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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

Movie Review September 2020

These wonderfully animated episodes are interesting and teach a lot of social skills. You can learn a lot of things science-wise, plus you can learn things about being confident, telling the truth and knowing that you are beautiful and unique. There are very deep messages in this series, which is awesome, but the animation lacks detail. In each episode, Mily has a different question that she wants answered or a different problem to be solved. She travels her neighborhood, goes to her friends, asks her family and learns as much as she can. Eventually, she understands and gets her questions answered. The director, Alexis Ducord impressed me by how he developed the plotlines, the different personalities of the characters and the types of questions that Mily asks. The questions are appropriate questions for the targeted audience. I love how the questions are answered. You get a deep understanding, most of the time. Sometimes the question is not fully answered and leaves you hanging. But most of the time the answers are great. The animation comes up short when the characters talk; either their mouths don’t move in sync with the words or sometimes the audio is late. I love all the facial expressions and the body language that indirectly portrays emotion. My favorite episode is number 3, when Mily isn’t accepted onto the swim team. She says to herself that she will never set foot in a pool again and gives up her dream of swimming. But she soon realizes that to succeed you have to make mistakes. Sometimes you might not get accepted, but you should keep trying and not give up. This episode is a deep one and gets the message across very clearly. The DVD Mily Miss Questions: Season 1 has great educational, animated episodes that I recommend for kids ages 5 to 9. This series teaches a lot of valuable morals in a very interesting way. I give this DVD 3 out of 5 stars because some questions aren’t fully answered and the animation could use improvement. I still enjoyed watching this DVD and you should too. You can find it on DVD .

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

Movie Reviews – April 2020

Reviews For Kids By Kids The Great Wall This movie is about William (Matt Damon), a traveler who comes to China with his friend Pero (Pedro Pascal) to find black powder. When they try to enter the Great Wall, the Chinese soldiers of the secret military group, Nameless Order, captures them and escorts them to General Lin (Jing Tian), who holds them captive. A wave of alien monsters, known as Taoties, attacks the Great Wall. William and Pero heroically fight and save the order and earn the respect of the General, but they plan to betray the Nameless Order with the help of Sir Ballard (Willem Dafoe), another foreigner in search of black powder. Torn is torn between joining his friends by betraying the Chinese and taking on the responsibility of saving them from this monster attack, William must make a choice. Matt Damon portrays a believable noble warrior who needs to make a correct choice to redeem himself. Pedro Pascal, as Pero, is my favorite character as he delivers a show-stealing performance with a mixture of comedy and villainy. Jing Tian excellently presents her patriotism and the trust she has towards her people. Willem Dafoe nicely presents a greedy man who will do anything for the black powder. The Great Wall has a good message about redemption. William is, by no means, a true role model, but he can redeem his wrongs by helping the Chinese. I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 11 to 18 as some battle scenes may be too frightening for younger audiences. Arjun NairAge: 15 My Little Ponies: Friendship Is Magic | Exploring The Crystal I love watching the My Little Pony series, and this season does not disappoint. I was captivated by the unique plot and relatable characters. This new season has around 110 minutes of fun and exciting adventures that are both entertaining and educational. The main purpose of My Little Pony is to educate both kids and adults about friendship and everyday issues. It teaches these lessons in a variety of ways, with each and every episode having its own independent adventure that contains hilarious comedy and even action from time to time. There are five episodes total on DVD, and they all focus on adventures around the Crystal Empire, a city in the My Little Pony world. Each adventure is completely different from the others. One is a time travel adventure, another is about protecting the Crystal Empire from freezing weather and another is about making friends with a creature that everyone assumes to be a monster. Despite the differences in each episode, they are all entertaining and unique and have wonderful messages behind them. My Little Pony is still great for kids, with bright colors, simple but hilarious jokes and educational morals. But this series also appeals to adults with its compelling stories, relatable characters and morals that can apply to adults as much as they do to kids. I give My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Exploring the Crystal Empire 5 out of 5 stars for its beautiful animation, wonderful episodes, entertaining plot and compelling morals. This DVD is available now, so go check it out. Gerry O.Age: 14

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

Reviews For Kids By Kids

Moana Arjun N, Age 14 Moana is an excellent movie that is a colorful visual treat with lots of creativity. The voice acting, stellar animation and good message impressed me. However, I didn’t care for the slow exposition. Despite this flaw, this movie is still a fun experience to watch. The story is about Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), the daughter of the respected chief on Motunui Island, wanting to venture out into the sea. One day, danger faces Motunui Island and Moana must go out to save it. Moana is chosen to reunite the Heart of Te Fiti, which was stolen by the legendary demigod, Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Moana teams up with the arrogant Maui in order to reunite the Heart of Te Fiti and both face various dangers. Auli’I Cravalho delivers an excellent first performance and steals the show as Moana showing her adventurous and determined side, distinguishing Moana from the rest of the Disney characters. It is surprising that this is her first performance because of how well she performs. Dwayne Johnson also steals the show in his charismatic and funny performance as Maui. Dwayne Johnson, as usual, puts his best work into his characters. Rachel House delivers an outstanding performance as Gramma Tala, who is important in Moana’s call to adventure. John Muskers and Ron Clements’ direction keeps the movie flowing from one place to another, whether it is a lush island or the windy seas. The animation is some of the best I have seen, particularly the water effects. The bright colors of the various locations also impressed me. I have rarely seen a movie with such good use of colors. My favorite scene in the movie is the fight scene between Maui and a giant crab. I can’t spoil it, but it is uniquely creative. The movie is not all perfect. The exposition showing Moana growing up is a little slow and drags, but this is only 10 minutes of the movie. The rest of the movie is amazing. The movie has a great message about how Moana never gives up. She is constantly reminded that she can’t perform such adventurous tasks, but she always tries her best to face the challenges. I give this movie 4 1⁄2 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 18 years old. Finding Dory Morgan B. Age 12 I loved watching the brand new Blu-ray DVD Combo of Disney Pixar’s film, Finding Dory, which is the sequel to Finding Nemo. Fans of Finding Nemo will absolutely love this sequel. The animations in this film are amazing, the humor is hilarious and witty, and the plot is so heartfelt. It does not disappoint. Dory, a forgetful but fearless blue tang fish (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), suffers from short-term memory loss, and she has struggled with this for her entire life. Then one day something happens to Dory that triggers her memory and she remembers that she has a family. She tries to find them with the help of Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks). The question is will Dory find her family, or will she forget to find them? In the Blu-ray DVD Combo, aside from having the film, there are many bonus features that talk about how Finding Dory came to be. In What Were We Talking About it shows us the difficultythe filmmakers had making a narrative that worked involving Dory and her short-term memory loss. There are also bonus features that have interesting facts about how this movie was made. For example, in Animating and Acting, it shows us how the director, voice actors and animators worked together to make the animations and performances believable. Another thing that is included is a theatrical short called Piper, which is about an adorable hatchling venturing from her nest for the first time to dig for food. Additionally, there are director’s commentaries, deleted scenes (which are fun to watch), and much more. You can also use the scene selection option, pick what language you want the movie in, and play the movie. I give this Blu-ray DVD Combo of Finding Dory, 5 out of 5 amazing stars. I recommend this to kids ages 5 to 18 and I think adults might like this as well. I also recommend this to people who like action, adventure, animation, comedy, and family movies.

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

MOVIE REVIEWS – December 2016

Middle School: the Worst Years Mia A, age 12 Middle School: the Worst Years of my Life is the best movie I have seen for middle school kids in a long time! It is fun and creative, and I absolutely enjoyed it. This movie is based on the book by the same name, about a kid named Rafe (Griffin Gluck) who is in middle school. He is one of those troubled kids, although we really like him. He has been expelled from many schools, and this is the last school he can get into. His school is very strict and he doesn’t like it at all, so he decides a plan to try to get back at the principal for making all these horrible rules. My favorite character is Rafe, the main character, because he is hilarious! Rafe is creative and shows a lot of emotions. His little sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson) is funny and sassy. There is one scene where Georgia cries and she almost made me cry. It is so realistic! Lauren Graham from The Gilmore Girls plays the loving mom. The other adults are more like human cartoons. Their behaviors are stereotypical and over-the-top silly. The music really sets the tone of the movie and gets the audience involved. I enjoyed the music a lot because it includes some of the most popular songs today. It got me more into the movie and made me think it was a real middle school that other kids attended. I think the animation is incredible! It looks very much like a drawing from an artistic person, and it gives your brain something to think about. The animated creatures are funny and creative and they feel like they are Rafe’s friends. The animation helps us explore more of Rafe’s imagination as the characters come to life. I really like how the characters are so detailed, and colorful. They look like they are hand-sketched, making you think Rafe actually drew them. The audience was very into this movie. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. The plot is unexpected. The audience seemed to connect to all the characters, especially one of the main teachers, Mr. Teller (Adam Pally). He is relatable and seems like a great teacher that a lot of kids would want to have as their own teacher. My favorite scene is when Rafe puts sticky notes all over the whole school. It’s creative and funny. I loved the artwork of the vice principal’s face in sticky notes. . I recommend this film for ages 8 to 15 and rate it 5 out of 5 stars. The Adventures of Gumby: The 60s Series Volume 2 Gerry O, age 14 Fifty years ago, before computer animation, we had hand drawn animation and stop motion animation. The Adventures of Gumby: The 60s Series Volume 2 not only contains spectacular stop motion animation, but it also has fantastic and fun adventures that kids and adults of all ages can greatly enjoy. This series is meant to be an adventure, but it doesn’t hold back on humor and will make you laugh time and again. It also has some mild action and even a slight bit of intensity, but nothing to be too concerned about. Even those intense scenes are full of light and good nature. Each episode focuses on a different story. Some may focus on an adventure into a Dinosaur World or into space or even into a micro world where germs live. Each episode follows Gumby and his friends and what happens during their adventures while teaching kids some valuable information. Most episodes have some sort of moral message and, since there isn’t a continuing plot, viewers can watch at any point of the series and understand what is going on. I enjoy the fact that, despite most of it being pretty fantasy-like, it intertwines actual science and real-world knowledge to the point where I found myself learning stuff about economics, which was a pleasant surprise! My favorite episode is “Shady Lemonade.” In this one, Gumby and his friends go to a lemonade place and discover that the owner scammed them. Later that day, they save a man’s cat and the man gives them a very large reward. They decide to use that money so people can get lemonade at a cheap price and not worry about getting scammed. I picked this episode because, despite it not have some fun adventure, it is still a unique and fun story and it kept me entertained. On top of that, the moral of the story is great — for every action there is a reaction. This series is designed for kids, and parents have nothing to worry about. I recommend it for ages 4 to 18. I believe adults will enjoy this show. too, even though it is a kid’s show because it sparks your imagination and its out of this world stories will make you laugh. For spectacular stop motion animation, wonderful voice acting, fantastic songs and perfect stories, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Kids

MOVIE REVIEWS – December 2016

Middle School: the Worst Years Mia A, age 12 Middle School: the Worst Years of my Life is the best movie I have seen for middle school kids in a long time! It is fun and creative, and I absolutely enjoyed it. This movie is based on the book by the same name, about a kid named Rafe (Griffin Gluck) who is in middle school. He is one of those troubled kids, although we really like him. He has been expelled from many schools, and this is the last school he can get into. His school is very strict and he doesn’t like it at all, so he decides a plan to try to get back at the principal for making all these horrible rules. My favorite character is Rafe, the main character, because he is hilarious! Rafe is creative and shows a lot of emotions. His little sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson) is funny and sassy. There is one scene where Georgia cries and she almost made me cry. It is so realistic! Lauren Graham from The Gilmore Girls plays the loving mom. The other adults are more like human cartoons. Their behaviors are stereotypical and over-the-top silly. The music really sets the tone of the movie and gets the audience involved. I enjoyed the music a lot because it includes some of the most popular songs today. It got me more into the movie and made me think it was a real middle school that other kids attended. I think the animation is incredible! It looks very much like a drawing from an artistic person, and it gives your brain something to think about. The animated creatures are funny and creative and they feel like they are Rafe’s friends. The animation helps us explore more of Rafe’s imagination as the characters come to life. I really like how the characters are so detailed, and colorful. They look like they are hand-sketched, making you think Rafe actually drew them. The audience was very into this movie. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. The plot is unexpected. The audience seemed to connect to all the characters, especially one of the main teachers, Mr. Teller (Adam Pally). He is relatable and seems like a great teacher that a lot of kids would want to have as their own teacher. My favorite scene is when Rafe puts sticky notes all over the whole school. It’s creative and funny. I loved the artwork of the vice principal’s face in sticky notes. . I recommend this film for ages 8 to 15 and rate it 5 out of 5 stars. The Adventures of Gumby: The 60s Series Volume 2 Gerry O, age 14 Fifty years ago, before computer animation, we had hand drawn animation and stop motion animation. The Adventures of Gumby: The 60s Series Volume 2 not only contains spectacular stop motion animation, but it also has fantastic and fun adventures that kids and adults of all ages can greatly enjoy. This series is meant to be an adventure, but it doesn’t hold back on humor and will make you laugh time and again. It also has some mild action and even a slight bit of intensity, but nothing to be too concerned about. Even those intense scenes are full of light and good nature. Each episode focuses on a different story. Some may focus on an adventure into a Dinosaur World or into space or even into a micro world where germs live. Each episode follows Gumby and his friends and what happens during their adventures while teaching kids some valuable information. Most episodes have some sort of moral message and, since there isn’t a continuing plot, viewers can watch at any point of the series and understand what is going on. I enjoy the fact that, despite most of it being pretty fantasy-like, it intertwines actual science and real-world knowledge to the point where I found myself learning stuff about economics, which was a pleasant surprise! My favorite episode is “Shady Lemonade.” In this one, Gumby and his friends go to a lemonade place and discover that the owner scammed them. Later that day, they save a man’s cat and the man gives them a very large reward. They decide to use that money so people can get lemonade at a cheap price and not worry about getting scammed. I picked this episode because, despite it not have some fun adventure, it is still a unique and fun story and it kept me entertained. On top of that, the moral of the story is great — for every action there is a reaction. This series is designed for kids, and parents have nothing to worry about. I recommend it for ages 4 to 18. I believe adults will enjoy this show. too, even though it is a kid’s show because it sparks your imagination and its out of this world stories will make you laugh. For spectacular stop motion animation, wonderful voice acting, fantastic songs and perfect stories, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

MOVIE REVIEWS – December 2016

Middle School: the Worst Years Mia A, age 12 Middle School: the Worst Years of my Life is the best movie I have seen for middle school kids in a long time! It is fun and creative, and I absolutely enjoyed it. This movie is based on the book by the same name, about a kid named Rafe (Griffin Gluck) who is in middle school. He is one of those troubled kids, although we really like him. He has been expelled from many schools, and this is the last school he can get into. His school is very strict and he doesn’t like it at all, so he decides a plan to try to get back at the principal for making all these horrible rules. My favorite character is Rafe, the main character, because he is hilarious! Rafe is creative and shows a lot of emotions. His little sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson) is funny and sassy. There is one scene where Georgia cries and she almost made me cry. It is so realistic! Lauren Graham from The Gilmore Girls plays the loving mom. The other adults are more like human cartoons. Their behaviors are stereotypical and over-the-top silly. The music really sets the tone of the movie and gets the audience involved. I enjoyed the music a lot because it includes some of the most popular songs today. It got me more into the movie and made me think it was a real middle school that other kids attended. I think the animation is incredible! It looks very much like a drawing from an artistic person, and it gives your brain something to think about. The animated creatures are funny and creative and they feel like they are Rafe’s friends. The animation helps us explore more of Rafe’s imagination as the characters come to life. I really like how the characters are so detailed, and colorful. They look like they are hand-sketched, making you think Rafe actually drew them. The audience was very into this movie. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. The plot is unexpected. The audience seemed to connect to all the characters, especially one of the main teachers, Mr. Teller (Adam Pally). He is relatable and seems like a great teacher that a lot of kids would want to have as their own teacher. My favorite scene is when Rafe puts sticky notes all over the whole school. It’s creative and funny. I loved the artwork of the vice principal’s face in sticky notes. . I recommend this film for ages 8 to 15 and rate it 5 out of 5 stars. The Adventures of Gumby: The 60s Series Volume 2 Gerry O, age 14 Fifty years ago, before computer animation, we had hand drawn animation and stop motion animation. The Adventures of Gumby: The 60s Series Volume 2 not only contains spectacular stop motion animation, but it also has fantastic and fun adventures that kids and adults of all ages can greatly enjoy. This series is meant to be an adventure, but it doesn’t hold back on humor and will make you laugh time and again. It also has some mild action and even a slight bit of intensity, but nothing to be too concerned about. Even those intense scenes are full of light and good nature. Each episode focuses on a different story. Some may focus on an adventure into a Dinosaur World or into space or even into a micro world where germs live. Each episode follows Gumby and his friends and what happens during their adventures while teaching kids some valuable information. Most episodes have some sort of moral message and, since there isn’t a continuing plot, viewers can watch at any point of the series and understand what is going on. I enjoy the fact that, despite most of it being pretty fantasy-like, it intertwines actual science and real-world knowledge to the point where I found myself learning stuff about economics, which was a pleasant surprise! My favorite episode is “Shady Lemonade.” In this one, Gumby and his friends go to a lemonade place and discover that the owner scammed them. Later that day, they save a man’s cat and the man gives them a very large reward. They decide to use that money so people can get lemonade at a cheap price and not worry about getting scammed. I picked this episode because, despite it not have some fun adventure, it is still a unique and fun story and it kept me entertained. On top of that, the moral of the story is great — for every action there is a reaction. This series is designed for kids, and parents have nothing to worry about. I recommend it for ages 4 to 18. I believe adults will enjoy this show. too, even though it is a kid’s show because it sparks your imagination and its out of this world stories will make you laugh. For spectacular stop motion animation, wonderful voice acting, fantastic songs and perfect stories, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

Finding Dory

I love the new Disney / Pixar film, Finding Dory, which is the sequel to Finding Nemo. Fans of Finding Nemo will absolutely love this sequel. The animation is amazing, the humor hilarious and witty and the plot is heartfelt. It does not disappoint. Dory, a forgetful but fearless blue tang fish (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), suffers from short-term memory loss and has struggled with this her entire life. Then one day, something happens to Dory that triggers her memory, and she remembers that she has a family. She tries to find them with the help of Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks). The question is, “will Dory find her family, or will she forget to find them?” This film’s humor is so hilarious, I laughed my pants off and that’s why I love it so much. Some of the jokes are also funny for adults, which I also liked. I love the animation because Pixar makes the sea life in this film look so realistic, and the colors are rich and vivid. The characters are adorable, kid friendly and nice. Pixar has done it again. They made me feel all kinds of emotions – happiness, fear and sadness, just to name a few. I love the film from beginning to end. It is really fantastic. Ellen DeGeneres is child-like and goofy. Her portrayal of Dory really excels. However, my favorite character is Hank, the octopus (voiced by Ed O’Neil) who gives an outstanding performance. He can camouflage into anything. I love how he has that ability. I also like how he makes so many hilarious jokes. He assists Dory on her adventure to find her family so he can leave the Marine Life Institute and go to Cleveland. We see how Hank’s personality slowly changes throughout this film because of Dory. I just love how Dory grows on him and how he helps her no matter what. Also, I noticed that all the characters in this film have some type of disability in some way or another, and all of them learn to overcome it. That is a very important message in this film. I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to kids ages 4 to 18. You should be aware that there is one short scene that involves an octopus that may scare some children but it is very brief. I also recommend this film to people who like children, family and action movies. And, I think that adults will enjoy this.

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

The BFG

I enjoyed watching the new Disney film, The BFG. We get to see the works of three great storytellers together. Director Steven Spielberg collaborated with Walt Disney Studios to bring Roald Dahl’s classic book, The BFG, to life and turn it into a wonderful film. I love the film for its CGI, which makes the animations look incredible, and I also enjoyed its comedic moments. In this film, we meet Sophie, an orphan who hates the all-girl orphanage she is living in. Then one day, she spots the elderly big, friendly giant (The BFG) who takes her away to Giant Country because he doesn’t want her to tell other people that she saw him. At first, Sophie is scared because she thinks he is going to hurt her, but then she realizes that the giant is actually really friendly, unlike the other giants. The Big Friendly Giant is considered an outcast by the other giants because he refuses to eat children or people as they do. Sophie has an idea to enlist help from Queen Victoria to help keep the Big Friendly Giant safe and capture all the man-eating giants from Giant Country. To see how the story unfolds, go see this film. I appreciate the animations of this film because they are vivid, detailed, realistic and child-friendly. The faces and the size of the giants are amazing. I also like this film because of its humor. I also like the designs of the scenes. They look extremely realistic – so much so, that you could easily think it is a real place. I love how the characters change throughout the film. However, what I didn’t like in this film is that there are a few scenes that are too intense for younger viewers. Also, some scenes got a little boring. But besides that, this film is fantastic. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to kids ages 6 to 18 and I think adults will like this as well. I also recommend this to people who like family, action, adventure and comedy movies.

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

Movie Reviews- July 2016

Lily’s Driftwood Bay Ah, to sit and look out over the sandy beach at the ocean every day, then your pet gull cries out, “Look, look!” and you spot something buried in the sand. Every day is a new find and a new adventure for Lily, who leaves the world and goes off into her imagination to Driftwood Bay, an adorable little place for her to play and discover a use for her new treasure. The cast of characters are unique, cute and quirky, looking just like something a child would dream up. It includes Captain Salty, the dog with a sailing ship and Bull, who is made from messy balls of string and squeaky mice. Lord Stag is a puffin. Hatsie is the train conductor, and we meet lots of whales. Lily, with her red hair and a cute Irish accent, looks like a paper doll and is my favorite character. I love how she can take a small found object from the beach and think of so many different uses for it. Then, it turns into a grand adventure. I laughed so hard while watching the episode “Bulls Might Fly.” Lord Stag and Bull actually try to hang glide. Everyone has doubts, but you are in for grand and shocking surprise. It shows that even though you might be afraid to do something, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. The lessons learned in these fun stories are easy for young kids to understand. Lessons such as, you should tell the truth. Even if you break something, you can get help in fixing it. A boat is too big to fix by yourself. When you lose something, it is easier to find with help from others, especially if you can’t sleep without it. You should always apologize if you are wrong. Friendship is important. Be creative and use your imagination. Always put things back where they belong, so you can find them later. This collection of short episodes is perfect for children as young as 2. They are only 10 minutes long and are quite easy to follow. I enjoyed watching all 10 episodes, but I was just getting into them when they ended. For older kids, they may be too repetitive because the beginning and the end are the same in every episode. I recommend this DVD for ages 2 to 7 and give it 4 out of 5 shining starfish! Review by: Morgan B, 11 — The Man Who Knew Infinity This action feature film is incredible! I fell in love with the main characters and enjoyed the true story. This biographical movie is very dramatic. This movie is set during World War I and takes place in India and at Trinity College in Cambridge, England. Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) is 25 years old, lives in India and is recently married. He is an exceptional mathematician that receives mathematical formulas by meditating and in his sleep. His mentor encourages him to send his work to the professors at Trinity College. Dr. Hardy (Jeremy Irons) is very impressed with Ramanujan’s work and tells him to come to England so Hardy can help create publications of his mathematical formulas. Ramanujan leaves India and travels to Cambridge, sadly leaving his mom and loving wife at home. He misses his family and the foods he was accustomed to having at home. Making things more difficult, some of the professors are jealous of how smart Ramanujan is and are prejudiced because he is Indian. He comes up with many formulas, but Dr. Hardy says that no one will publish his work without proof of how he came up with the mathematical formulas since he only says, “It comes to me.” Throughout the film, the relationship between Dr. Hardy and Ramanujan develops into a very strong one. Dr. Hardy, in particular, is transformed because of knowing and eventually caring for Ramanujan. Dr. Hardy, a devout atheist, does not believe in God and doesn’t believe in anything that cannot be proven scientifically. He does not understand how his student comes up with all of these formulas and struggles with Ramanujan being as brilliant as he appears to be. This movie is amazing in so many ways and also very inspirational and emotional. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Patel’s version of Ramanujan’s character. He is so extraordinary and seems like such a nice person — someone I would want to know and be friends with. My favorite scene is when Ramanujan is meditating and is given another formula. His excitement in receiving this information is contagious. The settings and scenery are very appropriate for the time this takes place and made me feel as if it could be during World War I. The costumes are well thought out for scenes in both India and Cambridge, and they definitely fit the time period. I give this film five out of five stars because it is entertaining, informational and has a very interesting plot. I recommend this movie for ages 12 to 18. It may be difficult for younger audiences to follow, but I do believe that people should watch this movie to learn about other cultures and times and, of course, they should enjoy this very inspirational true story. Review by: Lainey A, 14

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Kids

The Jungle Book

Having now seen three versions of the Rudyard Kipling classic, I can honestly say that Jon Favreau’s 2016 adaptation reigns supreme. I know that may come as a far-fetched opinion for the faithful fans of the 1967 animated classic, but open your mind to the possibility that this version is above the rest. The darker, more realistic tone of this live-action adventure is a sharp contrast to the lighter tone of the 1967 musical comedy. That may be off-putting to some fans, but once you’re swept up in the visual splendor of the movie, the story becomes ever more engaging. Speaking of which, don’t be surprised if a few elements of the 1967 version’s story aren’t in this one or are rearranged. Jon Favreau gives the story the proper grandeur it deserves. He uses lush art direction and sweeping cinematography to make the story look bigger. Visual effects aside, the aesthetic of the film gets across the monumental stature a family adventure should have. Combine the visuals with the score of John Debney and you’ll find beauty and thrills that bring back a child like wonder. One thing I really appreciate is the way the film treats the animals as characters, not denying them close-ups or treating them as spectacles. They are instead, portrayed as natural beings within the world of the screenplay. It enhances the brilliant voice acting of the cast. Speaking of which, I hope this film can rekindle the campaign to get voice acting a category with the major awards. Idris Elba is perfectly evil. Ben Kingsley and Bill Murray provide such natural and fitting voice work. And, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken steal the show. Their scenes are the highlights of the movie and are easily the most memorable. This movie is an overall construction of perfect cinematic elements. Disney has hit a grand slam with The Jungle Book as it will be etched in the memories of audiences for decades. I say this film is one of the best films of this decade and maybe even the last 10 years. With that said, I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 18. It can be seen at a local theater near you.

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