Drama
Drama movie reviews
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.
Million Dollar Arm
Life is good for bachelor JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm), he has a beautiful home in Los Angeles, model girl friends, and fast cars. However, that could all change quickly if his business doesn’t pick up. JB was once a very successful sports agent, though with the fierce competition his business was slowly failing. After watching Indian cricket one night on TV, JB got the idea to create a contest in India to find the best bowler (the pitcher in cricket), dubbed as “Million Dollar Arm.” Before you know it JB is on his way to Mumbai announcing the nationwide contest. Continue reading
Godzilla-Kids Movie Review
Cities are being destroyed and innocent civilians are dying. People are wondering if this is an earthquake or some other natural disaster. However, Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a bomb-disposal expert in the U.S military, discovers the problem. As Ford goes to Japan to get his estranged father out of jail, they visit a radiation plant. At the plant scientists are studying cocoon-like structures that feed on radiation. They eventually come to realize that a Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Object, also known as MUTO, has broken free, and that he’s not alone. Ford is desperate to get back to California to save wife and son, but must also help the military devise a plan to save the world from the enormous monsters that could take over mankind.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: May 15 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/teens? Yes
Talking Points:
The humans in the film are continuously saving and helping one another to defeat the monsters.
The film is slow in parts.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see Ford and his wife passionately kissing on the couch.
Violent Content: Excessive
- The monsters destroy buildings and entire cities.
- MUTO hit a Japanese power plant, killing several workers, and even Ford’s mom.
- Thousands of innocent civilians were smashed and killed by the enormous monsters.
- Two MUTO’s and Godzilla are shot and blasted with rockets. The monster eggs are destroyed by a gasoline explosion.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “Sh-t,” “h–l,” and “d–n,” were said.
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- Ford and his wife drink wine.
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
- I interviewed some middle school age boys who thought the movie was slow, but good.
Overall this is an action packed drama. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film. Depending the child I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 12 and up.
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return-Kids Movie Review
“There’s No Place Like Home, There’s No Place Like Home…,” the very familiar quote from The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy as she was trying to leave Oz and get back home to Kansas. In Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, a continuation of the beloved fairy tale, Dorothy goes back to Oz to rescue the Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd), the Lion (Jim Belushi) and the Tin Man (Martin Short) from the Jester. The Jester is the evil brother of the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants to take over Oz. As Dorothy tries to save her old friends she meets new ones along the way; an owl, a marshmallow magistrate, a china doll princess and a tugboat. Together the gang must not only save Dorothy’s friends, but restore happiness back to the wonderful Land of Oz.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 buckets out of 5
Release Date: May 9 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Talking Points:
With the colorful scenery, fun music and an entertaining storyline, young kids will most likely enjoy this sequel to The Wizard of Oz.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
- China doll people are cracked and smashed from an earthquake that the Jester created with his special weapon.
- The Jester creates a tornado in an attempt to kill Dorothy. He says, “In a twister you fell from the sky and in a twister you shall die.”
- We see flying monkeys who threaten people with their sharp claws.
- The Jester torments the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow by magically trapping them in their worst nightmares; a circus cage, a tank of water and a green-flamed fire. He threatens Toto too.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
- I interviewed two kids…
- An eleven year old girl said, “It’s a fun version of The Wizard of Oz.“
- A five year old boy said, “It was soooo good.”
Overall this is a fun entertaining film for young kids, adults and older kids may get bored.