DVD Reviews
Shorts Review
The movie revolves around an 11 year old boy(Toby) who tells a series of short stories about his family, his community, and most importantly his magic “wishing rock” that he discovered. What initially seems to appear as a wonderful concept (always getting what you want), turns into complete mayhem. This rock not only changes the Toby’s life, but also his friends, family, and community.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: November 24, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Talking Points:
Talking Points:
Initially Toby is thrilled with the wishing rock, knowing he can get whatever he wants, but then he, and everyone who else gets the rock, realizes that selfish wishes cause more problems and aren’t worth it. Like the classic message “be careful what you wish for.”
Potty- gross humor throughout the movie.
There are many discussions about nose picking and booger eating.
A kids booger grows into a sloppy, gross monster.
Helvitica, the girl bully, eats Toby’s favorite fish from the fish tank.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
- Toby is constantly being picked on, his classmates dunk him in the trash can, punch him, while verbally abusing him. This could bring up good discussions with parents and their children about bullying.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name-calling: Dr. Dumbutt, loser, idoit, and dork.
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
This movie was made for kids, not adults. I read in a review, which I thought was great, “Think of “Shorts” as “The Hangover” for 10 year olds. Many kids ages 5 to 9 will like the silly humor, while most adults will be bored!!!!!!!!
I give it 3 buckets.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Review
Set in 1891, as an unknown terrorist’s bombings threaten to push Europe to war we see Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr), in pursuit of Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a mathematical wizard who was suspected to be the world’s first supervillain. Meanwhile, Watson, (Jude Law), Holmes’ friend and partner, was primarily focused on being a good husband to his new wife, Mary (Kelly Reilly), while keeping Holmes safe and alive; which was not an easy job! Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is an adventurous action packed film that will keep you in suspense.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: June 12, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13 and up
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
See a clip of my review here, plus a review of Alvin and The Chipmunks
Talking Points:
The banter between Holmes and Watson was fun and entertaining, even with the excessive violence. I noticed the audience laughed a lot throughout the film.
Watson was a very loving and dedicated husband, however, Holmes was not a fan of marriage. He labeled marriage as,”eternal purgatory.”
Sexual Content: Mild
- Mary, Watson’s new wife, had an unusual encounter with Holmes’ brother. She saw him walking around his house…naked. We could see his torso and backside, though Mary saw more! He continued to chat with her as if he was fully clothed, Mary was horrified, and wanted to leave.
- Women wear revealing outfits.
- Mild kissing.
Violent Content: Excessive
- There were several scenes with Holmes fighting thugs; kicking and hitting with character’s thrown against the wall.
- There were several explosions and gun fires, as we saw many characters die throughout the film.
- A bad guy stabbed a huge meat hook through Holmes’ shoulder, then raised him off the ground…it was disgusting!!!
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Words such as, “b–tard,” and “d–n” were used a few times.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Characters drank frequently throughout the film. Watson got very drunk at his bachelor party.
- We saw character’s smoke cigarettes and cigars.
Sherlock Holmes fans will most likely enjoy this film. I was slightly entertained, but with all the unnecessary violence, the film didn’t appeal to me that much. Depending on whether you child is sensitive to violence, I would say this is appropriate for kids 13 and up.
The Secretariat Review
This is the story about Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), a housewife in the seventies, living in Denver with her husband and four children (ages 10 to 17). When Penny agreed to take over her ailing father’s stable in Virginia, her life dramatically changed. She not only took care of her family in Denver, but she also managed her father’s stable, and fostered the first Triple Crown winner in twenty-five years. Her horse, Secretariat, is still known today to be the greatest racehorse of all time.
Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: January 25, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
I’ve heard people say that if you like animals, you’ll like this movie. I’m not a huge animal lover (though I love my dog), but I loved this movie. Even though we all know the ending, it’s still a thrilling sports movie, one I would compare to “The Blind Side.”
The characters are very likable; Starting with the owner and comical trainer (John Malkovich), the stable’s secretary ( who named Secretariat), the very loving and sweet groomer, the jockey, and of course, Secretariat.
There are many messages throughout the movie. It would have been easy for Penny to sell the farm once her father passed away. However, with Penny’s strong determination and faith, she not only saved the family farm, but her horse set records, that still thirty-seven years later have not been broken. Penny say’s her father’s legacy is “ Do everything you can to win, and live with it if you can’t.”
Penny sacrificed a lot to obtain her goal. She left her husband and children in Denver for weeks at a time. In one scene she tearfully listened to her daughter’s play over the phone, that was sad. Though Penny was a loving and supportive mother, I didn’t always agree with her leaving her family. However, in the end she taught her children a valuable lesson; “Believe in yourself.” Her children were very proud of their mom, and found her a to be their ideal role model. Her husband, who wasn’t always supportive, said, “You taught the children what a real woman is, you taught me something too.”
This movie is rated PG. This is a wholesome family movie for all ages. There are no sexual scenes or references, and very mild profanity. I recommend this for the whole family.
The Secret World of Arrietty Review
Typically people go to the grocery store to buy sugar and other items they need but not Arrietty. Arrietty (a teenage girl) and her parents are borrowers. Borrowers are very tiny people who borrow things from beans’ (humans) houses in order to survive. They live beneath the floors of people’s homes until spotted by a bean (human). Then it’s time for the borrowers to move because humans can be dangerous! So when Arrietty was discovered by a bean, things dramatically changed for her and her parents. The Secret World of Arrietty is based on a children’s book called The Borrowers. This is a sci-fi, animated drama for kids.
Rating:3 1/2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: May 22, 2012
MPAA Rating: G
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Check out my review here, along with “This Means War.”
Talking Points:
I loved the friendship that Arrietty developed with Shawn, (the human teenage boy that spotted her). He was so sweet to Arrietty, and only wanted to protect her and her parents. Arrietty helped Shawn as well. He had a heart conditition and she taught him to be brave, and to fight for things you believe in. Great messages for kids.
Arrietty had a wonderful relationship with her parents. When she and her father first went out on their borrowing endeavor, Arrietty made a mistake when she dropped the sugar cube. Instead of getting angry and upset, her father said, “We all mistakes, I am very proud of you.”
The animation was very colorful and beautiful. I read that the book was set in Victorian England, and the film was set in modern day Japan.The Japanese garden’s were amazing and seemed so real.
The film was slow moving, and initially there was not much dialogue. I noticed that the little kids in the theater were getting antsy during the movie.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
- A scary cat snapped at Arrietty and a crow tried to attack her. The crow scene may scare younters.
- Arrietty’s mom was captured by a bean, and put in a glass jar. This was a creepy scene.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling, “idiot,” was said once.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We saw bottles of wine in a character’s pantry.
The Secret World of Arrietty was a very sweet tale about family, friendship and love. I’m not sure the youngsters in the theater will understand all the wonderful messages; but my friend and I did, and we really enjoyed the film. This movie is appropriate for kids of all ages!
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Review
This is a story about a twenty-two year old guy named Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). He’s a guitarist in a garage band, who finally meets the love of his life, Ramona Flowers. After many dates with Ramona, Scott gradually realizes that she has a lot of baggage; seven former boyfriends, all who want to destroy Scott for dating Ramona. In this creative, comedy adventure, we see how Scott handles Ramona’s seven evil exes.
Rating: One out of five buckets
Release Date: November 9, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points:
This is a very creative movie. The movie has some romance, and it’s an action/adventure, sci-fi/fantasy, comedy. This movie continually went in and out of either game mode, comic book mode or rock-video mode, which most of the audience loved. However, the audience consisted of mostly older teens and adults in their twenty’s, and only a few kids.
I read that, “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World feels like the first movie aimed squarely at the gamer generation; those who have grown up with video games as a fact of life and, in some cases, a reason for living.” I don’t think kids will enjoy this type of movie, they won’t appreciate some of the humor, and creativity.
Scott was a very likable, persistent character, who never backed down when fighting for Ramona.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- There were a few scenes where I was uncomfortable with my twelve and ten year old boys.
- On Scott and Ramona’s first date, Ramona gets into bed with Scott, only wearing her bra and undies; she passionately kisses him, but then she says, “I changed my mind, I don’t want to have sex with you.”
- Scott’s roommate is gay, and he is with many different guys throughout the movie, and it’s implied that they’ve he’s slept with each one of them. Sometimes, Scott would even sleep in the same bed with them.
- One of Ramona’s exes was a girl, Ramona said she was “ bi-curious.”
Profanity: Moderate
- Many beeped f-words, along with many other swear words, but okay for a PG13 movie.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There were seven exes, and with each ex, there was a battle which consisted of either punches, kung fu, or sword fights. Some were very violent.
Even though this was a very creative movie, and it seemed that the audience loved it, I did not like it! It was battle after battle, which got very boring. More importantly, I feel that most kids won’t enjoy this type of movie. My ten and twelve year old boys thought it was awful and a waste of time. I give it one bucket.