Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Prom Review
Are you going to prom? Who are you going to prom with? These are popular questions during the spring season, and the answer varies from student to student. However, they all have one goal in common….they all want to go to prom. In this movie we see several interconnecting stories at a high school in Waverly, MI. The stories range from; the characters organizing the prom, the students deciding where to go to college, the high school friendships and the romance dilemmas, to the prom King and Queen. With each story there’s a little drama and a little fun, however, the stories all revolved around one big event…..PROM!
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: April 29, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild, “h%$l” is said a few times.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Talking Points
Prom is a movie you can send your tween to, and feel perfectly comfortable. It is an innocent Disney movie, with tween girls as the target audience. In the movie we see teens of all types; they have some insecurities and fears about leaving their safe life in high school, and approaching independence. In one scene a senior boy was giving a sophomore boy advice about handling certain issues in high school.
One thing I really liked about this movie is that it is set in Michigan, there’s talk of some students attending The University of Michigan, my alma mater….Go Blue!
The characters are very likable. Nova (Aimee Teegarden), is the class president who’s also organizing the prom; she’s a very hard-working, driven girl. Though she falls for Jesse (Thomas McDonell), the “bad boy,” she’s a good girl, and wants to have the perfect prom.
I thought the movie was a little corny and cheesy, and the acting was just okay. However, the kids in the theater seemed to have really liked it, and most importantly, it’s an appropriate movie, which parents will like.
Sexual Content: Mild
• This was a refreshing movie. There were some kissing. While some movies focus on drinking and sex during proms, this movie is more of a fairy tale, focused on romance and friendships.
Violent Content: Mild
• There was a fist fight in one scene.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• They say h*#l once or twice.
Some comments from girls after the movie:
“I thought is was so cute and funny,” said a 13-year-old girl.
“It was a wonderful fairy tale,” said a 17-year-old girl.
“I liked it, though it was a little corny,” said a 13-year-old girl.
Like I said before, this movie is a little corny, though it’s a cute movie for tween and teenage girls. It highlights what’s important about a prom. It doesn’t matter if you go alone, with your friends or with your true love. Prom is an important part of high school, something you’ll always remember. After all, the boy who I went to prom with, set me up with my husband ten years later, you never know what can happen.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Review
Prince of Persia: The sands of Time, is an action adventure movie set in the beautiful lands of ancient Persia. We initially meet Dastan, a young orphan boy, who comes to another boy’s defense. The King happens to be passing by, and he’s so impressed with Dastan’s actions that he adopts him on the spot. Fifteen years later we see Prince Dastan as a very handsome young man, in his early twenties. When he and his brothers found out that a neighboring city is selling weapons to Persia’s enemies, they proceed to invade the city, but didn’t find any weapons. However, they do encounter the beautiful Princess Tamina. Together Prince Dastan and Princess Tamina risk their lives as they protect a magical dagger that could destroy the world.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: September 14, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Beautiful scenery: As Dastan and Tamina travel to the neighboring city, we see the beautiful desert landscapes in Persia. Also, I thought Jake Gyllenhaal, was pleasant to look at, while my husband enjoyed looking at Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton).
Dastan’s adopted father and brother’s are a very loving and loyal family. The brother’s remember their father’s words to do the right thing, no matter what the consequence is.
I thought the movie was unpredictable, there were many surprises, though sometimes got a little confusing.
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Like a lot of PG13 action films there is a lot of violence! Some examples are:
Initially we see a young boy beaten by an adult, this was disturbing.
People are impaled by arrows and swords throughout the movie.
There are scary, creepy snake scenes, we even see a snake cut open.
Profane or crude language: Mild
I interviewed many people after the movie, some comments were:
One 11 year old boy loved it so much he saw it twice. Though he did not like the snake scenes, but loved the action.
Two teenage boys loved the action, thought the movie was well done, excellent ending.
Like I’ve said, there is a lot of action in this movie, which I typically don’t love. However, I really enjoyed the storyline, and found the movie to be very entertaining. Because of the violence and disturbing scenes, depending on your child, I would say it’s appropriate for ages 12 and up. I give it four out of five buckets.
Premium Rush Review
Riding the streets of Manhattan on a bike at 50mph with no breaks is better than sitting in an office all day. That’s what Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) believes. Wilee is a bike messenger, a guy in his twenties who loves his job. Though the money isn’t great, the thrill is, and that’s what keeps him going. However things dramatically change the day he picks up an envelope to deliver. It starts out like an average day; but things rapidly go downhill when he finds out the envelope has something extremely important in it, which attracts the interest of the villain, Detective Monday. Now Wilee is on the run (on a bike), continuously being chased by police, while hoping to find the significance of the envelope. Premium Rush is an action drama, one with a lot of violence and a lot profanity.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 21, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language:Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Wilee is a good, likable character. He’s a simple guy who enjoys the rush of riding his bike through the big city. He risks his life to protect a woman and her child.
The action and premise of the film will appeal to boys, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the actor who played Wilee) will attract teenage girls.
I did not like the fact that the villain in the film is a detective. He is a cruel and controlling man. Kids should know they can trust a police officer, and not feel threatened by him. He was also addicting to gambling.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Two characters passionately kiss.
- After an intense bike chase, a women says, “That was the most fun I ever had with my clothes on!” I heard kids laughing in the theater.
Violent Content: Excessive
- While Wilee and other bike messengers ride their bikes through Manhattan, we see several bike crashes. The bikers smash into gates, fall off their bikes, hit vehicles, and tumble over railings. We see many cuts and bloody wounds.
- In one scene Wilee envisions different bike routes he might take to avoid a crash. We see some disturbing scenarios; one with Wilee smashing into a baby carriage, one with a truck running over a pedestrian, and another with Wilee bouncing on the hoods of 3 cars. These visions may disturb young kids!
- Detective Monday is the villain. He’s a vicious character; he beat a man to death, grabbed a woman by the neck and threatened to kill her, and physically abused Wilee as well.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- The f-word was said once. There was swearing throughout the whole film, words such as, “sh-t,” “d–n,” “h—,” “a–,” “b–tard,” “b–ch,” “douche bag,” and “balls” were said.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see characters in a bar drinking.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- Kids will like the suspense and the bike chases.
Kids, especially boys, will most likely enjoy this film. However, parents need to be aware of the disturbing violent scenes, and the excessive profane language used throughout the film. Depending on the child, I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.
Playing for Keeps Review
In the day George Dryer (Gerard Butler) was a soccer superstar. He was a Scottish player, who played for the Queen, played for his country and even played with David Beckham. George had it all until the dreadful time of his life came; it was time to retire. He could no longer play games for a living, he had to grow up. Things were initially hard for George, he struggled to pay his rent, he struggled to find a job, and he struggled to become a responsible adult. However after moving to Virginia, to spend more time with his 10 year old son, Lewis, things dramatically changed. George became Lewis’ soccer coach; the kids were in awe of his skill and the mom’s were in awe of his looks. Now George had to figure out how to be a responsible dad, and not re-live the glory days of his past.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: March 5, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? No
Talking Points:
{Spoiler Alert} George was a good guy. Ultimately he cared for his son and ex-wife. He eventually came to realize that his family was the best thing that ever happened to him, not his fame. He learned to take responsibility, and treasured the time with his son and the people he loved.
There is an all-star cast, to name a few; Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Dennis Quad, Uma Thurman and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
George let his son sit on his lap and drive (steer) a borrowed Ferrari.
Even though I liked this movie, and so did the mom’s in the theater, I feel that kids may get a little bored with the subject matter.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- The soccer moms like George, and they definitely show it. One women goes to George’s apartment, puts her arms around him, and pushes him against the window and passionately kisses him.
- Another mom wrapped her leg around George’s waist, gave him a big kiss. That’s all we saw, but it was implied that they did more than smooch.
- A married woman/soccer mom went to George’ home, took off her clothes (down to her bra and panties). George did the right thing and didn’t pursue her.
- One mom said that she fantasizes about George while he is coaching
Violent Content: Mild
- Two men got into a fight. They started out by pushing one another, which turned into a wrestling match.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- “Sh–” is said a lot, “a–,” “b–ch,” “h—,” and “d–n,” are said several times each.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see character’s drinking beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks.
Will Kids Like It? No
- The film has a lot of fun soccer scenes which I’m sure most kids will enjoy, however the film is centered around adult issues which kids may find boring.
Parents need to be aware of the moderate sexual content and profane language. Depending on the child I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up. As I previously mentioned, kids may not like this film, but moms will!!
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Review
This is the fourth installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In this movie we see Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), once again in desperate need of finding a ship. This time Jack’s quest is to find the Fountain of Youth, however he’s not alone. Rumor has it someone is impersonating him, and gathering a crew to also find the Fountain of Youth. This impersonator happens to be his ex-girlfriend Angelica (Penelope Cruz). She and her evil father, Blackbeard (Ian McShane) along with Jack’s long time rival, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and even the king of Spain, are all racing to find the magical waters that claim eternal life. They eventually come to realize it’s not as easy as they hoped it would be; they need to find two magical chalices and a single tear from a mermaid before they can complete their mission of finding this mysterious fountain. This is a great adventurous movie for the whole family.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: October 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Talking Points
There are some new and interesting characters. I thought Penelope Cruz was great as Angelica, but I especially liked Sam Claflin’s character; he played a missionary named Philip. He was a soft-hearted man who tried to find the good in everyone, even the evil Blackbeard.
Through all the action and violence, there’s a religious element to the film. As they’re looking for the Fountain of Youth, one character says, “Only God can grant eternal life.” I think that’s great for kids to hear.
People that liked the first three movies in this series, will like this one as well. I’ve heard many comments that this fourth movie is a little different, and better than the second and third films.
Sexual Content: Mild
• We only see a kiss, however there is sexual tension between Jack and Angelica.
• The mermaids are naked from the waist up, though we don’t see anything because their hair covers them.
Violent Content: Excessive
• There are sword fights, gun shots, and stabbings throughout the movie.
• Mermaids with fangs, attack a group of men on a boat, and drag them into the sea.
• There are scary walking dead zombies.
• Blackbeard has a voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow. He uses it periodically to torture Jack.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• The h-word, d-word and b-tard word are used, however not a lot.
Overall this is an adventurous, action packed movie. As I previously mentioned, there is a lot of violence, but fine for a PG13 rated movie. Depending on whether your child can handle some of the violent scenes, I recommend this movie for kids ages 11 and up.