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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.


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My Review of ‘A Great Awakening’

A Great Awakening – rated PG
****

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.

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My Review of ‘Project Hail Mary’

Project Hail Mary, rated PG-13
****

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 →


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My Review of the Movie “Solo Mio”

Solo Mio, rated PG
***

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 →


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My Review of SONG SUNG BLUE

Song Sung Blue, rated PG-13
***

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.

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My Review of the movie DAVID

David, rated PG
***

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.

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My Review of the Movie ‘Nuremburg’

Nuremburg, rated PG-13
*** ½

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 →


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My Review of Eleanor the Great

Eleanor the Great, rated PG-13
****

Eleanor the Great is a powerful film about the importance of friendship in our lives. The film is directed by two-time Oscar nominee (Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit), Scarlett Johansson in her directorial debut. It was written by Tory Kamen.
Eleanor Morgenstein, played by Oscar nominee June Squibb (Nebraska), is a 94-year-old woman living in Florida with her good friend and fellow widow Bessie Stern, played by Rita Zohar. Eleanor listens as Bessie recounts the horrors of surviving the Holocaust. When Bessie suddenly dies, Eleanor moves back to New York to live with her daughter Lisa, played by Emmy nominee Jessica Hecht (Special), and grandson Max, played by Will Price.
Eleanor is immediately seen as a burden by her daughter, who quickly looks for a place for her mother to move to. In the meantime, she tries to find things for Eleanor to do during the day. Continue reading →


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My Review of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, rated PG-13
*** ½

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is a pleasing ending to the television and film franchise about the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in England. The film was directed by Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: A New Era), and was written by Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park). It is the sequel to 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, and is the third, and presumably final, Downton Abbey film.
The film takes place in 1930, a year after the stock market crash, in London and Yorkshire. Long-time fans of the television series will be pleased to see most of the loved characters from the series returning (Dame Maggie Smith, to whom the film is dedicated, died in 2024). Continue reading →


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My Review of F1: The Movie

F1: The Movie
***

F1: The Movie is an exciting summer film that is primarily about two car race drivers. The film was directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), who wrote the film with Oscar nominee Ehren Kruger (Top Gun: Maverick).
Sonny Hayes, played by two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, 12 Years a Slave), is a veteran race car driver. Thirty years ago, Sonny’s Formula 1 career ended when he badly crashed his car. Now, he goes from town to town looking for a race, most recently winning at Daytona.
An old friend of Sonny’s, Ruben Cervantes played by Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), finds him in a laundromat. Ruben is desperate. His Apex Grand Prix team hasn’t won a race all season, and as a result, the board of directors is threatening to sell the company.
Ruben asks Sonny to come to England to race on his team and mentor the up-and-coming racing star on his team Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris. After initially hesitating, Sonny agrees to do so. But the two drivers do not get along, and the Apex team’s results suffer. Will the two drivers be able to turn things around and save Ruben and the team’s jobs with Apex?
The film includes themes of friendship and teamwork. Joshua has a close relationship with his mother Bernadette, played by two-time Emmy nominee Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso).
The film contains some adult language, intense car crashes and a bedroom scene between Sonny and  technical director Kate McKenna, played by Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), (though nothing explicit was shown).
This was an enjoyable movie, with a good cast and thrilling race scenes, though the film seemed a bit long at two hours and thirty-five minutes.


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My Review of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, rated PG-13
****

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the sequel to the 2023 film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. It is the eighth, and possibly final film in the series, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller in 1966. The film was directed by Oscar nominee Christopher McQuarrie (Top Gun: Maverick), who also wrote the film with Emmy winner Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers).
The first part of the film recaps where we left these characters in 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. My wife Tammy and I re-watched that film a few days before seeing the new film as this is a part-two. While it helps if you had seen the previous film, I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to enjoy the film. There are quite a few flashbacks to previous films in the series as well.  The first film featured the explosion of a Russian submarine. The submarine, now at the bottom of the Bering Sea, will come into play in this new film.
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