Family
Family movie reviews
Pirates Code: The Adventures of Mickey Matson-Kids Movie Review
Mickey Matson (Derek Brandon) and his best friend Sully (Francesca Derosa) are back in the exciting sequel to Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure. In this film Mickey and Sully take on a dangerous mission to save the country from the evil villains, Admiral Ironsides (Frank Collison) and his crew of modern day pirates. Ironsides and company have a plan to destroy every electronic device on earth, which would change the world forever. Now the two young heroes must work together and prevent Ironsides from succeeding in his evil mission. Pirates Code: The Adventures of Mickey Matson is an action packed, adventurous film, one for the whole family.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: October 17, 2014
MPAA Rating: NR
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Talking Points:
There is a wonderful message from Grandpa Jack (Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future) as he stresses the importance of team work, and that working together is the most powerful weapon. Great parent/child conversations.
The film is a Michigan based movie which is exciting for Grand Rapids residents. The cast visited the DeVos Children’s Hospital and had a special showing for the patients. The producers plan to have many showings of the movie at children’s hospitals nationwide.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
- We see characters hitting and punching each others. They also use “battle sticks” to fight one another.
- Pirates use ray guns to shoot kids and adults.
- We see character’s throwing knives and other weapons at one another.
- A character with brass knuckles punches another character.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling such as “snot nosed kids.”
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Overall this is a fun entertaining movie. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 7 and up. Parents need to be aware of some of the violent scenes that my scare young kids.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good…Kids movie review
We all have bad days, some worse than others. It’s the day before Alexander’s 12th birthday and it’s not a good day; he slips on a skateboard, gets gum in his hair, a funny picture is taken of him which travels all around the school, and he finds out no one is going to his birthday party because the most popular boy in school is having a big bash. When Alexander comes home, his parents and siblings have all had amazing days, and his baby brother can do no wrong. So at 12:01 AM, Alexander’s 12th birthday, he wishes a bad day upon his family. Now the comedic tragedies begin as we see a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for the Cooper family…but not Alexander! Based on a popular children’s book, Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a terrific film for the whole family!
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: February 10, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
Talking Points:
- There’s a wonderful message about the importance of family and loved ones. Alexander comes to realize that no matter how bad your day can be, or no matter how bad life can get, if you’re surrounded by family and loved ones, it’s not that bad.
- Steve Carell (the dad) and Jennifer Garner (the mom) are very funny and entertaining. The kids in the film are also likable, fun characters, ones that kids in the audience can relate to.
- There is some potty humor for example, the baby urinates on the kitchen floor and oven, kids in the theater thought that was funny. Also, the daughter vomits on her dad.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- The mom walks in on her teenage son as he’s naked in the bathroom. We don’t see anything, however later she comments saying, “It’s not the first time I’ve seen your penis.”
- There’s a discussion of Anthony and his girlfriend making out.
- The parents hire three “Australian cowboys,” for Alexander’s birthday party, not realizing their strippers.
Violent Content: Moderate
- Alexander accidentally starts a fire in his Chemistry class.
- The dad’s shirt cuffs set fire while eating at a Japanese restaurant.
- The dad gets kicked to the ground by a kangaroo.
- While the teenage son is taking his driver’s test he gets into a car crash, no one is hurt.
- The mom crashes while riding a bike.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “Idiot,” “sucks,” and “crap,” are said.
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- Emily, the eight grade daughter, overdoses on cold medicine and acts very silly.
- The dad drinks beer and then slams down another drink while the group he’s with chants his name.
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes
- This is a great film for kids of all ages…elementary kids, middle school age kids and teens may find it appealing as well.
Overall this is a great family movie, one I highly recommend!
Mr. Peabody And Sherman- Kids Movie Review
“Every dog should have a boy,” that’s what Mr. Peabody (voice of Ty Burrell) says about his mischievous son Sherman (voice of Max Charles). Mr. Peabody is an extremely intelligent talking dog who has adopted a boy named Sherman. The two live in a New York City penthouse: Sherman goes to school like most 7 year old boys, and Mr. Peabody is a loving dedicated father who takes care of the house and brings home the bacon. Peabody and Sherman also like to have fun! Continue reading
THE LEGO® MOVIE-Kids Movie Review
“He was so good at fitting in, nobody noticed him.” THE LEGO® MOVIE follows the life of a Lego named Emmet Brickowski (voice of Chris Pratt). Emmet is an average guy, who works at an average construction company, building average skyscrapers. He’s also a fun-loving, upbeat guy. He even has a favorite song called, “Everything Is Awesome,” which sums up his attitude on life. Things drastically change for Emmet the day he meets his beautiful co-worker, Wyldstyle (voice of Elizabeth Banks). Wyldstyle mistakes Emmet for “the most important person in the universe” (a.k.a. the Special), and recruits him on an adventurous journey to stop an evil Lego from gluing the universe together. Now Emmet takes his average life to a whole new level…which isn’t so average. THE LEGO® MOVIE is a wonderful and very clever animated film for the whole family.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: June 17, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Talking Points:
“Embrace what is special about you,” and “to be special you need to believe,” are quotes and themes used in the film. Once Emmet discovers that people think he’s “Special,” he believes in himself and has more confidence.
This is a great PG movie, however it has some intense scenes between the the good Legos and villain Legos. I interviewed a five year old boy who loved the movie, but was scared in parts.
The film is an hour and forty-one minutes, which may be a little long for young kids. Having said that, pre-teens and teens that once played with Legos will love the film, and adults will enjoy it too.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
- There are fist fights, gunfights, explosions and car crashes throughout the whole movie. The action is similar to a live action film, however this action is animated by a bunch of plastic blocks….LEGOS®.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Overall THE LEGO® MOVIE is an entertaining film for all. Parents will enjoy the adult humor and kids will enjoy the adventurous Legos. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film. Depending on the child, I recommend this film for kids ages 7 and up.
Frozen-Kids Movie Reviews
Princess Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), soon to be Queen, and Princess Anna (Kristen Bell), are not only sisters, but best friends. Though things gradually change as Elsa developes secret powers. She has the ability to create snow and ice, with a simple touch or even a thought. When her powers get out of hand, their entire kingdom of Arendelle is cast into eternal winter, so Elsa goes into hiding to be alone. Now Anna is on a mission to find her sister and save their kingdom before it is too late. Frozen is a wonderful animated film, one the whole family will enjoy.
Rating: 4 1/2 buckets out of 5
Release Date: March 18, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5 +
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will It Appeal to Kids? Yes
Talking Points:
What is love? That’s the premise of the film. One character says that love is putting another’s needs before your own. We see sacrificial love demonstrated throughout the film; with Anna sacrificing her life for her sister, the snowman sacrifices his life to help Anna, and the ice salesman, Kristoff, sacrifices his life for Anna.
There are great messages woven throughout the film, a character said that “People make bad choices if they’re mad, or scared, or stressed.” “True love brings out the best.”
In addition to the wonderful messages, the film is fun and entertaining with great music.
The theater was filled with young kids, teenagers and adults. I interviewed people after the movie, they all loved it!!
Sexual Content: Mild
- Character’s are shown kissing.
Violent Content: Moderate
- Characters get hit, thrown around, and even fall off a cliff.
- We saw sword and icicle fights. One character was almost impaled by an icicle.
- Characters were attacked by wolves.
- There’s a large snow monster that may frighten young kids. However he’s only in a few scenes, not the whole film.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking champagne at a ball.
Will It Appeal to Kids? Yes
Overall Frozen is an entertaining, heartwarming film. Depending on the child, I recommend this movie for kids ages 5 and up. Parents need to be aware of some of the moderate violent scenes in the film.