Parents’ Guide: Can I take my kids to X-Men: Days of Future Past

May 25, 2014 By Sharon Feliciano in comics, marvel, movies, reviews

Hey there! This is going to be a quick summary, as I’ve already had a few email requests for my opinion on the age-appropriateness of this one and I want to bang it out in case anyone is considering going this weekend.

As usual, I had no qualms about taking my own kids. Thirteen year old Nate and seven year old Kitty really enjoyed it, though there were some moments that were a bit hard for Kitty.

Here were the moments that stood out to me being a tad harsh for sensitive kiddos or stricter parents:

A totally unnecessary (but not totally unwelcome 🙂 ) shot of Wolverine totally nude from the back .
An instance of the word “shit’ and “fuck”, but only minor swearing “damn” and “hell” besides that.
Autopsy photos of some deformed and stitched up mutants (Kitty looked away from the screen).
References to drug use.
A character who is a “good guy” but steals and shows a general lack of regard for police.
Lots of violence, including a mutant exploding and one getting his face burned off.

In addition, I am always worried that time-travel plots are confusing for kids. I asked Kitty to summarize the plot in the video posted below (no real spoilers) and she seemed to get it, though as usual, she had a hard time following the many characters inherent in these ensemble action movies.

Here are some of the things we talked about after the movie:

Do you think you could really change the past?
Why was Mystique so intent on carrying out her plan?
Why do you think people wanted to kill the mutants?
How did people with differences come together to work towards a common goal?

So my verdict? This one earns its PG-13 rating. Even my seven year old had some hard moments. 13 year old Nate did just fine, and I would imagine most kids over 11 would be okay. Really sensitive kids and younger kids might want to skip this one or at least wait until it can be viewed at home.

First look at Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph

Jun 7, 2012 By Sharon Feliciano in movies, video games

The internet is abuzz over the first trailer for Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph. The first preview debuted online yesterday.

Check it out:

I love the concept of a vintage video game baddie wanting to try his hand at being the hero. The voice cast (John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch) is A-list, and the preview shows cameos from Bowser, Dr. Robotnik from Sonic. and other vintage video game bad guys. I just don’t see how this could be bad.

Parent’s Guide: Can I take my kids to see Men In Black: 3

May 25, 2012 By Sharon Feliciano in movies, parent's guide

The MIB franchise is fourteen years old. I swore we took Nate to see it one rainy weekend on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk, but Super-Dad reminded me that that was actually MIB:II, which itself was released in 2002. So yeah, this is newest installment is part of franchise in which the last film came out over 10 years ago. Due to the seemingly endless playing of both films on cable it seems like even kids too young to remember the movies are aware and interested in the franchise, but should you take them?

This installment got back to the feel of the first MIB film. It does its best to move on from the mostly panned second movie in the series, though the heavy handed “celebrities are aliens” theme plays a major part in this one as well. Will Smith is at his best playing the mouthy Agent J, and Josh Brolin was absolutely uncanny playing a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent K.

I took 5 year old Kitty this morning, and she had never seen a MIB film. I was afraid that she’d be bored, that the time-travel storyline would fly over her head, or that she would find the alien special-effects as you can see from her (slightly rambling – she’s five) review below she mostly followed along.

There is a fair amount of mild swearing (and one “shit”). Jemaine Clemant (channeling Tim Curry) as baddie Boris the Animal has some parasitic creatures that move in and out of his body, the special effects are convincing and may make more sensitive viewers queasy. The violence is prevalent but very cartoony. No human people bleed, though they do get smacked around.

The story line involves time-travel and there are a lot of jokes about the cultural climate of the 60’s will go over the heads of the pre-teen audience. There is big scene involving race relations, which could be great talking point, though it’s dealt with humorously. I was worried that the time-travel aspect would be confusing, but I think that Kitty got the gist of it. I heard a kid leaving the theater declare it “awesome” while their adult companion just kinda nodded in agreement; which about sums it up from an adult point It was entertaining, but mostly forgettable.

So…. “Can I take my 5 year old to see Men in Black 3?”: I’d say this one is fine for ages 8 and up, but that if your child is easily scared by monsters/aliens you may want to wait and watch this one at home in the daylight.