Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
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.
Stronger-Kids’ Movie Review
Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his ex girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany) run into each other at a local bar weeks before the Boston Marathon. Erin is raising money for a charity for the marathon while Jeff is having a good time with his friends at the bar. Jeff wasn’t the most dependable boyfriend. He was immature, and didn’t always show up for Erin when she needed him. However, when Jeff does show up with a homemade sign cheering on his ex as she’s running in the Boston Marathon, his life dramatically changes. Stronger is a true story based on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. It highlights the story of Jeff Bauman, a guy who loses his legs when he finally shows up for his true love.
Rating: 2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: December 19, 2017
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Moderate
- During a sexual encounter we see a woman’s bare back.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- We see the bloody aftermath of the Boston Marathon, showing victims with gory wounds on the street and in the hospital.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- We hear the f-word frequently throughout the film. We also hear “h–l,” “sh-t,” “a–,” “b–ch,” and “d–n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
- Characters are shown drinking beer, wine and hard liquor at bars and social events.
- One character is shown drunk on numerous occasions. We see her passed out a few times from too much drinking.
- Character’s are shown smoking.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed some teenage girls who really liked the film but thought it was disturbing.
Overall this is a sad but interesting drama. Parents need to be aware of the disturbing scenes and excessive profane language.
It- Teen Movie Review
It’s summer and the young teens are supposed to play outside with their friends and have fun! That’s the initial plan for a group of middle school outcasts from the town of Derry, Maine. Set in 1988, the young teens start their summer by running away from the cruel and evil bullies in their small town. That’s not their only problem. Things get creepy as kids start disappearing. Luckily, their new friend, Ben, discovers that strange things seem to happen in cycles of 27 years which leads them to a well in the basement of a creepy old house. Bill, a boy in the group whose brother disappeared, is determined to stop whatever killed his brother and has the help of his group of misfit friends. It is based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel.
Rating: 2.5 buckets out of 5
Release Date: January 9, 2018
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Moderate
- There are rumors that a teenage girl slept with many guys.
- There are sexual jokes by 13-year-olds. They mention; “periods,” “vagina,” “birth control pills,” etc.
- Teens go swimming in their underwear and the boys admire the teenage girl with them. She’s shown in her bra and panties.
- An abusive father acts in a creepy and sexual way toward his teenage daughter.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- The clown is very scary and will terrify kids. He’s shown periodically throughout the film.
- Lots of bullying. A bully carves up a kid’s stomach with a knife and stabs a man with the same knife.
- Bullies shoot guns, kick, punch and beat up their peers.
- There are scenes showing a lot of blood. In one scene a bathroom is covered in blood and the kids clean it up.
- We see kids beating the clown with sharp objects.
- We see the clown bite a child’s arm off.
- A clown is stabbed through the face.
- A sheep is killed with a bolt gun by one of the bullies.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- We hear the f-word numerous times, also “sh-t,” “a–,” and “d–n. It’s typically young teens using the harsh language.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see an abusive father drinking beer.
- Character’s are shown smoking cigarettes.
Will Teen Like It? Yes
- The story involves a group of middle school aged kids which will appeal to kids. I interviewed some teenage boys who enjoyed it. They were scared, but thought some parts were funny.
Overall this is an entertaining horror film, one that teens will be eager to see. Parents need to be aware of the excessive and disturbing violence, also the excessive language.
Logan Lucky- Kids’ Movie Review
The Logan family feels unlucky, and somewhat cursed. Even though, Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), was the star high school quarterback and homecoming king, his life eventually becomes more difficult as he can’t keep a job or a wife. Although he does have an adorable daughter with whom he’s very close. Clyde (Adam Driver), Jimmy’s brother, goes to Iraq after high school and gets part of his arm blown off. He eventually becomes a bartender. Then there’s Mellie (Riley Keogh), who is a supportive younger sister. As the Logan’s are feeling down while nothing is going their way, Jimmy comes up with the grand idea of doing a crime. So, Jimmy, Clyde, and Mellie attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina. Logan Lucky is an entertaining, comedic drama from the director of Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 28, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- A female character wears revealing shirts and short-shorts.
- It’s mentioned that Rihanna sings about her vagina.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- There’s a big brawl with several characters.
- Prison inmates fight in the cafeteria.
- A car is set on fire.
- A character crashes a car through a store window.
- We see a race car crash.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear the f-word once. We also hear “sh-t,” “d–n,” “h—,” and “a–.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- There are some scenes in a bar with a lot of social drinking.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall Logan Lucky is a comedic drama appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.
The Glass Castle-Kids’ Movie Review
“You learn from living.” That’s what Rex Walls (Woody Harrelson) tells his wife and children when his daughter asked why they don’t go to school. Rex loves his wife and four children more than anything. His dream is to build them a glass castle; a solar-powered, window filled home. He’s got the plans, and he even begins to dig a new foundation outside of one of their many run-down homes. Though nothing comes of his big dream. Rex is a big talker and he never lacks for a drink or cigarette. Sadly, his family most always lacks for food, running water, electricity and security. The Glass Castle is an intense drama based on Jeannette Walls’ best-selling memoir. It tells the story of a very dysfunctional family and how they survive living day to day.
Rating: 2. 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 7, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- There is an all-star cast. To name a few; Woody Harrelson, Brie Larson and Naomi Watts.
- The children are very intelligent as they develop a love for reading and writing, however, they suffer from hunger, pain and other hardships.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A man tries to force a woman into having sex.
- The Walls’ parents are intimate with one another in front of their kids. We see them fully clothed on a bed passionately kissing.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There’s a constant threat of violence as you never know what Rex (the alcoholic father) will do next.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “f–k,” “sh-t,” “a–,” “hell,” and “son of a b–ch.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
- A character is an alcoholic. We see him drinking alcohol throughout the film and smoking cigarettes.
- A character tries to quit drinking and we see him suffer through a painful detox.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- Mature teens who have read the book.
Overall The Glass Castle is an intense drama. Parents need to be aware of the disturbing violence throughout the film.