Fantasy
Fantasy movie reviews
Rampage-Kids’ Movie Review
“Man’s best friend,” is a common phrase referring to humans with their beloved dogs. However, in Rampage, primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), has an extremely close relationship to a gorilla named George. Initially George is a very mild tempered gorilla, however, everything changes for him when scientists perform a genetic experiment that goes awry. The once gentle and loving ape becomes an aggressive and enormous beast. Now Davis teams up with geneticist Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) to help save the world from the destructive creatures affected by the experiment, and save Davis’ best friend….George, the gorilla. Rampage is loosely based on the 1980’s arcade video game.
Rating: 3 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: July 17, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- Woman flirt with Davis (Dwayne Johnson).
- George (the gorilla) makes a suggestive movement referencing sexual intercourse.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There is a lot of bloody and gory violence. We see animals attacking humans and we see dismembered human body parts.
- A woman blown to pieces.
- Characters are stepped on, crushed, and even eaten.
- Monsters destroy buildings, cars, and airplanes.
- Humans attack humans. We see punching and fighting.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “sh-t,” “d–n,” “h—,” “b–ch, “a–,” “b–tards” and “motherf—–.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- The kids that I talked to after the movie said they like Dwayne Johnson and all the action in the film.
Overall this is an action packed film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and profane language.
Ready Player One-Kids’ Movie Review
Set in 2045 in a gloomy area of Columbus, Ohio, Ready Player One follows the life of a high school boy named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan). Sadly, Wade’s parents are deceased so he lives in a trailer park with his aunt and her abusive boyfriend. Wade escapes his awful life at home by gaming. He and millions of dedicated gamers are in their virtual world called the Oasis. They are searching for an Easter egg left hidden in the game’s code by its late creator, James Halliday (Mark Rylance). However, finding the egg is very difficult but if you succeed the test, the winner receives the creator’s trillion-dollar fortune. Wade is on a mission to win the game, and also find true love. Based on Ernest Cline’s best selling 2011 sci-fi novel, Ready Player One.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: July 24, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- It was fun and entertaining to see the 80’s pop culture references; such as the music, movies, video games and TV shows.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- Virtual flirting. Avatars are shown seductively dancing and touching one another.
- Character’s kiss.
- We see the bare back of a naked woman.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There are many battles and fight scenes in the Oasis causing numerous deaths.
- Avatars are attacked by dinosaurs, King Kong and various virtual weapons.
- We see a flood of blood, ax attacks and scary zombies.
- There is also violence in the real world. An evil corporation sends assassins to kill people, arrest them, blow up their homes, and shoot them.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “f—ing,” once, and then “sh-t,” “b–tch,” “d-mn,” “goddamn,” and “h-ll” are said sporadically throughout the film.
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall, this is a fun and entertaining film for pre-teens and teens.
Pacific Rim: Uprising-Kids’ Movie Review
It’s been 10 years since the horrific battle between the invading monsters (the “Kaiju”) and the man-made robots (the “Jaegers”). Pacific Rim: Uprising follows the life of Jake Pentecost, a former Jaeger pilot and the son of a Kaiju War hero. Jake’s life is a little different now as he’s abandoned his training as a pilot and now makes a living by stealing and selling Jaeger parts on the black market. However, things dramatically change for Jake when cities are threatened by an evil force and Jake is given a chance to try and save the world and follow his father’s legacy. Pacific Rim:Uprising is the sequel to 2013’s Pacific Rim.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 19, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- Flirting – two men like the same woman. She kisses each of them on the cheek before they go off to battle.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- A lot robots vs. monsters violence throughout the film. There’s a lot of destruction which is very loud.
- We see the monsters and robots fighting with guns and electric swords/whips and various other weapons.
- Humans fight and punch each other.
- We see a character’s bloody hand.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “s–t,” “a–,” “bastard,” “son of a b–ch,” and “god—n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see character’s drinking beer, and another one drinking an alcoholic beverage.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed a group of 10 to 12 year-olds. They thought it was a fun, sci-fi action film.
Overall this is an action packed film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.
Sherlock Gnomes-Kids’ Movie Reviews
Gnomeo and Juliet are moving to a beautiful, but small, new garden…in London! As the newly married couple tries to cope with some difficulties in their marriage, they discover there’s danger in the garden, all their London gnome friends have vanished. Apparently garden ornaments have been disappearing quite frequently in London. So Sherlock Gnomes, the sworn protector of London’s garden gnomes, and his ardent associate, Watson, start their investigation while trying to figure out who’s kidnapping the adorable gnomes. Eventually, Gnomeo and Juliet want to be involved in Sherlock’s mission so they force Sherlock to let them join in and help find London’s gnomes. Sherlock Gnomes is the sequel to the 2011 Gnomeo & Juliet film.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 12, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film will spark some great parent/child conversations as kids will learn a little bit about the classic Sherlock Holmes detective stories.
- There is a wonderful message to appreciate your loved ones and not take them for granted – as Juliet did.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Gnomeo and Juliet kiss.
- A gnome is in love with a frog and they kiss.
- A gnome wears a thong bathing suit.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- There is some slap stick violence throughout the film with chase scenes and fights.
- Gnomes are kidnapped and held captive by scary gargoyles.
- The villain smashes and injures gnomes. They are frequently in danger and some close calls as to whether they will survive.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Some name calling such as “dumb,” “stupid,” “loser,” and “ugly.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is a fun and entertaining film for young kids. Parents need to be aware of the moderate slapstick violence throughout the film.
Black Panther-Kids’ Movie Review
African prince turned king! When T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), a young and handsome prince, hears about his father’s death he immediately returns home to the African nation of Wakanda. His father was the king of Wakanda, so now T’Challa takes his rightful place and becomes the new king – a.k.a. Blank Panther. Luckily, the country’s king is always given the super powers of the panther as part of his title. T’Challa will definitely need to his new powers, especially when he discovers that Wakanda and the entire world are threatened by an evil villain. Now the young king tries to save his beloved nation and the world.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: May 15, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- There are wonderful messages highlighted throughout the film. To name a few: loyalty, integrity and and friendship.
- T’Challa is a wonderful leader as he’s patient, thoughtful and kind.
Sexual Content: Mild
- There is some flirting.
- We see character’s passionately kissing.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- Character’s are punched, kicked, stabbed and shot at. We see many bloody wounds as well.
- There are intense battles with fierce weapons such as; blades, spears, knives and super power guns/cannons.
- The bad guys shoot innocent victims.
- There is a a car chase causing a lot of destruction.
- There are two emotional death scenes.
- A character’s throat is cut during a battle.
- A woman is shot in the head and killed.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “sh-t,” “a–,” “b–ch,” and “h—.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking in a casino.
- Black Panther drinks a liquid to obtain his powers.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed kids of all ages, and their parents, who all loved the film. One 8-year-old said she had to cover her eyes in one scene, but still loved it.
Overall Black Panther is a great story about a wonderful superhero. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film. Depending on the child I feel this film is appropriate for kids ages 12 and up.