movie review

Leave a comment Posted on October 26, 2015 Uncategorized

Max (Best Friend, Hero, Marine): Family Friendly Movie Review

This weekend my son and I watched Max on DVD. My synopsis of the plot line is this: A bike riding, Texan teenage boy takes care of his deceased brother’s military dog, and then he depends on the canine to help him to sniff out illegal arms dealers who are tied to Mexican drug cartel.

I like to keep my movie reviews simple. I basically just ask two questions:

1) Did my nearly 5 year-old son enjoy it?

2) Was it “family friendly” enough to be appropriate for him to watch with me?

To answer my first question, yes, my son definitely enjoyed it.

There were constant bike chases through the woods and a crime fighting dog. To my son, that’s awesome.

The whole movie is a fast-paced, adventure thriller. In other words, there’s no wise cracking CGI dog to have to tolerate for 90 minutes. It’s a real dog.

I’ll segue into my second question now: Was it family friendly enough for my nearly 5 year-old son?

Yes; for my son specifically, who is accustomed to the swashbuckling violence of Power Rangers, and to the use of guns which never actually kill anyone or even draw blood on the show.

I would equate Max’s content with a tamer version of E.T., in that Max contains hardly any harsh words; definitely less than E.T does which is also rated PG.

Max is not a kids’ movie, but it’s one that I enjoyed watching with my son. After all, I’ll be taking him to see the new Star Wars movie in a couple of months; as I also took him to see Ant-Man this summer.

He’s old enough to appreciate more mature movies at his age; which I appreciate.

Official press release:

MAX

ARRIVES ONTO BLU-RAY COMBO PACK, DVD and DIGITAL HD FROM

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES AND

WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Blu-ray Combo Pack debuts on October 27

Own it early on Digital HD on October 13

Burbank, CA, August 11, 2015 – Discover a friendship that is one of a kind when Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ (MGM) family-action adventure “Max” arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on October 27. “Max,” an incredible journey about the unbreakable bond between one kid and his heroic best friend, stars Josh Wiggins (“Hellion”) as Justin Wincott, with Lauren Graham (TV’s “Parenthood”) as his mom, Pamela, and Oscar® nominee Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways”) as his dad, Ray. The film will be available early on Digital HD on October 13.

BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS

“Max” Blu-ray Combo Pack contains the following special features:

Working with Max: Meet the dogs that play “Max” and see inside tricks of the trade!

· Hero Dogs: A Journey – Get a behind-the-scenes look at amazing military trained K9s.

“Max” Standard Definition DVD contains the following special features:

Working with Max: Meet the dogs that play “Max” and see inside tricks of the trade!

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS

On October 13, “Max” will be available for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Vudu, Xbox and others. “Max” will also be available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.

BASICS

PRODUCT SRP

Blu-ray Combo Pack $35.99

DVD Amaray (WS) $28.98

Standard Street Date: October 27, 2015

Digital HD Street Date: October 13, 2015

Leave a comment Posted on October 12, 2015 Uncategorized

Sesame Street: Elmo Can Do It! DVD Review

The moment my son saw the Elmo Can Do It! DVD, he immediately requested, “Daddy, I want to see the one where Elmo is a robot!”

As we watched the segment, Help-O-Bots, he didn’t say a word; he was mesmerized by seeing Elmo and his friends being Help-o-bots.

This DVD is over 2 hours long, which makes it ideal for a road trip; by the way.

What I noticed about it, as an adult, is that a common theme appeared to be introducing children to the concept of emotional intelligence.

As the label on the cover explains, the official themes are task persistence, friendship, and self-control.

Our family definitely had a great time finishing watching it tonight.

Official Press Release:

SHARE YOUR FAVORITE FIRST MEMORIES WITH ELMO

AND THE SESAME STREET CREW AS WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

AND SESAME WORKSHOP RELEASE

SESAME STREET: ELMO CAN DO IT!

ON DVD OCTOBER 13, 2015!

BURBANK, CA (August 11, 2015) – Everyone remembers their first day of school or their first lost tooth. Now you can share these fabulous first memories with your Sesame Street friends in Sesame Street: Elmo Can Do It! This all new video compilation full of stories and songs takes you on a journey to discover all your favorite Sesame Street friend’s first encounters. From haircuts to sleepovers, preschoolers will enjoy learning life lessons, while addressing milestones and transitions in a fun way.Sesame Street: Elmo Can Do It! is available on DVD October 13, 2015 for $14.98 SRP.

Start your adventure with Abby as she packs her wand and pajamas to embark on her first sleepover at Big Bird’s nest. Then, while Papa Bear and Mama Bear spend some time away, help Baby Bear get excited about meeting his new babysitter! Continue the fun with Elmo as he harnesses his writing skills and composes a letter for the first time. Finally, all your Sesame Street friends will come together for “National Try a New Food Day” as they each try a delicious treat they’ve never had before. You may even discover the first time Cookie Monster ate a cookie! All these firsts and more in Sesame Street: Elmo Can Do It!

“Warner Home Bros Home Entertainment is thrilled to release our next exciting and educational title, Sesame Street: Elmo Can Do It,” said Jeff Brown, WBHE Executive Vice President and GM of Non-Theatrical Franchise Marketing. “Kids now have the opportunity to view their favorite TV character’s first memories all on one fantastic DVD.”

Celebrating its impressive 45^th anniversary this season, Sesame Street is the #1 top-of-mind preschool show with moms. The series has received more Emmy awards than any other show in television history, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street which reaches 156 million children across more than 150 countries. The Workshop’s mission is to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder. Delivered through a variety of platforms, including television programs, digital experiences, books and community engagement, its research-based programs are tailored to the needs of the communities and countries they serve. For more information, visit us at www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

2 Comments Posted on September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 Uncategorized

Peanuts Emmy Honored Collection: 11 Episode, 2 Disc Set

I have been waiting for quite a while for my nearly 5 year-old son and me to sit down and watch the new Ninja Turtles movie. He was a bit too young to see it when it came out in the theatre, but now that it’s available on Netflix streaming, I’ve been hyping it up to him.

However, we’ve still yet to watch it…

That’s because the same week Ninja Turtles hit Netflix streaming, we received the Peanuts Emmy Honored Collection in our mailbox, to review here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog.

With that being said, every night before bedtime, we’ve sat down as a family and watched an episode of Peanuts. This set contains more than 4 hours (265 minutes) of Charlie Brown and his friends.

I would have to say our favorite episode is “It’s Magic, Charlie Brown.” Produced the same year my wife and I were born, 1981, this hilarious episode features Snoopy trying out his newly acquired “magic tricks” on all the kids.

When Snoopy turns Charlie Brown invisible and but is unable to turn him back, Snoopy desperately tries to find ways to remedy the situation; including covering him in mud, as well as wrapping him up in a sheet and a necktie.

The most memorable episode is “Why, Charlie Brown, Why?” from 1990. Linus befriends a girl named Janice, who he soon discovers has leukemia.

It’s so heartfelt to watch Linus care for her, visit her in the hospital, comfort her as she loses her hair, defends her against a bully who teased her, and celebrate with her when she recovers from her cancer.

Needless to say, my son has thoroughly enjoyed watching Peanuts every night. And with a few more episodes left to go, we’ve still yet to watch the new Ninja Turtles movie.

PEANUTS: EMMY® HONORED COLLECTION

A COLLECTION SHOWCASING 11 CELEBRATED PEANUTS SPECIALS

IS SET FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

FROM WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Two-Disc Collection Features Over Four Hours of Peanuts Specials

1 Comment Posted on September 15, 2015September 15, 2015 movie reviews, parenting, Uncategorized

The Journey Home DVD Review

These days, I leave it up to my nearly 5 year-old son which DVDs to review here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog. Last week when I showed him a picture of the DVD cover for The Journey Home and asked him, “Jack, should we review this movie about a boy who helps a baby polar bear?

With zero hesitation, he responded with an excited yes, as if to insinuate, “Well, why wouldn’t we, Daddy?”

After all, my son is obsessed with learning about animals. Some of his favorite shows on Netflix are Dinosaur Train and Octonauts; both of which provide him with an array of trivia for him to quiz me about after he watches each episode.

Simply put, my son was fascinated by and fixated on The Journey Home the entire time.

It was pretty amazing even for me to see a little polar bear interact with the main character, a teenage boy, with such personality. The bear was like a little puppy.

I particularly enjoyed all the helicopter shots of the arctic.

After we finished the movie, my son asked me, “Daddy, do we get to keep it?” I suppose that implies he’s planning on watching The Journey Home again in the new future.

Now that my son is getting older, we’re able to start watching more family movies, as opposed to just kids’ movies.

Therefore, I do want to point out this movie is rated PG; not G. As the rating label on the box implies, there are a couple four letter words; as well as some disturbing images, like a dead polar bear after it was killed by hunters, as well as the frozen remains of a man who apparently died in the snow and ice.

As for my nearly 5 year-old son, he was too excited about the baby polar bear to notice the elements that make the movie PG rated.

Now, for some exciting news…

Just as our family gets to keep this movie like my son asked about, so did one lucky reader of Family Friendly Daddy Blog as well…

Congrats to Matt Wright, who was the first person to go the Facebook wall of Family Friendly Daddy Blog and ask this question:

Did I just win The Journey Home?

Thanks for reading!

RLJ ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

THE JOURNEY HOME

Available on DVD and Digital Video Sept. 22, 2015

THE JOURNEY HOME DVD

Genre: Family/Drama/Adventure
Rating:                        PG

Language:                  English
Format:                       Color
Year:                           2014
SRP: $27.97
Length:                       98 minutes
UPC: 0014381002898
Cat#:                           POL00289DVD
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio Format:             Dolby Digital 5.1

Leave a comment Posted on August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 movie reviews, parenting, Uncategorized

Is PG-13 Rated Ant-Man Suitable for Younger Children?

Something I’ve pointed out over the years in my family friendly movie reviews is that most movies these days are rated PG-13. That happens by default, since PG rated movies scare away adults (thinking the movie will be too cheesy), while R rated movies prevent many teenagers from being able to buy a movie ticket.

So since most movies are rated PG-13, I think it’s important to recognize which of those movies land closer to PG and which are closer to R. Because if this were about 30 years ago, Ant-Man wouldn’t have been rated PG-13. It would have been rated PG.

Let me begin by saying this movie is awesome! My son Jack and I loved it. My favorite Marvel movie up until this point was Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But there’s a good chance Ant-Man may be #1 in my book now.

It’s quick-witted, different, and yet warm.

Ant-Man is rated PG-13 due to action and fighting scenes; which are ultimately the equivalent to Power Rangers violence. The most intense violence actually comes in the form of fierce punches to the face.

It’s almost a theme in the movie: Face punching.

The only time my nearly 5 year-old son (4 years, 8 months to be exact) jumped in brief freight was during a few of the face punches, but it was mainly because the sound effects.

Other violence includes the main villain using a shrink-ray gun that shrinks a man as well as a sheep into a pink glob of mucus; therefore killing them both.

I think that in my son’s perspective, watching Ant-Man was like seeing the action violence of Power Rangers with the creepiness of Goosebumps on Netflix, with The Lego Movie type of humor.

There was no sexual content in Ant-Man or even innuendoes.

However, the assumed most “offensive” language in Ant-Man is one use of a word used for cat; but is used to refer to female genitalia. It is used briefly as an insult slang from one man to another, not in an explicit sexual content.

The other strong cuss word is one use of the phrase “S.O.B.”; only they don’t abbreviate it like I just did.

Other than that, there are definitely what I call PG-rated cuss words throughout. There were no uses of the f-word or “g.d.”; which are the ones most American parents seem to find the most offensive.

The reason the language didn’t bother me was that my son is too young to recognize those words as “bad words” yet. He doesn’t hear them in our house or at his school, so it didn’t worry me for him to passively hear them in Ant-Man.

He thinks stupid and “oh my gosh” are bad words; neither of which I remember being in this movie.

I don’t think my son would have been able to handle the intensity of Jurassic World or the new Ninja Turtles movie. But Ant-Man was PG enough for him.

So would I recommend Ant-Man to younger children? I say yes, if your child is accustomed to Power Rangers, Goosebumps, and The Lego Movie.

If not, Ant-Man may be too intense, and too serious, for them to appreciate.

Please feel free to let me know your thoughts on my analysis on the “family friendly” factor of Ant-Man, as well as allowing me to answer any further questions you may about this loveable movie.

Also, here’s my video review of Ant-Man:

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