THE MUPPETS Review
Walter, the biggest Muppet fan ever, and his friend’s Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA; travel to Los Angeles for a vacation, with great hopes to see the Muppet Theater. However, their dreams are shattered when they arrive; they discover that an evil oil man, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) plans to drill for the oil that was found beneath the Muppet Theater. When Kermit founds out about this awful ploy, he panics and recruits Walter, Gary and Mary to help gather the Muppet gang for a telethon; hoping to raise the $10 million needed to save the theater. THE MUPPET’S is a hilarious entertaining movie for the whole family!!
Rating: 5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: March 20, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, plus a review of Hugo!
Talking Points:
I grew up with the Muppets, as I’m sure many of you have too. Basically the film is about getting the gang back together; Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal and all the rest of the Muppet characters. Each character has moved on and have their own careers, which was fun and entertaining to see. Especially Miss Piggy, who works at a top fashion magazine in Paris with Emily Blunt, from The Devil Wears Prada, as her assistant.
I loved the cultural references and the great 70’s and 80’s music; the movie opens with the original version of Paul Simon’s 1972 hit “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,”a song I’ve always loved, another favorite song was Starship’s 1985,“We Built This City.” The original classic Muppet songs were sang as well.
The movie was filled with an all-star cast, besides our favorite Muppet characters, to name a few; Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Jack Black and Rashida Jones. There were Cameo’s of Zach Galifianakis, Selena Gomez, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, and Rico Rodriguez, who play Manny from Modern Family.
Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary ( Amy Adams) play 2 very naive, innocent characters, ones you imagine seeing dancing on Disney’s Main Street. It brought on a great Disney feeling, of innocence and fun.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Women wear bikinis
- Character’s kiss
Violent Content: Mild
- Jack Black’s character is in an anger management class, he starts a brawl by punching other characters.
- A TV show called “Punch Teacher,” was shown in the movie, where we see a student punching a teacher.
- The evil oil man gets angry and throws a sword through a television set.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- They say, “fart,” while a character wears fart shoes. The kids in the theater found that very funny.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters are shown drinking alcohol.
- Hobo Joe was at the telethon, you don’t see him drinking, but it’s implied that he’s drunk.
Overall, THE MUPPET’s was a very funny and entertaining movie. Even if you weren’t a Muppet fan growing up, it’s not too late; take your kids to the theater, and maybe they’ll become a fan too. This is an appropriate movie for any age, even adults!
Man on a Ledge Review
I was on the edge of my seat as Nick Cassidy was on the edge of a ledge, 25 stories high. Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), an ex cop, was on the ledge of a New York City high rise only to prove a point…he was innocent. Nick was framed for the theft of a rare diamond and was sent to prison; where he eventually escaped. He then wanted to attract the world’s attention and claim his innocence by threatening to jump. With the help of NYPD hostage negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) and his loyal brother, Nick anxiously awaited, on the ledge of the 25th floor, to see if his intricate plan would work; to reveal the identity of the real criminal. Man On A Ledge was an exciting, suspenseful movie, one the family would enjoy!
Rating: 4 1/2 buckets
Release Date: May 29, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Modeate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, along with “One for the Money.”
Talking Points:
I did not want to see this movie, but I ended up loving it. Not only were there likable characters, but it was an intense, fun movie as well… and did I mention eye candy? Sam Worthington, who played the man on the ledge, is now one of my new favorite actors!
People in the theater loved the movie. I interviewed kids and parents who all said they loved it.
There were some intense moments as he was on the ledge, I was scared he was going to fall. If you’re scared of heights, this may not be the movie for you.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We saw a character in her bra and undies, as her boyfriend was zipping up her outfit.
- There were sexual references, one character made a comment about the best sex she ever had.
- Couples kiss.
- Women wore low cut revealing shirts; showing cleavage.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There were several brawls and punches amongst the characters. We saw some injured characters with blood and cuts on their face, after a fist fight.
- Many gunshots were fired, and character’s held at gunpoint.
- It was frightening at times watching this man 25 stories above the ground.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The movie was so intense that I may have missed a couple words, but I do remember the f-word was used once, and the h-word, and s-word were used a few times.
- One character said, “stick your d-word in the door…”
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters were shown drinking alcohol at a bar, and in a hotel room.
Overall this was a fantastic, exciting movie. Considering that this was a PG13, action movie, there was some violence, and some intense moments, but not too much. Depending on your child, I would recommend this for kids (especially boys), ages 10 and up.
Lincoln-Family Movie Review
Sixteenth president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, leader of the Union during the Civil War, dedicated husband/father, and a wonderful man referred to as “honest Abe.” Lincoln chronicles President Abraham Lincoln’s final months in office. We see his fierce determination to end the civil war and abolish slavery. We see his personnel struggles and the difficulties he had to face while pursuing his heartfelt goals as president. Lincoln is a dramatic war film, one that mature teenagers and adults will enjoy.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: November 16, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes (mature teens)
Talking Points:
This is an educational film, one that mature teenagers will find very interesting. For example, in the beginning of the film we see Lincoln visiting troops; we heard soldiers reciting Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This film will spark great parent/child conversations. However, since the film is 150 minutes, and mostly dialogue, I feel that younger kids will get confused and bored.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Moderate
- We see character’s stabbed with bayonets and beaten.
- Lincoln visits a battlefield filled with corpses.
- We see orderlies emptying carts of human limbs into a huge pit.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
We heard the f-word one time. Also “sh–,” “b–ch,” and “d–n” were said.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Character’s were shown drinking beer and wine.
- We see character’s smoking cigars.
Will Kids Like It? Yes (mature teens)
Overall this is a wonderful, educational film. It’s appropriate, however due to the mature subject matter I recommend this film for kids ages 15 and up.
Leap Year-Family Movie Review
“Leap Year” is a romantic comedy about Anna (Amy Adams); a very structured, controlling young woman from Boston. When her materialistic boyfriend doesn’t propose on their anniversary, she remembers an old Irish tradition in which women can freely ask their boyfriends to get married on Leap Day, Feb 29th. Ironically, it just so happens that her boyfriend will be attending a cardiologist’s seminar in Dublin, late February in a leap year. As she travels to Ireland to propose, her flight encounters a storm, and her plane lands in Wales, so Anna ends up paying an innkeeper (Matthew Goode) to drive her to Dublin. Predictably, the two bicker their way to Dublin, gradually falling for each other as they race to get there by the 29th.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: May 4, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
It’s a feel good, lighthearted, cute, entertaining PG movie that pre-teens, and teenage girls will enjoy.
The soundtrack is great, and the scenery beautiful.
Amy Adams and Matthew Goode are terrific. Their characters are very likable and charming.
It’s a great movie for moms to take their pre-teen and teenage daughter, and not feel uncomfortable with the kind of sexual scenes that are in most romantic comedies these days.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The movie instills good old fashioned values. When you find true love, you get married, grow old together, and live a long happy life. A rule in a small town Irish Bed and Breakfast was that boarders must be married if they’re going to sleep in the same room. This is a nice message for young girls.
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- There may have been a few swear words, but not much at all.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters were socially drinking in a few scenes.
Though the movie is very predictable, and a little cheesy, it’s really enjoyable.
Overall, it’s a fun, charming movie that most girls 12 and up will enjoy. I’ll give it 4 buckets.
Knowing Review
The movie starts in 1959. As part of a dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students are asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. Most of the kids draw pictures of what they thought the world would look like in 50 years, except for one mysterious girl, whose paper is covered with rows of numbers. Then 50 years later a new generation of students opens the capsule, and a boy named Caleb gets the sheet with all the numbers. Caleb’s father(Nicholas Cage), discovers that the numbers are dates of disasters, and the number of victims, from the past 50 years. At the end of the list there are 3 disasters that are left to occur, all within the next few days few days. So Caleb’s father takes it upon himself to try prevent the destructions.
Rating: One out of five buckets
Release Date: July 7, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 18+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Talking Points:
It has a clever premise.
The previews are deceiving. A lot people thought the movie would be like “National Treasure” from watching previews, but it’s not at all!!!!!! It’s really not a kids movie.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Comments on whether someone is gay.
- A male character is seen in the shower, only his upper body is revealed.
Violent Content: Excessive
- It’s very scary, silent, slightly menacing people, are haunting Caleb throughout the movie by following him, and whispering strange things to him, very creepy.
- There is a plane crash and subway crash, which are disturbing to watch.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- “A–s,” d–n” and “sh-t” are used.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
- There is drinking throughout the film.
Overall it’s a very scary, creepy, unpleasant movie, with no redeeming elements.