Drama
Drama movie reviews
You Again Review
This is the story about a girl named Marni (Kristen Bell), a young and up and coming PR professional, who discovers that her brother is marrying Joanna, her arch nemesis from high school. When Marni’s reunited with Joanna, all the awful high school memories come back to haunt her, so she gradually decides how to seek revenge. Marni also discovers that her mom, and Joanna’s aunt (Sigourney Weaver) also had their own high school issues. Soon they will all be related, but the question is; do people really change from high school?
Rating: Two out of five buckets
Release Date: February 8, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
The movie has an all-star cast. To name a few; Betty White, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver and Kristen Bell.
I read in a review that the movie is “Surprisingly funny and startlingly sweet.” I thought there were some funny parts, but nothing that great.
There are a couple of nice messages:
- This movie is about forgiveness, and giving people a second chance. Even though this girl was awful and mean in high school, doesn’t mean that she’s that way now.
- Marni was tormented in high school, but now she is a beautiful successful women. Her mom says, “That terrible time made you who you are today.” We grow from difficulties in life.
The movie was a little boring. My husband checked his email read the internet and played games on his phone. At one point I closed my eyes.
I thought the PG rating was appropriate.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Very mild, brief kissing in public.
Profanity: None
- There was no profanity that I remember.
Since there’s not much to say about the movie, I wrote down the quotes that my husband and kids said after the movie.
Top quotes coming out of the movie: (Mostly from my husband).
1) “There was more substance to the popcorn than the movie.”
2) “This movie is a guy repellent.”
3) “It was inappropriately boring.”
4) “Mom, you said corny 19 times.”
5) “The Michigan t-shirt the actor was wearing was my favorite part of the movie.”
6) “I didn’t laugh once.”
Even though the movie was corny and predicable, it had some funny parts, and had a sweet message of forgiveness. Appropriate for any age.
Water for Elephants-Teen Movie Review
Twilight fans may get a little confused because our favorite vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is now Jacob. No, he didn’t switch teams, and this is not Twilight. Now Robert Pattinson plays Jacob Jankowski, a young veterinary school student during the depression, in 1931. He’s just about to take his final exam at Cornell University, when he’s suddenly informed that his parents had just died in a car crash, and that the bank owns everything. So Jacob leaves his home, doesn’t take his final exam, and he jumps on a freight train that changes his life for ever. This train belongs to the owners of Benzini Bros. Circus; just where a vet student on the run is meant to land. Now Jacob gets a job with the circus, falls in love with the circus owners wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), and bonds with the special circus elephant, Rosie. This sounds like a romantic love story, which it is, however there’s a lot of drama, violence and suspense in this wonderful movie; which is based on the acclaimed bestseller, Water For Elephants.
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Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: November 1, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points
The owner of the train, August (Christoph Waltz), was an abusive, dangerous man. He abused the animals, his employees, and his beautiful wife, Marlena. However, Jacob’s character was very likable, he’s a kindhearted man, who truly cares for the animals well-being, and the employees of the circus. He stood for what he believed in, and almost risked his life. Oh, he’s not hard to look at either!
This was a well done movie, with wonderful characters and an unusual subject matter. From the clothes, to the 1930’s music, it was very interesting to see a traveling circus in the depression era. It was much different from the modern love stories in the theaters today.
While I loved the book, and the movie, there were some things that parents may feel uncomfortable with. This may not be the right movie for the tween girls, who only want to see Robert Pattinson. The content listed below are some reasons why:
Sexual Content: Moderate
• Jacob and Marlena have an affair; we see them in a hotel room, and it’s implied they’re having a sexual encounter. Though Jacob rescues her from an abusive relationship, she is still a married women. Something that could spark a parent/child conversation.
• Circus performers talk about some sexual situations that they had been in.
• One circus girl performed a striptease act for all the men involved in the circus. We only see her back, but it’s implied that she’s topless. She also fondles Jacob and wants to be with him.
Violent Content: Excessive and Disturbing
The movie has many violent and disturbing scenes:
• August, the owner, went from being a nice, happy, lovable guy, to an evil person at any given moment. His mood swings were creepy and scary. He abused Rosie the elephant with his bull hook, while viciously jabbing him.
• August abused his wife Marlena, this was disturbing to see, which may scare some kids.
• When August doesn’t have enough money to pay his employees, he throws them out of the moving train. We see two dead men who were thrown out onto rocks near the track.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• I was so focused on the violence that I only noticed a small amount of profanity. Words such as; the s-word, d-word and the a-word.
Water for Elephants was a wonderful book and movie. I loved the storyline with the drama and suspense, and the romantic aspect of it. However, I review movies on whether they are appropriate for kids; I would not recommend this movie for kids under 13. I think even some older teens may feel uncomfortable with the subject matter.
Unstoppable Review
Unstoppable is based on a true story, about an unmanned, runaway train filled with explosives and toxins traveling through Pennsylvania. It’s up to a veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington), and a young conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) to prevent a major catastrophe from happening.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: February 15, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points:
The premise of the movie is about a runaway train, and that’s it. You may think, how can I watch a ninety-eight minute movie about a runway train? Well, you will be on the edge of your seat the moment that train is loose. This is an entertaining, suspenseful, action packed movie, one that my three kids and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Frank Barnes(Denzel Washington) and Will Colson(Chris Pine), are two very likable characters, and at completely different stages in life. Throughout all the action, we see an emotional side to them. We hear about Frank’s (Denzel Washington) two daughter’s, who work at Hooter’s restaurant, and Will’s (Chris Pine), struggles with his marriage. These are two average guys trying to save thousands of lives.
I brought my 14 year old daughter, and 13 and 11 year old boys. My daughter was not interested in seeing it. She typically likes a good “chic flick,” but she loved this movie. She thought it was very interesting, and was at the edge of her seat as well. My boys loved the action, though after the movie my eleven year old said, “I will never ride on a train.”
Sexual Content: Mild
- There are no sexual references or scenes. They show a couple scenes at Hooter’s restaurant, which was fine.
Violent Content: Excessive
High-action film, which may frighten younger kids.
- The train, which is going about 70 mph, crashes through many obstacles on it’s track, there are loud explosions and noises.
- At one point, the runway train is headed towards another train, which is full of young kids on a field trip. This was a very suspenseful part.
Profanity: Excessive
There were a lot of swear words used throughout the whole movie. I read in a review that, “The crassness only serves to distract, and it derails any fun a family audience might have had.”
Overall this is an entertaining movie. However, with the heavy profanity and high-action intense scenes, I would recommend this movie for kids ages eleven and up.
War Horse Review
Typically one would think of a dog as a man’s best friend, though maybe not for a farmer’s son. This is a story about a teenage boy, Albert, and his horse, Joey. Albert has a remarkable bond with Joey as he teaches his horse to become the best plow horse in town. Unfortunately, Albert’s father is forced to sell the horse to the Army, since he can’t pay the rent. Now we see Joey’s remarkable journey as he travels throughout Europe from owner to owner, hoping to reunite with Albert. War Horse is based on a children’s book, set in England and Europe during World War I.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets.
Release Date: December 25, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12 +
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content:Moderate
See a clip of my review here, along with We Bought a Zoo!
Talking Points:
Most of us have seen many war stories. What make’s this film different and what I like about this film is that you see the war from the perspective of a horse. You could feel the horse’s pain and suffering during the war as if he was a soldier fighting for our country.
War Horse was an educational film. I didn’t realize the importance of horses during WWI. I read that,” Britain sent more than 1 million horses to war between 1914 and 1918. Just 62,000 returned.” The war aspect of the film could spark an interesting conversation with kids.
I thought it was interesting to see a German and British soldier come together in No Man’s Land to save Joey, as he was tangled in barbed wire.
As the horse traveled throughout the war it was interesting to meet his various owners, and see them deal with the war, while also hoping to survive.
Though the film is based on a children’s book, this is a war story, and may be a little long and boring for some kids.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
- Initially we see a field of dead men and horses.
- There are many explosions and gun fire throughout the film.
- We see people with missing limbs and scared faces.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “B-tard” is said, and “h–l,” is said a couple times.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Ted, Albert’s father, drinks regularly throughout the film.
Overall War Horse was a well done film with a wonderful storyline about a boy and his horse. Since it is a war movie, the mature subject matter may not interest many kids.
Touchback Review
What if? People tend to question whether they’ve made the right choices in their lives; and that was a constant concern for Scott Murphy (Brian Presley). Living in a small, blue collar farm town in Ohio, Scott thought he had it all. In high school he was athletic, popular, and very good looking ; he even had a college football scholarship already lined up. However, his life dramatically changed in the football state finals during his senior year. Scott’s leg was crushed in the last seconds of the game. Twenty years later; he’s married with 2 kids, and still limping with a leg brace, and often wondered, what if he hadn’t run that last play? Touchback is a wonderful heartfelt story about hard work, and the true meaning of life.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 8, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, along with reviews of Bully and The Lucky One!
Talking Points:
I couldn’t help but think of It’s a Wonderful Life. Scott, like George Bailey, was going through a very rough time in his life. He was continuously faced with difficult challenges; he even got to the point where he attempted suicide. Scott eventually realized how truly blessed he was with his wonderful family and friends. A lesson which was laced throughout the film: it’s not the “things,” that make you happy, it’s people in your life. Great parent/child conversation.
Scott’s football coach, Coach Hand (Kurt Russell) was a wonderful influence on the team. He encouraged his players to work hard, on and off the field. He even told the players to “Go home, and tell your parents that you love them.” The constant lessons he brought to the team will spark great parent/child conversations as well.
Scott’s wife was very optimistic and loving. When we saw flashbacks of Scott in high school, we learn that his goal was to leave their small town. She was always content with her life, as a teen, and as an adult.
As I mentioned there were some wonderful messages woven throughout the film, however one frustrating thing about the film was the poor acting, (except for Kurt Russell).
The movie was partially filmed in Grand Rapids and Coopersville, Mi, which was fun to see, since I’m from Grand Rapids.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The scenes with Scott in high school show his cute blond girlfriend climbing on his lap, and kissing him…and wanting more. She stated that she wanted to reduce his pre-game stress, and have some fun!
- We see girls wearing low cut shirts and short shorts.
- In one scene characters are shown skinny dipping. We see them from a distance taking off their clothes and jumping in the water, they’re shown from their shoulders up.
Violent Content: Moderate
- We see some rough, hard-hitting football plays.
- We see Scott trying to commit suicide by plugging the tailpipe of his truck, while hoping to get carbon monoxide poisoning.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “H–,” is said about a dozen times, and “d–n,” and “a–,” are said a few times.
Overall this is a wonderful film with inspirational messages for kids to hear. The deep subject matter may be too much for younger kids, so I recommend this for kids ages 12 and up.