Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters-Kids Movie Review
Camp for a demigod is not all fun and games. Percy Jackson, the half-human son of Poseidon, and his best friends; Annabeth (Athena’s daughter) and Glover (a satyr) are back at Camp Half-Blood. Initially things were going well, until a mechanical bull stormed into the camp and broke the barrier that protected the demigods from strangers entering into the camp. To save their home, Percy and his friends embarked on dangerous mission to the Sea of Monsters (Bermuda Triangle). They wanted to find the mythical Golden Fleece which has the power to save their training ground and their home…Camp Half-Blood. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, based on Rick Riordan’s fantasy books series, is the sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. It’s an action packed film for the whole family.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5
Release Date: December 17, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Talking Points:
Positive messages of bravery, humility, forgiveness and the importance of family are woven throughout the film. Great parent/child conversations.
The Percy Jackson book series is very popular with elementary school children. Parents need to be aware of the violent content that may scare young kids.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
- Luke, Percy’s friend who turned into an enemy, attacked Camp Half-Blood with a mechanical bull. The bull tore up the camp, but Percy stopped the bull by jabbing a sword down his throat.
- There were several battles with fist fights and weapons.
- A Cyclops attacked Percy and friends, though they escaped without injury.
- Percy and another character were eaten by a monster. To escape, they used a special gun to blow a hole in the monsters stomach.
- Kronos, Poseiden’s evil father, attacked anyone he could get his claws on, he even ate an innocent victim.
- We saw a flashback that involved Percy and his friends as children. They were chased by a monster in the forest; this may scare youngsters.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “D-mn,” and “b–ch,” are said.
- Name calling such as; “stupid,” and ‘moron.”
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We saw characters drinking wine.
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Overall Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a wonderful action packed film, one that elementary kids and pre-teens will enjoy. Parents need to be aware of the moderate violence throughout the film.
2 Guns-Teen Movie Review
DEA agent Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and U. S. naval intelligence officer, Marcus ‘Stig’ Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) are both undercover officers, and both on a mission to take down a Mexican drug cartel. However after a failed attempt, they realized they must stay together to survive the ruthless gangsters who want to see them tortured and dead. While on the run, the two men learn a lot about each other, and the corrupt government officials they’ve been involved with. 2 Guns is an action packed adventurous film, one that teenage boys may find entertaining.
Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets.
Release Date: August 2, 2013
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will it Appeal to Teens? Yes
Talking Points:
There is an all star cast, to name a few; Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Bill Paxton and James Marsden.
Amongst all the violence Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg were a great team; very humorous and entertaining together.
There were some very disgusting parts in the film. A character urinated on his hands before hitting Bobby and Stig with a bat, earlier in the film we saw this same character unconscious and covered in his own vomit.
This is a violent film; we see corrupt government agents, stolen cash, human and animal torture, we also heard several foul discussions regarding body parts.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- We saw two character’s laying in bed together; the man was shirtless and the woman was only wearing a skimpy pair of panties. We saw her bare chest.
Violent Content: Excessive
- Character’s are tortured by a CIA operative as he tried to get information from them. He put tacks in a man’s hand, he shot a victim in the leg, leaving him in agony, and threatened another man by pointing a gun at his crotch.
- Stig and Bobby are hung upside down in a barn, while a gangster tortured them with a bat.
- There are several punches, viscous brawls and explosions throughout the film. In addition to all the fights, a lot of character’s are shot to death.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- The f-word, “sh-,” “a–,” and “d–n,” “b–ch,” and “h–,” are said through the film.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We saw character’s drinking alcohol.
Will it Appeal to Teens? Yes
Overall this is an action packed film. Parents need to be aware of the, brief nudity, excessive violence, potty humor and profane language. This is an R rated movie, kids under 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
The Smurfs 2- Kids Movie Review
The wicked wizard Gargamel (voice of Hank Azaria) is back, and he’s more wicked than ever. This time Gargamel has a new creation; a diminutive race of little stinkers, known as the Naughties. The problem is, he wants to transform them into Smurfs, but he doesn’t know the secret spell. Unfortunately, Smurfette is the only one that knows the spell to make the transformation happen. So Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and takes her to Paris. Now the Smurfs and their human friends go to the City of Light, with hopes to rescue their friend.
Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 2, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Talking Points:
The importance of family is the core message woven throughout the film.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A couple of the Smurfs flirt with each other.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There is some slapstick violence, brought on by Gargamel. He falls off the Eiffel Tower, gets crushed by a falling taxicab, and he’s even thrown to the sky by fireworks.
- Character’s are punched, tripped and hit in the head.
- Gargamel turns humans into animals.
- A gigantic cat tries to eat the Smurfs and humans.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Character’s don’t swear, but smurf is used in place of profane words such as; “son of a smurf,” “holy smurf,” and “Meryl smurfing Streep.”
- Name calling such as; “moron,” “dim-witted toad,” and “imbeciles” are said.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Character’s are shown drinking wine.
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Overall The Smurfs 2 is a fun, animated film for young kids. Parents may get a little bored, however the kids will be entertained.
The Wolverine-Teen Movie Review
To be forever young, not worrying about grey hair and wrinkles…sounds great! Well, not that great for Logan (Hugh Jackman), aka Wolverine, an immortal guy who doesn’t age. Everyone that Logan had loved eventually died, he became so frustrated that he resorted to living in a cave with no purpose in life. However, things changed the day he was summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance. In Japan, Logan got involved with a powerful family, and was forced to make some changes in life; a change that would effect him forever. The Wolverine is an action packed film, based on the comic book character, Wolverine, from the X-Men series.
Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 2, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Talking Points:
Amongst all the violence there were some wonderful messages. {Spoiler alert} When Logan became a mortal, he learned to appreciate companionship and received care from others; something he typically never accepted.
Initially Logan was a loner, with his immortally he watched everyone he loved die, however through his relationship with Mariko, he found meaning and purpose to his life.
Logan was a caring, thoughtful guy. He sacrificed his life for his love, Mariko, and fought to save innocent victims as well.
Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence, see details below.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We saw a male character, who was only wearing boxers, flirting and caressing two women.
- Logan and Mariko went to a “love hotel.” Nothing happened in that scene, however later it was implied that they had a sexual encounter.
- We saw flashbacks of Logan kissing an old girlfriend.
Violent Content: Excessive
- Logan was shot and stabbed several times, we saw open wounds and blood on his shirt.
- Logan cut his chest open to remove a parasite from his heart.
- A woman named Viper had snake like powers and was very evil and creepy. She sliced several character’s with her sharp nails, tortured others by exhaling poison, and even killed people by kissing them.
- There was a fight on a moving train. We saw character’s fall out of the train.
- Blades eject from Wolverine’s knuckles, he used them when fighting.
Crude or Profane Language:
- We heard the f-word once. Other words such as; “b–ch,” “d–n,’ and “h–,” were used.
Drugs and Alcohol Content:
- Characters were shown drinking in bars.
Will it Appeal to Kids? Yes
Overall The Wolverine is an action packed film, one that teenagers may like. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence throughout the film. Depending on the kid, I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.
R.I.P.D-Teen Movie Review
Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) was a detective in Boston and unfortunetely was killed in the line of duty. Even though he had passed on, his working days of being a police officer weren’t over. Before he knew it, Nick was at the headquarters of the Rest in Peace Department, otherwise know as the R.I P.D. Continue reading