Comedy
Comedy movie reviews
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Review
This is the fourth installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In this movie we see Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), once again in desperate need of finding a ship. This time Jack’s quest is to find the Fountain of Youth, however he’s not alone. Rumor has it someone is impersonating him, and gathering a crew to also find the Fountain of Youth. This impersonator happens to be his ex-girlfriend Angelica (Penelope Cruz). She and her evil father, Blackbeard (Ian McShane) along with Jack’s long time rival, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and even the king of Spain, are all racing to find the magical waters that claim eternal life. They eventually come to realize it’s not as easy as they hoped it would be; they need to find two magical chalices and a single tear from a mermaid before they can complete their mission of finding this mysterious fountain. This is a great adventurous movie for the whole family.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: October 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Talking Points
There are some new and interesting characters. I thought Penelope Cruz was great as Angelica, but I especially liked Sam Claflin’s character; he played a missionary named Philip. He was a soft-hearted man who tried to find the good in everyone, even the evil Blackbeard.
Through all the action and violence, there’s a religious element to the film. As they’re looking for the Fountain of Youth, one character says, “Only God can grant eternal life.” I think that’s great for kids to hear.
People that liked the first three movies in this series, will like this one as well. I’ve heard many comments that this fourth movie is a little different, and better than the second and third films.
Sexual Content: Mild
• We only see a kiss, however there is sexual tension between Jack and Angelica.
• The mermaids are naked from the waist up, though we don’t see anything because their hair covers them.
Violent Content: Excessive
• There are sword fights, gun shots, and stabbings throughout the movie.
• Mermaids with fangs, attack a group of men on a boat, and drag them into the sea.
• There are scary walking dead zombies.
• Blackbeard has a voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow. He uses it periodically to torture Jack.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• The h-word, d-word and b-tard word are used, however not a lot.
Overall this is an adventurous, action packed movie. As I previously mentioned, there is a lot of violence, but fine for a PG13 rated movie. Depending on whether your child can handle some of the violent scenes, I recommend this movie for kids ages 11 and up.
Paul Review
Paul is a comedy sci-fi movie about two geeky guys, Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) from England, on a road trip to Area 51. Who do they meet on the way? Paul (voice of Seth Rogan), an alien who has just broken out of a top-secret military base where he had been living for the last 60 years. So now the three of them, and a few others they meet along the way, frantically travel to get Paul to his mother ship before the FBI captures him first.
Rating: One out of five buckets
Release Date: March 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: Adults
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
See a clip of my review here!
Talking Points
This movie has some appealing and interesting characters. Of course, there’s the two nerdy guys, who are funny in their own geeky sort of way. There’s Paul, the alien, who somewhat reminded me of ET, and then there’s Ruth, the women they accidentally kidnapped, who at times, was funny and entertaining.
When I went to this movie I thought I was seeing a sci-fi comedy, which it was; though I was very surprised and disappointed by the religious viewpoint the movie portrayed. Some examples:
• The movie portrays believers in God very poorly. It’s unfair and cheap. Paul believes in evolution and does not believe in God, which he makes perfectly clear throughout the movie. They accidentally kidnap Ruth, a very conservative Christian women and Paul decides to change her beliefs, which he does. When she claims that she is free from her religious bondage; she’s excited about swearing, smoking pot, and making crude sexual references.
• Ruth’s father, a faithful bible-toting man, is portrayed as a crazed, weak-minded, bad guy.
Sexual Content: Mild
There aren’t any sexual scenes, though just a little kissing, however there are many sexual references and crude comments.
• Ruth says that she wants to do a lot of kissing and fornicating.
Violent Content: Mild
• Paul swallows a living bird.
• Characters get in an intense brawl with hitting, punching and biting each other.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
• Profane language is used throughout the movie. I didn’t count, however “f%&*” was probably said over 50 times, along with every other swear word.
If it weren’t for the profanity and the cheap shots toward God in this movie, I might have enjoyed it more. Besides the fact the movie is rated R, I will not let my kids see this movie, and I will not recommend this film to anyone.
New Year’s Eve Review
New Year’s Eve follows the intertwining story lines of several characters over the course of one day…New Year’s Eve. Throughout the movie viewers are introduced to a number a different characters, all played by famous actors, and their various New Year’s Day circumstances. The film highlights the positive aspects of the new year; with hope, love and forgiveness as its central theme. Whether you’re on a date or out with friends, this is a fun, light hearted movie, with wonderful messages to start the new year out right!
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: May 1, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12 and up
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
I loved the different story lines and relationships in the film. From the terminally ill elderly man, who wanted to see the ball drop with his daughter, to the teenage girl who hoped to get a New Year’s kiss at Times Square; all the stories were filled with hope and anticipation for upcoming year.
New Year’s Eve is very similar to last year’s holiday-themed film, Valentine’s Day, with Garry Marshall directing both films. However, this movie is a lot cleaner, and much more appropriate.
There is an all-star cast, to name a few; Hilary Swank, Robert DeNiro, Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, and Jon Bon Jovi.
Sexual Content: Mild
There are some some mild sexual references:
- Immediately following a wedding, the newlyweds say their casual sex days are over.
- Two women flirt with a guy at a party. One says she wants to be the women from behind him, while the other says she wants to be the women in front.
- A character comments on her “years of make-up sex,” with her boyfriend.
Women wear tight dresses with cleavage.
Many characters kiss, of course on New Year’s Eve.
Violent Content: Mild
- One character is nearly hit by a car, while another character drives off the road and damages his car.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
The a-word, h-word and b-word are each used several times.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Characters are shown drinking at parties and bars.
I brought three girlfriends to this film; it was a great way to spend the afternoon. As I previously mentioned the movie has some wonderful themes of hope, love and forgiveness which were portrayed throughout the film. New Year’s Eve is a PG13 movie that parents can feel comfortable sending their pre-teens and teenagers to this holiday season.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins Review
When you get a package in the mail it’s typically a book, clothing, or some sort of electronic device, but not for Tom Popper. Tom (Jim Carrey) is a high-powered business man, who’s divorced with two kids. He’s more concerned about his job, and never missing an important meeting than his teenage daughter and son. However, things change when he inherits six penguins from his deceased father. Now Tom discovers his true emotions through these six annoying, but loving penguins. He bonds with his ex-wife, and gradually learns how to communicate with his daughter, and son. Mr. Popper’s Penguins is an entertaining, fun movie is based on a 1939 children’s book.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: December 6, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points
Initially Tom doesn’t have the best relationship with his children, it’s not that he doesn’t love them, he just has a hard time expressing it. We all know that dealing with teens can be challenging at times. I’m not quite sure getting penguins is the way to go, but it worked for Tom. He realized that his kids were a lot more important than any job.
Tom was not allowed to have pets in his New York apartment, so he lied to his neighbors, denying that the penguins were his; he even bribed the door man not to tell anyone about his secret. He lied in other difficult situations too; there were little or no consequences, not a great thing for kids to see.
This is a sweet, innocent movie that kids will be entertained by, however parents may get a little bored by the storyline, and silly humor…I did.
There was a lot of potty humor used throughout the movie, with bird droppings as the main source of humor. In one scene, Tom held each bird up over the toilet so they can do their thing…the kids found this to be funny.
Sexual Content: Mild
• Tom’s teenage daughter talks a lot about her love life dilemmas, and how to deal with boys.
• Slight innocent flirting between Tom and his ex-wife.
Violent Content: Mild
• The penguins crash a fancy cocktail party, they cause a little mayhem while people were tripping over them, and things were falling all over the place.
• Tom and the zookeeper argue and fight.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• “Freakin” and “What the…..?” is used.
Overall this is a sweet, innocent movie, one for kids of any age. It’s probably not a movie they’ll remember and talk a lot about, but they will be entertained while in the theater.
Monsters vs. Aliens Review
Susan, a cute California girl,(voice of Reese Witherspoon), is hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, and grows to 49 feet, 11 inches tall. Then, the military takes her away to their secret compound as a government test subject, and that’s where she meets a group of monsters. Rather than destroying each other, Susan and the monsters become great friends, as they’re trapped together. They are finally released when an alien robot lands on Earth, and the President of the U.S. enlists the monsters to attack the Alien Robot, and save the world.
Rating: Three out of five buckets.
Release Date: September 29, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Initially the monsters seem scary and threatening to Susan, but as they become friends, the monsters transform into harmless, fun creatures. They love Susan, and will do anything for her, and Susan feels the same way about them.
The movie suggests lessons of friendship and self-sacrifice(it doesn’t matter what you look like). Susan’s parents are even supportive of her monster friends.
It’s a colorful animated action movie, with enjoyable characters and light humor.
The 3D affects were well-done.
Sexual Content: Mild
- When Susan starts to grow very tall, her wedding gown tears, though the dress stays on her, it looks like a revealing mini dress.
- Teenagers go parking at night, the girl wants to smooch a little, but they don’t, because a spaceship lands near them.
Violent Content: Mild
- Slight violence, especially when the alien robot destroy The Golden Gate Bridge, with cars and pedestrians on it.
- When the meteorite lands, it momentary crushes Susan.
Crude of Profane Language: Mild
- Exclamations are used, such as; “what the flagnod?” and “holy Cheez-Its!”
- OMG is used several times.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- One character mixes several bottles of alcohol, and makes a cocktail.
Adults may get bored, my friend saw it, and fell asleep. I also got a little bored so did my 11 and 12 year olds.