Reviews by Genre

Movie Reviews by Genre

Dumb and Dumber To-Teen Movie Review

Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) are back…and it’s been twenty years. This time they’re on an road trip to find Penny, a 20-year-old, beautiful woman who happens to be Harry’s daughter. On their journey they meet a lot of people and come across a lot of adventures, while hoping to meet the daughter Harry never knew he had.

Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5
Release Date: February 17, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The best part of the movie is the clever name…”Dumb and Dumber To.“
The film is a silly comedy, with disgusting and crude humor.

Sexual Content: Excessive

Lloyd has an ongoing fantasy about having a sexual encounter with Penny (Harry’s daughter). He imagines himself taking her clothes off, then he wakes up and finds himself licking part of a semi-truck.
A woman is referred to as a “titanic whore,” she was known to have slept with a lot of boys in her youth.
Lloyd fondles an elderly woman under the bedcovers.
A woman seductively sucks on a man’s toes.
A man grabs a woman’s breasts.
There are sexual jokes and references made throughout the film regarding incest, gays, oral sex, menstrual bleeding…

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

Assassins throw knives into a man’s chest.
A character is shot in the shoulder.
A young girl’s tooth is knocked out from being hit with a bedroom door.
A firecracker blows up inside a car causing a character to become temporarily deaf.
We see a disgusting wound on a man’s back that had been stitched together.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

The f-word is said once, we hear “sh-t,’ “b–ch,” “a–,” “ba–tard, and “h—,” throughout the film.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

Harry’s roommate is a drug dealer who cooks meth.
We see characters drinking margaritas, beer and wine.
A woman poisons her husband’s food.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

I interviewed a few high school freshman boys who thought the film was very funny.
I interviewed a mom who thought the film was disgusting, though her pre-teens liked it.

Dumb and Dumber To is a PG13 comedy, parents need to be aware of the crude humor woven throughout the film.

Big Hero 6-Kids Movie Review

When Hiro, an intelligent 14 year old boy, says, “ouch,” Baymax appears. Baymax is a big marshmellow-like inflatable health care robot, that Hiro’s older brother, Tadashi, invented. After a tragic criminal act, which kills Tadashi and threatens the city of San Fransokyo, Hiro is left sad and depressed. However it’s Baymax and Tadashi’s nerdy friends that come together and help Hiro find the villain behind the awful crime. Big Hero 6 is a wonderful animated, action packed film, one for the whole family.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: February 24, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The theme woven throughout film is about helping one another, whether it’s your family, a friend or someone in need.
There are fun loving and wonderful characters in the film, especially Baymax!!!
Hiro, Baymax and their four geeky friends use their talents and work as a team to solve the crime.
Parents need to be aware of the issue of death in the film. Hiro’s parents passed away when he was three, and his brother dies when he’s fourteen. This may disturb young kids. Having said Hiro is taken care of by his loving Aunt; the movie demonstrates a healthy way of handling grief.

Sexual Content: Mild

There’s a brief explanation of puberty and hormonal changes.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

The villain in the film uses millions of tiny robots to destroy streets, vehicles and buildings.
During a car chase, Hiro and the gang drive off a pier and into an ocean…Baymax rescues them.
When Hiro reprograms Baymax, Baymax becomes scary as he intends to destroy and kill the bad guy.
The Big Hero 6 team uses their defensive skills when trying to capture the villain, which shows some action and fighting scenes.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

Bonehead,” and “Holy Mother of Megazon” are said.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

When Baymax’s battery is low he’s portrayed as silly and drunk.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

I interviewed three kids:

A five year old boy said he loved the film, though he thought the “bad guy” in the mask was scary.
A nine year old boy said he loved it, and his favorite character was Baymax.
A thirteen year old girl said she didn’t like it and thought it was corny

Overall this is a fun action film, one for the whole family.

Interstellar-Teen Movie Review

“I love you forever and I’m coming back.” That’s what Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) told his 10 year old daughter Murphy as he was leaving for an extremely dangerous and difficult mission. There had been an environmental disaster which wiped out most of the Earth’s food supply. Cooper’s mission was to travel through a wormhole near Saturn, which would lead he and other explorers to a new galaxy, with hopes to save mankind.

Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: March 31, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12 +
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The film is thought provoking and will spark some great parent/child conversations regarding the importance and power of love and family.

Coop accepts the mission through the wormhole to save humanity. Leaving his family was devastating, however the films portrays that love is stronger than anything in the universe.

There is an all-star cast, to name a few; Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Matt Damon and John Lithgow.

The movie is creepy and disturbing in same context as the film, Gravity. While explorers are up in space you constantly wonder if they’ll make it home alive.

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

Two astronauts fight in space. One tries to murder the other and cracks the visor of his helmet.
Characters die in explosions, one character died being after being thrown around by a huge wave of water.
There’s not a lot of physical violence, however the storyline is creepy and disturbing. We see people on Earth suffering and scared while trying to get food and shelter.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

The f-word is said once, we also hear, “sh–,” “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” and “h–” sporadically throughout the film.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see character’s drinking beer.

Will Teens Like It? Yes

Overall this is an intense and interesting drama. Depending on the child, I feel it’s appropriate for kids ages 12 and up.

Planes: Fire & Rescue

Athletes get injured and sometimes have to change their course in life; it can happen to crop dusters too. Crop duster, Dusty Crophopper (voice of Dane Cook), had the goal of becoming the number 1 racer in the country, however when he realizes his engine is damaged, he decides that he wants to get certified as a firefighter. Now the action and adventure begins as Dusty helps his friends battle a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to be a real hero.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: November 5, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to teens? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: None

Mild flirting amongst a female sports car and a “handsome” helicopter.

Violent Content: Mild

We see a massive wildfire, started by a bolt of lightening. Cars,tractors and a train are all in grave danger.
When Dusty is in a river, he’s shown hitting rocks and logs.

Crude or Profane Language: None

Drugs and Alcohol: Mild

Car and planes are shown drinking at a local bar.

Overall this is a fun entertaining film for young kids.

23 Blast-Kids movie review

Travis Freeman (Mark Hapka) has it all, he is a high school football star, he is very intelligent and he is a ladies’ man. However Travis’ life suddenly changes in the fall of his junior year; he is infected with bacterial meningitis and becomes blind. 23 Blast highlights Travis’ life, and how this teenage boy handles his devastating setback. Based on an inspirational true story about friendship, family and hope.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 13, 2015
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Will it Appeal to kids? Yes

Talking Points:

Initially Travis locks himself in his bedroom, wondering why this happened. However, after several months he eventually learns to accept his handicap and makes the most of his life. Great parent/ child conversation.

Sexual Content: Mild

Two teenagers passionately kiss.
Mild, innocent flirting amongst teens.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

We see hard hits on the football field

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

“D–n,” and “h–l,” are said.

Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate

We see teenagers at a party drinking out of red cups. One boy drinks right out of the keg and is shown drunk.
We see a troubled teen drinking beer.

Will it Appeal to kids? Yes

Overall this is an inspirational sports drama. Depending on the child, this is appropriate for kids ages 10 and up.