Ray loves his daughter more than anything and tries to be the best father he can be. When another tragic event occurs Ray is determined to save his only child. The San Andreas fault triggers major earthquake and Blake is trapped in San Francisco. Ray travels on his helicopter from Los Angeles to San Francisco and endures the extreme weather conditions with hopes to rescue Blake, and the other civilians who are caught in this horrific tragedy.
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 13, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film is filled with disturbing violence, however there is a powerful message about the importance of family.
- During the catastrophe we see civilians helping one another and working together to save lives.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Two character’s are shown kissing.
- There’s mention of getting to “second base.”
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- Thousands (if not more) characters die. Buildings collapse, bridges crumble, boats capsize (followed by a tsunami) and character’s drown.
- We see a character trapped in her car while in a remote parking garage.
- There are graphic and close up scenes of people suffering. We see a guy’s foot skewered by a metal pole. A chunk of glass is stuck in a man’s thigh; which we see taken out. Character’s are thrown to the ground, shown falling off cliffs, trapped under falling buildings etc . . .
- A character is punched and knocked to the ground.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear the f-word once. Also “sh-t,” “h—,” “a–, and “d–n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Overall this is an action packed suspenseful drama. Parents need to be aware of the intense violence throughout the film.
Tomorrowland-Kids’ Movie Review
Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), a very bright and optimistic teenage girl is determined to make the future a better place. One day she comes across a mysterious pin; when she touches the pin she gets a glimpse of a bright and wonderful future. Curious and confused; Casey is anxious to learn about the pin and why she was destined to find it. So she decides to recruit Frank Walker (George Clooney), an inventor who can hopefully help this optimistic teenage girl’s dream come true.
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 13, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The subjects of perseverance, hope and love are woven throughout the film. Casey is a determined high school girl who believes in working towards her dreams and to not be afraid. Great parent/child conversations.
- The film is 122 minutes, which seemed very long. Some parts were confusing as well.
Sexual Content: Mild
- When Frank Walker was a boy he had a crush on Athena (the girl/robot who recruited him into Tomorrowland). As Frank aged and Athena didn’t (since she’s a robot) he still had feelings for her. This was odd since she looked like a 12-year old girl and he was a middle aged man.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There are numerous fights and battles with the evil robots and human characters. One robot is smashed by a baseball bat, we also see their hands and heads chopped off.
- Characters fly around wearing jet packs. As they fly all over, we see them hitting each other and smashing into buildings. There are some bloody injuries from their rough flight.
- One character is hit by a truck.
- Character’s use metal sticks to make others unconscious.
- We see several buildings and robots explode.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “d–n,” “h–,” and “son of a…”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Casey’s father worries that she’s doing drugs; with her strange behavior. Though she denies doing drugs she does admit to trying beer.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed three 14 year old girls who loved the film. They got confused in some parts, but overall enjoyed the interesting storyline.
- I interviewed younger kids (ages 6 to 9) as well who loved it too. They liked the characters and all the action.
Overall this is a entertaining Disney movie. Having said that, this is a PG rated film and parents need to be aware of the excessive violence.
Hot Pursuit-Teen Movie Review
Rose Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) basically grew up in a cop car. Between sitting in a car seat as a baby to her prom in high school, Rose was always riding along with her dad in the back seat of a police car. Rose idolized her father and wanted to be just like him: a San Antonio police officer. Her work ethic is amazing; she knows the laws and follows every rule in the book. And while she tries to appear intimidating, her petite stature makes it difficult to fulfill the part. However the day she pulls a “Cooper,” tasering and setting the mayor’s teenage son on fire, is the day she becomes the joke of the station. Eventually her reputation changes when Rose is asked to escort Daniella (Sofia Vergara), a mobster’s wife who is obsessed with her glittery high heels and revealing outfits. Daniella needs to get to a safe house in Dallas before a federal trial begins involving the mob. Now the action begins as these two misfits overcome several obstacles while hoping to get to Dallas safely.
Rating: 3 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: August 11, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Most Pre-teens and Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film is comical in parts, but overall pretty silly and very unrealistic!
Sexual Content: Moderate
- Daniella (Sofía Vergara) wears tight fitting low-cut outfits throughout the film. In one scene she takes off her dress, exposing her bra.
- Rose (Reese Witherspoon) also shows cleavage.
- A man is shown naked, we only see see chest and backside.
- Rose and Daniella pretend to be lesbians, kissing and fondling one another.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- We see several men shot and killed.
- One character accidentally shoots off the end of his finger.
- We see character’s hitting and punching one another.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “d–n,” “a–,” “h—” and “b–ch.
Drug and Alcohol Content:
- We see character’s drinking at a party.
- Daniella drinks small bottles of alcohol from a hotel mini-fridge.
- A car, with cocaine in the trunk, is hit by a truck. We see white powder everywhere. Cooper gets a little crazy as she inhales the drug.
Will Most Pre-teens and Teens Like It?
- The film may appeal to some kids as it stars Sofía Vergara from the popular TV show Modern Family.
- I interviewed three pre-teen girls who thought it was funny. They liked seeing Reese and Sofia in a film together.
Overall this is a silly comedy. For the most part it’s appropriate for pre-teens and teens, however parents need to be aware of the moderate violence and sexual contents.
Hot Pursuit-Teen Movie Review
Avengers: Age of Ultron-Teen Movie Review
“Peace in our time, imagine that.” That’s what Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) says while wondering what it would be like to live in a peaceful world. Tony decides to boost the dormant Ultron project, a peacekeeping program that could fulfill his dream of a safe world. However things don’t go as planned, Ultron (James Spader) believes the only way to peace is human extinction. Now Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers gather together to save the world from Ultron!!
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 3, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Most Pre-teens and Teens Like It?
Talking Points:
The Avengers are great characters. They believe in working as a team. They trust one another to save the human race.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see couples kiss.
- Stark makes a few sexual jokes, saying “You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini.”
- Referring to Thor’s hammer Stark says…”We won’t hold it against you if you can’t get it up.”
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There are several brutal battles involving lasers, hammers, bullets and other violent weapons.
- Buildings and vehicles are destroyed as innocent victims suffer and some even die.
- We see horrific visions of the Avengers fears which are filled with torture and death.
- While Hulk and Iron Man duke it out, they destroy an entire city.
- We see robots decapitated and blown up.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “sh-t,” “d–n,” “a–,” “b–tard,” “b–ch,” and “h—.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see Avengers drinking alcohol at a party.
Overall this is a fun and entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the movie.
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.