Fantasy
Fantasy movie reviews
A Wrinkle In Time – Kids’ Movie Review
A Wrinkle in Time follows the life of a 13 year old girl named Meg Murry (Storm Reid). Meg is a very insecure and anxious middle schooler who is struggling since the disappearance of her father. Meg’s father is a renowned physicist, Dr. Alex Murry (Chris Pine), who disappeared four years earlier. No one knows what happened to him, but Meg is determined to find out. One day Meg’s brilliant younger brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), introduces Meg to three supernatural beings: Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey). The kids eventually learn from their supernatural friends that in order to save their father they must travel across time and space to rescue him from an evil entity called “The It.” So now Meg, Charles Wallace, and Meg’s friend are guided on a dangerous journey across time to find their beloved father. Based on the 1962 fantasy novel; A Wrinkle In Time.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 5, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- There are wonderful messages throughout the film that will spark some great parent/child conversations. To name a few; accepting who you are, accepting others who are different from you, and the importance of love. The film also highlights themes of courage, perseverance and bravery.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see a married couple kiss.
- Mild flirting between two teenagers.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- A girl throws a basketball into a classmate’s face after being provoked by some mean comments.
- Kids encounter several dangerous situations. They’re tossed around and whisked away in a tornado.
- A boy is possessed by evil and hurts his sister.
- A boy falls from a very high point and lands on a bed of wildflowers.
- Character’s are pulled down a dark hallway by an unseen force.
- There is a dark and creepy tone throughout the film.
- It’s briefly noted that a girl suffers from an eating disorder; we see her “eating rules” on a bedroom wall.
- A dad is shown yelling at his son, calling him an “idiot,” for a poor report card.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed a two siblings 6 and 8 years old. The 6- year-old was scared and the 8 year old liked it but was scared at the end. I also interviewed two 10- year-olds that loved the film.
Overall this is an entertaining and thrilling drama. Having said that, parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and disturbing scenes throughout the film. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 10 and up!
Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Kids’ Movie Review
As you may know, Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is set in a galaxy far far away. The film begins immediately after the events of the Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. It continues the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), and her discovery of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and the story of the war between General Leia Organa’s Resistance and the First Order. This is an entertaining film for the Star Wars fans!
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 27, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The importance of friendship, teamwork and doing the right thing is portrayed throughout the film.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A character briefly kisses another character.
- Rey sees a man shirtless and she gets flustered.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There are numerous battles, explosions and a lot of sci-fi violence with thousands of deaths.
- We see a character who is sliced in half, however there isn’t any blood.
- Many weapons are used such as lightsabers, bombs and fighter planes.
- The villains in the film may scare kids.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
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We hear “d–n,” “h—,” “a–,” and “b–tard.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Character’s are shown drinking liquor at a casino.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed three kids ages 11 (boy), 12 (girl), and 15 (girl). They loved the film and said they weren’t scared at all. They are big Star Wars fans!
Overall this is an entertaining film, especially for the Star Wars fans. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.
Justice League-Kids Movie Reivew
The world is mourning a beloved superhero’s death…Superman! While Batman is in Gotham City (Ben Affleck) he tries to keep things in line but it’s hard without friend. Crime is up and the people of Gotham are feeling down. Things get even worse as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) informs Batman that Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), an evil supervillian, has returned and wants to destroy the world. So Batman and Wonder Woman recruit a group of allies to form a team known as Justice League. Now this superhero team tries to save the world from the evil villain. Justice League is based on DC Comics’ superhero adventures.
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 13, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
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
- We see couples kissing.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There is a lot of super-hero violence such as explosions and destruction.
- There are a lot of battles. Character’s are shown fighting with swords, guns, hammers and fist fights.
- A giant monster destroys buildings, throws superheroes around, and kills people.
- A resurrected Superman is extremely angry and fights with Batman.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “sh-t,” ‘a–,” b–ch,” “d–n,” and “h—.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see a character drinking whiskey.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is an entertaining film, especially for superhero fans. Having said that, parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.
Thor: Ragnarok-Kids’ Movie Reviews
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is back, though things aren’t going very well for the beloved God of Thunder. He and his mortal girlfriend Jane have broken up, he’s held captive on another planet, and to top things off his powerful hammer has been destroyed. When Thor discovers that Asgard is being threatened he escapes captivity and recruits his new friend Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and his former ally and fellow Avenger Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to save their planet. Together they confront Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death, from destroying the Asgardian world. Thor: Ragnarok is the third chapter in Marvel’s superhero series about the ancient god of thunder.
Rating: 3 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 6, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see Hulk’s bare butt.
- There are a few suggestive jokes about masturbation and orgies.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- Hela, The Goddess of Death can be very scary. She slashes soldiers with a huge blade, uses magical knives, and impales them.
- There are some gory and graphic moments, and a lot of characters die.
- There are battles with explosions, though shown as comic book violence.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “sh-t, “d–n,” “a–,” “h-ll,” and “son of a b–ch.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- A character drinks heavily throughout the film. In one scene we see her drunk.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall, Thor: Ragnarok is an entertaining film. However, parents need to be aware of the excessive violence.
Happy Death Day- Kids’ Movie Review
Teresa “Tree” Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) is a college student who enjoys her lifestyle as a cute sorority girl. However, Tree’s life dramatically changes on her birthday. She wakes up hungover and in the bed of a student named Carter, whom she had just met the night before. When Tree leaves Carter’s dorm she gets a creepy feeling as she’s walking through campus towards the Kappa House. It ends up that Tree is stuck in a time loop where she suffers a violent death over and over again. Frightened and scared, Tree realizes she must relive the day over again until she discovers who murdered her.
Rating: 2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: January 16, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Moderate
- It’s mentioned that a college student is having an affair with a married teacher.
- We see couples kissing.
- Sex between college students is discussed, but nothing is shown.
- A character prepares to masturbate to porn. We briefly see two men kissing passionately on computer screen.
- A character walks naked through campus, we see her bare back.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- We see stabbing with knives and broken bottles.
- We see Tree brutally killed multiple times.
- Characters are hit with baseball bats, a crowbar, and a pipe.
- There’s punching and hitting.
- A character falls through a window from a high building. We see the blood spattered on the ground.
- A car drives over someone, we see the dead body.
- A police car blows up with someone in the back seat.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- We hear the f-word once. We also hear “sh-t,” “b–ch,” “a–,” “a–hole,” “d–n,” “b–ch,” and “h–l” throughout the film.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- A main character wakes up hungover and discusses her drunken antics from the previous night.
- We see college students drinking at a party.
- A college guy has a bong.
Will Teens Like It? Yes
- I interviewed 4 pre-teen girls who thought the film was funny, scary and entertaining.
Overall this is an entertaining horror film with comedic overtones. Parents need to be aware of the violence, language and sexual contents.