Chasing Mavericks Review
Jay Moriarity is a 15 year old California boy living the life of a surfer. When he discovered that one of the biggest waves on Earth was only miles from his Santa Cruz home, he was determined to take on the powerful wave, and surf! However he couldn’t do it alone. Frosty (Gerard Butler) a local surfing legend, coached and trained Jay for 12 weeks. Together they embarked upon a wonderful friendship as we saw Jay try to fulfill his dream of surfing the biggest, most powerful wave in the world…one too big for most surfers. Chasing Mavericks is an inspirational, heartwarming true story.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets.
Release Date: February 26, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Frosty was a motivating trainer, friend and even a father figure for Jay. He pushed Jay and gave him the confidence he needed to fulfill his dream. Jay was also a good friend and companion for Frosty; as Frosty had many challenges as well.
Jay had a difficult life, his father left home when he was a young boy. Jay took care of his mother; he did the laundry, woke her up for work and even loaned her money when necessary.
{Spoiler} Parents need to be aware that two of the main characters die, which may be disturbing to some kids.
There are some wonderful lessons in this film, though it has a mature subject matter which centers around the various relationships. This would be a great movie to see with your kids; it will spark some great parent/child conversations regarding the challenges that life may bring, and how to handle them.
Sexual Content: Mild
- We see Jay and his girlfriend passionately kiss.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- {Spoiler} Two of the main characters die, this may disturb younger kids. We see one of them lying on the kitchen floor….dead.
- A man attacks Jay’s mom, Jay steps in and hits the guy…eventually the police break up the fight.
- Jay and his friend get into a fight with two bullies at a pizza place.
- The surfing scenes are scary as we saw many surfers in the rough waters, not knowing if they’re going to survive.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- Name calling: “wuss,” and “little trash” are said.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Jay’s mom drinks alcohol.
- We see Jay’s friend exchange money for something…it’s implied that the friend starts taking drugs.
Will Kids Like It?: Yes
Overall Chasing Maverick’s is a wonderful heartwarming film. However, parents need to be aware of the mature subject matter that may disturb kids.
Charlie St. Cloud Review
“Charlie St. Cloud” is a PG13 drama starring Zac Efron, as Charlie. For the tween and teenage girls wanting to see Zac Efron, this is not even close to the Troy Bolton from High School Musical. This is the story about Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron). He’s a recent high school graduate, and an experienced sailor, who just received a scholarship to Stanford. One summer night, Charlie and his eleven year old brother, Sam, get into a deadly car accident that kills Sam. Charlie’s life is now changed forever, he gives up sailing, defers college, and he starts working and living at a cemetery. He begins to see clear visions of his brother, and he fulfills his promise that he had once made to Sam; to meet every night at sunset to practice baseball. Five years later Charlie is still interacting with his deceased brother, and trying to cope with his loss, but when he’s reacquainted with Tess, a former high-school classmate, she helps him move on with his life.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: August 4, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
This is a heartfelt story about coping with the loss of a loved one, getting a second chance in life, and it’s also an endearing love story.
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. People who like to sail may like the movie, as there are many scenes of Charlie and Tess sailing.
I thought the movie was appropriately rated, PG13
I read that, “This movie was built to appeal to tween and teen girls.” I think that most high school musical fans will want to see this movie, but as I mentioned earlier this is a drama, not a lighthearted movie, one you’d expect Zac Efron to be in. Since the movie is about death, the subject matter is for mature young adults.
There are some confusing parts in the storyline.
Profanity:
Mild. Though Sam, the eleven year old, swears a few times.
Sexual Content: Mild
Charlie and Tess have a romantic encounter in the cemetery. We don’t see much, mainly passionate kisses, but it’s implied that they’ve slept together.
Violent Content: Moderate
The car accident was intense and very sad. On the way home my kids were on edge, thinking of the accident, realizing that could happen to anyone.
Conclusion:
Overall I thought this was an intriguing movie, that held your attention. My twelve year old son did not like it, but my fourteen year old daughter really liked it, but thought some parts were creepy. I interviewed two ten year old girls that said, “Anything with Zac Efron is good, we loved it!” I don’t think they cared about the intense story, only Zac, as did most of the tween girls.
Cars 2- Kids Movie Review
In Cars 2 we once again see star race car Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson), and his pal, tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) as they head overseas to compete in first-ever World Grand Prix. However, it’s not as easy as they had planned; Mater gets caught in his own adventure, as he accidentally gets involved in an international conspiracy to sabotage the big race car event. While Lightening is busy with the race, Mater travels from Japan to Europe in an exciting chase, as the whole world is watching his surprising and hilarious adventure. In this sequel, there are some new and colorful cars, for the whole family to enjoy.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: November 1, 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:
There’s a message about the importance of friendships. One character says, “Whoever finds a friend, finds a treasure.” Lightening and Mater have a special relationship. Even though Lightening gets very frustrated with his ditzy friend, he learns to appreciate Mater’s good and likable qualities.
Though fun and entertaining, this film had more potty and slapstick humor than the first Cars movie. The kids in the theater seemed to enjoy, not sure about the parents.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Mater has a romantic interest, there’s a little innocent flirting going on between he and his girl.
Violent Content:
- Some cars are equipped with rockets and other spy gear, which resulted in many explosions and heated chase scenes.
- Some bad guys use gas to subdue Mater.
- Mater has a time bomb tied to his engine, this may scare young kids, you’re not sure if Mater will make it.
Crude or Profane Language:
- Words such as “idiot” and “jerk” are used.
Drug and Alcohol Content:
- Cars go to a pub, and are served cocktail drinks.
Cars 2 is an entertaining movie for the whole family. With the likable, colorful cars, and a lot of adventure, kids will be thoroughly entertained. Having said that, I feel that the original Cars movie was better, and had an innocence about it that I enjoyed. Cars 2 had more crash scenes and violence; if your kids are sensitive to that, you may want to wait, otherwise it’s a good one to see at the theater this summer!
Captain America: The First Avenger Review
Steve Rogers ( Chris Evans ) a very weak, frail boy wanted nothing more than to enlist in the army during WWll; however, with his small size and poor health conditions, he was rejected several times. After seeing the horrific footage of the war, he was more determined than ever to fight for his country. Luckily for Rogers, a General overheard his request to enlist, so he offered him the opportunity to be apart of a special experiment, one that Rogers couldn’t refuse! They injected a serum into his muscles, which would stimulate growth and therefore he would have a perfect muscular body…and that he did!!! After a three month intensive training program, Rogers became Captain America. He had an indestructible shield and a costume with the American flag on it. Rogers, now known as Captain America, was the new hope for America; not only to win the war, but to save the world from an evil man who wanted to destroy the universe! Captain America: The First Avenger, was an exciting, action packed, patriotic movie based on Marvel Comics fictional character, from World War ll.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: October 25, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points:
I’m not a huge comic book fan, but I enjoyed this movie. The characters were very likable, especially Captain America. He was a humble, meek guy, who was bothered by the war, and wanted to help. He was also a very loyal friend, who would do anything for you. He said, “I don’t like bullies, I don’t care where they’re from.”
This movie, set during WWll, could spark some good parent/child conversations. During the film we saw footage from the war, and of people celebrating V E day. During the movie my daughter asked some questions regarding WWll. A little history lesson during summer vacation… not a bad thing!
Through all the action, there was a little romance to the story too, which I really liked.
Sexual Content: Mild
- A couple of kisses and innocent flirting.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
- People were shot at, stabbed and punched throughout the movie.
- Many people died being thrown out of airplanes.
- The “bad guy” in the movie was scary looking. I don’t want to give too much of the movie away, but he had some evil ways and could really scare some kids.
- There were many explosions with characters being blown up.
- We see a character slowly dying, while foaming at the mouth.
Profane or Crude Language: Mild
- There may have been a couple of swear words, but nothing too bad.
Alcohol and Drug Content: Moderate
- There were characters drinking beer at a pub, getting a little tipsy.
- Other characters shown drinking cocktails throughout the film.
Overall this was a fun action packed movie. Parents need to know that there was a lot of violence and many intense scenes. If you’re comfortable with your kids seeing this type of movie, and they like action films, I would recommend it for kids ages 12 and up.
Big Miracle Review
“A highly improbable or extraordinary event,” that’s the definition of a miracle, and that’s what this movie is about. In a small Alaskan town, a news reporter (John Krasinski) spots 3 California gray whales trapped in a small circle of unfrozen water. Initially, the reporter is excited about his big news story, then gradually he starts to truly care for the whales survival. The White House, The National Guard, Eskimos, Greenpeace and other influential groups; even the Russians, get involved to help save the whales. Big Miracle is based on a true story, that captured the attention of millions of people all over the world.
Rating: 5 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: June 19, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 8+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, along with “The Women In Black”
Talking Points:
This movie had an amazing cast; to name a few; John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore and Kristen Bell.
This was an educational movie that will spark some great parent/ child conversations. It makes many cultural and historical references throughout the film…ending with clip of a surprise shot of a former newscaster.
Not only was the movie interesting, it was exciting; wondering if the whales will be rescued.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Mild
- We see gouges and scrapes on the whales; from using their snouts to break the ice.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- We hear “b-tard,” “a–,” “jack a–,” “holy crap,” and d–n.”
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see characters drink alcohol in a couple of scenes. It’s obvious that one character is drunk.
Overall this is a wonderful, educational movie for the whole family. Having said that parents need to be aware of the moderate profanity throughout the film. I recommend this for kids ages 8 and up.