Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Dolittle-Kids movie review
Wouldn’t it be great to talk to your house pets? I wonder what my dog Joey would have to say… of course it’s something only Dr. Dolittle would know. Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.), is a famous doctor and veterinarian for England’s Queen Victoria. He secludes himself and becomes a hermit as he’s sad and depressed after losing his wife seven years earlier. However, when he gets word that Queen Victoria is sick, Dolittle, and his group of talking animals, embark on a fascinating journey to find a cure for the Queen. Dolittle is based on the children’s 1922 classic novel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 17, 2020
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 8+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Maybe
Talking Points:
- The film highlights the importance of helping others. Dr. Dolittle says, “It’s only by helping others that we can truly help ourselves.” This could spark a good parent/child conversation.
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content:
- A human is attacked by a tiger and bats.
- Soldiers point guns at a boy.
- A character holds a knife to his enemy’s face.
- A cannonball is fired at a boat filled with animals; we see the animals struggling to survive.
- A teen jumps from a high bridge onto a passing ship.
- There’s the mature subject matter of death as the main character’s grieves the wife’s death.
- A scary character threatens humans.
Crude or Profane Language:
- We hear “damn” and name calling such as “shut up.”
- There is potty humor focused on gas and butt jokes.
Drug and Alcohol Content:
- Dolittle performs surgery on a wounded squirrel and uses a sleeping gas to knock out him out.
Will Kids Like It? Maybe
- I got mixed reviews from kids in the theaters. An 8 year old boy thought it was boring, though his 5 year old sister liked it.
Overall this is a family friendly movie, though parents need to be aware of the moderate violent content. Depending on the child, Dolittle is appropriate for kids ages 8 and up.
Underwater-Kids’ Movie Review
Norah hears a thumping sound and notices water coming from the ceiling. Norah (Kristen Stewart) is a twenty-something mechanical engineer on a deep sea research project. However things go awry when something damages their lab beyond repair. In order to survive, Norah and her research team must put on their diving suits and walk across the ocean floor to reach another station. During this endeavor they come across some interesting and dangerous creatures. Underwater is a sci/fi thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seats.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 9, 2020
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
- Between all the action and adventure there are some comedic parts as well. One of the crew members says, “What’s a fish say when he runs into a wall . . . Dam.”
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see male and female characters in their underwear.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- Sci-fi violence. There’s battle with deep sea scary monsters. We see them eating humans.
- Several characters die and the surviving humans have bloody wounds and broken bones.
- Frightening explosions in the boat.
- Humans implode inside their deep sea suits.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- We hear “f–k,” “ass,” “damn,” “g-ddamned,” “hell,” “s–t” numerous times throughout the film.
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is a sci/fi thriller. Parents need to be aware of the violent content and profane language.
Little Women-Kids’ Movie Review
“How little are they?” A comment from Joey on the TV show Friends. Little Women is an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel (a book that Joey read) Little Women. It follows the lives of the four March sisters (Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy), set in Civil War era Massachusetts. We see their day to day struggles, a love interest with the new neighbor Laurie, and their lives from childhood to womanhood in the 1860’s.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 25, 2019
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
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 film will spark some great parent/child conversations. The March sisters have different goals and aspirations. For example, Jo is a modern woman. She pursues her writing career, which is difficult for a woman in the 1860’s. Interestingly, she resists the idea from her publisher that if she wants her book published the heroine must die or be married by the end of the novel. On the other hand, Jo’s sister Meg wants a more traditional life – her great ambition is to get married and have a family.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Characters kiss.
Disturbing Content: Moderate
- One of the girls becomes very sick with scarlet fever.
- A character falls through ice while skating.
- One of the girls burns her sister’s important papers.
- The girls’ father comes home injured from the war.
- There is the mature subject matter of death of a loved one.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling such as; “idiot,” “savage,” “foolish,” and “selfish.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking champagne at a party.
- We see a few drunk characters as well.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is a wonderful and thought proving film. Depending on the child, appropriate for kids ages 10 and up.
Spies in Disguise-Kids Movie Review
Lance Sterling (voiced by Will Smith) is a suave and debonair guy who’s the worlds greatest spy. Walter Beckett (voiced by Tom Holland) is a young, brilliant inventor who creates spy gear. When the handsome spy accidentally turns into a pigeon, he must team up with his nerdy tech guy to save the world from an evil villain who disguises himself as Lance Sterling…the worlds greatest spy. Spies In Disguise is an animated comedy for the whole family.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 25, 2019
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 film highlights the importance of teamwork. Walter and Lance work very well together and they are complete opposites.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Flirting between pigeons.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- Characters are shot, captured, and knocked unconscious.
- A villain wants to kill all agents.
- Lots of action involving weapons and spy gear. There’s a lot of slapststick violence too.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling such as “weirdo.”
- A few unfinished phrases such as; “son of a … ,” “I’m gonna kick some …” and “holy sh—.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is a fun and entertaining film for kids ages 5 and up.
Black Christmas-Kids’ Movie Review
It’s almost winter break at Calvin Hawthorn University and the students are getting ready to celebrate! Some of the sorority girls are preparing their holiday skit for the talent show. The girls aren’t performing your typical Christmas carol, instead they’re singing a song accusing the fraternity boys of date rape. They want to create controversy and chaos ensues as masked figures show up at the sorority houses and begin to kill women. Black Christmas is a reboot of a 1974 holiday horror classic, which was previously remade in 2006.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 13, 2019
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? No
Talking Points:
- The movie is more than a horror film. The film will spark some discussions regarding gender equality, diversity and date rape.
- One of the female students starts a petition to ban a professor as she feels his class focuses on the writings of white men.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- A college boy forcefully pushes a college girl on a bed and says he “wants her.” Someone walks in to separate them.
- A girl unzips her jeans and inserts a DivaCup. She doesn’t remove any clothes.
- Sorority girls wear sexy Santa outfits and perform a flirtatious song and dance. The lyrics are explicit relating to sex and accusing fraternity boys of date rape.
- A woman implies that she bought her friend a sexual toy for Christmas. There are several comments about sex and male/female anatomy.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- Several characters are murdered throughout the film.
- We see bloody wounds (actually black goop and not blood).
- Characters punch, hit, and stab one another.
- A woman’s cheeks are sliced with a knife.
- There’s a discussion about date rape.
- A group of girls sing a Christmas-style song accusing fraternity boys of date-raping women.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “s–t,” “b–ch,” “ass,” “fart,” and “d–k.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- College-age characters are shown drinking in several scenes.
- A female character drinks too much and vomits.
Will Kids Like It? No
Overall this is a Christmas horror film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and moderate sexual and profane language.