Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Country Strong Review
This is the story about Kelly Cantor (Gwyneth Paltrow), a country star who struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. After a year of rehab, Kelly attempts her long awaited comeback tour, lead by her husband and manger James (Tim McCraw). She’s also accompanied on the tour by two young rising country singers and songwriters; the handsome Beau (Garrett Hedlund) and beauty queen Chiles (Leighton Meester). Now Kelly not only has to handle her struggles with drugs and alcohol, she has to gain the courage to sing again, deal with young, emerging country singers, and cope with personnel issues as well.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: April 12, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: Adults
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Talking Points:
Teenagers may be intrigued by the movie because of familiar actors such as Gwyneth Paltrow, who was recently on “Glee”, Leighton Meester from “Gossip Girls,” and Garrett Hedlund from “Tron.” However, with intense subject matter and disturbing scenes, I don’t recommend this movie for kids.
I loved the movie, music and the main characters. In one scene Beau (who I especially liked) says he wants to sing in a bar for hardworking people, who enjoy music and beer.
This is an emotional movie about love and relationships. A year before Kelly was in rehab, she was five months pregnant, and so drunk during a concert in Dallas, that she fell, resulting in a miscarriage. This is a focal point in the movie, one in which Kelly and her husband struggle with, you feel their pain and loss throughout the movie.
Kelly gives the young country singers, Beau and Chiles, advice about love. She says, “Don’t be afraid of love, it’s the only thing that matters in life.” Throughout the movie Kelly continually says, “Love and fame can’t live in the same place-choose love.”
Kelly visits a terminally ill boy’s classroom, for a Make-A-Wish request. This was one of my favorites scenes. During this scene we see Kelly’s stunning musical talent as she sings and dances with the boy, it’s a very sweet and emotional scene.
Sexual Content: Excessive
There are many sexual scenes and references in the movie:
- Though Kelly is married she sleeps Beau, she also attempts to sleep with a promoter, so he won’t cancel her tour.
- Beau sleeps with Kelly and Chiles.
- Chiles is seen in her bra and panties, as she and Beau have a “swimsuit competition.”
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There are many disturbing scenes as we see Kelly sloppy drunk. In one scene Beau grabs a bottle of alcohol out her hand, and smashes it against the wall.
- Kelly receives a bloody doll with a cruel note, before a concert.
- There are some punches and fights with the main characters.
Profanity: Moderate, fine for a PG13 movie.
I really liked this movie. I loved the music, actors and the storyline. However, I feel the subject matter is too intense and disturbing for kids and teenagers. I don’t recommend this movie for kids, it’s a movie that adults may enjoy.
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.
Bridesmaids Review
“Always a bridesmaid never a bride.” I’m sure you’ve all heard that saying, and when you’re in your thirties it really starts to get you down. I know I was a bridesmaid nine times before getting married. In the movie Bridesmaids, Annie (Kristen Wiig), is a single women in her thirties, and has been asked to be her life long friend’s maid of honor. Though a little jealous, Annie is excited for her friend, and wants to help plan the perfect wedding. However, it’s not as easy as she thought it would be. Dealing with four other bridesmaids, (one whom is especially difficult), being completely broke, and having romantic issues of her own; Annie goes through many uncomfortable and difficult situations, hoping to be the quintessential friend and maid of honor. Bridesmaids is not for kids, though it’s a hilarious, entertaining movie, good for a mom’s night out!
Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: May 13, 2011
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Talking Points
I absolutely loved this movie. Besides the comedic element of the film, it was a story of friendship and romance. I thought of my best friend and maid of honor, and all the fun times we had planning our weddings.
The soundtrack was great, the film concluded with Wilson Phillips singing, “Hold On,” which was the maid of honor and brides favorite song. That brought back some fun memories, too.
One bridesmaid was obsessed with how awful her family was. She continually complained about her three boys, and husband. She wanted to be with a different man, and get away from her kids. That part bothered me, and got little old.
Sexual Content: Excessive
There were some sexual scenes, with a lot of suggestive comments and references throughout the film. To a name a few:
• The opening scene Annie and her “F*&k Buddy” (that’s how he refers to Annie), are in bed having a sexual encounter. There’s not full nudity, though she is in her bra and underwear, and you clearly see them in action.
• Conversations of different sexual positions and number of partners.
• Conversation on an airplane between one of the bridemaids and the “Air Marshall,” insinuating a rendezvous in the bathroom.
• Two of the bridesmaids kissed on an airplane, they were both upset about their sex lives, and wanted to try something different.
Violent Content: Mild
• In one scene, the bridesmaids vomit and have diarrhea in a bridal shop. Though a very funny scene, it’s pretty disgusting.
• Annie’s roommate gets a free tattoo and shows it to Annie. It’s infected and disgusting as well.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
• The f-word and every other swear word is used a lot throughout the movie.
• At one point a kid tells his mom to f*&k off.
• One bridesmaid tells her kids to f*#k off as well…unusual parenting.
This is an R-rated movie, which means that kids under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. With that in mind, I decided to review this because a couple of months ago, my daughter (14), called me from a friends asking if she could see “The Hangover.” I immediately told her “no”. Though I would never bring my kids to this movie, I could see a similar situation happening, and once again the answer will be “no”. Having said that, Bridesmaids is a fun, entertaining movie for adults. I brought my niece (22), brother and sister-in-law, and we all loved the movie.