A Monster Calls, Hidden Figures and other films to watch with your kids
Sing (Pg)
Age 7+
Musical has great songs, slapstick laughs, mixed messages.
"Sing" is an animated comedy (with tons of music and singing) from the producers of the "Despicable Me" films. It centers on a theater-owning koala (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) who decides to run a talent contest to boost ticket sales for his financially flagging theater. The A-list voice cast, reality talent show premise, familiar pop songs and cute animal characters make this an appealing pick for families with young kids. But note that there's some peril and danger: Angry gangster bears try to kill a cheating mouse, a gorilla thief is mean to his son and a building collapses spectacularly, putting many key characters in danger. There are also slapstick laughs, silly jokes, risqué moments (from bunny singers waggling their bottoms while they sing "Oh, my gosh, look at her butt!" to a pig husband passionately kissing his wife after she performs in a sexy costume) and insult language ("stupid," "porky," etc.). And while the movie clearly promotes trying hard, being brave, working together and following your dreams, it also has some stereotypes and mixed messages about lying, parent-child relationships and the value of motherhood and homemaking. (108 minutes)
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Hidden Figures (Pg)
Age 10+
True story of African American women at NASA.
"Hidden Figures" is based on the inspiring true story of three brilliant African American women who worked at NASA in the 1950s and '60s as "human computers," making calculations and contributions that helped launch the manned spaceflight program. Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) and Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) were engineers and computers at NASA at a time when both women and African Americans were still widely discriminated against, particularly in segregated Virginia, where NASA's Langley Research Center is based. There's a little bit of romance (a few kisses, flirty comments and slow dancing) and a bit of salty language (mostly along the lines of "damn" and "Jesus Christ" as an exclamation). The film also offers a realistic look at the racial tensions of the civil rights era (segregated bathrooms, libraries, schools, etc.), and audiences will learn a lot about these pioneering women and what they had to overcome to make their mark at NASA. They're excellent role models, and their story is full of positive messages and themes, including integrity, perseverance, teamwork and communication. (127 minutes)
A Monster Calls (PG-13)
Age 12+
Heart-rending adaptation explores the enormity of grief.
"A Monster Calls" is the powerful, emotionally wrenching adaptation of Patrick Ness's heartbreaking young adult novel about Conor, a 13-year-old boy dealing with his mother's terminal illness and sudden visits from a loud, scary, storytelling tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson). The animated stories within the story are frequently bloody, and all have unexpected lessons about humans' complexity. There's also some schoolyard violence: Conor is picked on by a relentless bully who physically and verbally abuses him. (And one day, Conor fiercely reciprocates.) Conor also destroys his grandmother's living room and has a terrifying recurring nightmare about a horrible disaster that nearly kills him and his mother. Many scenes feature upsetting, overwhelming sadness as Conor comes to terms with his mother's mortality and his complicated feelings about what's happening. For families dealing with loss or grief, this film could help kids acknowledge and express what they're going through, but despite themes of compassion and courage, it can prove very difficult to watch. Bring tissues. (108 minutes)
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Pg)
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Age 7+
Spielberg’s family classic is still one of the best.
Steven Spielberg's classic, "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," is an outstanding family movie — one of the all-time best. Its themes of loyalty, trust and caring are both affecting and easy to understand, and Elliott and E.T.'s extraordinary friendship is one of cinema's most enduring. Some scenes of peril and danger may prove too intense for very young children, and a key character's apparent death will be emotional for just about everyone. Brief strong language includes "s---" and "son of a b----," as well as an insult that includes the word "penis." There's a bit of squabbling among siblings, and E.T. and Elliott both get/act tipsy in one comically memorable scene. The 20th-anniversary edition replaced guns with walkie-talkies in one scene, although that sparked a fair bit of backlash. The film also was criticized for having a complete absence of nonwhite characters. But when Elliott's bicycle lifts up into the sky and soars across the moon, all you'll remember is the joy of movie magic done right. (115 minutes)
Via Netflix streaming, Amazon Video and iTunes.
Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. Go to commonsensemedia.org for age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites and books.
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