Sci-Fi
Sci-Fi movie reviews
Hunger Games: Catching Fire-Teen Movie Review
The 74th Annual Hunger Games were finished and the winners, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), were ready to go home to District 12 and be with their family and friends. However there wasn’t much time at home due to the “Victory Tour” they had to attend. Visiting each district and pretending to be madly in love was next on their agenda. Continue reading
About Time-Teen Movie Review
Turning 21 means you’re legal to drink, which is an exciting time for some people. However, on Tim Lake’s (Domhnall Gleeson, who played Bill Weasley in Harry Potter) 21st birthday, drinking is not the only excitement in his life. Tim’s father tells him that the men in their family have the ability to travel back in time. Continue reading
Thor: The Dark World: Kids Movie Review
Thor is back to save to the world! Things are going well for the prince of Asgard and guardian of the Nine Realms. He continuously helps his people in various situations and truly cares for their well-being. However it gets complicated when he visits his girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) on Earth. When Jane’s not feeling well, Thor discovers that she’s been infected by an Aether, a life-threatening substance. Thor discovers that the evil elf, Malekith, (Chrisopher Eccleston) is involved, and wants to destroy the universe with the Aether. Now Thor and his colleagues risk their lives not only to save Thor’s true love, but also to safe the world!!
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: February 25, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will It Appeal to Kids? Yes
Talking Points:
Thor and other character’s are willing to sacrifice their lives in their attempt to destroy Malekith, the evil villain.
There is an all-star cast, to name a few; Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see two different couples kissing.
Violent Content: Excessive
- There were a lot of battles with swords, guns and other weapons used.
- Spaceships crash and destroy buildings, resulting in several casualties.
- There were scary monsters and other evil creatures that caused mayhem throughout the film; swallowing humans, throwing cars, and stabbing people.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- We hear “sh-t,” “h–l,” and “d–n,” however, only a few times throughout the film.
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking adult beverages.
- A scientist was known to take several prescription drugs.
Will It Appeal to Kids? Yes
Overall Thor is an action packed sci/fi film, one that kids (especially those that like super-hero movies), will enjoy. Depending on the child, I recommend this for kids ages 10 and up. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violent content woven through film.
Ender’s Game-Kids Movie Review
Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) is a brilliant young boy who lives at home with his sadistic brother Peter, his sister Valentine, whom he is very close to, and his loving parents. Though very shy and weak, Ender is a gifted boy. Not only is he extremely intelligent, but he’s a master at war games. On Earth, there had been a horrific alien vs. human war seventy years earlier, so the military were preparing for the next attack. They were looking to enroll, smart, young boys, and they found Ender. He was pulled out of school on Earth, and sent to Battle School in space. He quickly succeeded in his new school and got promoted to Command School, where he lead his follow soldiers into battle. Ender’s Game is an action packed sci/fi film based on a young adult novel.
Rating: 4 1/2 buckets out of 5
Release Date: February 11 2014
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Talking Points:
As I previously mentioned, Ender’s Game is based on a young adult novel. Seventh grade Challenge English classes are currently reading the book for school. It will be interesting for them to compare and contrast the book from the film.
Ender is a great character. He wants to succeed and be a good leader, though very conscience and worried about always doing the right thing.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
- There were several fights amongst the boys. Some bullies punched and hit Ender, however he defended himself and fought back by hitting and repeatedly kicking the boy that initiated the fight.
- While Ender was taking a shower, another boy started a fight with him; once again Ender defended himself by spraying extremely hot water on the attacker, and pushed him against a concrete wall.
- There were battles between soldiers and droids. We saw explosions and fire throughout the film.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- A character said “a–.”
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Will It Appeal to Kids? Yes
- The film will appeal to pre-teens, especially since it’s based on a young adult book.
Overall Ender’s Game is an exciting action packed sci-fi film, one that kids will enjoy. Depending on the child, I recommend this film for kids ages 10 and up. Parents need to be aware of the moderate violent content.
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.