Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
The Space Between Us-Kids’ Movie Review
Sara Elliot ( Janet Montgomery) is an adventurous woman. She travels with a group of scientists to Mars for a four-year colonizing mission. She is a single woman who is very excited about the opportunity to travel through space. However, Sara discovers that she’s pregnant on her space journey and delivers a beautiful baby boy on Mars. Sadly, Sara dies during childbirth while her son, Gardner (Asa Butterfield), is raised by a group of astronauts and scientists. When Gardner travels to Earth for the first time as a 16 year-old boy he embarks on many adventures as he tries to find his dad. He also meets Tulsa (Britt Robertson), an adorable teenage girl who becomes his true love. The Space Between Us is a romantic sci-film targeted to pre-teens and teens.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: May 16, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see a teenage couple kiss. They’re shown in a sleeping bag together with their bare shoulders sticking out of it.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- A mother dies during childbirth.
- Gardner has surgery; his arm is cut open and a metal tube is inserted.
- Gardner drives a cart recklessly on Mars. He crashes it and disconnects his oxygen tube and almost dies.
- On Earth we see a teen couple stealing cars and driving recklessly.
- Gardner has an enlarged heart when he is on Earth. We see him in painful moments. He has nosebleeds, passes out several times, and almost dies.
- We see a character try to commit suicide, but is rescued.
- A plane crashes and causes a huge explosion, but there are no deaths.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear “d–n,” “a–,” and someone says, “stop being a d–k.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- An adult character is an alcoholic and is shown passed out most of the time.
Will Most Kids/ Teens Like It?
- This will most likely appeal to pre-teens interested in a love story rather than a sci-fi movie.
Overall this is a teen romantic drama. Parents need to be aware of the moderate violence and alcoholic content
A Dog’s Purpose-Kids’ movie review
“Why am I here? What’s the purpose?” That’s what a curious dog named Bailey (voice of Josh Gad) often wonders. Bailey is reincarnated several times over the course of five decades. The dog keeps its memories and adorable personality, however his name changes and he becomes different breeds and genders. We see Bailey grow up with a young boy named Ethan, his best friend and companion. When Ethan goes off to college Bailey passes away. He’s reincarnated and has new owners, but no one he loves as much as Ethan. The dog discovers the meaning of life through its many lives and the humans whose lives he touches. A Dog’s Purpose is a wonderful and charming film for the whole family.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: May 2, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
The film highlights the importance of love and companionship; for humans and animals.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see a couple kiss passionately throughout the film.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- A high school bully drops fireworks through his rival’s front door mail slot, starting a horrific fire.
- A middle aged man, who’s an alcoholic, forcefully pushes his wife to ground.
- There’s an intense scene with a police officer and his trained dog. They are pursuing a man who has kidnapped a girl. The girl is pushed over a bridge into the water. The dog rescues the girl but he gets shot and dies. We see his bloody wounds.
- We see a man mistreat his girlfriend’s dog. Chaining him outside in the cold weather and never letting him enter their home.
- We see deaths of various versions of Bailey. They are brief, but heartbreaking.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- One of the main characters is an alcoholic. We see him drinking beer and sipping from a flask. He becomes depressed and aggressive.
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Overall, parents need to be aware of the heartbreaking and the violent/upsetting scenes. Having said that this is a wonderful and warmhearted film. Depending on the child, this is appropriate for kids ages 10 and up.
The Founder-Kids/Teen Movie Review
“Franchise. Franchise. Franchise.” That’s what Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) tells Mac and Dick McDonald, owners of a burger joint in 1950 Southern California. Ray Kroc is a struggling salesman from Illinois. However, his life and career dramatically changes the day he eats a burger from McDonalds. He not only loves the burger and fries, but he was so impressed with the concept…a meal in a paper bag which is ready in 30 seconds. When Kroc leaves McDonalds, he’s excited and thrilled to turn this small town burger restaurant into a multi-billion dollar franchise. Based on a true story.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: April 18, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
The film highlights the importance of persistence, hard work and dedication!
Sexual Content: Mild
- While married, Ray Kroc flirts with Joan, a pretty blond piano player who’s also married. Ray and Joan each divorce their spouses and eventually marry one another.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- Ray Kroc and the McDonald’s brothers get into verbal arguments.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word is said once. We also hear “sh-t,” “a–,” “b–ch,” “h— and “d–n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Kroc drinks alcohol throughout the film.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- I interviewed a 17 year-old boy who liked the film and thought it was very interesting.
Overall this is a very thought wonderful film. Parents need to be aware of the moderate profane language and drug and alcohol content.
Sing-Kids’ Movie Review
“Dream big dreams.” That’s Buster Moon’s (voice of Matthew McConaughey) motto. Buster is a koala bear who loves the theater. When he was a 6 years-old his goal was to own his favorite theater…and years later that dream came true. However, due to financial problems things get difficult for the koala bear, though he doesn’t give up. To boost business he decides to produce a singing competition. Now the drama and singing begins as we see Buster Moon try to fulfill his lifelong dream.
Rating: 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 21, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- Sing is a fun and entertaining film for the whole family. The film highlights the importance of working together and following your dreams.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Three female rabbits wiggle their butts while singing, “Oh my gosh, look at her butt.”
- There is flirting between the animals.
- We see some revealing outfits and risqué dances from the animals.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- Some angry gangster bears try to kill a cheating mouse.
- A building collapses and puts several characters in harms way.
- There are several car chases, causing accidents.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear name calling: “old fart,” “stupid,” “fool,” and “bozos.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see animals drinking alcoholic beverages at a night club.
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes
Overall this is a cute and entertaining film for the whole family.
Patriots Day-Teen Movie Review
“Boston Strong,” is a phrase that arose after the Boston Marathon bombing, and a phrase that will be remembered forever. April 15, 2013 the city of Boston was busy! It was a beautiful spring day; the celebration of Patriots Day, the Red Sox had a home game, and it was the day of the Boston Marathon. There were thousands of runners competing and getting ready to face the challenging Massachusetts terrain, while the streets were filled with spectators cheering them on. It started out to be a perfect day, and then things dramatically changed. Two Chechen brothers slipped into the gregarious crowd of fans and planted two homemade bombs: killing 3 people (including an 8 year-old boy) and injuring 264 others. After the attack police Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) and Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman) join forces to track down the terrorists before they caused more harm, and bring them to justice!
Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 28, 2017
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- A character says, “I’m a fornicator.”
- We see a married couple in bed together. He’s shirtless and she’s wearing panties and a tank top.
Violent Content: Excessive
- We see the horrific attack. We see a dismembered foot and ankle covered in blood.
- The dead victims are shown covering the ground.
- We see the terrorist shoot a police officer.
- Characters are shot and killed.
Crude and Profane Language: Excessive
- We hear the f-word numerous times throughout the film. We also hear “h—,” “a- -“ and “d—n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Characters are shown drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.
- One guy smokes hash from a bong.
Will Teens Like It? Yes
Overall this is an intense and heart-wrenching drama based on a true story. Parents need to be aware of the disturbing and violent content.