Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Jack and Jill Review
The holidays are quickly approaching; a special time with family and friends…so we hope. Well, it’s not that special for Jack (Adam Sandler), though he has a beautiful wife (Katie Homes), 2 great kids, and a successful job as an advertising executive, he also has his annoying twin sister, Jill (also played by Sandler). Year after year Jack dreads the holidays, because he gets a visit from his neurotic twin sister; and this time it’s even worse, because Jill doesn’t want to leave. So now Jack’s quiet, comfortable life turns into a chaotic nightmare.
Rating: Two out of five buckets.
Release Date: November 11, 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:
Elementary school kids and tweens often like Adam Sandler movies; they’re funny and entertaining. I tend to like his movies as well. However, Jack and Jill, is a strange, atypical Adam Sandler movie. Jill (played by Adam Sandler), is not sweet and funny like Tootsie (played by Dustin Hoffman), she is a very large, ogre like creature. Her voice is annoying, she continually whines when she doesn’t get her way; Jack couldn’t wait for his sister to leave, and I felt the same way. Having said all that, Jill sincerely loves her brother; which was heartwarming at times.
There were some funny parts, even though Jack’s sister drives him crazy, they do have some resemblance, which added a little humor.
The movie has an all-star cast, to name a few; Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino. David Spade, Johnny Depp and Regis Philbin make an appearance.
Al Pacino, plays himself in the movie; that was another strange part. We learn that Pacino goes crazy, and falls madly in love with Jill… another unsettling part.
There is a lot of potty humor; with Jill’s sweat stained sheets, body hair and ear wax, it really wasn’t funny, just gross.
There are many racial stereotypes; which was the topic of many jokes in the film.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Women wear sexy low-cut out fits. One women comments that she’s not wearing any underwear.
- There are other sexual references and innuendos; Pacino says, ” I can smell horny across an ocean!”
- In one scene, Jack dresses up up like his sister, he fills his bra with cantaloupes and then a bathroom attendant adjusts them. Later the attendant grabs Jill’s breasts, thinking it’s Jack’s cantaloupes.
Violent Content: Mild
- Jill punches the bathroom attendant.
- A drunken women grabs Jack’s wife, and puts her in a headlock. Jill steps in and punches the women.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- The h-word is said a few times.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are seen drinking cocktails at bars.
I’m not a twin, though I have nieces and have friends who are twins. I think it’s a unique and special relationship, which the movie ultimately portrays. However, I think Jack and Jill, is a movie I wouldn’t waste my time and money on, and I’m an Adam Sandler fan!
Iron Man 2- Teen Movie Review
Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, in the sequel to Iron Man. The movie starts six months after the end of the first movie. Now the world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark is Iron Man. In this film Stark is up against his Russian arch nemesis, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), and his corporate rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), but with the help of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his friend “Rhodey” (Don Cheadle), they take on these villains that want to seek revenge against Stark, and that’s when the action begins, and there’s a lot of it!
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: September 28, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Great actors; Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson and more.
Even though this was an action packed movie, there was a comedic element to it that I Ioved. Robert Downey Jr. made wisecrack comments throughout the movie, which made his character even more likable.
Tony is very arrogant and full of himself, but we saw a sensitive side to him that was touching. Tony thought that his father never loved him, but when he saw an old film of his dad, Tony learned that he was truly loved. His father, who was an inventor, said to Tony in the film, “My greatest creation, is you.”
There are a lot of sub-plots from Tony’s health issues, father issues, and dealing with his enemies; that may confuse some kids, though it all comes together in the end. One reviewer wrote, “We never feel emotionally connected to Stark’s suffering because there’s too much going on.”
Sexual Content: Mild
- There is some mild sexual humor. There aren’t any sexual scenes, though Tony is a playboy, and made some off-color comments to women.
Violent Content: Excessive
- There are many violent and disturbing scenes. To name a few:
- Ivan Vanko, Stark’s rival, made his own Iron Man suit, though he has electric whips attached to his suit, in which he attacked Tony, and almost defeated him.
- In prison, Ivan kills a prison mate and a guard, and he blows up his cell.
- Tony thinks he’s dying because a device in his Iron Man suit has begun to poison his body. So Tony throws himself a birthday party, and proceeds to get very drunk, and out of control.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
I haven’t seen “Iron Man” but I read that “Iron Man 2” lacks the element of surprise that the 2008’s “Iron Man” had. Having said that I did interview people who saw “Iron Man 2”, some comments were: “awesome”, “brilliant”, “just as good as the first movie”. The audience seemed to have loved it, Iron Man is still a superhero in their minds.
I give it 4 buckets out of 5. However, parents need to know that there is a lot of violence in the movie. If they are comfortable with that, and know that their kids are okay with it, then I think it’s appropriate for kids ages 12 and up. My 12 year old son loved it, so did his friends.
Igor-Kids Movie Review
The movie is about an ambitious lab assistant, Igor, who wants to become a mad scientist, and wants to win the first place in the annual science fair.
Rating: Three out of five popcorn buckets.
Release Date: January 20, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 6+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Igor intended to invent a monster, but instead he invented Eva, who’s a sweet, gentle woman. At one point Eva gives Igor, and his two friends, Scamper and Brain, a gift. Then Igor feels bad that he didn’t have anything for her, so he ends up finding a necklace, and gives to her. It’s a very touching part in the movie.
Eva’s character is a light and refreshing part of the movie.
There are some funny parts, jokes that adults will get about Hollywood.
There’s a good message, Igor says “Everyone has an evil bone in their body, we choose whether to use it or not.” Eva says, “ It’s better to be a good nobody than an evil somebody.” Eva makes a decision to refuse the evil power that she’s tempted by.
They idealized evil, which is not good for kids to see: The did it in a cartoonish way. In this country of Malaria, evil is good. The King’s motto is, “The way to succeed is to do evil.”
Sexual Content: Mild
- The evil doctor’s assistant throws herself on top of Igor, and passionalty kisses him.
- Heidi wears some low cut dresses.
Violent Content: Moderate
- Some kids may find it to be scary because when an experiment failed, there was smoke, lightening, loud noises. The Evil Science Fair there were violent, mechanical monsters fighting.
- The evil scientist, Dr. Schandenfreud, was unpleasant to his girlfriend, he called her big mouth, and pushed her around. He typically won the science fair because he stole the other scientists inventions.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- “Idiot” and “fool” were used.
- The d-word is used several time throughout the film.
- “What the…” is said.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- It’s implied that a couple of characters are drinking alcohol.
Some parents my not like the movie because of the emphasis on evil. On the other hand, some parents may hope that their kids will understand the message, that being a good person is better than being a bad person. The movie may encourage some good family discussions about good and evil.
I am Number Four-Teen Movie Review
I Am Number Four is based on a young adult novel. This is a story about a teenage boy named Four (Alex Pettyfer). He looks like your average teenage boy, though he’s not. Four is an alien from planet Lorien, who has some supernatural powers. His homeland was destroyed by their enemy, and now they want to destroy the rest of the Loriens; Numbers One through Nine. Well, number One, Two and Three have all been killed, now they’re looking for number Four. After hopping from town to town, trying to escape this evil group, Four and his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant) settle in Paradise, Ohio, where Four gets very comfortable. He enrolls in the school as “John Smith” makes friends with Sam, a science nerd, and meets his first true love, Sarah (Dianna Agron from Glee). The only problem is, his evil enemies are still after him, and he has to decide how to survive without leaving his new home.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: May 24, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Talking Points:
I didn’t think I’d like this Sci-Fi/Fantasy drama, though I was pleasantly surprised. There was a nice love story and some humorous parts, amongst all the action and adventure.
This is a movie that many young teens may want to see because of the familiar actors; such as teenage heartthrob, Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn from Glee.
It was nice to see that Four (or John) loved his girlfriend’s traditional, charming family. He liked the idea of a family. They had family dinners, played games; something John never had as an alien.
Sexual Content: Mild for a PG13 movie.
- We see girls in bikinis.
- Passionate kissing, but that’s about it.
Violent Content: Excessive
- The opening scene shows the evil aliens, who are very scary looking. They are covered in tattoos, with bald heads and human looking faces. We see them stabbing people, shooting them and beating them up. Their pets are evil, scary creatures that fight as well. This may scare kids. Two teenage girls in front of me were scared and jittery throughout the movie.
Profanity: Moderate, but fine for a PG13 movie.
Overall this is a movie that will entertain teens that love Sci/Fi action movies. I read that, “I Am Number Four knows that it’s target audience-young teens-is far more interested in aliens, explosions and shirtless hunks than any sort of profound lessons on the nature of maturity. Think of it as Twilight meets Independence Day.” That sums it up, a movie for teens, with no redeeming lessons, but an escape from reality.
When I interviewed teenage girls after the movie they said they liked the movie because of Alex Pettyfer, and that’s why they saw it. Boys liked the action scenes!
This movie Appropriate for preteens and teens that like sci-fi/fantasy, action/adventure movies.
Hugo Review
Set in the Thirties, Hugo is centered around the life of a young orphan, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield). Hugo lives in a Paris train station and looks after the clocks there for his uncle. His life dramatically changes when he meets Isabele (Chloe Grace Moretz), and her Godfather, Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley), a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the train station. Together Hugo and Isabel work through the mystery of her Godfather’s life, which Hugo initiated by attempting to repair a mechanical man he received from his deceased father. Hugo is based on Brian Selznick’s childrens novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret! It’s a well done, amazing film, directed by Martin Scorsese.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: February 28, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 8 +
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, plus a review of THE MUPPETS!
Talking Points:
Most third or fourth grade students have read the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The kids in the theater that I interviewed liked the fact that they read the book, and then saw the movie. They also said the movie was true to the book.
Isabele, Hugo’s friend, loves to read. The two characters discuss different books they’ve read; they also frequent their local library…a good thing for young viewers to see, and expose them to great literature that’s mentioned in the film.
Spoiler: The movie is not only suspenseful, but also very interesting. It was intriguing to learn how movies were first made. Isabele’s Godfather was one of the most important pioneers of early cinema. Being the movie buff that I am, I found this to be fascinating and many kids will too.
There are good lessons throughout the film as well. Isabele and Hugo talk about their purpose in life; they say, “If you lose your purpose in life it’s like you’re broken.” Hugo was comparing humans to machines, saying that even parts of a machine have a purpose.
For the most part Hugo and Isabele are good kids, though they do some sneaky things. The two characters break into a closed movie theater, and watch a movie. Isabele was worried they’d get into trouble; Hugo replies, “That’s how you know it’s an adventure.” Hmm…this could spark a conversation of what not to do!
Sexual Content: Mild
- Couples flirt innocently, it’s very sweet.
- Sexual references; a police officer’s wife is pregnant, he’s not sure who the father is. This is mentioned several times in the film.
Violent Content: Moderate
- The train inspector is a very mean, cruel man. He abuses orphans, grabbing them off the streets and putting them in cages. He also has a viscous dog who chases the kids as well.
- Hugo lives alone in the train station. It’s a little creepy sometimes; especially when he has bad dreams. This may scare some kids.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- The guard talked forcefully to Hugo; but I don’t recall any swear words mentioned.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Hugo’s uncle is an alcoholic.
I absolutely loved this movie; having said that, it’s 2 hours and 7 minutes long; and it may be a little slow moving for kids. There are parts that may frighten young kids as well. I recommend this film for mature children ages 8 and up.