Reviews by Genre
Movie Reviews by Genre
Twilight Saga: New Moon Review
“New Moon” is based on the best-selling books by Stephanie Meyer. The love story continues between mortal Bella Swan and the handsome, mysterious vampire Edward Cullen. However, in this second movie of the Twilight series Edward realizes that Bella will never be safe as long as he’s around, so following Bella’s 18th birthday party Edward makes the difficult decision to leave his true love. After his abrupt departure Bella is in a deep depression, but is comforted by her family friend Jacob. She then develops a very strong friendship with Jacob and becomes once again drawn into danger, but this time, not only with vampires, but also werewolves. Now the love triangle begins, there is more danger and suspense for Bella and her family.
Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: March 20, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
This is a story about losing a loved one, which most people go through at some point in life. No matter if it’s loss from a terrible break up, loss of grandparent or even a family pet, most young teenagers will be able to identify with Bella’s sadness. This movie may trigger some good discussions on how to deal with hardships in life, something that Bella had a hard time with.
On the MTV website they listed five reasons why the Twilight sequel is an improvement to the original movie, and I agree with what they said. The five reasons are:
1) The Acting is Better.
2) It Looks Great- This movie is more believable because of the bigger budget.
3) It sets up “Eclipse” perfectly, it leaves you wanting more.
4) The New Characters Rock-Dakota Fanning is a great job of playing an evil character.
5) The Line has been Walked- The fan base will be pleased, thanks to the new director.
The soundtrack is amazing.
Younger kids may find it a little disturbing when Bella screams at night, while having nightmares.
Sexual Content: Mild
- As in the first movie, at night Edward sneaks into Bella’s bedroom. Jacob does too in this movie. Another topic that parents could discuss with their teenage daughters.
- Bella and Edward kiss passionately.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There were some violent scenes especially when Edward and the Volturi(another group of vampires) were fighting.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- The h-word is used several times and the d-word. “Fricken is used referring to the f-word.
Drugs and Alcohol Content:
- Bella’s dad drinks beer.
Fun Facts:
Taylor Lautner(Jacob) is from Grand Rapids. He lived in Hudsonville until 2003 then his family moved to LA to pursue his acting career. He is also a U of M fan, and tries to be a Detroit Lion’s fan.
Launter was almost dropped from the “New Moon” cast because the new director didn’t think he could fill out Jacob’s superhuman dimensions. Lautner locked himself in the gym until he fit the part.
Ever since the book was published in 2006, fans have been declaring themselves members of either Team Edward or Team Jacob. Lautner(Jacob) says, “We all get along great, and we’re in this together.” Robert Pattinson(Edward) said, “this is Lautner’s movie.”
After the movie I interviewed people in the audience. When I asked people’s opinions of the movie the comments were, “excellent, very very good, loved it, it was awesome.” That says it all, I’m giving it 5 buckets, appropriate for girls(and their moms) ages 11 and up.
The Possession Review
Are your kids scared of ghosts? If not, they will be after this movie. Emily is an adorable 10 year old girl who purchased an antique wooden box at a yard sale. She became obsessed with this box, while acting very erratic and strange. Initially her parents, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick), thought Emily was oddly reacting to their divorce; though after much research, Clyde discovered that the box was built to contain a dibbuk. Dibbuk’s are evil spirit’s that inhabit and destroys it’s human host, according to Jewish legend. Clyde was determined to save his daughter and destroy the dibbuk. Based on a true story, The Possession is a horrific drama, that will scare kids and adults!!!
Rating: 2 out of 5 buckets.
Release Date: January 13, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? No
Talking Points:
Emily’s dad is a loving father, however his career obligations get in the way of his family life. When the dibbuk box is at their home and chaos begins, he reevaluates his priorities as he must sacrifice his life to protect his daughter and family. (Spoiler) In the end he realizes the importance of being a devoted husband and father. Even though she was possessed with this box, which initially destroyed the family, love eventually won!!!
Emily’s parents had been divorced for about a year before the dibbuk entered their lives. Emily and her sister treated their father disrespectfully. This could spark a parent/child conversation.
This film has many disturbing, creepy parts. Not only will kids be scared, but adults will be too!!! I had to close my eyes in several several scenes.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
- Under the dibbuk’s power, a women suffers from a horrific seizure. This is disturbing as we see her eyeballs roll back, she thrashes about her living room, arching her back until it cracks, and her face crashes through a coffee table.
- We see the dibbuk nearly strangle a man.
- We see the creature’s fingers in Emily’s throat, and later we see him claw his way out of someones mouth.
- When possessed by the dibbuk, a man pulls out all his teeth, we see his mouth covered in blood.
- Emily screams in fear when something strikes her face, she thinks it’s her father so she ends up stabbing her father’s hand with a fork. This is an awful, disturbing scene!!!!
- Emily’s mom walks across a floor covered in broken glass.
- We see a semi collide into a car…this is a surprising and upsetting scene.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “A–,” “d–n,” and “h—,” are said once or twice.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see character’s drinking wine.
Will Kids Like It? No
Overall The Possession is a scary, disturbing movie. Since it’s based on a true story, that makes it even more upsetting. Parents do not need to worry about the sexual content, or profane language, however parents need to be aware of the excessive, disturbing violence throughout the movie. If your child likes scary movies, I would say this film is appropriate for mature teenagers, though not for me!!!
Mr. Popper’s Penguins Review
When you get a package in the mail it’s typically a book, clothing, or some sort of electronic device, but not for Tom Popper. Tom (Jim Carrey) is a high-powered business man, who’s divorced with two kids. He’s more concerned about his job, and never missing an important meeting than his teenage daughter and son. However, things change when he inherits six penguins from his deceased father. Now Tom discovers his true emotions through these six annoying, but loving penguins. He bonds with his ex-wife, and gradually learns how to communicate with his daughter, and son. Mr. Popper’s Penguins is an entertaining, fun movie is based on a 1939 children’s book.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: December 6, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points
Initially Tom doesn’t have the best relationship with his children, it’s not that he doesn’t love them, he just has a hard time expressing it. We all know that dealing with teens can be challenging at times. I’m not quite sure getting penguins is the way to go, but it worked for Tom. He realized that his kids were a lot more important than any job.
Tom was not allowed to have pets in his New York apartment, so he lied to his neighbors, denying that the penguins were his; he even bribed the door man not to tell anyone about his secret. He lied in other difficult situations too; there were little or no consequences, not a great thing for kids to see.
This is a sweet, innocent movie that kids will be entertained by, however parents may get a little bored by the storyline, and silly humor…I did.
There was a lot of potty humor used throughout the movie, with bird droppings as the main source of humor. In one scene, Tom held each bird up over the toilet so they can do their thing…the kids found this to be funny.
Sexual Content: Mild
• Tom’s teenage daughter talks a lot about her love life dilemmas, and how to deal with boys.
• Slight innocent flirting between Tom and his ex-wife.
Violent Content: Mild
• The penguins crash a fancy cocktail party, they cause a little mayhem while people were tripping over them, and things were falling all over the place.
• Tom and the zookeeper argue and fight.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• “Freakin” and “What the…..?” is used.
Overall this is a sweet, innocent movie, one for kids of any age. It’s probably not a movie they’ll remember and talk a lot about, but they will be entertained while in the theater.
Monte Carlo Review
I’m sure most teenagers would love to go to Monte Carlo and be treated like royalty. Well, that’s what happened to Grace, (Selena Gomez) a down to earth girl who just graduated from high school. She planned an ordinary trip to Paris for the summer, with her best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy). Things started out a little rough as Grace found out that her tightly wound step-sister Megan (Leighton Meester) is their chaperone. However things dramatically change once they’re in Paris. Grace is mistaken for a British heiress; so the girls lose their tour guide, and the next thing they know, they’re on a private jet to Monte Carlo, where they encounter a lot of adventure and romance.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: October 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 9+
Sexual Content: Mild, kissing and flirting
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
See the trailer of the movie here!
Talking Points:
This is a cute entertaining movie, one that girls will especially enjoy. Even though Grace (Selena Gomez) and her friends get caught up in their “fake, pretentious life” (as Grace pretends to be Corelia, the British heiress); they ultimately realize that all the material things and glitz and glamour won’t make a person happy. They also realize that the simple things in life aren’t all bad.
Grace wants to raise money for a charity event that helps children in Romania. This could be a great parent/child conversation on the car ride home.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Lots of kissing.
- The girls wear skimpy bikinis and revealing outfits.
Violent Content: Mild
- The girls tie Cordelia (the British heiress) up in her room with an apple stuffed in her mouth; so she’ll keep quiet.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- The “a-word” is used, other than that words such as “crap” and “heck” are used.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking wine and champagne.
This movie is great for it’s target audience, tween girls! It’s not a deep, inspirational movie, but does have an important message for these young girls. It’s not about what you wear, or how much money you have, it’s about being a good person, and doing the right thing! In my mind, that’s not a bad thing for tween girls to see.
Monsters vs. Aliens Review
Susan, a cute California girl,(voice of Reese Witherspoon), is hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, and grows to 49 feet, 11 inches tall. Then, the military takes her away to their secret compound as a government test subject, and that’s where she meets a group of monsters. Rather than destroying each other, Susan and the monsters become great friends, as they’re trapped together. They are finally released when an alien robot lands on Earth, and the President of the U.S. enlists the monsters to attack the Alien Robot, and save the world.
Rating: Three out of five buckets.
Release Date: September 29, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Initially the monsters seem scary and threatening to Susan, but as they become friends, the monsters transform into harmless, fun creatures. They love Susan, and will do anything for her, and Susan feels the same way about them.
The movie suggests lessons of friendship and self-sacrifice(it doesn’t matter what you look like). Susan’s parents are even supportive of her monster friends.
It’s a colorful animated action movie, with enjoyable characters and light humor.
The 3D affects were well-done.
Sexual Content: Mild
- When Susan starts to grow very tall, her wedding gown tears, though the dress stays on her, it looks like a revealing mini dress.
- Teenagers go parking at night, the girl wants to smooch a little, but they don’t, because a spaceship lands near them.
Violent Content: Mild
- Slight violence, especially when the alien robot destroy The Golden Gate Bridge, with cars and pedestrians on it.
- When the meteorite lands, it momentary crushes Susan.
Crude of Profane Language: Mild
- Exclamations are used, such as; “what the flagnod?” and “holy Cheez-Its!”
- OMG is used several times.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- One character mixes several bottles of alcohol, and makes a cocktail.
Adults may get bored, my friend saw it, and fell asleep. I also got a little bored so did my 11 and 12 year olds.