Reviews written by Tara the Mom

M.K. (Amanda Seyfried) and Nod (Josh Hutcherson) may not be the same size, but they share the same heartache: their parent and primary caretaker has passed away. EPIC doesn't dwell in a place of unhappiness, but both have turned inward and push away their new guardians. A turn of magical events forces the two to work together to focus on others to save not only an entire race but the forest where they all live.

Given that, EPIC is a fun, sometimes funny, dramatic adventure which allows kids to change perspective - what is it like to be tiny? Being introduced to different points of view can be groundbreaking for kids, even if it doesn't sink in just yet. Battle scenes exist and the bad guys in EPIC, the Boggans, promote rot and death so they might be a little scary but I saw this with at least 100 if not 200 small children and there wasn't a single cry or gasp, so I think it's okay.
We can all learn something from Mub the self-confident slug, voiced by the brilliant Aziz Ansari, he knows he's a catch even if others might judge his physical appearance differently. For kids 5 and up.

After seeing so many guns and weaponry this summer, FAST AND FURIOUS 6 is actually refreshing. While, yes, explosives and guns are utilized in the movie (mostly by cops and bad guys, though) Dominic Torretto and his team fight an evil mastermind using different guns, the left one and the right one. A mind-boggling amount of good ole-fashioned fist fights occur in the film which seems way more manly than a James Bond movie. Of course, the amazing cars, breathtaking chase scenes and some inventive homemade ingenuity play out pretty well, too. The stunts, however, are phenomenal but horribly unrealistic in the sense that it's unlikely anyone would survive most of what the team pull off. Will kids think they can make similar leaps? Not if parents discuss it with them afterward. Overall, FF6 is about loyalty, teamwork, criminals gone good, and looking out for family. That's a pretty good message if you ask me.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS is set into motion by Captain Kirk taking actions that fly in the face of the mission and then trying to hide his negligence. Getting kids to be accountable for their actions is a situation many parents struggle with but, unfortunately, Kirk's journey to responsibility isn't one that kids will likely learn from. However, J.J. Abrams really does highlight the importance of teamwork and trusting those on your team. The violence is harsh, but the futuristic setting make it less realistic. Additionally, don't forget that Captain Kirk is a skirt-chaser and, parents be warned, lands a couple of skirts at one time. Kids 12+.

"We create our own demons." This is the opening line and the message of IRON MAN 3, about Tony Stark putting to rest the pompous, self-absorbed jerk that he used to be. As a result, though, we flashback to the old boozy, womanizing, reckless cool guy being cruel to someone physically less fortunate. Stark must battle an elusive terrorist who is shown killing innocents and is targeting America, which could be particularly frightening to younger kids. The body count in IRON MAN 3 feels significant for an Avengers movie. Additionally, while we never see anyone hooking up, the audience gets an eyeful of a handful of women lounging in lingerie. On the other hand, drugs are shown in a negative light. Should be okay for ages 11+.

OBLIVION is a twisty action thinker and a film that may have parents thinking about what bothers them more in movies: the sexuality or the nudity? Let's start with that notion. OBLIVION doesn't have intimate moments, really, it's more about the naked human form. Tom Cruise has TWO shower scenes, of course, we just see his upper body. Andrea Riseborough showers in one scene and swims fully naked in another which allows the audience to see her complete backside and her side where you almost but don't quite get a glimpse of something. The shots are filmed in a sexy way but the aren't doing anything really sexy.
The sci-fi action is of the STAR WARS variety - if a Death Ray hits a person, that person just disappears. No blood or graphic violence at all. The most significant reason to hold off on an 8 or 9 year old seeing the movie is that the story is complex. I mean, so complex that I had a hard time following the story's twists and turns, as did many movie professionals I know. You've got to LISTEN and pay attention. No time for slipping to the bathroom in this film. For kids 10 and up.

You absolutely, must see 42. It’s about how Jackie Robinson came to be the first black major league baseball player and what he had to go through to break down that wall. It’s a history lesson about how far we’ve come in just a couple of generations and it’s an amazing lesson in overcoming adversity. The PG-13 rating is for the racist language, of which there is a lot, and the worst words you can imagine used in really ugly ways. 42 is an inspirational story that, if you feel your child is mature enough, is be the must see movie of the year.

JURASSIC PARK seems like it's for kids since it's about two things kids love: theme parks and dinosaurs. That facade is exactly what makes it one of the scariest horror films ever made. Oh yes, JURASSIC PARK is a horror film, a slasher flick to be exact, with scientists, techies and two children trapped on an island with an army of serial killers.

On the other hand, JURASSIC PARK is a phenomenal movie that not only promotes science but also highlights that scientific advances create moral dilemmas (should we, just because now we can?).

Never before has a movie been made that better suited both the IMAX and 3D formats - this is by far the most worthwhile conversion and one with seeing. But, should you bring the kids? My 12-year old knows she gets scared and she told me she would not be going. After seeing the 3D version, that was a good call.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION features lengthy action sequences, weaponry and gadgets galore and the girl Joe function is to look pretty to distract the enemy - in other words, exactly how boys play with their action figures. Overall, I believe boys of all ages will love this movie. But, the question is, should younger boys be allowed to SEE the movie?

The GI Joe sequel relishes the manly man. It stars the most masculine and enviable of men of all age groups: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis. These manly men can do anything, can take down any bad guy and do they love their guns.

Guns are sexier than any woman - guns of all kinds are loved on, shown to be super cool, and are perhaps the biggest star in this movie. Swords, Chinese throwing stars and an awesome tank are the co-stars. The Joes kill count is incredibly low compared to enemy COBRA's, but make no mistake, the body count is high. It's not "scary" violence, though, all bloodless and clearly, CLEARLY, as fictional as playing with action figures.

The gun worship feels uncomfortable to me as a parent in light of the gun violence plaguing America right now, however -- and this is important - the heroes of this movie are those trained to use weaponry: the military. And, they are using guns to SAVE THE WORLD.

But will kids walk away with that message, or just that guns are the coolest "toys" ever? I can't imagine that any 7-year old boy who saw this movie and then came across his dad's gun in a drawer wouldn't be compelled to pick it up. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION is PG-13 but thousands of dads brought their young sons to see the first G.I. JOE movie. I beg you to respect the PG-13 rating.

With the title THE CROODS, a parent may go in expecting some crude behavior. Really, though, there's very little. What THE CROODS has a lot of, though, is what the filmmakers call "physical comedy" but I'd call Looney Tunes-style cartoon violence. Listen, I think I'm the only person in the world that gets bugged by cartoons for kidswhere people are constantly being flattened by giant rocks, struck by lightning or other incidents in which no human could really survive -- but if this bugs you too, this is your warning that THE CROODS is chockful of unrealistic injury survival.

On the other hand, THE CROODS also makes one realize it's a miracle mankind survived and we weren't always necessarily the top of the food chain. Cave dad Grug (Nicolas Cage) lives by the mantra "Never Not Be Afraid" and his key to keeping his family alive is by overprotecting them. Of course, his teen daughter (Emma Stone) wants to explore and when she meets another human boy, well, she understandably wants to go where he goes. To use Grug's double negative manner of speaking, THE CROODS isn't not relatable.

The moments of 3D will make the scary moments more intense, of course, but you also get some lovely scenes in 3D. If your kids are too young, skip it, it's nice but not mandatory. For kids 4 and up - just make sure they know they can't really drop a rock on their heads.

THE HOST takes a sci-fi notion and applies it to a sci-fi notion: what if aliens invaded Earth and took over our bodies as their own...and what if our human souls continued to occupy the body but in a weaker state, not the one speaking, operating or making decisions in the body. It's incredibly intriguing with the credibility of the story dinged by the romance elements as both the Human and the Host fall for different guys (ugh).

Of course, if you've ever been to Communion, you know "the host" also refers to the bread we eat that signifies the body of Christ. "The Host" actually means "sacrificial victim," and this does come into play as well. Religious families won't look hard to find an analogy to Jesus.

There is a bed scene with our very young couple, but to be fair, they did think they were very possibly the last humans on Earth with no one to marry them (or at least, that's what my teen son and I decided). Additionally, the alien-human standoffs result in some shootings, some of which lead to death. In other words, for kids 13+.

As a mother with a high school senior applying to Ivy League colleges, I went to see ADMISSION with a zeal. I've wondered about the admissions process and the admissions officer. If you're going to see ADMISSION in hope of "learning the secret to getting in," the good news is the movie DOES address that but the bad news is they don't tell you.

I think kids who are going through the admissions process will get a kick out of the film, but really, ADMISSION is a story about a mother, and even then a woman who tried to dodge being a mother, but still feels those maternal tugs and the desire to do anything you can to make your child's dreams come true.

ADMISSION is definitely not appropriate for kids younger than 13 and maybe a little older. There's only a few curse words but at least one was shocking to hear in a PG-13 movie (and no, it doesn't start with F. It starts with T - figure that one out). Also, it's got some out and out hook ups. It's just a movie for adults and older teens.

One thing to note: with Tina Fey, Paul Rudd and Lily Tomlin, I assumed the movie was a DATE NIGHT/ANCHORMAN type comedy, but it's not. ADMISSION is a dramedy, so if you adjust your expectations, you will enjoy the film more. For kids 15+.

I laughed so hard watching THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, I nearly peed my pants. Seriously, the movie is so funny I didn't want to leave the theater and risk missing one single joke, not even to relieve myself.

The entire cast is PERFECT, from Alan Arkin as a legendary magician to Brad Garrett as Burt's money guy to "Wimpy Kid" Zachary Gordon as the bully. Of course, the icing on the cake is Jim Carrey who is at his all time best in this film - as an audience member you can't wait for him to come back on camera because 1) you don't know what he's going to do, you 2) just know it's going to be comedy GENIUS.

I tell you how much I loved BURT WONDERSTONE and how much I enjoyed seeing it with my son, a high school senior, because now I have to tell you why I have to ding it down to 4 stars. It's got some pretty racy scenes - Wonderstone is a David Copperfield-type magician who "gets" the girls and we do get our share of girl in her underwear/bed shots. Again, it's hilarious, but knowing I almost brought my 12-year old daughter to see it with me, I was so so glad she wasn't there. And, to be fair, the studio which made the film really wanted me to be clear that the movie is PG-13 and didn't want kids or parents to think the movie was appropriate for them. Which is just too bad, because magic, comedy, Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Zachary Gordon are a combination that kids really love.

My advice: see the movie with your older teen. And don't order a large soda. Ages 15+.

If you’ve ever read the original version of a fable, then you know that the stories they used to tell children to keep them on the straight and narrow were actually violent, gruesome and scary. JACK THE GIANT SLAYER is the medieval times version of Jack and the Beanstalk/Jack the Giant Killer, which makes for a bizarre movie by today’s standards. It’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE mixed with DIE HARD - and that may make you wonder exactly who this movie is made for, because it’s not kids. My 12 year old was downright frightened during parts of the movie but, in the end, says she gives it an A - she said, “once I got used to all the killing, I liked it.”

Although the movie may seem to parents that it SHOULD be for elementary age kids, the fact is that it's not. It's PG-13 and Warner Brothers has been careful not to market the movie to younger kids. It is, indeed, for 13 and up.

Remember the intensity of the plane crash in CASTAWAY and the shipwreck in LIFE OF PI? The audience feels like they know the chaos, the fear and the experience of such a horrific experience. And after OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, moviegoers get a glimpse of what it’s like to be swept inside a tornado. The heart-pounding feeling of projectiles flying through the air and the inability to control one’s surroundings is there, but, since this is still a WIZARD OF OZ fantasy, the tornado experience likely isn’t as awful as the real deal.

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL definitely ramps up the imagery, as one might expect from Sam Raimi. Flying monkeys? Sure, but in this WIZARD OF OZ prequel, flying monkeys are the good guys. It’s the flying baboons with razor sharp teeth one needs to be concerned with. Wicked Witch? Of course, with double the cackle, my pretty. But in the end, the director aims to stay true to Oz as we know it in our heads, where the CGI is plentiful but a little bit unrealistic, just like that tornado…which benefits younger viewers. For kids 7 and up.

Sibling rivalry turns into brotherly love in ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH. The movie is about an alien astronaut who is a star and hero on his planet, but treats his brother (who protects him from mission control) like he's inferior. Bickering between brothers is not an unfamiliar scenario in many houses. While Scorch and Gary grow to appreciate each other, I'm not sure the message will translate; on the other hand, as long as it's not a negative message, a movie doesn't need to have a moral to the story.

ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH aspires to be a movie for the little kids while delivering jokes for the parents - listen carefully to the asides, throwaway lines and background comments - those are for the grownups! We didn't see this in 3D but, really, this movie is for the young ones who don't do well with 3D so I wouldn't recommend it. For kids 4 and up.

This is a teen fantasy romance in the vein of Twilight, but reversed – a small town Southern boy falls for the new girl at school – and it turns out she’s a witch of sorts…but on her 16th birthday, she’ll find out if she’s a good witch or a bad witch. I’m not entirely sure it’s intentional but it seems like the whole movie is a metaphor for how hormones may get the best of girls when they become teenagers – even my 6th grader picked up on that. I was not happy how my 11 year old picked up on the inappropriate jokes – which there are several; but nothing is spelled out, the kid would have to already know what was being implied. This is a movie for teens and the characters curse, make a couple of lewd jokes and do a lot of making out –but to be fair, it’s all right on for what happens in high school. Ages 12 and up.

WARM BODIES is a romantic comedy for teen boys. Seriously. And they pull it off in such a clever way, that Cole the Kid Critic didn't even realize he was watching a romantic comedy. WARM BODIES is a zombie movie about the power of human connection - it's fun and funny. Some of the stronger curse words are in the movie but not used too often. A girl is shown from behind undressing to her bra and underwear, but it's not for romantic reasons. The biggest concern is the scare factor - several zombie attacks do occur in the film and we do see body parts getting chomped. The "bonies" (zombies that no longer look human) are pretty spooky. That said, see 11-year old Monkey Riley's review - she's pretty sensitive and she wasn't bothered. Overall, WARM BODIES is a fun movie to see with your teen and preteen - and afterward, they just might want to read (or at least know about) ROMEO AND JULIET.

For parents hoping to ignite a spark of desire for good theater in their kids won't find it with LES MISERABLES. Too long, too much singing (yes, I said it), and too many nonstop closeups and odd film angles. In fact, I literally felt queasy while watching LES MISERABLES because of the cinematography. I haven't seen the musical but of my film industry friends who are fans of the stage production were ultimately disappointed in the movie version.

Be advised, Fantine does turn to prostitution to provide for her daughter, and we see her turn a trick.

Interesting, our culture now encourages kids they can make a difference, to set goals and make plans and THEY CAN DO IT. Having not seen the musical, long forgotten the book and never listened carefully to the lyrics of Susan Boyle's breakout song, I did get a shock that everything doesn't always work out in this musical tragedy. In fact, the miserable are exactly that because they do set out with dreams that die, often the dreamer with it (Anne Hathaway is truly spectacular with "I Dreamed a Dream." "Les Miserables" is a fantastic story but just an okay movie. Tweens and older.

It's too bad THE HOBBIT is PG-13 because it's so full of imagination it reminds me of how children play. While playing, they might stumble across some sort of bizarre creature who has a magical ring and somewhere else during play discover the ring makes you INVISIBLE! Or when seeing the bad guy, just charge at him with a sword and be saved by a giant bird flying by. That's imagination. That's how kids interact.

Unfortunately, THE HOBBIT has a lot of battle scenes, but this is the kind of violence that always leaves me wondering how to gauge it. Beheadings seem to be the preferred way to kill an opponent in the Hobbit - sometimes it's Orcs, sometimes it dwarves. Dwarves are shown to be "like us" - so it seems more human. Orcs, though, are creepy giants, so is it AS BAD when an Orc gets it? How about a goblin (which looks like Nosferatu)? That's for each parent to decide, just know THE HOBBIT doesn't shy away from battle and witness to plenty of dwarf carnage. My guide is for kids 9 and up.

James Bond is back and as retro as ever. In agent 007's latest adventure, he struggles to maintain his old school presence in a technologically advancing world, something many parents may find relatable.

But Bond's old school thinking when it comes to his misogynistic ways hasn't changed at all. In fact, the way Bond hooks up with SKYFALL's Bond girl makes it likely that his American buddies would be Republican senatorial candidates Todd Akin and Richard Murdock. Additionally, the playboy's reaction to the end of his relationship, to say it without spoiling it, is absolutely revolting. Bond is officially a creepy old man.

That's not to say the movie isn't riveting and entertaining, it is. And, men may feel that I may just not get it. It's all male fantasy - from the irresponsible treatment of women to Bond's lack of regard for the lives of others -- just make sure you explain that to your sons, okay? Please? For kids at least 14 years old. At least.