Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Battle Of The Year-Kids Movie Review
”The Team, The Team, The Team,” that’s a well known phrase from The University of Michigan’s former football coach, Bo Schembechler, and it’s also the primary focus and belief of Coach Blake (Josh Holloway). Battle of the Year is a sports drama, not about the traditional sports such as football, basketball or hockey; this is about b-boying, also known as breakdancing. Though b-boying originated in the USA in 1970, teams from South Korea, France, Germany and Russia have dominated the sport. In this fictional story, we see how Coach Blake assembles a team of the best dancers in America, and takes them to compete in France, where they can hopefully win the battle and bring home the trophy.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 10, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Talking Points:
There are wonderful messages about working together and being a team player. The coach focused on the team’s success, not any individual’s success.
As in most sports movies, the coach had some great inspirational quotes, to name a few; “change how you think, change your life,” “act like champions, be champions.” and “success is a choice.”
The movie was a little corny in parts, however the dancing was amazing, which most kids and adults will enjoy.
Sexual Content: Mild
- When the boys first meet their female choreographer, they make suggestive comments. One guy mentions getting a massage from her, another guy wants her to rub his thighs.
Violent Content: Mild
- Two of the guys on the team get into a fight with one another.
- The guys on the team get into a fight at a bar in France when a local punches one of their teammates.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word was used once,. We also heard “d–n,” “a–” “sh-t,” and “b–ch,” throughout the film.
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
- The coach had a drinking problem; sneaking his whiskey whenever possible.
- We see the team members drinking at bars.
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Overall Battle Of The Year is an entertaining film that most pre-teens and teens will enjoy. Parents need to be aware of the moderate profane language throughout the film.
The Family- Teen Movie Review
The Spectacular Now- Teen Movie Review
“Opposites attract,” is a popular quote which definitely applies to high school seniors Sutter and Aimee. Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is the life of the party, a boy who wants to embrace life, live in the now, and not worry about the future. This fun loving boy, unexpectedly falls in love with “good girl” Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). Continue reading
Jobs-Teen Movie Review
Kids are getting ready to go back to school, and the Apple stores are busy…why is that? It’s because of the innovative entrepreneur Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher). Jobs had a vision, and nothing was going to get in his way. From Apple I to the i-phone…this is an extraordinary story about the life of Steve Jobs. It all started in 1976, in the Job’s family garage, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple Computers. We learn about Job’s trials and tribulations, his ups and downs, but more importantly his passion and intense work ethic that has changed technology, and the world forever.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: November 26, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will it Appeal to Teens? No
Talking Points:
Though he was a difficult person, and very to work for, Jobs was a leader and inspirational man. He had a vision; he wanted the Apple products to be user friendly. He wanted a quality product with stylish designs. That’s what was most important to Jobs, and he succeeded. Great parent/ child conversations.
Ashton Kutcher does a great job of portraying Job’s unusual personality.
The film scratched the surface of Jobs’ life, which was disappointing. After reading the biography of Steve Jobs, and learning all the fun and interesting facts of Apple, I was hoping the movie would be more riveting.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We saw Steve in bed with a couple of different women.
- His girlfriend, at the time, confronts Steve saying she’s pregnant with his baby. He responds violently, saying it’s not his child.
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word was said twice. We also heard “d–n,” “a–,” “h–,” and “b–ch.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Steve drops acid; it’s noted as a turning point in his life… for the better.
- We see Steve and his friends smoke marijuana.
- We see characters drinking beer and mixed drinks.
Will it Appeal to Teenagers: No
- With Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, and popularity of the Apple products, one would think this would interest teens. However, the film touches the surface of Steve’s life. There’s a lot of dialogue that may be boring to many teenagers.
Overall Jobs is an appropriate film for pre-teens and teenagers, however with the mature subject matter, it may not interest kids.
Elysium- Teen Movie Review
It is the year 2154, there are two classes of people; the haves and the have-nots. The haves live on a man-made space station called Elysium. It’s a beautiful, pristine area; robots do the dirty work and the citizens live a life of luxury. They don’t even have to worry when they’re sick, most of the citizens own a body scanner that can heal any disease or illness. The have-nots live on an overpopulated Earth, filled with crime and poverty. However there is hope for these two worlds to come together. Max (Matt Damon) an ordinary guy living on Earth, desperately needs to get up to Elysium. He has radiation poison, and has only five days to live. So he embarks on a dangerous mission to get up to Elysium; not only to save his life, but the millions of people living on Earth as well. Elysium is an R rated movie with a lot of graphic, disturbing violence throughout the film.
Rating: 2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 17, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: Adults
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will it Appeal to Teens? No
Talking Points:
{Spoiler Alert} Max is a wonderful character, he sacrifices his life for the millions of people living on Earth.
The film will spark some interesting parent/child conversations regarding politics; healthcare and immigration.
This film is very dark with a lot of disturbing images. It is an R rated film, so kids under 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A bad guy threatens to rape a woman (a friend of Max’s). He sniffs her hair, while she’s holding her sick daughter. This was disturbing.
Violent Content: Excessive
- Max is beaten up by two droid policemen, one even breaks his arm.
- There are numerous fights and injuries throughout the film; people violently stabbing, punching and kicking one another.
- We see a part of a man’s face blown off, which was disgusting!
- A woman gets skewered in the neck with a piece of glass, she dies.
- There are a lot of deaths, civilians are shot down with missiles and blown up.
- We see doctors drill into Max’s head.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- The f-word was said consistently throughout the film. We also heard, “a–,” “b–ch,” “h–,” and “p–y.”
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking beer.
- We see Max taking pills.
Will it Appeal to Teens? No
Elysium is an action packed film. As I previously mentioned, it is an R rated, so kids under 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Having said that, I do not recommend this film for teenagers due to the graphic, disturbing violent content and the excessive profane language.