Jordy's Reviews posts

My newphew Jordy, 11, reviews the prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” which is currently the highest-grossing movie of the year. Comments welcome.

I’m sure you have probably heard the “'Wizard of Oz' is amazing you need to see it” lecture. It is a great, magical movie. So I came into “The Great and Powerful” with high expectations. Is the movie great and powerful?

Not quite.

The movie is about a greedy magician named Oscar, whose act is known as Oz: The Great and Powerful. Oz was whooshed into a magical tornado and lands in Oz. The movie, set in 1905, starts off brilliantly by adding the unique touch of not only being in black and white, but also having the camera shaped like a box, like a camera would have been back then. Then, when they land in Oz, it goes to color and widescreen. Brilliant!

Everyone in Oz thinks Oz is the great wizard who will save them from the evil wicked witch, except all he is interessted in is the great treasures of Oz. The movie is not a remake, it is a prequel.

The movie has some good plot twists, like who is really wicked.

The acting is fine. However, it’s nothing that would stand out. The movie isn’t as magical as “The Wizard of Oz,” missing songs that have gone down in history (“Somewhere over the Rainbow“), the bond between the main characters on their adventures, and some great quotes. (”There’s no place like home!") Also, there's an attack and then 5 minutes later there’s war. That’s a pacing issue right there.

Overall, it was OK. It had a good script and a great beginning but the movie wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. They are setting this up for a remake of the “Wizard of Oz.” It will need the next young Judy Garland if it comes.

2.5/4 Stars

What have I done? Though I'm master of the house, and on my own, and reviewed “Les Misérables” a few days ago, my nephew Jordy, 11, with a heart full of love, keeps us talking about the movie for one day more...

“Les Miserables” (Les Mis) means so much to me. It was the first play I was in, and got me interested in theater. I came into this movie with very high expectations. If I didn’t like the movie, I would not only be sad, I would be mad at Tom Hooper, the director, for not doing Les Mis proper justice. So did I like it? I loved it. It’s my favorite movie of 2012.

It is a compelling story. The story is about a man named Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who steals a loaf of bread to save his sister’s child from death, and suffers 19 years of punishment for it. After he gets out, he continues stealing, but a kind Bishop saves him. He decides to live by the law, and spends the rest of his life doing good deeds. The movie manages to tell it a little bit better than the play, with some things that confused me in the play being absent here.

When you go to this movie, bring Kleenex, because you’ll probably cry. I cried 6 times throughout the 157-minute movie, and the people that I came with all cried at least once. It is a very emotional movie, and mostly because of the amazing acting from the great cast. Everyone shines, although Anne Hathaway as Fantine does the most, even with her short role. Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried-- everyone. They’re all great. They are also great singers.

The movie has some great camerawork, too. You’ll see mountains, barricades, and streets. The movie is also different enough from the play in that it feels a little bit original, with some songs put in different places, and an original song, “Suddenly,” which is also great. Some of the best songs from the play aren’t as good here (Except for “Empty Chairs At Empty Tables,” which was just as good as the play and made me cry), but it’s not really a criticism of the movie, more that the songs didn’t work as well as they did in the play. However, the songs that were good in the play, but not amazing were better here, like “A Heart Full of Love,” the love song of Cosette and Marius, Fantine’s blockbuster, “I Dreamed a Dream,” and some others.

The Thenardiers  (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) deserve their own section. They have all the funny bits in the play, and are just as funny as they are in the play. The scene in which they sing and rob people of their money is hilarious. In a movie full of misery, they are the comic relief.

Overall, the movie is amazing. I didn’t have a single problem with it. Maybe that’s because I was already familiar with the play, but it probably is because of the fantastic acting, emotional story, and a whole lot of other things that make this movie perfect to me. This IS the best movie of 2012. Cheers, Tom Hooper. You’ve made a masterpiece.

100%

My nephew Jordy, 11, reviews the Hobbit movie so I won't have to...

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is an OK movie. It has good acting, great camerawork, good action scenes, and a good story. (Although it is based off one of the most famous books of all time, so I guess that’s a given.) But for all it does well, it gets some things wrong.

“The Hobbit'’s story is basically a Hobbit (a small creature from the Shire) named Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who goes on an adventure with 12 Dwarfs (small, mining and building creatures) and a wizard named Gandalf (Ian McKellen) through the dangerous Middle-Earth to take The Lonely Mountain back from Smoug The Dragon. The fire-breathing beast took over the Dwarf empire 60 years ago. Along the way, they encounter a lot of things — namely, monsters, monsters, and monsters. The adapted screenplay also contains some foreshadowing for the Lord of the Rings trilogy that I think is unnecessary. ”The Hobbit“ is fine as a stand-alone adventure just as well as LOTR is. However, the story starts really slow and keeps it that way for about an hour. Then we get action, action, and action. That is bad pacing.

The movie has what you’d expect from a high-budget film: good acting, some great camera shots (especially with the background), some comedic moments, stuff like that. However, what it’s missing that ”The Lord of the Rings“ had is some amazing special effects. A few of the things look fake in it. It’s just not nearly as good as LOTR was with the special effects, even though those movies were made a decade ago. Those movies had amazing special effects that few movies can match even now.

Also, a lot of the characters in ”The Hobbit“ represent a certain characteristic. The Dwarves are the tough, partying but lovable people, the Hobbits are the simple folk, Thorin is the serious one, and Gandalf is the calm one. It is done extremely well in this world of creatures we dreamed existed. (Except for Orcs. I hate those guys.)

For heroic people, they seem to do a lot of running away in the movie. Almost every time some creature comes, Gandalf says “Run!” and a rule of survival is that if an all-powerful wizard runs away, you should too. The epic music makes me not care too much about the running away, though.

They also overuse slow-motion. In almost every action scene, there’s a slow-motion shot that is completely unnecessary. This is what I call the Michael Bay effect. The movie is very good in HD and it will not be the same at home as it is in the theater. The humor also goes well with the movie, not too much so that it will feel like the movie is trying to make you laugh, but like real life, where every 2 hours or so something funny happens. My favorite scene was the game of riddles between Gollum and Bilbo. It was slow, dramatic, suspenseful.

Now for what I despise the most about the movie. I don’t like that there are three films. We don’t need three films to tell the story of The Hobbit! That’s just stupid! Each Lord of the Rings book got one movie, and that was it. The Hobbit, the shortest book of the four, mind you, has three movies going for it? That’s like Gandalf casting a magic spell tripling the money! What the heck! I also don’t like how hyped the movie got. It was by the same person, Peter Jackson, that made Lord Of The Rings, and all three LOTR were great, so it got extremely hyped. It’s an example of what hype does to a movie: raises our expectations too far.

Finally, the ending was bad. It’s hard to end a movie that will have a sequel picking up on it, but they had a perfect ending going for it (which I won’t spoil) but they went and ruined it by adding something else. You’ll probably know what I mean if you see the movie.

Overall, ”The Hobbit" is only OK. It has some good things going for it, but it disappoints in too many others for it to be great. I recommend you see it if you have seen LOTR, because you will find it entertaining even with all its problems.

67%

Okay For 10+ (There are some scary monsters throughout the movie, and it does have a lot of action involved.)

My nephew Jordy, 11, keeps at it...

“Rise Of The Guardians” sounded like it would be a good film. The trailers showed good animation, action, an all-star cast. I went into the movie theater expecting a fun hour and a half.

Boy was I disappointed. Despite some good things, it fails to make up for its bad story, terrible 3D, and meh script.

The trailer did get some things right. For one thing, the animation is nice. It has these weird sand things flying everywhere, and there is a lot of detail. Also, the movie has action in a non-violent, young kind of way, which I respect. However, I have to question the cast a little bit.  The Easter Bunny is Australian? What? Even though the supporting cast is made up of stars, I would expect the main character to be a star, too, but no. Jack Frost is Chris Pine, and while he’s been in some movies, it’s not like everyone knows him.

The story is that Pitch Black (Jude Law) is coming back to bring fear and misery to children, and the guardians, who are Santa Claus, (Alec Baldwin), The Australian Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) The Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and The Sandman (who doesn’t speak) to save the world. However, they need a new guardian, Jack Frost, who is not seen by us puny mortals because we don’t believe in him yet. And the guardians go off to save the world. Personally, I think that this group is bad. If you can hire any person to be a guardian, why not just hire James Bond or Hulk Hogan, or worst of all, MR. ROGERS. The story also gets too complicated for its own good. But since I didn’t care much about the characters, I didn’t care.

The script also isn’t that good, with more bad lines and screenwriting clichés. It is a shame, since if I thought that the script was better I probably would have been more forgiving of the bad story. The script also does nothing to compel older audiences like teens to keep them interested except some comedic parts. However, the movie has a nice pace to it.

The 3-D is also pretty bad, never doing too much with it, so you should definitely watch this one the old-fashioned way.

My brother loved the movie, though. He thought it was great. (Leave a comment encouraging Ryan to write reviews and he just might do it!)

My dad thought the movie was good, but agreed with me that the movie got too complicated for its own good. Ryan would give it a 9/10, but my dad, Eric, would give it a 7/10.

It seems like younger audiences would like this more than teens and adults, based on what Ryan thought of this movie. I felt its bad story, iffy script, the lack of compelling things for more mature audiences, and bad 3-D make this a lame movie. It might be good for kids, but I think you should only see it if you have kids. Since this is MY review, my brother’s and dad’s thoughts will not be in the overall score.

Nice try, Dreamworks, but you need to try again.

39%

Okay For 7+ (There is some action, and there are some parts that could be considered frightening for younger people, like my brother.)

(Please leave a comment suggesting what to review next or what you thought of “Rise Of The Guardians.” Thanks!)

From my nephew, Jordy, 11:

I may be writing about it late, but you should see “Frankenweenie,” Tim Burton’s recreation of his own film (something you don’t see every day.) It has great animation, a great story, and some problems.

“Frankenweenie” is the story of a boy and his dog, and for the sake of this movie, dog is man’s best friend. (I think it’s woman, but…) Anyway, the dog gets run over running after a baseball, which is ironic, since baseball is normally a young boy’s favorite thing. The kid is lonely, so his new crazy science teacher shows how electricity sparks life back in an animal for a few seconds. The kid gets an idea, and the next thing you know, the boy’s dog is back. He’s happy, but then other people become involved and it gets out of hand. The story compelled me, mostly because I can relate to a dog passing on (R.I.P Seymour). It really touched me.

The animation is also crisp, with its black and white style to reference the original film. I have to say that this is being a lot more creative than a lot of other animated films. They seem to try to lure you in with color. Tim Burton brings us in with being old-school, to please adults more, it seems. Nice move, Tim Burton.

I also love the script. It references the past movie, it seems, and every line is well-written. The characters are well-made, and I feel like this movie’s story has stood the test of 28 years, judging by what my grandmother thought of the movie.

However, that seems like all it has to offer. It needs more. It hits some of the highest points, but misses the others. We need a little bit of comedy, we need a bit more drama, we just need more. The movie also doesn’t do too well with the action scenes in my opinion, not engaging me at all. However, this movie isn’t about action or drama or comedy. This is about the story, and it does so well there, along with the animation and script, that I can’t say, “This movie is terrible because it needs more.” It does so well with the high points that the low points feel less important because of the engaging story. See it when it comes to DVD with your family. You won’t regret it.

83%

Okay For 6+  (This movie has some violence in it, and with its topic of rising from the dead might scare some younger audiences.)

Next Review: Rise Of The Guardians

~Jordan Muschler

(Hi, everyone, I can’t thank you enough for all the suggestions and feedback you’ve given me. And now, I need another favor. If you live in the Minneapolis metro area, I would really appreciate you coming to the Riverview theatre November 29th, for I am judging in a film festival about Minnesota neighborhoods. All the money raised goes into a scholarship at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and I would really appreciate you coming. It starts at 5:30 PM, and if you come I will review anything you want me to review, within the limits of my reviewing abilities—like no M-rated games or R-rated movies. Thank you for reading this.)

(Please leave a comment suggesting what you want me to review or what you thought of “Frankenweenie.” Thanks!)

Ryan, Jordy and Seymour.

My nephew Jordy, 11, doesn't hold back in his review of Steven Spielberg's “Lincoln”...

And the Oscar goes to… “Lincoln”! For what? Well, first, Daniel Day-Lewis will win best actor, because if he killed the role anymore he would’ve been a zombie. Second, for the script, capturing the personalities of every single character. And last, Steven Spielberg, and I don’t even have to explain why. HE’S STEVEN SPIELBERG!!! Why is this movie amazing? Why is nobody going to care about the supporting cast? Why did they call this movie Lincoln? Find out below! (There’s no commercial break.)

“Lincoln” starts off with a civil war scene in which bayonets do their work and you see brutal war. Then we go to a part where some African-Americans have a conversation with Honest Abe. They talk about equality, and how maybe in the next 100 years, we could learn to have a black man be a colonel in the army. Than we see people who have memorized the Gettysburg Address. Sound boring? It’s not, unless you’re young or don’t like history. In this scene, you learn 3 things: A), Daniel Day-Lewis is off-his-rocker good; B), the writing is great; and C), Lincoln is a hero. We already knew that, but now we’re sure.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but the writing, by Tony Kushner, is amazing. Seriously, anyone who can make Abraham Lincoln say “No sight can make an Englishman shit quicker than the sight of George Washington” deserves an Oscar. The movie also has these comedy moments that are just hilarious but flow well and are believable.

After the opening scene, we learn about how Lincoln is trying to pass the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery in all its forms. We probably already know that’s why Lincoln is famous. However, Spielberg does this movie so well that even if I already know what’s going to happen, he can still make me nervous. I get nervous because the entire cast is excellent. Everybody. However, nobody will care. Why? Because Daniel Day-Lewis is too good. His performance might as well say, “I am the world’s biggest diva. Fear me, for I will outshadow all of you in every single way.” HE’S THAT GOOD!

The climax of the movie deserves its own paragraph. As I said, I don’t care if I know the history, I was on the edge of my seat while they were voting whether to pass the 13th Amendment or not. Lincoln isn’t even in the scene that much. It’s the Representatives, the speaker, the gallery and that’s it. It’s like a Clint Eastwood showdown, except there’s no action and everybody’s sitting. It’s that dramatic.

In the movie, there are also concerns involving family. Two of Lincoln’s sons have already died. However, Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the eldest son, wants to join the army. Lincoln and his wife don’t want him to join. Lincoln also has to take care of his youngest son, Thomas, who is very entertaining and is truly a kid in the movie.

The movie has great attention to detail. From the war scene being scarily realistic to how Lincoln is much taller than his wife, everything is done extraordinarily well.

The only problems I had with the movie were that it starts off a little bit slow but then it speeds up quickly and also that the main focus of the movie is about the 13th Amendment, and while there is some about Lincoln’s family, it’s mainly about his cabinet and himself getting the votes they need, and therefore, I felt like the title of the movie was not the best choice. That’s it.

Before we went in the movie, I had a conversation with my mom that went a little something like this:

Mom: “Twilight” opened this weekend, and it’s playing in five theatres. “Lincoln” is in one.
Me: What has our world come to?

I meant it. Seriously? Daniel Day-Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, and SPIELBERG outmatched by Robert Pattison and his vampire friends? Does anybody care about Lincoln anymore? Do they care that the person who got rid of slavery is being outmatched by … Bleh? No, they don’t. Money is the only thing that matters in America now. Uggh!

Anyway, I think you get the point. “Lincoln” is great. It’s a great way to return to “everybody loves Spielberg” coming from the mixed reviews of “War Horse.” Although the movie had two problems, I think that we can all see the bigger picture: Lincoln is an amazingly-acted, well-written, beautiful film. Let’s hope that the rest of the year’s movies can learn a lesson.

94%

Okay For 12+ (The movie does have language, a pretty brutal war scene, and a lot of kids probably won’t even get it. It’s a parent’s kind of film.)

(Hi, everyone, I can’t thank you enough for all the suggestions and feedback you’ve given me. And now, I need another favor. If you live in the Minneapolis metro area, I would really appreciate you coming to the Riverview theatre November 29th, for I am judging in a film festival about Minnesota neighborhoods. All the money raised goes into a scholarship at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and I would really appreciate you coming. It starts at 5:30 PM, and if you come I will review anything you want me to review, within the limits of my reviewing abilities—like no M-rated games or R-rated movies. Thank you for reading this.)

(Please leave a comment suggesting what to review next or what you thought of “Lincoln.” Thanks!)

My 11-year-old nephew, Jordy, disagreed with my review of “Skyfall.” Here's his take.

**

When I think about James Bond, I think guns, girls and awesome. Not emotional. In Skyfall, we get guns, awesome, emotional, but no main girl that he actually hooks up with for a little bit. Also, this isn’t James Bond’s story to tell. This is about M, and her mistakes, and what she did. It’s a revenge plot done so well, almost nobody could hate it.

The movie opens with Bond on a mission to get a hard-drive with a list of names of secret agents when he gets shot off a train. Then we go into the intro with no naked girls swimming in the background. That’s the first sign that this movie is different. By the way, compliments to the intro. In James Bond movies, they open with a very popular artist’s song with the title in it over a great animation. In Skyfall, the artist is ADELE, whom I’ve always liked, despite being more of a target for girls. She creates a great song that matches the tone of the movie. After this, without James Bond and the missing hard-drive, everything goes to hell for MI6. The headquarters gets attacked, MI6 gets hacked, and everything messes up. Without Bond, MI6 is nothing. Then Bond returns from the dead, because he’s James Bond, and because you can’t have a James Bond movie without James Bond. From here on out, it’s a mission to stop the person who’s doing this.

Along the way, he meets girls who don’t last. They come and go, and it’s probably because they don’t have any chemistry. Daniel Craig is great as James Bond. This isn’t everything’s-got-to-be-funny James Bond. This is gritty, tough, badass James Bond with a good sense of humor. There are some funny with Bond. Judi Dench is also good. However, it is Javier Bardem as the villain who steals the show. He is a smart, sinister, and kind of scary. Daniel Craig’s got his first amazing villain. (He had good ones before, just not amazing ones.)

Bardem’s character opens with a very scary story about how he got rats to eat each other, and then released those rats to kill all the other ones. It’s very well-written. Skyfall is written very well. From the conversations to the kill quotes, it’s all smart and original. Also, the action scenes are spectacular, especially the final action scene, in which Bond does awesome things, but the things he does make sense. I could go on with how amazing this movie is, but how about something bad about it? There are some things that nobody will understand until later in the movie. It’s pretty stupid. It’s foreshadowing done badly. Unfortunately, I’m a spoiler-free reviewer, so I can’t use it, but it doesn’t change the fact that this movie is amazing. I don’t understand how someone who will not be named (Uncle Erik) could not like it. Don’t even go to his review without knowing that this movie is amazing.

~Muschler. Jordan Muschler.

93%

Okay For 14+

(Hi, everyone, I can’t thank you enough for all the suggestions and feedback you’ve given me. And now, I need another favor. If you live in the Minneapolis metro area, I would really appreciate you coming to the Riverview theatre November 29th, for I am judging in a film festival about Minnesota neighborhoods. All the money raised goes into a scholarship at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and I would really appreciate you coming. It starts at 5:30 PM, and if you come I will review anything you want me to review, within the limits of my reviewing abilities—like no M-rated games or R-rated movies. Thank you for reading this. Next review: Frankenweenie)

Another movie review from my 11-year-old, video-game-playing, Alfred-Hitchcock-admiring nephew, Jordy...

Video-game movies have a tendency to suck. They normally have a terribly written script, horrendous acting, and just are not appealing to most people. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World changed all this with its great acting, comic book elements, and just blew “Video game movies stink!” out of the water. The question was then could another movie about video games with its main story not stink?

Wreck-It Ralph says yes, with Mario Kart and Donkey Kong on top of the cake. It is like a documentary on what video games go through, except less stupid and more original.

The story is about a guy named Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly), a video game villain that is underappreciated by his fellow video game crew and goes on a quest for a medal so he can prove that he’s a good guy. However, it turns into an adventure on its own, LIKE a video game. He first goes to Hero’s Duty, a First-Person Shooter (FPS) where he questions, “When did games become so violent?” I agree. We don’t need BFG’s or Spartan Lasers. Heck, Mario only needs his feet. Anyway, in Hero’s Duty, he meets Sue Sylvester- I mean, Jane Lynch. Sorry, she just basically has Sue’s personality. She plays Sergeant Calhoun, in a Sue-riffic role. He gets a medal in it, but then accidentally enters a racing game, Sugar Rush, which is basically Mario Kart with candy! Hooray!

I’m not going to spoil anymore, but the story is good. It's also very funny, with some jokes that hardcore gamers will get (The password to a video game’s code is the contra code.) There is also a joke about a new game in the arcade, where the good guy, Fix-It Felix (voiced by Jack McBrayer), says, “Look at the high-definition on your face.” I think it’s a great line. The movie is very well-written. Little kids might not get some of the words, like glitches or code, just some stuff that makes up a game. What intrigues me about the story is that it takes a very unoriginal approach—an outcast becomes the hero—but puts it in this video game world that is so colorful (Sugar Rush) so bland (Hero’s Duty) and just plain old school (Fix-It Felix), and puts these worlds together perfectly. Only a great movie can do that. It also gets some shots of the real world, us, in the arcade. How we take advantage of the video game world and kill the video game people when they do not please us. I guess hippies were right when they said, “There’s a world in all of us.” Video Games have souls, too. Think about that the next time you shoot an alien in the face in Halo

~Jordan Muschler

89%

Okay For 7+

(Leave a comment for ideas of a review. If you have any feedback, please tell me. I love feedback! The next review is the new Frankenweenie from Tim Burton.)

A video-game review by my 11-year-old nephew Jordan...

Pokemon Black And White 2 is the sequel to Pokemon Black And White. It takes place two years after the events of Black And White and is superior in almost every way to its predecessor.

You start off as a new character in a new town. As always, you get a Pokemon and decide to go on an adventure. The main story is always the same, basically, but now you get to see everything that happened after the first game. It’s very cool, and it’s a Pokemon first that’s welcome.

I also love the graphics. If you take a quick look, you might think they’re the same, but they’re not. They have basically taken the same kind of style for Black And White but improved everything and redesigned some places to make them look better.

Some areas are gone because they have been replaced by new areas, like the Pokemon World Tournament which I love. Also, Pokemon from other regions are available from the get-go.

However, the same downsides to Pokemon are there again. Sometimes, when you’re in a battle, you’ll lose, and then do that battle again, the same way, and you win. DON’T GET THIS. RESULTS ARE RANDOM??

Another thing I don’t like about the game is that there are not enough training areas. I underleveled my Pokemon the ENTIRE game, which was annoying.

However, those are basically the only things I don’t like. That’s pretty impressive. Also, it has VERY LONG replay value. The replay value only stops when you’ve beaten every single trainer, caught every single Pokemon, and gotten your main party to Lv. 100, the highest level, and it goes on with replayable trainers and things like Black Tower and White Treehollow. That’s a long time playing this game.

The music is great. However, my favorite music will always be in Heartgold and Soulsilver. (Recommendation: Get music from those games.)

Finally, this game is really, really fun. I mean it. This RPG (Role-Playing-Game) is probably one of the best ones ever made. It’s that amazing, especially if your Pokemon are awesome. Pokemon also makes you love your Pokemon like you love your dog or cat. I mean, not as much, but it’s kind of like a spiritual bond. Not many games do that with me, or with anybody, for that matter. It’s awesome. This game is just appealing from every single standard. Get it.

Story: 7.2
Graphics: 7.9
Sound: 8.1
Gameplay: 9.9
Replay Value: 10
Overall Score: 91

Making way this morning for my movie-reviewing nephew, Jordan, 11, who has the latest Laika Entertainment Production (“Coraline”) in his sites...

“ParaNorman” succeeds in almost everything. Almost.

The plot of the movie is about a boy named Norman (Kodi Smit-Mcphee) who can see and speak to the dead, and is bullied for his gift. However, he finds out that he needs to stop the Witch’s Curse, which will raise the dead.

Did I tell you that Norman is obsessed with Zombies? And I mean OBSESSED. The first part of the movie is just him watching a bad Zombie movie. And don’t even get me started on his room. He only has Zombie stuff and nothing else. Not an Xbox 360, not Pokémon cards, just The Living Dead.

The movie is pretty scary. There were some parts where my stomach would boil just because there was an eerie moment. It helps the scare factor that the movie is beautifully animated. The bark on the trees, the school, the characters, everything. Speaking of characters, the characters in this movie do an especially good job of making you care for them and hate them. I also love Norman’s relationship with his dead grandma, who promised to take care of him for the rest of his life. They really are both funny and it's also kind of touching how he kind of has this guardian angel.

The story is great. It has a lot to say, and it says it really well. There’s even a really great plot twist I did not see coming.

The script is also good, except for a few bad lines, which is to be expected in most movies. (With very few exceptions.)

There are some funny parts. There are a few jokes that adults would only get and some that kids would just find hysterical. (Mostly crude humor jokes.)         

I love the feel of this movie. It can feel lighthearted during one scene and during the next make you feel terrified. It works really well, and I absolutely love that feel.

The thing I hate about this movie is that the things that need to be realistic aren’t. For example, instead of learning about the pilgrims feast and putting on a play about that, they put on a play about this small little town’s Witches Curse. I don’t remember putting on plays about Minnesota.

Overall, though, this movie is great. With beautiful animation, a great plot twist, and a satisfying feel, I think that it will be up for an Oscar for best-animated movie. Go see it, or the dead will RISE! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

90%
Okay For 9+

The following was written by my nephew, Jordan, who turns 11 next month, and who has written a pack of reviews before. You can also view his own movies on YouTube...

I love Pixar. To be honest, who doesn’t? They have beautiful animations and have almost always managed to get love and praise by viewers and critics alike.

But, in 2011, they released Cars 2, the first movie that got iffy reviews for a Pixar made film. Now they have released Brave, the first hinted adventure film Pixar has ever made, and is it good? The real question that I found myself asking is, “Is it good by Pixar standards?"

Kind of.

The movie is about a girl named Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) who is about to become a princess. However, she wants to be Indiana Jones’ Gal, and momma thinks otherwise. So she asks for a spell to change her mother’s mind. However, she’s not specific enough to ask the witch to change her mind about her HAVING to be the princess. So she asks to change her mom. Next thing she knows, she has turned her momma into a bear, and like every single curse, she has a limited time to take the spell back.

The story was not the best. It’s not on the levels of Pixar standards. However, there were enough clever things. My favorite part of the movie was when Merida took a ride on her horse, showing her amazing archery skills to the audience. Then we get the most visually stunning scene in the movie in the same part. The scene, which was towards the beginning, made me disappointed that most of the movie was set in the castle or the woods and not in the surrounding area, and when they have a part that seems like a long road ahead, they jump cut to the place. That just HAD to be covered with fog. NOOOO!!!!!

I do have to say that the voice acting was good. The mother-daughter relationship is very good, and adds depth to a movie that desperately needs it. The script is believable. Plus, I really don’t want to just look for flaws in the movie, because that just takes the fun out of watching a movie.

The movie is surprisingly funny for a much darker Pixar movie, but not when it needs it most. My horror movie scriptwriter teacher says, “Humor makes the scary part more scary.” Words to live by, but not for this movie, which has scary parts but not much humor in them. Hint hint, Pixar!

Also, the movie sometimes feels like Merida only focuses on the problems of her Mother and the kingdom, and not her little mischievous red-haired brothers, who can cause some big problems. (Mom, I’m not describing myself!)

Despite my complaints, I am bashing a great movie that could have been greater. I feel that I am being unfair to a movie that I’d take over Cars 2, but not Toy Story or most of the other Pixars. It’s unfair to make it seem like this movie’s bad when it’s up against some of the best animated movies of all time, and probably THE best animated movies.

81%

Okay For 7+

~Jordan Muschler

My 10-year-old nephew Jordy gives us his latest video-game review...

This is the game people have been waiting for for 20 years.

Little backstory, “Kid Icarus” was released for the NES in 1987 and “Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters” for the original Game Boy in 1991, and the series was never heard from again until, in March 2012, “Kid Icarus: Uprising” for the 3DS was made, and, I have to admit, it was pretty good.

First of all, like EVERY video game, it went to the 3rd dimension, except this game did it in two ways. One, a 3D environment, and two, actual 3D. The game has changed from a sidescroller with platforming and RPG elements to a third person shooter. Wow. But, surprisingly, the game works. I love the 8-Bit references that they have in both the soundtrack and the graphics. (Anybody check Google maps on April Fool’s Day?) Also, Pit, the protagonist, references video games a lot, which is nostalgic for old gamers and funny for kids.

Speaking of speaking, Nintendo FINALLY made a game with voice acting in it. (You better be taking notes, Zelda!) The voices are fine, and the script is also fine, however, the games characters will keep talking until the end of each chapter, and this can be a little annoying to some people. You can just turn down the volume all the way, but this would make you miss out on the game's awesome soundtrack. The music is just so great, all you have to do is look up a YouTube video or download the music, and your ears will be blown away.

The game’s story is all right: Medusa and her army are resurrected and try to destroy the world, and Pit and Palutena have to kill the bad guys. Along the way there are a few unexpected things that happen and are actually much better than most stories nowadays. The graphics are actually pretty good, and look better than most graphics nowadays, just proving that most games nowadays are stinking in the graphics department. This game has a ton of content. It has unlockables in the form of treasure hunts, which is basically just a bunch of stuff you can do in the main story mode, idols to collect, and the online mode, which we will get to later. The controls are fine. I played the entire game without the circle pad pro and, being a lefty, I had to adjust the controls to moving with the buttons, shooting with L, and moving the cursor with the circle pad. These controls worked fine with me, and made me have a lot of fun, both with air battles and land battles. The land battles are not nearly as fun as the air battles, which are surprisingly harder than the land battles. The gameplay is so much fun, also, and I’m just glad that the controls are good, because in a game like this, controls have to be great. The biggest problem for me is that even though there are nine different weapons, the only thing it changes is the speed. Not the gameplay. The speed. Also, there are a few glitches in the game. The games multiplayer is fun, especially the online mode. However, I felt that they should have added more game modes, although free for all and light vs. dark are fun.

Overall,this game was very fun, and I recommend it to anyone that has a 3DS.

93%  Okay For 10+

Jordy, my 10-year-old nephew, has beaten me to the punch! Here's his review of the mega-hit “The Hunger Games.” Mine, limping along, goes up tomorrow, most likely...

This movie has got to be one of the most insanely hyped movies ever. About five kids at my school stayed up until 12:00 to watch the premiere, isn’t that insane?

Well, was it good? Yes, yes it was. The story  is about a girl named Katniss whose sister is chosen to compete in a fight to the death on live TV, and she volunteers for her.  Next is the acting. Jennifer Lawrence was good as Katniss, although there was one scene where I thought she overacted a bit. Josh Hutcherson was really good, too. Actually, the entire cast was great! This was not just a cast that said, “Give me the money. Screw the acting.”

Next is the movie’s rating. Some people thought it should’ve been rated R. I totally disagree. I mean, I was scared when I came in, but Gary Ross censored it well. There even was a scene where I got scared and went to the bathroom, mostly because I needed to go to the bathroom, but my friend, Finn, said “Oh, a tribute just died, no big deal.” Ross could have just done a Michael Bay and done, explosions, explosions, explosions, but no, he decided to censor it so young adults could see it and he could earn twice the money. Brilliant, Gary Ross!

The choreography was good, and did well to seem like people did train for a while to fight to the death on live TV. You will care for the characters that the movie wants you to care about, and you will hate the characters that the movie wants you to hate. In fact, my only real problem with the movie was the camera. No, not with the shaky camera effect for a realer movie, I’m talking about the action scenes. In most of them, they go for a closer effect, and go right up to the action, and I can’t tell what’s going on. Plus, they could have tried to make the ending less sequel-ish. You don’t get special exceptions cause almost everybody has read the book, you still have to act like you’re concluding it, not earning triple the money because you have 3 books and don’t want to fit them into one. (Unless they pull a Harry Potter 7 or Twilight Breaking Dawn.)

But this is a great movie that I recommend you go see before they run out of tickets.

93%  Okay For 11+  ( Comment on what you want me to review next, and I’ll try to. Thanks!)

My 10-year-old nephew Jordy reviews Steven Spielberg's “The Adventures of Tin Tin,” now out on Blu-Ray and DVD...

Tintin is a great book transferred into a good movie, and although the movie is good, it does not compare to the classic that is Tintin’s book series.

First off, the art style is amazing. Its detail is great and the characters look great for this type of art style. Also, you will care for the characters in this movie. Tintin, his dog, Snowy, and an alcoholic captain named Haddock, although Snowy does steal the show. I love how they carry on the clichés of a comic book or cartoon into the movie. It’s also got very good music, although because the guy that made it is John Williams.

The script was average: it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. My biggest problem with the movie, though, is its sequelish ending. It just shows,” oh, well, sorry, you have to have to pay more money. Ha-ha!” There’s really not much to the story, too. All it is is Tintin HAPPENS to get involved with a plot to find treasure under the sea on a ship called The Unicorn. Along the way, there’s some twists and character development from everyone EXCEPT Tintin and Snowy, which is disappointing. Also, the movie’s a little too dark in two ways. One, story dark, and two, well, dark, but despite some problems that it suffers from, The Adventures Of Tintin is still a great family movie I recommend you go see. Also, it is better than most of the animated movies of 2011.

78% Okay for 8+

My 10-year-old nephew Jordy, a fan of Hitchcock, takes on Scorsese...

Hugo is an amazing, spectacular film that is charming, dark, and quite amusing, at the same time. It’s a book of spectacular stories, amazing characters, and is a gift for the ages.

Hugo is the story of an orphan who lives in a clock at a train station. He steals many things and likes to tinker with many things and tries to fix the automaton that his father tried to fix before he was killed in a fire. His notes of the automaton are taken by a toy shop owner which Hugo has previously stolen from. He makes friends with the toy shop owner’s goddaughter, and they have an adventure beyond what you normally expect from an adventure. The movie's slow pacing will not bore the kids, and they will also not be bored by the absence of action, hopefully.

Most people will get immersed in the story of Hugo and find themselves leaving the theatre with a smile, the smile a reminder of the magic of Hugo. The music is magical, with the entire score impressing. The script is fantastic, with every sentence putting a charm on you. The acting of the entire ensemble cast was very impressive. The camera is great, with a perfect display of what’s happening. Oh, and for a movie that was made in 3D, it passes the test, for although you should not expect the 3D to pop out as if it was an action movie, because the 3D, instead of throwing it in randomly, like most 3D movies, it uses it only for being literal, which is fantastic.

You will find yourself caring about the characters, and get nervous for the characters in the rare action scenes to come. It’s a hard movie to get right, but the whole crew nailed it, and pulled off a masterpiece of filmmaking that is hard to beat. Oh, and if you’re reading this review and you still haven’t seen this movie, go see it! It’s one of the best of 2011, and I mean it.

95%

8+

Uncle Erik's review of “Hugo” here.

From my nephew, Jordy...

I’m Coming!

This is Jordan. I know I have not done something in a while, but it’s because my dad deleted Microsoft Word accidentally, but we are getting a new computer, so I will be able to write reviews again, and I’m going to try to write one every week to make up for that. First thing some top 5’s and top 10’s. I’m writing this at Erik’s house. Soon will be more reviews. Soon.

Another stellar review by my nephew Jordy, 9 years old going on 30, who, multitalented, is currently appearing in Southwest High School's production of “Les Miserables.”

I asked my Aunt Patricia about this movie, and she said it was rated “R.” I was just pissed, and then I looked it up on Netflix. It’s PG-13. Oops. Patricia made a mistake.

So we were trying to rent “Inception” at a Redbox when my dad clicked on the Suspense category. I said to him, “What, are you hoping there will be Hitchcock?” When I see “The Ghost Writer,” I say,” Why not rent this”? So we did.

I fell asleep watching it twice, not because I was bored but because I was tired. So we finally watched all of it and I thought it was pretty good. Ewan McGregor stars as a ghost who has to edit an autobiography of a guy named Adam Lang. However, the first ghost died, so there is a bit of tension. Ewan McGregor has a strong performance as the ghost writer. Adam Lang also does well, and so do the rest of the actors. This is not a scary movie, even though there are some suspenseful parts. The script is pretty good, although there are a couple bad lines.

There are a lot of things to like about this movie, and there are very few not to. One thing though, was that I wish that it was scarier, because this whole movie, I thought something was going to happen, and I was really scared. It was funny how relieved I was that there was not one of those dang sudden shock clichés. It’s a really entertaining film, even if it does have some scenes where I’m kind of bored.

Anyway, my biggest problem with this movie is the ending. It’s really hard to not spoil the ending, so I’ll try to leave out details. The ghost writer finds a hidden code thing in the book that he edited, and, instead of just telling the right people, he tells the person that he should not tell! Because of this, he gets in a car crash with the people who are trying to protect it! It doesn’t exactly say he died in the car crash, but he most likely did, because the pages come flying from behind. I personally think they left out the scene where he gets really drunk, because it was totally insane to do that!

So, yeah, the ending sucks. But it’s an entertaining movie. It gets the job done, and it is not predictable at all. This movie is really good, and even with that terrible ending, it’s still one of the best of 2010. It’s in my top 20 of this year, but is it good enough to make the top 10? Drama! (My top 10 list is going to come after about five reviews. I think it will be released by the end of April.)

93% Okay For 14+

Another animated review by my nine-year-old nephew Jordy...

“Tangled” is a movie that my brother told me I would not know the plot of, for he saw it before me. I knew what it was about because I had looked up plot summaries and more trailers than the ones you see on TV. But even with that, and knowing the fairy tale, there was still enough that surprised me in this movie.

“Tangled” is a great movie. The basic plot is that a witch kidnaps a girl with the biggest hair of the entire kingdom, who is also the daughter of the king and queen. Is this supposed to be Rapunzel? Yes, it is. Anyway, a handsome thief, Flynn, goes to their lair and she wants to see the golden lights that appear on her birthday, so they set off on a quest.

I know you’ve heard the story before with a little tweaks, but it works well enough. This is a movie that has songs with good lyrics and good voicing with or without songs. The action scenes are good but they lack someone achieving something. It’s pretty much use weapon, dodge, repeated over and over again. Because of that, the action scenes are a bit predictable, but still good. It’s Rapunzel who kept me attached, but for laughs, it’s definitely either the horse Maximus or Pascal the frog. All the characters are well designed and can be funny. “Tangled” has good animation and a nice landscape, although I would have liked to see an animated movie that is good when most of the time, they’re just talking. That would have been really, really cool.

Its best song is definitely “I See The Light”, although it just beats “Mother Knows Best” by a tiny bit. The dialogue is mostly a thumbs up, with only a few bad lines making it not two thumbs up. I personally think it’s just a little bit predictable. One of the movie’s main themes is that love can go a long way. It’s definitely true. The bonding between Rapunzel and Flynn is probably my favorite thing about the movie. They bond very slowly, and the bond makes you feel like the bond will grow into love. It has a nice ending that closes the story perfectly, and it definitely has a good feeling to it.

It’s better than “Megamind” and “Despicable Me,” although just by a little. The two animated films that are better than this are “Toy Story 3” and “How To Train Your Dragon”, but what animated film these days is? Just go buy tickets and see one of the best animated films of the year.

90% Okay For 4+

Next: “The Ghost Writer”

Another review by my nine-year-old nephew Jordy...

“Despicable Me” is a movie about raising kids, so is it despicable, or is it despicably wonderful? It’s wonderful, that’s what it is.

“Despicable Me” starts out with an intro like no other: a superkid. If you’re wondering what I mean, a kid drops to his death, when all of a sudden, the pyramid he’s going to land on turns out to be inflatable. He flies through the air like superman, and from then on, the plot changes from a story about a naughty kid to a story about a tall bald guy, also with skinny legs, called Gru (Steve Carell). This man is trying to steal the moon.

Here comes my first complaint: how could he steal the moon? It doesn’t belong to anybody, unless you count earth. So he steals a shrink ray to steal the moon, and it gets stolen from another villain called Victor (Jason Segel). So he tries to get in to Victor’s compound to steal it back, and he’s horrendous at it, but three girls come along selling cookies and get in easily. So he adopts them, and he bonds with them, and soon he has to choose the moon or the kids.

The plot gets a bit predictable, but I still think it’s good. The humor is around gags for kids, but it is still goofy enough for adults. This movie is hilarious, although at times, it gets a little too silly. Steve Carell changed his accent to a Hungarian, I think. The rest of the cast is great, but Jason Segel is not as good as I thought the first time I saw this movie. The minions are my favorite characters and are easily the funniest part of the movie. The dialogue is good, but not great. It has some funny lines, like this one:

Layout: Gru tucking the girls in.

Margo: Let’s read a book.
Agnes: Three Sleepy Kittens!
Gru: Oh, no, that book was accidentally destroyed maliciously.

(Dog thing snorts)

Lines like that are very nice, while some can be stupid, like this one:

Layout: Gru stealing shrink ray from Victor, Gru hanging from vents. Victor’s pet shark tries to be Jaws and get Gru.

Victor: Quiet down, fish! Tell him to stop banging against the glass before he breaks it!

Anyway, once the movie starts getting predictable, adults might get a little bored. Kids will probably like the movie more than adults, though both my mom and dad liked it.

It’s a very good movie, and it definitely will get nominated for an Oscar for best animated film. And if you have not been keeping track, the first two are “How To Train Your Dragon” and “Toy Story 3.” (I’m not sure about “Megamind”).

Rating: 88%

Okay For 5+

Next Review: “Tangled” or “The Ghost Writer.” Comment on which!

Another review by my nine-year-old, ratings-conscious nephew Jordy...

“Stand By Me” is a film that is by Rob Reiner, a filmmaker who has made some great movies like “This Is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and much more. It is based off a short story by Stephen King called “The Body” (no wonder they changed the title; it sounds like a zombie book) and “Stand By Me” is the only movie where I think that the people that gave the movie the rating might have turned into a dull boy. “R”? What? Although I have to admit, it is quite inappropriate to see kids swear and smoke.

But “Stand By Me” is a great Rob Reiner movie because of the characters. It starts out with a guy sitting in a car with a newspaper that says that a man was stabbed by a knife and died. Then the guy, who starts narrating, says the first time he ever saw a dead body was on an adventure with his friends. So basically the whole plot is searching for a dead body.

The kids are all people who do bad things, yet you love these characters somehow, although it’s probably because they all stick out for each other. They also are funny sometimes. For example, one kid tells a story called “Lardass And The Pie-Eating Contest”, which has all the kid gags, yet it is fun for adults too. “Stand By Me” has a vast landscape that goes along with the movie the whole time, and some camera shots truly are some of the best that I’ve seen. For example, a shot of them walking with the sun setting in the background is beautiful. The actors are all great, and they manage to pull off roles as complex characters, while putting emotion into the sadness of the two main characters. I love how they all fool around with each other; they can be mean to each other, but they always stick out for each other, too. Because of that, you can tell they have a really good friendship. Also, even though they are on a dangerous journey (the dead body was presumably hit by a train), with the chance of getting hit by a train and all, they say that they are having a great time, which can tell you that they enjoy each other’s company, and that is another way to tell they have a great friendship.

That’s one of the movies main themes: friendship. It definitely is a powerful thing, that’s for sure. The adventure scenes are spectacular, including a scene where they have to run from the train. In fact, the only thing I don’t like about the movie is that sometimes it doesn’t make sense, although it’s so minor, you don’t care. (This is supposed to be a real story in the movie, you know!) In the ending, the narrator says that his best friend was the one who was stabbed by the knife, and that even though the friends are separate, he never had better friends then the ones on that adventure. Once you turn off the movie, you get a very powerful feeling: sympathy. You feel sympathetic for some of the characters, and that’s something only a great movie can do. Rob Reiner, well done: you’ve created a masterpiece.

Rating: 99%

Okay For: 13+

Jordan Muschler, 2011

Another must-read movie review by my nine-year-old nephew Jordy. “Love his lede,” his mother (my sister), wrote to me...

Even though my uncle wrote a bad review of “Scott Pilgrim,” I kind of wanted to see it because in a magazine called Nintendo Power, they said that it parodied video games. Now that I have seen it, I call it one of my favorite movies of the year. This movie is based on a comic series (bet you did not see that one coming), which I have never read, but that’s beside the point. When you’re making something like a movie based off comics, you would usually think it would be animated, but this is not animated, and when you do something like that, you would probably think it would  suck, but as I already said (well, not exactly, but you can gather up evidence that I like it), it does not suck. Not at all. In fact, I think it will get nominated for some Oscars.

For starters, it is directed by Edgar Wright, who made “Shaun Of The Dead,” which got really good reviews, and “Hot Fuzz,” which also got really good reviews. If you have not seen the movie yet, here’s what it’s about: Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil-ex boyfriends in order to win her heart.

I’m done explaining the plot, by the way. And if you were wondering which Oscars, the most obvious answer is Visual Effects. Seriously, they rock. They make giant monsters using only their instruments, make lightning bolts when they’re playing the guitar, and even make the classic 1-Ups float in thin air. However, the best Visual Effects are the comic references. Since this movie is based off a comic book, they made a comic book, because in the fight scenes, they make the “Smack,” “Bam,” “Whack,” and more float in thin air. These are really impressive and only add to the movie’s greatness.

This movie is also very funny, although some of the funny parts have to do with something inappropriate. This movie is also kind of fast. The whole cast is excellent, and do well with their funny lines. If you let your kid see this, they’ll probably like it because they’ll think that the movie is awesome with its amazing visuals, but adults can appreciate it because of its humor and its visuals. I thought that the movie was very inventive and I could appreciate it just because of that.  Also, the soundtrack is great, and sometimes funny. The ending is great, and the last 10 seconds are hilarious. In fact, the only problem that I found was that about 5 times, the camera didn’t blend in too well with the action. But with a movie as good as this, I don’t really care, and you won’t either. If you cannot tell by now, I like “Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.” In fact, it’s one of my favorite movies of the year. But don’t let me tell you about it, see it! And if you like it as much as I do, ask for it for Christmas! Just go to your local Redbox and rent it, and once you get home, put it in your DVD player, because this movie rocks with the best of 2010.

Please comment on what you think of my review and say what you think I should review in the future, and try not to pick something that is rated “R”, because I only saw “The Terminator”, and my dad has been regretting it ever since. Also pick video games, and I want my fair share of badness! Also, “M” rated games apply the same rules as “R” rated movies!)

99% Okay For 13+

You asked for it (OK, Jerry Grillo asked for it) and here it is: a review of “Megamind” by my nine-year-old nephew Jordy...

“Megamind” is like a marathon of coolness: it is great! Still… aw, who cares about the problems, it’s still good. But remember, I said good. Megamind is a parody of Superman in story, it really is. It goes like this: planet about to be sucked into black hole. Parents put child into pod thing. Pod lands on earth. Seriously, the only thing that makes the story succeed is that that they add some twists: the twists are all not making any difference in how I think of the story: I still think it is a parody of Superman.

The big twist is that another planet has the same idea, and the other planet sends home the good guy, while Megamind (Will Ferell) is the bad guy. If you’re wondering how he becomes a bad guy, his pod lands in prison, and he grows up learning the opposite way of life: crime. In one of their fights, he kills Superma-Metro Man (Brad Pitt) while Metroman’s closest (Tina Fey) is as about as shocked as Megamind is. (If you’re wondering why I brought that up, she’s an important part of the film.) But after Metro Man’s death, another supervillian comes to town, but was this destiny? Was this meant to happen so Megamind could be mega good? Find out by watching the movie!

The cast is excellent, and Cross steals the show as minion. I also thought the dialogue was good, as it entertains you along the way. I thought that the visuals were good, but needed to be more crowded. Look at the crowd at the opening of Metro Man’s ******! Wait, did you censor that? Good.

However, it does have a few problems. For example, it lacks originality. If you compare it to other movies, you’ll notice that some of the scenes have already been done before, yet in other movies. There is nothing wrong with parody (except when it becomes a cliché-yeah, I’m talking to you, parodying The Matrix!) but they just ran out of ideas here!  The movie just regurgitates plot points from other animated efforts, as well as being the son of Despicable Me and The Incredibles, and I would prefer those any day. It also is just as not as funny as it should be. Yeah, I know about the whole “Presentation” thing, but it had less laughs than it should have, and, considering it’s a comedy, it detracts from the film.

But even though the problems do detract from it, “Megamind” is still a good movie. Sure, it may be nominated for animated movie of the year (never going to win, though!) but unlike “How To Train Your Dragon,” it is not a must-see movie. Even though it’s hard to not find something that has been done in a movie before, it’s also hard to not like “Megamind,” and even though this movie is not one of the geniuses of 2010, it is pretty good, and if you ever get time, go see it. (Consider this if you haven’t seen the other greats of this year.)

(Please comment on what you think of my review and say what you think I should review in the future, and try not to pick something that is rated “R”, because I only saw “The Terminator”, and my dad has been regretting it ever since. Also pick video games, and I want my fair share of badness! Also, “M” rated games apply the same rules as “R” rated movies!)

 81% Okay For: 7+

Jordan Muschler, 2010

Another must-read movie review by my nine-year-old nephew Jordy...

“How To Train Your Dragon” is based off a book, and whenever a movie is based off a book, it either is a great movie (“The Shining,” Harry Potter Series, “Stand By Me”), an okay movie, (“The Lightning Thief,” “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid”) or an awful movie.

However, “How To Train Your Dragon” is one of the best books turned into a movie ever. For starters, the animation is fantastic. Everything in the world is detailed, looks amazing, and the world they created will blow your mind. The characters all are very well voiced. They manage to put emotion into everything they say, so you can tell if they’re being sarcastic, if they’re angry. They express their feelings like they are the characters. Speaking of which, the characters are very well crafted. You will care for them, you will feel bad for them, and that is something only a great movie can do.

I did not get to see the movie in 3-D, but the scenes are still thrilling, and I bet they were incredible in 3-D. Also, the script has a very surprising dramatic depth, and it does well in making you enjoy the movie. The action scenes are great. They make use of the characters talent and they use their knowledge to win the battles. Parents, be warned that this is more of a kid movie, so you should watch this with your kids if you have any. (I am not saying that you should not watch this, because it is still a fantastic movie.)

Now, I think it’s time to finish… oh, wait, I forgot to tell you the story! In this movie, you meet Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The 3^rd, (He says himself it’s a bad name) heir of the Viking chiefdom, who has one very big problem: a Viking he is not. “How To Train Your Dragon” is the righteous story of Hiccup’s quest to find the world’s fiercest dragon, bring it into submission, and hopefully pass his initiation by killing it. Instead, he finds out that the fiercest dragon on earth is also the most lovable one! The story gets deeper, but you’re going to have to find out why for yourself. I thought that “How To Train Your Dragon” was going to be an okay movie, but not a great one. I ended thinking that I was so wrong. “How To Train Your Dragon” is going to be nominated for animated movie of the movie of the year. I am not sure if it’s going to win, but it’s going to be nominated. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but this movie is one of Dreamworks best films, and it’s their best animated film in my opinion. But you don’t have to take my word for it. See it yourself, because this movie soars with the best of 2010.

98% Iffy For: 6+

(Please comment on what you think of my review and say what you think I should review in the future, and try not to pick something that is rated “R”, because I only saw “The Terminator”, and my dad has been regretting it ever since.)

Jordan Muschler, 2010

Another must-read movie review by my nine-year-old nephew Jordy...

I went to see this at 7:45 on Opening Day because I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I walk in early to get good seats and wait for it to start. When the movie starts, I become hooked. With its great comedic moments, fantastic acting, amazing special effects, and stunning visuals, this is going to be one of the most money-making movies of 2010. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Harry Potter, as he begins (it says part 1 because it’s not his whole adventure, and Part 2 is scheduled for July 2011 release) his journey for Vol- -wait, I better say He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Nam- aw, I’ll just say Voldemort’s Horcruxes.

Meanwhile, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) help him find the Horcruxes. The main cast is excellent, and probably understands their characters well. The visuals were chosen wisely, and they seem to be taking the backgrounds straight from the books. The dialogue could have been better, but at least they took some of the lines from the books. The special effects are great, but I think they should’ve taken a look at Prisoner Of Askaban’s special effect’s and realized that it has the best special effects in the series because they’re not either a flash of light, a line, or sparks flying, they’re actually a bright light that is creative and cool. The action scenes really took a lot of the special effects to work, and, as I already said, the special effects are great, so the action scenes work really well and they seem to take place right when they should in the book.

Speaking of which, the movie follows the book really well, and seems as though they had a copy of the book while they were filmmaking and making sure that people who read the book wouldn’t be mad if they took out one of their favorite parts of the book. The cinematography usually works, but during one scene (which was an action scene with people chasing them), I couldn’t really tell what was happening. Yeah, I know it was probably just sparks flying, but the camera was too zoomed-in for you to tell what spells they’re using, and where the people who were chasing them were. It’s not really important, but it still is a problem.

Another thing I didn’t like about the movie was that unless you have read the book, it could be kind of hard to follow. Also, the ending was kind of disappointing because it makes it seem like J.K.Rowling would be making another book. However, Harry Potter 7 is definitely a great, emotional movie that really succeeds in being entertaining, funny, sometimes scary, and is definitely going to win at least one Oscar this year.

Let’s just hope that Part 2 can be even better. I think this is one of the best movies of the year, and I hope you will agree.

(New: 0 to 100 % and age recommendation!) 87%, Iffy For:13+

The following is a review, by my nephew, Jordan, age 9, of the New Super Marios Bros. Wii game. Nintendo, listen up!

NSMBW is a great game. It’s easily one of the best Wii games out there. It’s classic Mario, and it’s a great game for any Mario fan. But it’s stupid of Nintendo to make a game like this when they could be making another Super Mario Galaxy. It feels like it’s copying the DS game. NSMBW is still a 2-D Mario game, but -- even though Mario was probably better in 2-D then 3-D -- 2-D was long ago! Now it’s time for 3-D, not 2-D!

Anyway, you are presented with the same story as ever. Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser again, and it’s up to Mario to save her. Why can’t Nintendo make another Mario story? In every Mario game it’s the same story! What the heck? It’s stupid. The graphics are okay, I mean, they’re good, the level designs are good, but I feel like the graphics are going to be the same for every Mario game that comes out. Make some new graphics, Nintendo!

The sound is fantastic, even though some soundtracks were inherited. The dialogue, however, sometimes says something stupid, like, if someone died, they come back in a bubble, and then they say “Help me”! I know I should help you!

The gameplay is masterful, though. Gameplay has always been the focus of Mario, and this game is no different. This is some of the best gameplay on Wii. It’s also fun to come back, find all the star coins (big coins that have stars on them) in the levels. The controls are great, except the part where you shake the Wii remote. If you get really excited, you might shake the Wii remote while you’re jumping over pits, and shaking it then will make you die, and that really sucks. The other controls work perfectly, though. The lasting appeal is great, because the gameplay is really fun, so you will come back a lot of times to find star coins, secret exits, and more.

The characters are Mario, Luigi, and two toads. That’s real creative, Nintendo. Another thing they should do is let you record your own videos. At Princess Peach’s castle, you can watch videos of Mario just making levels look easy, getting lots of 1-Ups in a level, or getting to the secret exit. It would be cool if you could record your own video to show your friends what you did. There’s also a coin battle mode, which should be online play because that’s what almost every good video game has online! Why can’t this one? There’s also a mode called Free-For-All. Basically you just pick a level, beat it, then, after I beat it, it shows me my score. What the heck? I mean, I can unlock every level. I don’t have to be cheap by playing a level that I haven’t unlocked yet. I can check my score before I run into the castle waiting for me at the end of each level! Face it. Free-For-All is stupid. Don’t play it.

Even if it does have some problems, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is one of the best games on Wii. It even has the Koopalings from Super Mario Bros. 3. NSMBW is most recognized for its multiplayer, which makes it really fun. I’m sorry for sounding like I didn’t like the game much, but all the problems I had with it are minor. I actually really liked the game for the gameplay. Try to focus on the gameplay only and you will fall in love with this game. Overall, it’s a good game. Buy it.

Story: 6.5
Graphics: 8.0
Sound: 9.0
Gameplay: 10
Lasting Appeal: 9.5
Overall Score: 9.0

The following is a review of "Toy Story 3" by my nephew, Jordy, 8 going on 9. "Completely unedited" as his mother writes. Yes, with pride. 

Toy story has always been a good movie because it shows what true friends do for each other. Toy story 3 is no different. Some scenes will make you want to cry (especially for moms) some scenes will make you laugh, and in some  scenes you’ll want to make the movie shut up (like when this monkey with creepy eyes starts screeching like an idiot). But the point of the movie is the friendship between the toys, and I have to admit, this has a really good chance of winning animated movie of the year.

Toy story 3 starts off showing Andy playing with his toys in an imagination world. After that, it shows Andy growing up, and, before you know it, Andy is going to college. Woody and his friends must survive Andy’s decision on where they go, the toddlers later into the movie, and more. The story in TS3 makes sense, and it could happen (except the fact that toys don’t come alive, of course). The toys think that Andy has abandoned them and then they hop in a box that is in Andy’s car and the car takes them to Sunnyside daycare. (Watch the movie if you want to find out what happens, because I don’t spoil)!

The ending, in my opinion, is one of the best movie endings I’ve ever seen, and it is a great way to end a movie, because I cried when I saw it. There are lots of new, funny characters like Ken, who, in real life, is supposed to be made for Barbie girls, and it’s very funny to see the romance of them. TS3 is better than Toy story 2, but is it better then the first one? How about you go see the movie, and you decide which of the three is the best. Then vote for your favorite one at Erik Lundegaard’s website. Toy story 3 deserves it’s spot in the animated movie great’s, and it’s an experience that you’ll probably never forget. (It also has a great short called Night And Day. (Or you could call it Day And Night).

By Jordan Muschler

After all the blather earlier this week from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the following is a breath of fresh air. My nephew, Jordy, age 8, disappointed that he hadn't seen more of my top 10 movies, recently sent me his top 10 kids' movies of the year. Third-generation movie critic! How about that? Looks like I've got some movies to see, too...

Top 10 Kid’s Movies from 2009! By Jordan

• 10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! – Because it has a great story from a book I know.
• 9.  Where the Wild Things Are – Again, a great story from a book plus great dialogue.
• 8.  Ponyo – Because my Dad said this has to be on the list.
• 7.  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Because it has a great plot and is different from other Potter movies.
• 6.  Avatar – Great Graphics but may not be for kids.
• 5.  Planet 51 – It’s a good story and funny.
• 4.  Aliens in the Attic – Because it’s just funny.
• 3.  G-Force – It’s good dialogue and it’s like an action movie for kids.
• 2.  Monsters vs. Aliens – It’s a great story with great characters like Bob.
• 1.  Up! Because it’s funny.

Jordy knows what he likes; and knows what he doesn't.

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