Be sure to know what your family will see.Ever think of taking your family to the latest movie and then sit through half of it wondering what in the world you were thinking bringing your child to this movie? Ever have to get up and leave before the movie is over?
With the newest release of Harry Potter, my son has been asking each day if we could go to the movies to see it. These days, I do not simply trust the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America. Their standards and mine do not always agree.
There are many sites on the internet that provide reviews of movies in the theatre, video, games and even television. Spend a little bit of time on each site to understand their review philosophy before you completely trust their review for your family. Sometimes, it may take more than one review site to help you best understand the movie before you go.
General review. Parent Previews, www.parentpreviews.com. This site provides a very user friendly home page with a quick listing of new releases and soon to be released movies. The page provides an overall grade, a summary review and a detailed review. There are also sections for alternate movie choices and discussion ideas. The ads on the site are understandable since this is a free site.
Moral review. PluggedIn Online, www.pluggedinonline.com. Brought to us by Focus on the Family, this site provides a very thorough review of movies, videos, games, television, and music. Included in each review are sections of positive elements, sexual content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug and alcohol content, other negative contents, and a very well-written conclusion. Advertisements are well-done in my opinion and do not take away from the purpose of the site.
As for the latest release of Harry Potter the reviews are positive for the intended teen and adult audience. For my seven year old however, I think we will have to wait.
Do you have a favorite movie review technique you would like to share? Please enter it as a comment.
Photo Credit © Peter Zurek | Dreamstime.com
I'd definitely wait. Having just seen this movie with my 12 year old daughter, I can tell ya that I would *not* take a child of only seven ~ even one who has seen the other HP movies.
Plugged In Online is the one I like the best :-)
(One thing I dislike though... is that in order to get a really in depth review as to the suitability for kids, you end up having to read spoilers and know how the movie is gonna turn out! ARGH *lol* )