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Category Archives: Movie Reviews
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The movie ratings are based on a number of criteria, including the message and worldview the film portrays, the overall quality of the film and acting, in addition to the amount of violence, sexuality and inappropriate language included. Be sure to go to www.kids-in-mind.com or www.pluggedinonline.com if you want a detailed breakdown of a movie’s content.
This well-acted and tense film is based on the true story of events in the 72 hours leading up to the D-Day invasion. It was directed by Anthony Maras (Hotel Mumbai) and written by Maras and David Haig, based on Haig’s 2014 stage play.
The Allies are ready for their D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy, which would begin Operation Overlord. The planned date for the top-secret invasion was June 5, 1944. The only thing that could delay the operation was the weather.
Even though Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, played by Oscar winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale), has his own chief meteorologist, on British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s recommendation, he brings in Group Captain James Stagg, played by Emmy nominee Andrew Scott (Ripley, Black Mirror), as chief meteorological officer for this operation.
The Breadwinner is the first feature film starring comedian Nate Bargatze. It’s a humorous film about how Nate, a dad played by Bargatze tries to manage the household and take care of his three daughters while wife Katie, played by Emmy nominee Mandy Moore (This is Us), is gone for weeks to pursue a business opportunity. The film will appeal to all ages and would be a good one for the entire family to enjoy together.
The film was directed by Emmy winner Eric Appel (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) and written by Bargatze and Dan Lagana. As the credits roll at the end of the film, you see jokes from Bargatze’s standup routine that made it into the script of the film.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, rated PG-13 ***
The popular Disney+ television series The Mandalorian transitions to the big screen for Star Wars:The Mandalorian and Grogu. The film was directed by five-time Emmy nominee Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian, Dinner for Five), who co-wrote the film with two-time Emmy winner Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and Noah Kloor (The Mandalorian).
The film is set a year after the Empire’s defeat in the film Return of the Jedi. The primary assignment from Colonel Ward, played by three-time Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas in the Mist, Working Girl, Aliens), has for the Mandalorian, played by Golden Globe nominee Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), an independent contractor working for the New Republic, is to rescue Rotta the Hutt , voiced by Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), the kidnapped son of the late Jabba the Hutt, who was choked to death by Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi. In return, Rotta’s two uncles (known as “The Twins”) will provide him with information about a new Imperial warlord.
The Mandalorian and his adoptive son the delightful Grogu (also known as “Baby Yoda”), head to the planet Shakari to rescue Rotta. When they find him, they see there is a gladiator in a fighting pit owned by lord Janu, played by Jonny Coyne. Rotta is in a locked cell, but knows that he has only one more fight left and then his debt will have been paid (though we are never told what his debt was for). But his captors have no intention of really letting Rotta go. The final fight will be rigged, so that Rotta dies, and his captors will benefit financially from that.
The film is mainly about the Mandalorian and Grogu, along with some Minion-like monkey characters known as anzellans, trying to rescue Rotta. Later in the film, we find out some things about Rotta’s two uncles.
The film contains a large amount of action violence, as you would expect in a Star Wars film. However, there were too many battle/fight scenes. I felt like I was watching a Marvel film, as those scenes were tedious, going on and on. The film also included several scary creatures, so it is definitely not suitable for very young viewers.
The film’s musical score is by three-time Oscar winner Ludwig Goransson (Sinners, Oppenheimer, Black Panther).
We enjoyed the film, but it could have been better, if they would have lessened the amount of battle/fight scenes.
The Sheep Detectives is a murder mystery with plenty of comedy that will be enjoyable for the entire family. The film was directed by Kyle Balda (Minions: The Rise of Gru; Despicable Me), written by Emmy winner Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), and is based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.
George Hardy, played by Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) is a shepherd who lives in a trailer outside the English town of Denbrook. He is a widower, who loves his sheep. Each evening, he reads them a mystery novel. The sheep hang on every word, and they come to understand all the twists and turns of a typical murder mystery novel.
This film tells the story of the unlikely relationship of Ben Franklin and evangelist George Whitefield, connecting that relationship to the Great Awakening, the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. The well-made and acted film was directed by Joshua Enck, who co-wrote the film with Jeff Bender and Jonathan Blair.
Franklin is played by John Paul Sneed. He was the tenth son of his father – his tithe. His father wanted him to be a pastor, but Franklin had no interest in that. He wanted to be a printer.
Whitefield is played by Jonathan Blair, one of the film’s writers. He was trained to be an orator, and had a powerful voice. While at Oxford, he met John and Charles Wesley. He was born again, and baptized, but most likely not by immersion as the film depicts.
Project Hail Mary is a brilliant film adaptation of a science fiction novel written by Adam Weir, who also wrote The Martian, which became a film starring Matt Damon.
The film is directed by Oscar winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and written by Oscar nominee Drew Goddard (The Martian), and Andy Weir (The Martian). The film is based on Weir’s 2021 novel Project Hail Mary.
The film begins with Dr. Rylan Grace, splayed by three-time Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (Barbie, La La Land, Half Nelson), waking up from an induced coma to find his two crewmates dead, and no memory of why he’s in a spaceship that is 12 light years from Earth and rapidly approaching a star called Tau Ceti. As his memory slowly returns, he begins to recall his mission. He remembers reluctantly explaining it to his middle school science class. It was called Project Hail Mary, and he had worked on it. Continue reading →
Solo Mio is a romantic comedy set in Italy about a man who was left at the altar, and is trying to pick up the pieces of his life. The film was directed by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane, who also wrote the film with Kevin James. The film includes some beautiful scenery of Italy.
Matt Taylor, played by Emmy nominee Kevin James (The King of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop), is a fourth-grade art teacher who proposes to teacher Heather, played by Julie Ann Emery (Better Call Saul), in front of their class. They plan for a big wedding celebration in Rome. But, when Heather does not walk down the aisle, Matt finds that she has left, leaving him a letter in the dressing room, along with her unworn wedding dress. Continue reading →
Song Sung Blue is the true story of Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee based husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act in the 1990’s. It was an enjoyable film, though much heavier than I had expected.
The film was directed by Craig Brewer, and was written by Brewer, based on Greg Kohs’s 2008 documentary Song Sung Blue.
The film begins at the Wisconsin State Fair with a Legends show. Claire Stingl, a divorced mom of two, played by Oscar nominee Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), is portraying Patsy Cline. Mike Sardina, played by Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables), is a Vietnam veteran, mechanic, and alcoholic who has been clean for twenty years and attends AA meetings. He is divorced and the father of a teenage daughter. When Mike, who prefers to portray Elvis, is asked to fill in as Don Ho, he refuses to do so, and quits the show. But he is soon taken by Claire’s performance as Patsy Cline.
David is an animated musical drama film that covers the latter half of the biblical book of 1 Samuel. The film is very well made, with excellent animation and catchy songs, and will be enjoyable for children and adults, though some of the film may be too dark and scary for very young children.
The film from Angel Studios (Sound of Freedom), was directed by Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes, and written by Dawes, Kyle Portbury and Sam Wilson.
The film begins with the young David, voiced by Brandon Engman, happily tending to his sheep. We then see Samuel, voiced by Brian Stivale, come to anoint David as Israel’s next king, as God has rejected Saul (1 Samuel 15), voiced by Adam Michael Gold. The film covers the familiar story of David confronting the giant Philistine Goliath, voiced by Kamran Nikhad, Saul pursuing David, through to the battle with the Amalekites from 1 Samuel 30.
Nuremburg is a well-acted historical film primarily about the relationship between Hermann Göring, played by Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator), the highest-ranking surviving Nazi, and American psychiatrist Captain Douglas Kelley, played by Oscar winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody). The film was written and directed by James Vanderbilt, and is based on the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, by Jack El-Hai.
The film’s title refers to the city where representatives of four Allied nations that teamed up to defeat Nazi Germany gathered to put its leaders on trial. Nuremburg picks up after the death of Hitler and the end of World War II. It covers the time before and during the trial of the twenty-one Nazi leaders, including Göring, who was Hitler’s former second in command. The film opens with Göring surrendering to American troops. Continue reading →
Pressure, rated PG-13
The Breadwinner, rated PG
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, rated PG-13
The Sheep Detectives, rated PG
A Great Awakening – rated PG
Project Hail Mary, rated PG-13
Solo Mio, rated PG
Song Sung Blue, rated PG-13
David, rated PG
Nuremburg, rated PG-13