1. Super 8. This is a movie from 2011 and is directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. It’s about some kids that are filming their own zombie movie in the late 1970’s, when a train crashes while they are shooting a scene. An alien monster is unleashed that was being transported on the train–the military comes in and shuts down the town. These kids are the only ones who really know what’s going on. It’s pretty intense and the alien is scary looking. We originally were thinking of letting our boys watch it with us–but I’m really glad we didn’t. Also, one of the kids has a filthy potty mouth and takes the Lord’s name in vain a lot, but we loved the story and action. I don’t recommend it for kids–maybe high school age would be ok. Rated PG-13.
2. The Kid Detective. This is about a guy that–as a kid– was very successful at solving mysteries and crimes around his hometown. Everyone loved him. But, when one of the girls from his class goes missing, everyone is counting on him to find her and he isn’t able to. Now, as a grown man, he runs his own detective agency, but is pretty much a loser. It’s an intriguing story of how he has to come to terms with his feelings of failure as a kid for not being able to find the missing girl and a chance at redemption with a new case he has–solving the murder of a high school aged kid. In some places it has kind of a downer feel to it, but I really enjoyed the overall story. Even thought this has kids in a lot of the movie–this is not a kids movie. Rated R.
3. I Kill Giants. We watched this one as a family (click here to get the parent info) . If you check out the trailer–it’s about a young girl who hunts and kills giants in her town. But, the trailer is kind of misleading. It really is about a young girl whose made up this entire fantasy about killing giants because she can’t cope with the emotional pain she is in. It’s a very sweet and touching story, but our boys didn’t like it–at all. They would have preferred it was just about a girl that kills giants. Rated PG-13.
I would love to hear your opinions and any suggestions you may have of what to watch.