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THE ASSIGNED NUMBERS

Unlike the MPAA we do not assign one inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY , VIOLENCE/GORE and LANGUAGE on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest, depending on quantity and context.

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FILTER by RATINGS Did you know you can now filter searches by any combination of ratings? Just go to our search page or use the search bar, with or without a keyword, from the top navigation menu. Move sliders from 0-10 in any combination, check and uncheck MPAA ratings and use keywords to further filter results — please let us know what you think.

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This is what we do: We enable adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for them or their children, according to their own criteria. Unlike the MPAA we do not assign an inscrutable rating based on age but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY , VIOLENCE/GORE & LANGUAGE, on a scale of 0 to 10, and we explain in detail why a film rates high or low in a specific category; we also include instances of SUBSTANCE USE, a thorough list of DISCUSSION TOPICS that may elicit questions from children, and the MESSAGE the film conveys. Since our system is based on objective standards, not the viewer’s age or the artistic merits of a film, we enable adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for their own children… | more | 

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8 Great Movie Review Sites For Parents With Kids In Mind

Fancy an evening watching movies as a family? Let's explore a few of the best movie review sites for kids so that you can choose the best go-to site for your family's needs.

You're ready to put The Wolverine into the DVD player, then suddenly you wonder if this movie will be a problem for your 8-year-old. Well, will it?

If you're a parent with a family who loves movies, you've probably realised that you need to be able to get some reliable information on those movies before you show them to the family. But navigating the various movie sites to find child-friendly titles can be a chore.

Today we'll explore a few of the best movie review sites for kids so that you can choose the best go-to site for your family's needs. We'll also show you the best ways to get drip-fed some useful information about new movie releases too. Then you can line up your Netflix list and get watching!

Common Sense Media

The Common Sense Media site has a unique way of showcasing their film reviews. Latest releases are shown in a list just with a poster, quick one-sentence blurb, age rating, and star rating. If you click through, you get to see a short video review of the film, featuring a few short clips from the film with a voice-over review. This really is great, as you can see for yourself the sorts of characters that are in the film. The reviews are also very comprehensive, letting you know if there is any educational value as well as covering the usual parental worries - and they're not afraid to tell you if they just don't like it much! If you can't watch the video for whatever reason, you can usually click through again to a text version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eQ3UqV4cs4

The site is easy to browse with best of lists and the like. They also cover books, games, music, and more. Common Sense Media can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube , or via their mobile apps .

Plugged In is a family review site for movies, TV series, games, books, and music. It is seriously well worth a visit if you want to be certain about the suitability of any given entertainment for your child.

The reviews are very detailed, and categorised into positive elements, violent content, sexual content, and more. Their summary icons are limited in order to be simple to understand. This site is available to follow on Facebook, Twitter, or via their Focus On The Family apps.

Movie Guide

Movie Guide is focused on movies and reviews in general, and doesn't set out to have family-focused reviews. However, it has summary pages with information that families would need to make a decision. Each review page has an easy-to-read chart showing language, violence, sex, and nudity levels. It also starts the review with a very brief paragraph on potential issues families might have with the film content.

Follow Movie Guide reviews via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, RSS, or on YouTube .

Kids In Mind

Kids In Mind have very wordy reviews, focusing on three major areas of concern for parents: Sex & Nudity, Violence & Gore, and Profanity. Each film has an easy-reference chart showing the severity of content in these areas, but the review proper has a lot more information available.

Follow Kids In Mind on Facebook or via their iPhone or iPad app. Also, iPad users should check out our guide to  watching videos on the iPad  and Android users should read up on our list of  tablets you would let your kids use .

Box Office Mom

The Box Office Mom site appeals to parents as it gets straight to the answers you really want to know. In the full review, each of the following points is also elaborated on, so you can find out more detail if you're still unsure.

Each film has entries for:

• Rating (Her star-rating guide)
• Release Date
• MPAA Rating
• Best Age Group
• Sexual Content
• Violent Content
• Crude or Profane Language
• Drugs and Alcohol Content
• Will it Appeal to Kids/Teens?

She seems to cover any and all movies that teenagers will bug their parents about. So, there are a few R rated movies in the mix, some of which get a big NO, while others could possibly be viewed by mature 17-year-olds.

You can also browse the site by genre, box-office favourites, or DVD favourites. If you want updates on her new reviews, you can subscribe using RSS, Facebook, and Twitter.

Kids Pick Flicks

The Kids Pick Flicks site has a good point: Why should kids care what a 50-year-old man has to say about movies? To turn that around, they offer a site full of reviews by kids and teenagers.

This, I feel, is an awesome way to find out for sure if your kids will even be interested in certain films. It's also a good way to get your kids interested in reading about movies -- or maybe even reviewing them themselves. In fact, many of the teenage writers on this site seem to have a real talent for writing movie reviews, and could easily line up a good career in it later, I'm sure.

The site is searchable or browsable by DVD reviews or more recent movie reviews. It's worth adding to your RSS feeds.

Raising Children Movie Reviews

The Raising Children site has a lot more than movie reviews, but their movie review section is definitely worth a mention. When browsing their list of movies, you can see prominent icons which let you know what sort of movie it is and what age groups it is recommended for.

The symbols make it easy to see:

• Frightening scenes
• Inappropriate language
• Disturbing, upsetting or confusing scenes
• Sexual references or sex scenes
• Violence or scary scenes
• Age recommendations: Not recommended for / parental guidance recommended for / or suitable for.

As Raising children is an Australian site, all recommendations have been made in conjunction with the Australian Council on Children and the Media. Obviously, clicking through to the film will give you more information on the story, themes, violence, disturbing scenes, sex scenes, product placement, coarse language and ideas to discuss with your children. The last section could be really valuable as a learning tool for your family.

The Dove Foundation

The Dove Foundation covers both movies and books, aiming to showcase the sorts of things that are good for family viewing. Each review comes with a small graph that shows the severity of each of the major worry points for parents: Sex, language, violence, drugs, nudity or other issues. The reviews themselves are brief and focus on what may be worrisome for the parents. The site looks a little outdated, but the content is still very good!

Movies With Kids

As a parent, I wholeheartedly recommend using all of these sites to make decisions. Some of them will obviously gel more with your family's needs more than others, but each of them offer great information about the films out today. I suggest downloading all of the apps and following all of the Facebook pages, as this way you'll get a drip-feed of useful information about the latest films and will have an app on hand to check when you need it.

If your kids also like to play Roblox, make sure you help them stay away from free Robux scams , too.

Image Credits: Little girl Via Shutterstock

'Family' Review: This Horror Film Takes “Home Sweet Hell” to Heart | SXSW 2024

How well do you really know your family?

The Big Picture

• Benjamin Finkel’s debut announces the arrival of a new horror filmmaker you’ll want to keep your eye on.
• Family falls in line with contemporary “arthouse horror” films, but never feels repetitive or like a copycat.
• Don’t think that means scares are shoved to the background — you’re going to yelp and squirm around plenty.

We love a feature debut like Benjamin Finkel’s haunting chiller Family that immediately announces a powerful filmmaking voice . It’s not just creepy, it’s downright scary in a way that harkens back to Ari Aster ’s Hereditary or Remi Weekes ’ His House . My notes are littered with comparison points like Baskin , Gretel & Hansel , The Babadook , and A Dark Song that make up the film’s sobering entrapment based on the looming specter of immeasurable loss. Finkel writes and directs a visually arresting albeit cosmically untelling tale of familial despair, in which there is no such phrase as “Home Sweet Home,” and trusted relations become the monsters among us.

What Is 'Family' About?

The film starts with a dream : an 11-year-old only child named Johanna ( Cameron Dawson Gray ) screams for mercy right before Ruth Wilson ’s mother figure (Naomi) brutally murders her daughter. When she awakens, reality sets back in. Johanna is adjusting after an emergency relocation because her sickly father, Harry ( Ben Chaplin ), needs top medical attention as his life-threatening condition rapidly worsens. Harry can no longer chase his child outdoors without feeling like he’ll collapse or make it through dinner without a phlegmy coughing fit. Johanna clutches onto the hope that an oval, Robin egg blue birdhouse with gold patterns can save her father, which she hangs outside and utters an invitation for healing spirits who can enter the wooden fixture. The “spirit call” works, but as you might assume — since Family is a capital-H horror film — her birdhouse welcomes an entity that starts terrorizing Johanna and relentlessly tearing her world apart .

Finkel sets himself the immediate challenge of hinging his traumatizing story on the performance of an adolescent protagonist . Bluntly, not all child actors can carry movies like lil’ Lucinda Lee Dawson Gray. All the performances are incredibly strong — Ben Chaplin as the bony, radiation-riddled man in a losing battle, Ruth Wilson as the overwhelmed woman under pressure trying to hold everything together — but Gray is the “hero” of Family , and she’s mature beyond her years as a performer. Family is so frightening in parts thanks to Gray’s frantic pleas as the malevolent force manipulates what we see versus what characters see, linking to childhood horrors of going unheard or being left entirely alone. Gray nails the complexities behind Johanna’s grief and how she processes the slow, agonizing demise of her dearest dad, as well as the bone-chilling haunts that slither forward when she’s left without a babysitter.

Every A24 Horror Movie Ranked From Worst to Best

Family feels in line with contemporary arthouse horror fare, some of which I’ve already mentioned, but that doesn’t mean it skimps on scares. Finkel shows a tremendous command over sound design matched to disturbing imagery , including anything from ghoulish body horror where skeletons crunch while bent inhumanly, or nightmarish figures attentively postured upright at the end of a hallway (shout out to Toto the Dog). Fearful highlights deal with the uncanny and extreme manipulation since Johanna believes she’s hearing either mom or pop from afar, only to find something with elongated, blackened fingernails stretching from inside the oblong birdhouse. Finkel hits on those imaginative early-years fears that’d send us racing up basement steps once we flick off lights, but worse, he goes to great lengths when eviscerating the safeguards of family relationships to ensure every second post-demonic invasion is heavy with tension.

'Family' Lives and Dies By Its Ending

It’s in the third act where Family will either win or lose audiences , which is, at the very least, the mark of something interesting. That’s where the “cosmic” comes in, and Finkel feels Darren Aronofsky ’s instincts flow through his body. The “art” portion of arthouse slams into viewers full force, favoring a cerebral assault that might provoke more questions than answers and heaps style atop substance, but I’d rather a gamble than something rote or mundane. Finkel has no problem meeting the intensity of Johanna’s physically and mentally grueling journey, unlocking a third gear that some films can only dream about. Allan Corduner’s grandfather, a local rabbi, attempts to diffuse Johanna’s strife and provide guidance. Still, everything in the back half seems to become a beast of its own making that is more enamored with visuals than definitive outlines. There are clear shades of Toni Collette ’s breakdown in Hereditary present as Wilson’s matriarch loses control (sublimely carried out as a horror antagonist), but also a very Guillermo del Toro quality about Johanna’s final confrontation. How it all comes together may be up in the air — but there’s an undeniably thrilling puzzlement factor.

Finkel’s behind-the-camera control sells the at-times unwieldy back half, some parts feeling like Mother! , others a religious unraveling meets deviant fairy tale. Family is capably shot and visually compelling , even considering the barebones nature of a newly purchased house that’s yet to be decorated or feels lived-in. That only adds to the surrealness as Johanna fights back against a spirit that clearly desires to cause harm, which contrasts with vast whimsy as she peers into the peephole of her birdhouse, and views a galaxy’s worth of celestial twinkles. You don’t usually see first-timers swing this big or connect so frequently, which makes Finkel's debut so exciting. Whatever he does next deservingly earns all eyes and attention.

Family is an exuberant and confident first feature that disturbs, allures, and strikes terror . Finkel is instantly a filmmaker to watch, considering what he’s able to accomplish with an independent production. There’s such a tightness and composure whether you’re talking about tremendous performances or gorgeously sinister visuals. Complaints about payoffs are valid and understood, but it's not enough to sink everything else Finkel accomplishes. Any horror film that gets me to squirm in my seat these days immediately snags my attention, and Family did that multiple times. What an announcement this is for the arrival of Benjamin Finkel.

Family (2024)

Family goes for big swings in the back half, but takes the phrase “Home Sweet Hell” to heart and delivers something uniquely unsettling and never concedes its ideas to appease the masses.

• Finkel shows impressive command over Family.
• It?s a downright scary haunted house riff.
• All of the performances are spot-on, especially Lucinda Lee Dawson Gray.
• The film's ambitions can be hard to swallow toward the end.
• The film would benefit from more showing and not as much telling.

Family had its World Premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival.

Top 10 Family Movie Review Sites that Won’t Steer You Wrong

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With spring break just around the corner, we know many of you will be looking for movies to watch with your kids. Whether you plan on taking the kids to the theater or watching movies at home (or in a hotel room), it’s helpful to know a little something about a film first. Thankfully, there are quite a few movie review sites dedicated to just that purpose. Unlike traditional movie review sites, these are focused on providing information that parents care about when deciding if a movie is appropriate for their family.

Just like mainstream movie review sites, you’ll likely find one in this list that you’ll turn to when you need to make decisions for your family. Deciding which one is right for you depends on your needs. Make a list of the things you want to get out of a review. For example, maybe you just want to know about the sex and violence content in a film and don’t really want a critique. Then think about how you want that information provided. Do you want it as a bulleted list or as a play-by-play of how it appears in the movie? Similarly, would you prefer to read a lengthy review or watch a one-minute video from a fellow parent?

Whatever works for you, one of the sites listed below will help you pick movies that are best for your family. In addition to reviews, some sites even include places where you can rent/buy the movie online so you can start watching the movie right away. We should note that Christian organizations sponsor some of the sites listed in this roundup and, as a result, those reviews tend to be heavy on family values. Still they do provide solid details that will help you make an informed decision. When considering these sites, we were mindful that these sites may help you make decisions for your kids, so we wanted you to know the source and what you can expect.

10 Sites for Family Friendly Movie Reviews

We’ve put together a list of the 10 most popular sites for family movie reviews and listed them in alphabetical order. Many of the sites listed here go into great detail about sexual content, bad language, drug use, and violence. It’s easy to tell from reading the review if the movie is suitable for your kids. Some even provide an age rating, to help you decide if your kids will like. Since every child is different, we recommend taking the time to read or in some cases watch the review. As you’ll see, some sites are more conservative than others.

1. BoxOfficeMom.com – Run by a mom of three, who has a genuine love of the movies, this site offers her take on popular flicks. The reviews aren’t long, but do provide a plot overview. There are also categories for sexual content, violent/disturbing content, crude language, as well as drug and alcohol content. These sections contain bullet points alerting parents of what they can expect to see in the movie. Each movie also gets an overall rating depicted by popcorn buckets, which focuses on if the film is appropriate for kids or teens. While the reviews don’t include trailers embedded on the site, there are links to YouTube if you want to watch the preview. Overall, BoxOfficeMom.com may not feature as many films as other sites, it does a good job and providing the info parents care about in a direct matter.

2. Clubhouse Jr . – As the online site for the Clubhouse magazine for kids, the content is all geared toward kids. In addition to a movie reviews section, it also features games, videos, crafts and other activities. Clubhouse Jr. is part of the Focus on Family network of sites, which includes the PluggedIn (see listing below) family movie review site for parents.

Like everything else on the site, the reviews of the PG movies featured are geared towards kids for PG movies. So you never have to worry that kids will stumble upon a scary movie like The Shining. The reviews on this site tend to be long descriptions of the movies. While they don’t give the entire movie away, they do tell an awful lot about its plot. Reviews will also mention if there’s something in a film to discuss with parents. If you want to get your kids involved in picking movies, this is a safe site where they can read movie reviews.

3. Common Sense Media – Created by an organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology, this is one of the more comprehensive family movie review sites in this roundup. This site also includes reviews of games, books, TV shows, apps, websites, and music. It’s a useful tool for parents looking for reliable reviews on a plethora of media and technology topics.

Movie reviews include all the information parents needs to quickly decide if it is appropriate for their kids including recommended age groups, previews, an overview, and talking points for the family after they watch the film. The overviews focus on what parents should know about the movie. To get more details on the content, there are “What’s the story?” and “Is it any good?” sections that provide more information. If you like to look at ratings in a glance, you’ll appreciate the comprehensive “What parents need to know” checklist that includes ratings for positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism, and drinking, drugs & smoking. Once you decide on a movie that’s currently available at an online video store, click the Watch button for a list of places where the movie can be streamed or purchased.

In addition to the written reviews, some of the films feature a Common Sense video review. These are roughly one-minute reports that provide a brief summary of the movie and finish with what age group is appropriate. Speaking of reviews, it also offers user reviews from teens, kids and parents. When kids post their opinions, it includes their age, which should help you decide if it’s a movie that will interest your child. Overall, Common Sense Media is a well thought-out movie review site for families with an intuitive design.

4. The Dove Foundation – For over 20 years, this non-profit organization has been dedicated to providing family friendly movie reviews to help parents decide which films are appropriate for their kids. With that in mind, the organization has recently stopped reviewing NC-17 rated movies. There might be a listing for that movie with basic details, but it will simply list it as “Not Recommended for Families.” Movie listings include a synopsis, a family-centric review that doesn’t give too much away, inappropriate content description, and movie details such as actors, director, writers and more.

The Dove Foundation is best known for its scorecard that depicts the severity of sex, language, violence, drugs, nudity, and other inappropriate behavior in a movie. You can find reviews of movies currently in theaters and DVD, as well as TV shows. The site has recently added the ability to purchase family friendly movies for download or streaming directly from the site. As of this writing, there wasn’t a significant selection. Overall, the site is easy to navigate, and it provides a decent selection of family friendly movies though it lacks reviews of movies coming soon (even those due out over the upcoming weekend). There is also a fair share of content available for those looking for faith-based entertainment.

5. Fandango Family Movies – The popular movie ticket-purchasing site has dedicated a section of its site to family movies. It’s designed only to surface family friendly movies. Although it doesn’t provide information on if a film is age appropriate, it does offer an age filter so it will only surface movies geared toward a particular age group (for example, 3 – 6, 7 – 12, etc.). Each movie has a synopsis, cast and crew information, release date, a trailer, movie times and tickets and additional features. The reviews are from users of the site, and those are combined to give a movie an overall star rating.

On this section of the Fandango site, there are some family friendly video content that should help parents decide if they should see the movie. Parents will appreciate the Mom’s Movie Minute, which is a video of a mom discussing a movie’s plot and how her kids felt about the movie. The videos conclude with her rating on positive themes, violence, sex, and bad language. There’s also a Reel Kids video series featuring kids talking about themes in a movie. While this series is geared toward kids, parents will likely find it charming as well.

We should note that while the family friendly section of Fandango has a lot to offer, it’s easy to end up back on the larger Fandango site that displays all current releases. Additionally, you won’t find reviews of DVDs on this site. Overall, if you’re a fan of Fandango and all the content it has to offer, you’ll appreciate the family friendly version of the site. Just be aware that not all movies have a Mom’s Movie Minute, so you’ll need to scroll through reviews to find more information on things like sex, violence, and bad language.

6. Kids in Mind – The sister site to Critics.com is designed to help parents decide if a movie is right for their family. Reviews on this site are really focused on providing detailed information about sex & nudity, violence & gore, profanity, and substance abuse. Reviews begin with a quick synopsis of the movie, which doesn’t give away too much of the plot. Each category section has a rating and a comprehensive list of things parents might find unsuitable for kids. The reviews end with suggested talking points for families to discuss.

Kids in Mind has a ton of useful content, but it lacks style. Each review has one image, and there are no trailers. You can, however, view the trailer by clicking the links to the IMBD listing or the official site. It lists new releases and movies available on DVD, so you can easily see what movies are scheduled to come out in a given week. Plus, you can view a list of films alphabetically if it doesn’t appear in the site’s search results. Other than this information there is little else, but parents that just want the facts will appreciate the straightforwardness of Kids in Mind.

7. Movie Guide – This basic site includes reviews of current releases, DVD, and TV movies. Although it lacks movie trailers, it does occasionally include sites (for example, Amazon and iTunes) where films are available for download. While the site doesn’t offer ratings about age appropriateness, it does rate the language, violence, sex, and nudity that appear in the film. Each review begins with a Content section that provides details about inappropriate content. The actual movie review section is quite long and includes information about the plot, what it’s like to watch the movie, and the reviewer’s opinion. If you don’t want to read all of that, you can skip to the In Brief section, which is a quick summation of plot and the reviewer’s thoughts on the film.

The site is associated with the Christian Film and TV Commission, so occasionally you’ll find reference to Christianity in the reviews. While it does have an extensive database of mainstream movies, you’ll also find some faith-related titles as well. In short, in addition to offering information to help you decide if a movie is family friendly it also includes critic-style reviews of each film.

8. Parent Previews – What started out as a newspaper column with a focus on film reviews from a family perspective has become a full-fledged website that’s been running for 10 years. While the site only reviews movies with a rating of G, PG, or PG-13, you’ll still find some R rating movie listings. Those films just lack the full review, but they do include a list of questionable content such as violence, sexual content, language, and alcohol/drug use. Each review includes a grade card for questionable content along with details of the offenses, talking contents, cast and crew, trailers, a synopsis, trailers, talking points, and Canadian movie ratings. Speaking of reviews there are user reviews, however, you need to login to leave them. One unique feature is the option to hear an abbreviated version of the critique. If you like that, you may be interested in subscribing to the site’s Daily 90 Second Podcast.

The site is well designed making it easy to jump to the section of a review that interests you most. It also features reviews of DVDs, movie extras, and news features. While it doesn’t provide information on what age group would appreciate a certain movie the grade card makes it easy for parents to figure out at a glance if a film is appropriate for their family. Overall, Parent Previews is a well thought out family friendly movie review site that provides critiques as well as grades of what’s in theaters now and DVD releases.

9. Parental Guide – This family-centric shopping site also offers movie reviews. However, if you see a review you like, you won’t be able to purchase the video. That said, the site does offer some helpful tips on technology and kids. The reviews include a trailer, cast & crew, release date and a detailed summary of the movie (but doesn’t give away the plot). The actual reviews are concise, but well thought out. Within the review, it provides a suggestion for what type of audience the movie is appropriate for. It also goes into detail about why the film received the MPAA rating it did and what parents need to know.

Parental Guide mentions on the site that it has coming soon and new releases, the most recent review we could find was for movies released last year. That said, if you’re trying to decide on a movie released in 2014 or 2013 you’ll likely find a review on this site. Unfortunately, the search seems to be restricted to products sold on the site, so you’ll have to scroll manually through the movie listings to find the film you want. In short, Parental Guide’s family movie reviews are useful, but there aren’t as many titles reviewed as can be found on other sites in the list.

10. PluggedIn – This site is part of the Focus on Family network of sites, which includes the Clubhouse Jr. (see listing above) movie review site for kids. As such reviews are heavy on information that parents want to know such as Positive Elements, Spiritual Content, Sexual Content, Violent Content, Profane Language, Drug and Alcohol Content, and Other Negative Elements. Reviews also include a lengthy overview of the plot, a conclusion that sums up some of the film’s themes a Plugged In rating, credits, and icons depicting appropriate age group. While the site doesn’t offer trailers, many reviews feature an online video component that provide a brief preview, story synopsis, and a mention of questionable content which parents should know about it. If you don’t want to watch the video, you can click the listen icon to hear the review.

Navigating the site is fairly straightforward, you can easily search for movie reviews based on the title, MPAA rating, release date, genre, PluggedIn rating, or alphabetically. In addition, to family-friendly movie reviews of films currently in the theater there’s also a section for recently released on video. However, there’s no mention of where to download the movie online. Overall, PluggedIn provides detailed reviews that parents will appreciate and the option to watch or listen to an abbreviated review is a nice touch.

Snap Shot: Comparison of Family Movie Reviews

Looking for an easy way to compare movie review sites for families? This chart will be able to show you at a glance the main features that each site in the roundup offers.

A Family Movie Review Provides Confidence When Choosing Entertainment for Your Kids

At the top of many parents list for spring break is watching movies with their kids. Instead of guessing what movie your family might like or is it appropriate for them take some time to peruse some reviews. As you do this, make a list of movies that you’d like to see with your kids that you know you’ll all enjoy. It’s a great way to avoid all that time trying to decide which movie to see. That can take longer than the 10 previews typically shown before each film in a theater.

Once you find some movies you like, if they’re still in theaters check out showtimes that will work with your schedule. If you prefer to watch them at home, visit a site like IMDB to find out where you can download them online. Even though the site is geared toward movie buffs, it does have a Parents Guide for each movie, which lets you know all the controversial (aka not so family friendly) stuff that happens. For those who are heading out on vacation and aren’t sure about the Wi-Fi connection at your lodging, opt for downloading a rental of the movie before you leave. Just remember you have a limited time (usually 24 to 48 hours) before the movie expires. If you know you’re going to be at a spot with a high-speed Wi-Fi connection that won’t cost you any extra to use, streaming the movie online will work great. Don’t forget to check out the mobile apps for premium channels that you subscribe to and see if the video is available there. Then add it to your watchlist or saved movie queue. We hope you enjoy your family time at the movies.

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Joni Blecher, RealPlayer Blog Editor - Joni started covering technology back when cell phones didn't have color displays and quickly made a name for herself in the mobile industry as CNET's "Cell Phone Diva." In addition to covering everything mobile, she has launched and edited multiple blog sites. When Joni started appearing in product review videos, she fell in love with the story-telling format and honed her video skills to include producing and editing videos. Joni has made appearances on CNN, BBC, CNBC's Bulls Eye, and Good Day New York to discuss the latest in technology. When she's not spending her time writing or shooting video you can find her exploring and tasting the latest food trends. Follow her on Twitter  @JoniBlecher

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“I hate everyone, but I still think I am better than everyone else.” To understand the egotistical Kate Stone (a frenzied Taylor Schilling in a series of power suits), look no further than this statement she delivers early on in “Family,” Laura Steinel ’s quirky and formulaic debut about a work-obsessed loner discovering her softer side. Appealing on a scene-by-scene basis but generic like its title—it might as well have been called “About a Girl” as a thematic nod to Chris and Paul Weitz ’s superb 2002 film—Steiner’s dull comedy lacks the crucial feelings that could have made the suburban aunt-niece tale at its center more memorable.  

It all starts with a voiceover, as these sorts of films often do—Kate wonders how she ended up in the midst of a raunchy, open-air gathering of Juggalos (those face-paint-wearing, seemingly vulgar, party-crazed rebels) just by doing something nice for someone for once. We soon find out just how unusual good deeds are for her, when Steinel takes us back a week where a perennially dissatisfied Kate treats everyone she crosses paths with awfully. A senior executive at a New Jersey-based hedge fund, Kate routinely agitates and insults fellow employees—in one instance, she offends a pregnant co-worker so severely that in real life, her controversial rudeness would have resulted in a lawsuit. In another, she belittles the familial relationships of her assistant. She isn’t exactly a popular employee of the month or life of office parties; though her colleagues’ rejection doesn’t stop her from crashing a baby shower to steal a slice of cake.

Things don’t seem to be much better at home where the selfish heavy drinker roams alone and ignores her familial ties. Still, her brother Joe and his wife Cheryl ( Eric Edelstein and Allison Tolman ) don’t hesitate to ask Kate the favor of watching their 11-year-old daughter Maddie ( Bryn Vale , amiably disgruntled), while they tend to Cheryl’s dying mother. Kate’s overnight visit turns into a whole week, during which she observes an isolated and angry kid in Maddie, victimized by the impossible demands of her parents. Maddie sneaks off to a karate workshop taught by the affable Pete ( Brian Tyree Henry ), while Cheryl insists on the supposedly more girly ballet. She prefers to wear a suit to a school dance, yet she’s ordered to put on a feminine dress. Moreover, she seems to be picked on at school by a group of popular meanies. Seeing herself in Maddie and discovering her troubles slowly (while irresponsibly allowing her to get away with excessive snacks and chicken parmesan every night), Kate takes her niece under her wings, especially when Maddie makes friends with the Juggalo crowd through a chance encounter.

In fairness, “Family” makes a decent attempt in trying to dismantle sexist societal perceptions. Steinel examines the concept of being a toughened workaholic and wonders why it is deemed acceptable and desirable for men, when women with the same level of dedication get pushed to a lonely corner, often in competition to one another. True to her modest ambitions, Steinel thankfully doesn’t pair Kate with a romantic interest. Instead, she introduces a younger female executive whom Kate trains only to watch her become an alleged threat to her own career. Meanwhile, a second female frenemy lurks next door to her brother’s home: a helicopter mom ( Kate McKinnon , bringing along much-needed frothiness) adamant to show a completely disinterested Kate the ropes, with tensely funny results.  

And yet despite all that, the script neglects to give Kate personal depth beyond the bare minimum—“Family” almost takes for granted the idea that we’ve seen her kind before in countless other films. Consequently, Kate’s eventual make-good reunion with her father seems like an afterthought in her shakily sketched journey of self-realization. Still, Schilling makes the most of her part and establishes winning chemistry with Vale, reminding us that the star of “Orange is the New Black” should have become a more valued cinematic asset. As for the Juggalos … They remain hazily in the background even when they set the stage for a frantic finale. You won’t all of a sudden grow to care about this anarchic yet often misunderstood subculture, as it’s just another half-realized excursion from Steinel's debut.

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

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Family (2019)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and drug use.

Taylor Schilling as Kate

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Jessie Ennis as Erin

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Matt Walsh as Dan

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‘the seed of the sacred fig’ review: mohammad rasoulof’s powerful indictment of iranian oppression through the eyes of one unraveling family.

The writer-director ('There Is No Evil'), who fled Iran after receiving an eight-year prison sentence, unveiled his new film in Cannes’ main competition.

By Jordan Mintzer

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Out of all the major filmmakers to emerge from Iran over the past decades, Mohammad Rasoulof has certainly grown into the most overtly political. His finely crafted, hard-hitting dramas, including the superb 2020 Berlin Golden Bear Winner There Is No Evil , make no qualms about tackling his country’s oppressive regime and religious theocracy head-on, pulling few punches in their depictions of a nation under siege.

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It’s worth mentioning all of this because that new film — the dark and sprawling 3-hour family drama, The Seed of the Sacred Fig — is very much about Iran’s draconian legal system and what it does to the human psyche, which is obviously a subject Rasoulof knows intimately. But instead of turning the camera on himself, in the way that fellow Iranian auteur Panahi has done over the years in his various meta-fictions ( This Is Not a Film , No Bears , Taxi ), the director has decided to focus on the very kinds of people who have been making his life hell for more than a decade now.

Shot clandestinely and set for the most part in one somber Tehran apartment, Sacred Fig depicts a family of four whose patriarch, Iman (Misagh Zare), has just been named an investigating judge — a promotion that promises him both a bigger flat and a better place in Iran’s judicial hierarchy. Supported, at least initially, by his pious wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), and his two teenage daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), Iman and his clan seem set for a comfy bourgeois life.

As much as Iman wants to protect himself and his household, the world keeps banging at their door — whether through online videos the girls watch on their phones, news reports that reveal certain facts but are basically state-sponsored propaganda, or the actual sound of people shouting in the streets below. In a sense, Sacred Fig is a home invasion movie in which the family’s sanctity, and ultimately its physical safety, is threatened by outside forces tearing them apart from the inside as well.

The horror movie motif takes over in the film’s latter half when it becomes clear that the monster is Iman himself. Rasoulof never disguises his hatred for the judge, even if he first depicts him as a man caught between pressures at the office and at home, where the promise of a better apartment is a major boon for the family. But the director is always clear about who we’re dealing with: a man who, unlike the judge that was dismissed before him, has few qualms about sending an unknown felon to the gallows. Rasoulof couldn’t be more blunt about the fact that success within Iran’s imposing bureaucracy means crushing other people, and sometimes walking over their corpses.

Again, we’re in a horror movie, but the horror is what the Iranian government is doing to its own people, and specifically to young women. Rasoulof doubles down on the genre elements when Iman’s address is leaked online by protestors, forcing him to suddenly flee the city along with his wife and daughters. Meanwhile, the pistol he was given for protection has gone missing, and it’s possible one of his girls took it. The director continues to drum up the suspense when, after a Hollywood-style car chase that’s perfectly executed, the clan arrives at Iman’s childhood home in the mountains, where things definitely take a turn into thriller territory and several guns come back into play.

Is it all a bit over the top? Certainly. Is it worse than what’s happening on Tehran’s streets? No. As Rasoulof intercuts real footage and fiction, we realize that what the family is going through is an extension of what the entire country has been facing. The protests following Mahsa Amini’s death were about women fighting for their freedom against a brutal and oppressive patriarchy, which is exactly what the young Rezvan and Sana — and eventually their mother as well — are driven to do against Iman, who transforms into the ugly face of the regime as he tries to save his own skin.

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Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the b... Read all Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

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‘The Beach Boys’ Review: How to Make Good Vibrations

This Disney documentary looks at the family ties and sweet harmonies that turned a California band into a popular treasure.

By Nicolas Rapold

The wholesome ocean-breeze look of the Beach Boys could make the group a punchline if it weren’t for their sweet sunshine sound. The origins of their intricate harmonies undergird “The Beach Boys,” a Disney documentary directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny that notes obstacles in the band’s career but mostly tries to keep the good vibrations going.

Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson grew up in a musical household in Hawthorne, Calif., and eventually pooled their ample talents with a cousin, Mike Love, and a friend, Al Jardine. As told through a patchwork of polite interviews and mostly mundane clips from performances, the rise of their music was fueled by four-part harmonies, surf culture and entrancing orchestration not unlike Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound .

Brian, who hated touring, was the band’s homebody musical mastermind, and he could imbue their pop with an outsider’s moods, while the Wilsons’ father, Murry, put on the pressure as their manager. Snippets from “Pet Sounds,” their landmark 1966 album, never fail to rejuvenate the movie. But after a while, you get the sense of a band that stopped growing, though the movie traces a fruitful competitive streak with the Beatles.

Any deviations from the film’s obligatory timeline tour are very welcome, like a mortifying studio recording of Murry holding forth, and it’s a treat to hear the esteem for Brian among the Wrecking Crew , the storied group of session musicians. And for the pop romantics among us, the Beach Boys can still cast a spell with those four little words: Wouldn’t it be nice?

The Beach Boys Rated PG-13 for drug material and brief lapses into unsunny language. Running time: 1 hour 53 minutes. Watch on Disney+ .

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Running three hours, this film, scheduled for release by New Line and Warner Bros on June 28, is just “Chapter 1”, first of an unusual planned series of four separate films (not sequels) continuing the massive story, with Chapter 2 already in the can and scheduled for an August 16 release, and Chapter 3 reportedly going before the cameras imminently. Of course this multi-part saga is not unusual for television, where it thrives in the limited series form, but for movies it is virtually unheard of — along with the fact that its star/director, who has been dreaming of this in various forms since 1988, is largely footing the bill.

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But nothing on this scale has ever been attempted for this kind of release pattern on the big screen, and I would say, at least based on the first part with its huge cast of characters and storylines woven in and out, Costner’s biggest influence may have in fact been 1963’s Cinerama production of How the West Was Won. I know from multiple interviews in the past, including mine, Costner has always noted the impact seeing that film (nominated for Best Picture and winner of three Oscars including Best Original Screenplay) with his father made a lifelong impression on him. It similarly traversed many years, characters and story arcs like Horizon does but was just one long, reserved seat movie event. Horizon has four times its spirit at the very least.

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Spanning about 15 years from the end of the Civil War (a factor but not the focus here), Horizon is about the expansion and settlement of the American West, those brave white people who made their way on horse and wagon trains to the promise of a new life. Literally. In the movie Horizon is the name of a basically suburban dream. Flyers are continually seen urging people to come West. “If you want a farm or home the best thing in the West is the town of Horizon. Best grazing land in the world, the richest land, premium virgin land with pure and abundant water, temperate climate, and excellent health,” it advertises to potential settlers.

What it doesn’t say is it is also the home of American Indians, our Native Americans, many who are understandably not too keen about this development on what they consider their territory, and that it could also be a dangerous proposition. But this is a film about Manifest Destiny, and therein will lie many of the complications for these (many) people we meet along the way. And of course in different parts of the world this concept makes this movie still relevant, even as it is told as a piece of our history.

It is clear from this Chapter 1 that Costner, who co-wrote the script with Jon Baird and a story from Mark Kasdan, is interested again in this conundrum with the Indigenous population, just as he was in Dances With Wolves in going for a much deeper and complex study than what Hollywood largely did for decades in its treatment of the American Indian on film. And coming on the heels of another film that premiered in Cannes last year, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the upcoming chapters . In this one the table is set and we meet a lot of the key players, with the emphasis on those white settlers who made their way west as the Civil War had ravaged the Union, but with the promise of changing times giving hope.

Chief among the settlers is Costner’s character, Hayes Ellison, a lone wolf type who would like to keep to himself but keeps getting drawn into things he would rather avoid. He has survival and fighting skills that will come in handy, especially in some confrontations with very bad guys who are making trouble, notably the outlaw Sykes family.

This is a huge cast, but Costner tries to get them all introduced here including the intriguing Sam Worthington character of First Lt. Trent Gephardt, a soldier stationed at Fort Gallant but a guy with questions about himself and where he is going in this new world. Danny Huston’s sympathetic Col. Houghton has his hands full with the emerging droves of settlers, but knows there will be no way to stop, or possibly protect them when they get to Horizon. And you can count in Michael Rooker’s Sgt Major Riordan, who has the same concerns at Gallant.

Others include Luke Wilson’s good but reluctant leader of a wagon train, chosen against his will but trying to live up to the challenge, and Will Patton, a widower still recovering from the Civil War and accompanying his three daughters for a better shot at life.

The Native Americans are authentically cast, as you might expect in any movie from the filmmaker of Dances With Wolves. Standouts include Owen Crow Shoe as Pionsenay, an Apache warrior who is confused and frustrated with clashes with the settlers and none too pleased at this development, as opposed to brother Taklishim (a fine Tatanka Means) who is siding with their father, the Chief, in trying to be non-confrontational. Liluye (an excellent Wase Winyan Chief) is also his wife and mother of their baby, but she seems to have more fortitude and actually believes they should, like her brother-in-law, be resisting the rise of the settlers rather than sitting idly by.

Giovanni Ribisi, Glynn Turman, Tom Payne, Kathleen Quinlan, Angus MacFayden and countless others also pop in and out, some with perhaps more to do in ensuing chapters. There are more than 170 speaking roles in the series which is being shot on locations in Utah, with stunning cinematography by J. Michael Muro who captures the grandeur of the Old West in style. Other shout-outs go to Derek R. Hill’s authentic production design and John Debney’s stirring score.

For Costner, this is an impressive beginning, with the promise of more to come. It even ends with a montage of scenes from the second film coming in August, much like you might see if this were a television production, something it is defiantly not. With Horizon: An American Saga, Costner is just trying to keep the American Western alive, but he may, with this innovative roll of the dice, also be trying to keep theaters alive at the same time, that is if there is still an appetite for Westerns. Hopefully there is.

Title: Horizon: An American Saga Distributor: Warner Bros Festival: Cannes (Out of Competition) Release date: June 28, 2024 Director: Kevin Costner Screenwriters: Kevin Costner, Jon Baird Cast: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Michael Rooker, Will Patton, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Wase Winyan Chief, Jamie Campbell Bower, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jon Beavers Rating: R Running time: 3 hr 1 min

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