Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Mother’s Day-Teen Movie Review
Mother’s Day follows the lives of four characters and their families. Sandy (Jennifer Aniston), a single mom whose ex-husband is marrying a younger woman, Jesse (Kate Hudson), a mom who doesn’t tell her parents that she’s married and has a son, Bradley (Jason Sudeikis), a widower with two daughters, and Miranda (Julia Roberts), a career woman who discovers a secret from her past. Each character has their own set of problems, however when Mother’s Day approaches they all recognize the importance and special role a mother plays in their child’s life.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: August 3, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film is a little corny in parts and very predictable, however it has a wonderful message about the importance of all mothers!
Sexual Content: Moderate
- A young unmarried couple, in their twenties, live together and have a daughter.
- Women wear low cut tops. We see women in sports bras and yoga pants.
- It’s mentioned that a lesbian couple are married. They make a float for a Mother’s Day parade depicting a giant womb. There are several sexual references regarding the float.
- During a school play a child accidentally puts a lion costume on backwards with the tail sticking up in front. The audience was laughing at the tail.
- There are sexual jokes and references regarding tampons, bras, and big boobs.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
- We see a character fall over a second floor balcony, injuring his ankle.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word is said twice. We also hear “h—,” “a-hole” and “d–n.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking beer and wine throughout the film.
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
- The film will most likely appeal to teenage girls.
Overall this is an entertaining, though very predictable, film. Parents need to be aware of the moderate profane language and sexual references. Depending on the child, this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.
Ratchet & Clank-Kids’ movie review
Ratchet is a Lombax who has big dreams. He claims he wants to do something big in his life, something that matters. So he and Clank, a pint-sized extremely intelligent robot, join the Galactic Rangers. The Rangers are a group of do-gooders who have lot to do! When the group discovers that an evil alien has a dangerous weapon and wants to destroy the planet, Ratchet & Clank team up with the Rangers to do the right thing and save the world! Ratchet & Clank is a wonderful animated film which is based on the 2002 video games, Ratchet & Clank.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: August 23, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- The film has a wonderful message; to follow your dreams and to do the right thing. It’s portrayed in a cute cartoony way which will appeal to kids. It also highlights the importance of friendship.
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
- Robots and Ratchet fight one another.
- We see a very powerful weapon blowing up planets.
- Robots are destroyed by ray blasts and flames.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear “idiot,” and “butt.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
- I interviewed two kids; a 10 year old girl who said, “I loved it,” and her 8 year old brother who also loved the film. He was really excited to see the movie!
Overall this is a very entertaining fun film for kids. Depending on the child I recommend this for kids ages 5 and up. Parents need to be aware of the moderate violence.
The Huntsman: Winter’s War-Kids’ Movie Review
“Love conquers all” is a quote people are familiar with and a common theme in a lot fairy tales. After Queen Freya (Emily Blunt) had been betrayed by her evil sister Ravenna (Charlize Theron), she was heartbroken and depressed so she moved to a northern kingdom to raise an army of huntsman to protect herself. Freya had the ability to freeze her enemies in ice so she created a cold kingdom and began stealing children from villages while teaching them to never fall in love. However, Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and fellow warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain) defied the horrid rule and fell madly in love. Eventually the couple united with Freya as they tried to end Queen Ravenna’s wicked reign with hopes that love will conquer all.
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets out of 5
Release Date: August 23, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see a couple kiss while naked. They’re shown from their shoulders up.
- There’s discussion between the male dwarfs as to how much alcohol is needed to sleep with a female dwarf.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- There are numerous battle scenes where characters are impaled, slashed and beaten to death.
- We see characters bloodied and scared.
- Battlefields are covered with corpses.
- We see humans fighting with large monsters.
- Children are tortured, thrown around and hit with weapons.
- Eric is shot in the chest with an arrow.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear “b–ch” and “a–.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking alcohol at an inn.
Will Kids/Teens like it? Yes
Overall this is an entertaining fairy tale. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film.
The Jungle Book- Kids’ movie review
Mowgli (Neel Sethi) the man-cub, Baloo (Bill Murray) the bear, and Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) the panther are all back!!! The Jungle Book is a story about an orphan boy named Mowgli who is raised by a pack of wolves. Mowgli loves his life in the jungle however things change when he discovers that the tiger Shere Khan wants to kill him. So now the young boy must leave the beloved jungle and journey to the man-village where he belongs, though things aren’t that easy. On his excursion he comes across a lot of dangerous situations and meets some interesting characters… some good, some evil. Inspired by Disney’s 1967 classic animated film, The Jungle Book is a heartfelt story about a boy on a perilous journey!
Rating: 3 and 1/2 popcorn buckets out of 5
Release Date: August 30, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Possibly
Talking Points:
- This is a wonderful heartfelt film about boy and his jungle friends and enemies. The theme of the importance of love, friendship and family is woven throughout the film.
- Inspired by the Disney’s classic 1967 animated film, this version of The Jungle Book seems more violent and more real since the animals are brought to life with computer animation. Parents need to be aware that young, sensitive kids will mostly likely be frightened throughout the film.
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- We see intense and vicious animal fights. Shere Khan (the tiger) kills an animal and we see the deceased animal fall from a cliff.
- The animal battles are graphic. We see them brutally bite and claw one another.
- We see a flashback which shows Shere Khan killing Mowgli’s father-in front of Mowgli as a toddler.
- Mowgli and Shere Khan have their own battle. Another dark and scary scene.
- Throughout the film Mowgli is in some sort of danger. Whether he’s stung by bees, trampled by a herd of water buffalo or kidnapped by a group of apes, he’s always involved in perilous situations.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see a group of humans laughing and drinking around a fire.
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Maybe
- I interviewed kids ages 6 to 9 who were scared and didn’t like the movie. Having said that, depending on the child, I think kids ages 10 and up will enjoy the story and like the suspenseful scenes. Adults will like the film as well.
Overall The Jungle Book is a wonderful and heartfelt film, however parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and intense scenes which may scare sensitive kids.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2-Kids’ movie review
It’s been fourteen years since we first met the Portokalos family. In this film Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) are happily married, though they’re dealing with a rebellious teenage daughter who doesn’t like Greek traditions. She does not want the family to find her a Greek guy to marry, and she wants to go to college in New York, not their home town of Chicago. Toula also has her aging parents to contend with… the aunts, the uncles, and of course the long line of cousins. Things get complicated for the Portokalos family when Toula’s dad, Gus, discovers that he and his wife Maria aren’t legally married due to an unsigned marriage certificate. Could there be another big Greek wedding???
Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: June 21, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is a wonderful comedy about the importance of family. It’s not as funny as the first film, though it has some really humorous parts with a heartfelt message. Great film for the whole family.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- We see a woman pull down the zipper of her tight sweater after she meets a handsome newscaster.
- Toula’s aunt suggests that Toula wear sexier dresses, change her hair style, and wear makeup to “spice up” she and Ian’s marriage. Eventually we see Toula and Ian on a hot date. They’re shown making out in the car, though interrupted by the family…no surprise there.
- There are sexual comments made when cousin Angelo admits that he’s gay.
Violent/Disturbing Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Characters are shown drinking alcoholic beverages at the wedding reception.
- We see two characters drinking shots of Quzo and getting a little tipsy.
- Kids are shown doing shots of Gatorade.
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes
Overall, this is a fun and entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the moderate sexual content. Depending on the child this is appropriate for kids ages 12 and up.