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All reviews by MPAA Rating
(C+) The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Fans of the old "Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoon show fondly remember its wisecracking sensibility and its refusal to take anything seriously, especially itself. And they remember its terrible puns, planted...
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Posted on Friday December 13, 2002
(B-) The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D
This movie spends a lot of time and energy on the importance of dreams and imagination, delivering its message in both form and content. I wish it had spent a...
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Posted on Sunday June 5, 2005
(B) Agent Cody Banks
I took four young teenagers to this movie and they loved it. But I was not as impressed. The idea is a cute one -- but it was cuter when...
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Posted on Sunday March 9, 2003
(B) Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
Frankie Muniz returns as junior secret agent Cody Banks in a moderately cute action comedy that will satisfy its target audience of 8-14-year-olds. Cody is the superstar of the secret...
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Posted on Saturday March 6, 2004
(A-) Akeelah and the Bee
"Prestidigitation." Akeelah (Keke Palmer) has just won her school's spelling bee and everyone is impressed and proud. But Dr. Larrabee (Laurence Fishburne), who, like Keke, grew up in Compton, pushes...
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Posted on Thursday March 16, 2006
(B-) Aliens in the Attic
Back in the era of Saturday matinées, "Aliens in the Attic" would have been just fine sandwiched between a couple of cartoons and a newsreel, especially if about half an...
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Posted on Tuesday November 3, 2009
(A+) All the President's Men
Based on the real-life story of the two reporters who would not give up on the story of the Watergate break-in, this is as gripping as any detective novel. Bob...
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Posted on Friday December 13, 2002
(C) Alvin and the Chipmunks
Genre: Genre, Animation, Comedy, Family Issues, Fantasy, Musical
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Novelty songwriter Ross Bagdasarian noticed that speeding up the audio recordings creatd a high-pitched sound in 1958, and used that technique in his song "The Witch Doctor." It was...
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Posted on Tuesday April 1, 2008
(A+) Amadeus
Antionio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham in an Oscar-winning performance), the court composer, should have been Mozart. He followed all the rules, worked hard, and cared deeply. Music was his life....
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Posted on Friday December 13, 2002
(B+) Amazing Grace
Parents should know that this film includes frank descriptions of some of the most profound atrocities of the slave trade, including torture and rape. The painful symptoms of Wilberforce's long-term...
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Posted on Sunday January 28, 2007
(B-) Amelia
Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviator who was lost over the Pacific, is given the big Hollywood biopic treatment in a curiously retro film that feels like it was intended for...
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Posted on Thursday October 22, 2009
(A) America's Heart and Soul
If Norman Rockwell made a movie, this would be it. If "America the Beautiful" was a movie, this would be it. If America had a home move, this would be...
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Posted on Thursday June 10, 2004
(A+) American Graffiti
The movie takes place on a single night in 1962, immediately before two good friends, Curt (Richard Dreyfus) and Steve (Ron Howard), are about to leave for college. Curt and...
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Posted on Sunday August 22, 2004
(A-) An Inconvenient Truth
No zombies. No chain saws. No mutants. No aliens. No meteors hurtling toward Earth. And yet, this is the scariest movie of the year, not, as some jokes suggest, because...
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Posted on Wednesday May 24, 2006
(B+) The Ant Bully
Genre: Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family Issues, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
A boy beset by bullies turns bully himself, going after the ants in his family's back yard. But the ants shrink him down to their size and he learns something...
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Posted on Wednesday July 26, 2006
(A+) Apollo 13
This movie should be called "Smart and Smarter." In addition to the thrilling story, masterful performances, and impeccable technical authenticity, it is a heartening story of the triumph of smart...
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Posted on Friday December 13, 2002
(B+) Aquamarine
The best thing about this fairy tale is that its happily-ever-after ending is satisfyingly real world. It's the most enchanting treat for girls since The Princess Diaries. It's less of...
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Posted on Friday February 10, 2006
(C-) Are We Done Yet?
Is it over yet? Please? Ice Cube's Are We There Yet? was tough enough to sit through, though unaccountably successful. Thus, we have this doubly unnecessary sequel. It is so...
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Posted on Sunday April 1, 2007
(C) Arthur and the Invisibles
Genre: Action/Adventure, Animation, Family Issues, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Director Luc Besson is known for his striking visuals and his mash-ups of sentimental, even corny moments with intense, graphic violence. At his best, in films like The Professional and...
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Posted on Monday January 8, 2007
(C-) Astro Boy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Animation, Based on a television show, Fantasy, Remake, Series/Sequel, Superhero
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: 4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating: PG Audience: 4th - 6th Grades
A show of hands, everyone. If you think it's a good idea to begin a movie for children by killing off a young boy in an industrial accident as his...
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Posted on Thursday October 22, 2009
(B+) The Astronaut Farmer
Once upon a time there was a farmer who wanted to build a rocket ship and orbit the earth. And there were some evil ogres who wanted to stop him....
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Posted on Saturday February 3, 2007
(B-) August Rush
Those who are willing to open their hearts to this urban fairy tale will find its pleasures, as long as they they don't think about it too hard....
» Read Review
Posted on Tuesday March 11, 2008
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Copyright 1995-2009 Nell Minow. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 1995-2009 Nell Minow. All Rights Reserved.