Family
Family movie reviews
Dolphin Tale Review
Sawyer Nelson was a shy, lonely boy who didn’t have many friends. However his life dramatically changed one day when he was asked to help a dolphin who was washed up on shore. The dolphin got caught in a crab trap, and severely damaged her tail; she was rescued and taken to local marine hospital, where they named her Winter. With a poor prognosis, and no tail, it took a group of dedicated doctors, biologists, and of course the dolphin’s loyal companion, Sawyer, to inspire a miracle that saved Winter’s life. The real dolphin, plays herself in this heartwarming true story about perseverance and hope; a movie for the whole family.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: September 23, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 8 +
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Sawyer’s father abandoned the family when he was little, however his older cousin becomes a father-figure for him, and becomes a wonderful role model.
When Klye (Sawyer cousin) gets injured and can no longer swim, the doctor stresses that just because he can’t swim doesn’t mean he can’t find something new to excel at. He said, “Just because you’re hurt doesn’t mean you’re broken.” This is a constant theme throughout the film, whether it’s a physical injury, struggling financially, or emotional issues, it’s possible to pull together and overcome difficult situations. A great parent/child conversation.
It’s so sweet to see the relationship between Winter and Sawyer. Not only is Winter’s life saved, but so is Sawyers as he comes out of his shell.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Girls are shown in bikinis at a pool party.
Violent Content:Mild
- When we see Winter washed up on shore she’s tangled in a heavy rope.
- We see an x-ray of a large tortoise with a hook under it’s shell.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Slang words such as “darn,” “shoot,” and “crappy” are used.
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Overall ‘Dolphin Tale’ is an amazing true story, one that the whole family can enjoy. I interviewed kids of all ages, even teenagers, who all loved the film.
Crooked Arrows Review
Lacrosse was originated by the Native American’s about one thousand years ago, and has become a popular sport in schools and communities all over the United States. Crooked Arrows centers around a Native American high school lacrosse team, named the Crooked Arrows, which competes against an elite prep school league. Though the Crooked Arrows are not as equipped or well trained as the prep school teams; this Native American team stays true to their heritage, and is ready for the competition… but can they win? Crooked Arrows is an inspirational sports film for kids ages 10 and up, lacrosse players will especially like it.
Rating: 5 out out 5 buckets
Release Date: October 23, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
See a clip of my review here, along with Snow White and the Huntsman!
Talking Points:
This is a film that won’t win an Oscar; the acting is good, not great, but it’s an appropriate inspirational sports film. The coach focuses on the team aspect of the game. When the only Caucasian boy on the team misses the game winning shot, Coach Logan emphasizes the fact that it’s a team sport, he says, “we win and lose together.” This could spark a great parent/child conversation.
The Crooked Arrows are humiliated by their privileged rivals, but Coach Joe Logan does a great job of motivating his team and keeping them true to their heritage and valued traditions.
There are some fun, entertaining clips during the credits.
Younger kids may get bored with the storyline; when they’re not playing lacrosse.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see some innocent flirting.
- Players are shown in the locker room wearing only briefs, some are naked, we see their back side.
Violent Content: Mild
- We see some aggressive hits and plays during the lacrosse games, but appropriate for PG13.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- While playing in a game, the boys say, “vagina dodge,” when near the cheerleaders. The translation is show on the screen.
- There is some name calling…”wussy.”
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is an inspirational sports film, with an education about the Native Americans and their sport…lacrosse. I recommend this for kids ages 10 and up.
Coraline Review
Coraline is about an eleven year old girl whose family had just moved from Michigan to Oregon, where it’s rainy and gloomy. Coraline is continuously being brushed off by her parents, who both work from home. While investigating their new house, Coraline discovers a door that leads to a world in which she gets everything she wants. Her parents in this new world play games with her, make great meals, and give her plenty of attention. The only upsetting thing about her new world is that the “other mom and dad,” have black buttons instead of eyes. However she still continues to make return visits, until her “other mom” reveals her true self.
Rating: Two out of five buckets
Release Date: July 21, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
The 3D affects are not overdone, shows brilliant colors and life of the new world she goes into.
The movie takes on the theme of ” The grass is always greener on the other side.” Which is demonstrated to be not true. In her new world she gets everything she wants, but it’s shown to be empty. Coraline learns to appreciate reality.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Sexual comments are made.
- Characters wear really short shorts, and other revealing outfits.
Violent Content: Moderate
- The movie is scary. It includes dark, creepy and spooky scenes throughout the movie. They show visions of monsters and ghosts of murdered children.
- I read that the director said, “We’re hoping for an edgy PG. We’re trying to send a signal with the trailer that it’s scary and only for brave children of any age.” It’s not for little kids under 8.”
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “Creep,” dingbats,” and “wusspuss” are some of the name-calling that’s said in the film.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Coraline’s mom comments on her husband being drunk.
If you like scary movies, you may lie this. I would recommend it for children 10 and above.
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Review
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third film in the CS Lewis series. It’s about Edmund and Lucy, the two younger siblings in the Pevensie family. In England, during WWll, the children are staying with their obnoxious cousin Eustace. While looking at an ocean painting on the wall in their cousin’s bedroom, the children are swept away to Narnia; in the ocean beside the Dawn Treader, which is commanded by Caspian who is now King. The three children, accompanied by King Caspian, have many adventures as they sail to find the source of an evil green mist.
Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: April 8 , 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Talking Points:
It’s interesting because as King Caspian and the three kids are trying to find the source of this evil mist, a magician tells them “to defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself.” So now they each have their own personnel things to conquer.
- Lucy is jealous of her beautiful sister, and wants to look like her.
- Edmund, has to accept Caspian as their King.
- Eustace, has many issues, particularly that he’s an obnoxious pest and a coward.
The kids in the audience may be able to relate to some of their own insecurities, and how to cope with them.
The transformation of the cousin was one of my favorite parts. In Narnia, unable to resist a certain temptation, he turns into a dragon. Ironically, this mean boy turns into a nice, brace, noble dragon. By the grace of Aslan (In Narnia Aslan is a lion, who is the Savior), Eustace turns back into a boy. In this transformation scene Eustace states that he couldn’t do it by himself no matter how hard he tried, he needed the help of the Savior. This could be a good parent child discussion after the movie.
I read, “There are deep spiritual underpinnings in the movie. And it marks Dawn Treader as a voyage of faith and belief.” As the mouse says, “We have nothing, if not belief.”
Violent Content: Mild
- There’s a scary serpent that attacks the Dawn Treader as it sails toward a dark island, this may scare younger kids.
- In the beginning they’re at an island, some of the children were captured by evil guys.
Profanity: None
Sexual Content: None
I interviewed kids ages 5 to 14 after the movie. They all enjoyed it. The five year olds liked the dragon, while the older kids seemed to like the adventurous parts of the movie. Parents liked the spiritual meaning behind the movie.
Overall this is a wonderful, entertaining movie, with valuable life lessons we can all learn from. Like I said earlier, this is a the type of movie that could spark some great parent-child discussions.
Bully Review
Bully center’s around the lives of five victimized children and their families over the course of a year. The director, Lee Hirsch, does a powerful job of portraying the victims daily torment and humiliation. We also get a glimpse of the administrators’ struggles, as they try to resolve this horrendous problem facing millions of kids today. Bully is a heart-wrenching documentary that will spark some great parent child conversations.
Rating: 5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: March 30, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language:Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
See a clip of my review here, along with The Lucky One, and Touchback!
Talking Points:
As a mom of three this was a very difficult film to see. Two of the families interviewed were those whose children had committed suicide, because they were bullied. We also saw a young girl who was ostracized for being a lesbian; we saw a nice quiet boy who was physically abused…poked, hit and choked. We even met a girl who was so frustrated from being bullied she responded by bringing a loaded gun to school.
It was interesting that many of the victim’s parents were shocked to discover how badly their kids were bullied. Some comments we heard from the bullies were; “I’ll break your Adam’s apple, which will kill you,” “I will f–ing end you and shove a broomstick up your a–.”
A very upsetting scene was seeing a suicide victim’s parents attending their son’s funeral. We eventually learned that these parents set up an anti-bullying organization.
The film was initially rated R. I read that the director said, ” I made Bully for kids to see-the bullies as well as the bullied. To capture the stark reality of bullying, we had to capture the way kids act and speak in their everyday lives-and the fact is that kids use profanity.” They eventually reduced the number of swear words to secure a PG-13 rating, which would hopefully attract more kids and their parents.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We saw a lesbian couple holding hands and hugging.
Violent Content: Moderate
- We saw kids being physically abused; poked, hit and even choked.
- We also saw the mental abuse which the kids faced; as they were continuously being ridiculed and humiliated.
Crude and Profane Language: Excessive
- The f-word was said several times, we also heard “a–,” “b–ch,” and “n-gger.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Bully was not a fun entertaining movie, however bullying is a serious issue facing millions of kids today. The film will hopefully spark some awareness towards the problem, and is a great vehicle for parent/child discussions. However, parents need to be aware of the profanity laced throughout the film. Depending on the kid, I recommend this for kids ages 12 and up.