Just like you shouldn’t take your child to see “Sausage Party” because it is rated R, even though it is an animated movie with loads of fruits and vegetables who are cuter than cute. You also should think long and hard before you take them to see “Kubo and the Two Strings”. This is an animated movie rated PG, which to me is a pretty lax rating based on the premise of the movie. The basdic story concerns a young boy who lives with his mother. His father died protecting them after his mother’s father took Kubo’s left eye. Kubo also has two aunts who are intent on killing both him and his mother. Yep, that is the basic premise of the film. Does it have good animation and good vocals for the characters? Yes and yes. But how are you going to explain that missing eye.
“War Dogs” is rated R and is for the “Hangover” fans who think a large mix of profanity and immorality is just the best basis for entertainment you can have. The film, which is based on a true story, presents two twenty-somethings who decide to deal in arms and then sell them to the US government. Jonah Hill hits a career low by playing a man who is completely dislikable. All those warm and fuzzy feelings you have had for other characters played by Hill, forget them. In this movie he is crass and crude and makes you dislike him from the minute he appears on screen. Miles Teller is his less unlikely partner in crime but he can’t save this movie. I just disliked all the sleaze and the ambiguous ending made me dislike it even more.
Then we have “Ben-Hur”, a movie I liked but didn’t LOVE! The word is out that it isn’t as good as Charlton Heston’s “Ben-Hur” and it isn’t. But it is a good movie and people should be going to see it. Just because the 1959 version was better is no reason to steer clear of this new rendition. You still have the basic plot which captures the essence of Lew Wallace’s novel, and you still have the chariot race. That alone is pretty much worth the price of admission.
