By Trina Boice Republished with permission from The Movie Review Mom. WHAT’S IT ABOUT? Based on the true story of Raya Knight (also known as “Paige”) who became the youngest World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Divas’ Champion in history, this movie combines an underdog sports story with humor and emotion. Raya Knight’s popularity and influence helped usher in the “women’s revolution” in pro ...[Read More]
Family Review: FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY Is Empowering Fun
RAMPAGE Family Movie Review
By Trina Boice Grade: B Rating: PG-13, 1 hour 47 minutes In a Nutshell: My 4 sons used to play the 1997 Midway Rampage video game, so I was curious to see how well director Brad Peyton would adapt the game to a movie for the fans. Historically, movies that take video games to the big screen are not that great. Well, here’s another one. This movie requires you to turn off your brain and not care. ...[Read More]
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Family Movie Review
By Justin Lozada WHAT’S JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE ABOUT? If you’re familiar with the original book, authored by Chris Van Allsburg, then you already know the basic story. For the uninitiated, Jumanji is a board game that literally comes to life and requires the participants of the game to finish it once they start. The new movie starts in 1996 (one year after the events of the original film) ...[Read More]
FATE OF THE FURIOUS Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) Rent or buy The Fate of the Furious here. WHAT'S THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS ABOUT? The government-sanctioned team of street-racing thieves and mercenaries is thrown into turmoil when their leader, Dom, appears to throw in his lot with a villainess. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: C+) The Fast and the Furious is a franchise based on big, dumb fun that grew m ...[Read More]
MOANA Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT’S MOANA ABOUT? A Polynesian girl sets out to save her dying island, enlisting the help of narcissistic demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson). IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A+) Perhaps my favorite film of the year thus far, Moana is a refreshing, visually-stunning, musically-charged delight. The tropical animation is lush and vibrant, the characte ...[Read More]
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family Therapist, Film Critic) WHAT'S CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE ABOUT? 20 years after a high school's most popular student (Kevin Hart) stands up for a bullied teen (Dwayne Johnson), he's pulled into an espionage adventure by the same person, now a buffed-up superspy. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: B) With the exceptional talents of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, Central Intelligence is so ...[Read More]
FAST FIVE Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (family therapist, film critic) REVIEW (GRADE: C+) As a loud and speedy “switch-off the brain” type of movie, Fast Five (the fifth in The Fast and the Furious series) is entertaining. It has charismatic characters, gunfights, parkour foot-chases, daring heists, insane driving, car crashes, and big stunts. The biggest draw for me, though, was a promised brawl between macho ti ...[Read More]
GET SMART Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) Rent or buy Get Smart here. Get Smart will have you smiling the whole time, chuckling and giggling for a healthy chunk of it, and a handful of times it'll make you laugh until it hurts. Surprisingly solid action, a very likable role for Steve Carell, and Anne Hathaway showing more charm than ever. Alan Arkin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ...[Read More]