FourInTheFamily Reviews

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Excellent friendships, tough topics, tough movie, sad

[4/10 · 15 February 2013]

Tough movie. Watched this with my 13 year old daughter and some of the subject matter was too much for her. I believe any movie should stand on its own and not be compared to the original book (which I have not read).

This is a good movie about friendship -- extraordinary young actors! Being a friend means accepting the whole person; that was the good message in the show. Some of the best laughs and warmest feelings come from this group of 'wallflowers' or misfits fitting in with each other.

But, some of the other topics made this too much for my early teen to take. Me, too. Couldn't anyone in the show not have tragedy in their lives current or past? So glad the friends were there for the main character at the end, the uplift was good. But overall, too sad.

I would only recommend this for very mature early teens or mid-teens. Be prepared for very troubled, deep, and dark themes, but the friendship made and saved this movie. It's not a happy movie.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Some of the other subjects were hard to take, too many in fact. My daughter missed some of the references to Sam's promiscuous past, an adult in her past who acted inappropriately to her, the deleted scenes about the sister's pregnancy situation missed out on seeing Charlie as someone who was there for his loved ones but still another sad situation, a friend with possible bulimia, a teen who can't face being gay and his father who beats the son for being gay, lots of drinking and some drug use, the aunt molesting the main character was not revealed until toward the end of the movie was just too much to take by then as you are weighted down by all the sadness surrounding and happening to Charlie. If you are questioning whether to have your child watch this movie, you should know about all the tough topics.

Hope Springs (2009)

Quite love it! Wish there were more seasons!

[9/10 · 6 January 2013]

My daughter (aged 13) and I sat today and watched 5 episode of Hope Springs all in a row and loved it! We love the story centered on these 4 women and wished to know more about all of them. We think it's great that the ladies are trying to get away from the spotlight and lay low only to come to the most busy, police-involved, falling down hotel in Scotland! We truly enjoyed this and wish Amerian TV had this kind of quality! We did have to turn on the subtitles because some of the Scottish accents were too much and spoken too fast for us to follow -- especially some of the slang! Came back to find season 2 and disappointed there weren't any additional seasons! There was so much more we wanted to learn about the backstories of the 4 characters and how the continued to cope on 'the outside' and how they continued living in this small community! Loved it, still want more!

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Classic Saturday night Chiller Theatre

[7/10 · 4 September 2012]

I grew up on Saturday Night Chiller Theatre that played horror films from the past. The Pit and the Pendulum is a classic.

Vincent Price plays the haunted widower who goes mad and is by far the best actor in the entire movie! You just gotta love the cobwebs, candles, shadows,and secret passageways that make up the castle!

SPOILER! When you actually see his wife you realize she is trying to gaslight him (another GREAT movie without the Gothic horror element!) you want Price's character to catch her!

From 35+ years down the road, I still remember the scene with the pendulum cutting into Kerr's shirt and the last shot of the movie when you see Elizabeth's eyes from within the iron-maiden and hear the words that no one will ever enter the room again. A classic for any thriller movie lover & Vincent Price fan!

Chronicle (2012)

Power doesn't make you happy

[9/10 · 5 June 2012]

This review is both from me (mom) and from my 14 year old son. We both enjoyed the movie and thought it was intense but with an interesting message.

My 12-yr old daughter didn't make it past the first 7 minutes so any preteens who feel the emotions very deeply may not be able to handle what happens in the movie or the relationship between Andrew and his father, mother, or some of the school bullies later on.

The movie goes into some deep emotions and you ride the roller-coaster with the main character Andrew: you feel sorry for him, hate the mean people surrounding him, rejoice when he has friends, laugh at the 'learn the powers' antics, and are bewildered and upset when he abuses his new-found powers.

We were truly surprised at the ending and my son wanted any future teen viewers to know that it is a good movie with a good message but it is sad. As a parent, I'd want someone to know the same things.

I'd recommend for 13 yrs + unless said teen is like my daughter and not able to handle the bullying and parental situations.

Monte Carlo (2011)

Excellent tween and teen movie!

[18 July 2011]

Monte Carlo is a charming movie for tweens and/or teens. Several other reviewers disliked the movie calling it predictable and boring but I have to vehemently disagree. If you are looking for a cute, adventurous movie with NO SWEARING, NO NUDITY, NO SEXUAL SCENES or INNUENDOS, NO SMOKING, and NO DRUGS then this is the movie for you (and us!)! This movie reminds me of some of the 1960's Disney movies that were plot-wise too old for little kids but still 'safe' for the not quite teenagers.

This is a classic movie about mistaken identity and learning to get along. The 3 main characters in the movies are all very different personalities but they grow and learn to accept each other by the end of the movie. They also have very different 'happy endings' but seeing how different they are, the characters should end happily-ever-after differently.

There are some funny moments, some thinking 'would I do that?' moments, and some 'good for her' moments. You genuinely like each of these characters (except the mean girl) by the end of the show whether you liked them at the beginning or not.

This movie is perfect for its target audience of tweens/early teens and I wish more movies like this were available with today's stars!

Let Me In (I) (2010)

Let Me In -- Emotionally Wrenching

[8/10 · 12 October 2010]

Let Me In is an emotionally wrenching film. My opinion/review is for this film, not the original.

Hopefully you know that the gist of the movie is about a lonely boy who is bullied at school and then a young girl moves in next door who is a vampire. By emotionally wrenching, I want say how expertly this film made you feel: anger and fury at the bullies, helpless for the boy Owen, sadness at both Owen and Abby's isolation, frustration at Owen's parents, hope for Owen and Abby with their budding friendship, and genuine surprise/horror at the violence of Abby's vampire actions. You will walk out with a lot on your mind after this movie.

Definitely NOT your mindless horror/vampire film and as a movie on its own (not compared to the original) it is capable of pulling lots of different emotions. It also definitely had some jump-in-your-seats moments, too.

This movie for kids? Definite NO - this is not a sappy romance with pretty actors. It is a dark movie with heavy themes. You need to gauge it appropriately for tweens -- it has some heavy plot lines regarding the kids at school and what Abby&'s father-figure is willing to do for her.

Nanny McPhee Returns (2010)

Disappointing, lacked "child centered magic" of first film

[3/10 · 17 September 2010]

First, I need to say we saw the first Nanny McFee film and loved it. We were hoping for the same charm in this film. Unfortunately, we found it lacking. We were quite ready to suspend reality and enjoy a magical nanny, but we didn't find the movie to have the humor and general upbeat styling we were expecting.

This film seemed to be in a great hurry to finish all the lessons Nanny wanted to teach without us ever knowing what they were. The lessons were taught after one incident of naughty behavior. No one, not even movie kids, learn a life lesson in one episode! Part of the charm in the first movie was that you were left to wonder if the lessons were learned due to the children learning and living them or from the magic of Nanny McFee. In the second movie, there is no question that magic has changed behavior, not a realization of why this new behavior is proper.

Less than half way through the movie, my 10 year old daughter leaned in to me and said, "This one isn't funny like the first one, is it?" She was quite right, as a whole, this wasn't a funny movie. There was too much mean-ness and too many dire situations for it to be considered funny.

This cast deserved better and Emma Thompson did not deliver a viable story. Though I must say, we LOVED Maggie Smith's character and her surprise revelation at the end.

This movie on it's own ranks a 4 or 5, but this movie as a sequel ranks only a 3.

Pay It Forward (2000)

Thought provoking, but NOT a "famly film"

[6/10 · 17 September 2010]

Pay It Forward was a moving film about cause and effect and consequences. It hit home about anyone's actions causing ripples in the water of the world. If you have the chance to see this, I would recommend you do. It is a story and a concept you won't ever forget.

BUT -- our DVD box on the back says "Extraordinary Family Film" NOT! It totally depends on how old your family members are!!! I would say anyone below 14 shouldn't see it. There is alcoholism, drugs, violence, bad language, and sexual situations. The ending would not be one a younger child could handle.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER What I think would most disturb any younger viewers though is the fact that the boy this story is about is killed at the end. It was incredibly emotional for the 3 adults I watched this with and there is no way our children could have handled this hopeful story with this sad end. Though the point is poignantly made about this boy's effect on the world, it is a hard ending to take.

Ramona and Beezus (2010)

10, 12, & 45 year olds really liked it!

[7/10 · 25 July 2010]

Ramona and Beezus on the whole was a charming movie. Many kids I know (myself included) loved the Ramona books because she was active, she did things, and things happened because of her. Ramona in the movie had the dramatic flair I always associated with the Ramona of my imagination.

The movie was well cast and everyone seemed to fit their character well. That being said, it was a little wordy in places -- Ramona was a do-er not a big-conversation-er! Some of the superfluous talking should have been removed to add in more of Ramona's adventures and take on day to day life.

We loved that Ramona's idea of a really bad word was "guts"! As a parent I'm grateful that was the only "bad" word in the movie! I'm glad my kids saw it, I'm glad we saw it.

The Eclipse (2009)

Disappointing! Great potential for whole story line wasted!

[3/10 · 25 July 2010]

What a disappointment. It had such great potential, a widower who is seeing something in his house (a ghost?) and doesn't know whom to turn to, 2 children living with the father, a father-in-law who resents being put in a home, a writer of ghost stories who visits this town, and a narcissistic writer who wants to have an affair with the first writer. The intersection of all these characters had such promise -- wasted! The question of love and relationships gets several different views but they're all a little blurry.

We waited for all these character's interactions to be resolved, but for naught. We had to watch the special features with the actors talking about their characters to get enough background information to finish putting some of the story pieces together that didn't make it into the film.

One thing I especially liked during the film was that the surprise/intense scenes were not proceeded or accompanied by the scary-music-track that usually alerts the watchers to "here's the scary part." This is what was so lacking in the film -- almost all the pieces were there for a memorable, thoughtful, suspense-filled story. It is truly too bad that the story telling and editing didn't fulfill on the promise and premise of the movie.

Happy Feet (2006)

Who's the target audience?

[5/10 · 18 November 2006]

Saw this movie with my 6 year old and generally we liked it. The animation is great and the singing and dancing by the penguins was so much fun! Good message about being different but it kind of got lost in the shuffle (ha! pun intended).

At 2 hours, this was too long. It would be very easy to lose the 30 min. ecological message that seemed to be thrown in -- it doesn't show up til the ending of the movie and it doesn't fit with the fun stuff at the beginning.

I'm glad to have seen this and my 6 year old liked it -- she even said in the middle "Is it done yet?" I'd recommend seeing this at home where you can skip the stuff the kids don't understand and keep with the fun music and dancing.

Three Wishes (1995)

Terrible Movie NOT for the kids

[1/10 · 18 November 2006]

This movie was billed as "fun for the whole family" -- NOT. It was awful. The setup/beginning of the movie has a lot of great possibilities. But it just gets stranger and stranger as the time goes on.

A "Family friendly" movie DOES NOT include sunbathing in the nude, implied relations between mom and a drifter, cancer/deadly disease for the little brother, flying around in the sky, and losing your business and home as an adult. Depressing and weird.

My 6 and 8 year old may not have picked up on some of the innuendos but from age 72 to age 6 we all hated it.