kids movie review

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children-Kids’ Movie Review

Most teenage boys don’t believe in monsters, however Jake Portman does, and rightfully so. Jake’s grandfather would often tell him scary ghost stories, which seemed so real to Jake. Jake’s parents thought he was crazy and even made him see a psychiatrist. Though before Jake’s grandfather died he insisted that Jake go to a mysterious island off the coast of Wales and visit the grandfather’s childhood home. So Jake’s father takes him there. On the island Jake discovers Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and learns about the residents’ unique powers. There he finds adventure and danger with his new and peculiar friends. Based on the novel Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children.

Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: December 13, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Teens Like It? No

Talking Points:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is not the typical young adult fantasy movie. It’s a very disturbing and creepy film with horror like images.

Sexual Content: Mild

We see a couple kiss and flirt with one another.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

There are scary monsters with sharp teeth and tentacles to grab and entangle those who get close to it.
The monsters are enamored with their victims’ eyeballs. We see dead characters with their eyeballs removed revealing dark sockets.
We see several characters dine on a plateful of eyeballs.
A character has the power to bring the dead back to life. He does so and then makes them fight to their death(again). This is a very disturbing scene.
We see an intense battle in an amusement park between the children and the monsters.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “g–d–n,” “h–l,” and “d–ned.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

Miss Peregrine smokes a pipe throughout the film.
We see characters’ drinking alcohol at a bar.

Will Most Teens Like It? No

Overall this is a very strange and disturbing film.

The Magnificent Seven-Teen Movie Review

There’s a bad man in the Old West town of Rose Creek and his name is Bartholomew Bogue. Bogue is an evil and greedy man who never hesitates to shoot someone if they’re in his way. When gold was discovered in Rose Creek, Bogue takes control of the small town and terrifies the locals. However, things change when a newly widowed resident, Emma Cullen, hires bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Wahington) to take down Bogue. Chisolm realizes he can’t fight that vicious man alone so he recruits six other men. Now the magnificent seven find themselves in a frightful battle to save the town of Rose Creek. This is a re-make of the 1960’s classic, The Magnificent Seven.

Rating: 1 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: December 20, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 15+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will Teens Like It? No

Talking Points:

The film has an all-star cast. To name a few; Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D’Onofrio.
There are a lot of gory and violent scenes throughout the film. See details below.

Sexual Content: Mild

Most of the woman in the film are prostitutes; wearing revealing outfits.
There is some flirting between characters.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

Hundreds of characters die throughout the film.
Numerous character’s are shot, stabbed and sliced with knives. Others are blown up with explosives.
We see dead bodies covering the ground; bloodied and bruised.
A man’s ear is shot off.
We hear that a character’s mom was raped and his sister’s were killed.
A man cuts open a deer and pulls out it’s liver, we see two men take bites of the organ.
One character is nearly strangled to death; we see him suffer.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “h–,” and “d–n” throughout the film.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive

Character’s drink alcohol throughout the film.
Character’s are shown smoking cigars and cigarettes.

Will Teens Like It? No

I interviewed a few teens that thought the film was slow in parts, and very depressing.

Overall, The Magnificent Seven is an action packed Western. Parents need to be aware of the violence throughout the film.

Pete’s Dragon-Kids’ Movie Review

“What’s a dragon?” asks Pete. Pete is a 10-year-old orphan boy who lives in the woods with his best friend Elliot. Though Elliot truly is a dragon, to Pete he’s a companion and a giant who takes care of him. When a woman named Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) discovers Pete in the woods, she brings him home, hoping to help the young boy. Her father, Meacham (Robert Redford), was known in the community to tell children mysterious dragon stories. After hearing Pete’s story, Grace and her father were curious to see if there really was a dragon in the woods, so they were guided by Pete and a young girl named Natalie into the forest to find the dragon…Pete’s dragon. Pete’s Dragon is a remake of the 1977 Disney film, Pete’s Dragon.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 29, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: None
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Pete’s Dragon is a wonderful film for the whole family. The film highlights the importance of love and family. Parents need to be aware of the mature subject matter of death.
Though there is a dragon in the film, he is cute and cuddly and most likely will not scare kids.

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

Pete’s parents die in a car accident and Pete is the only survivor. This may scare young kids.
Pete leaps off cliffs and jumps from the roofs of moving vehicles.
Two characters fall from high branches of a tree.
Ropes are thrown around the dragon’s neck as he’s hit with tranquilizer darts.
There’s a car chase with several cars falling from a large bridge

Crude or Profane Language: None

Drug and Alcohol Content: None

Will Kids Like It? Yes

The theater was packed with kids of all ages. I interviewed two 7 year-old boy and 6 year-old girl who loved it and said, “Pete was cool.”

Overall Pete’s Dragon is a heartfelt and entertaining film for the whole family.

Nine Lives-Kids’ Movie Review

Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) built a successful business empire from scratch, though he spends more time at work than with the family. He has a beautiful wife, Lara (Jennifer Garner) who struggles with her absent husband as he’s not home much; an adult son, David (Robbie Amell), who works for the family business and wants to make his dad proud; and an 11- year old daughter, Rebecca (Malina Weissman), who absolutely idolizes her father. Tom’s life dramatically changes on his daughter’s 11th birthday when Rebecca asks for a cat. Tom went to a mysterious pet store to buy her a soft cuddly cat. After leaving the store he gets in an accident and wakes up in the body of the cat he had just purchased. Tom is now living at home as his daughter’s pet cat. As a cat he eventually realizes the more important role he has as a husband and father, and observes all he’s missed out on. Tom desperately wants to be a human once again and spend more time with his family, but first he must figure out what he has to do before he can be transformed from the pet cat to the man of the house.

Rating: 4 and 1/2 popcorn buckets out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: November 1, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 7+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The message highlighted throughout the film is the importance of being around for your family and involved in their lives.
There is a lot of potty humor throughout the film especially with the cat urinating on a rug and in a woman’s purse.

Sexual Content: None

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

We see two characters fall from a high rise.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

We hear “d–n.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

A woman is shown drinking martinis and Scotch throughout the film.
The cat version of Tom gets into the alcohol as well and ends up drinking a little too much.

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall this is a fun entertaining film for the whole family.

Nerve-Teen Movie Review

Nerve is a game like truth or dare minus the truth, you’re either a Player or a Watcher and the game is on the internet! This is a story about Vee (Emma Roberts), a high school senior who’s tired of always being in her best friend, Sydney’s (Emily Meade), shadow. Sydney is well known and popular, while Vee is always on the sidelines watching, she can’t even talk to the boy she has a crush on. However, everything changes the day Vee becomes a Player and accepts a dare on the trendy, yet dangerous, new game called Nerve. Vee gets roped into the game and accepts a series of dares that could potentially ruin her life. Nerve is based on a 2012 young adult novel.

Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 11, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Nerve is a very thought provoking film that highlights the dangers that can be involved with the internet. What people will do behind their screens.

Sexual Content: Moderate

During a football game a cheerleader lifts up her skirt to reveal that she’s not wearing underwear. We see her back side.
We see a couple in bed making out.
Character’s are shown passionately kissing.
We see a female character only wearing her bra and underwear.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

We see characters doing dangerous things for their dares. To name a few; jumping off cliffs, walking on a ladder suspended between two high rise buildings and riding a motorcycle blindfolded while going 60 mph.
A guy lays in the middle of railroad tracks as a train travels over him.
We see a guy punch a girl in the face.
We see teenagers with handguns as a crowd encourages them to shoot one another.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear “h–,” “b–ch,” and “a–.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

Teens are shown drinking and smoking at a party. One character is very drunk.

Will Kids/Teens Like It? Yes

Overall this is an action packed and entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violent/ disturbing content, along with the moderate sexual content. Depending on the child, this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.