MOVIE REVIEW: The Muppets (PG)

STORY:
The biggest Muppet fan; Walter, his brother Gary and his girlfriend Mary, go the Muppet Studios and they find out about a diabolical plan. And they convince Kermit decides to get the gang together for one more show.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
With the old Muppet Studios in danger, Kermit (encouraged by Walter) decides to try to get the gang back together for one last show—a telethon to raise the money to save the place. But all the other Muppets are all over the world, but since they're a big family and they care about each other. In the end, we're told it doesn't really matter that much whether the old building survives: It's about the people—or rather, the Muppets—and the fact that the crisis brought them back together.

And both brothers, Walter and Gary care deeply about the other, and they've been practically inseparable since birth. Clearly; though, Gary can't be with Walter forever, and both realize that have their own lives to live.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
When Walter first sets eyes on Kermit, the diminutive frog is bathed in a halo-like light bolstered by what sounds like an angelic chorus. Turns out though, the "angels" are merely a busload of choir members practicing.

SEXUAL CONTENT:
Miss Piggy (of course) gives a shower of kisses to Kermit, and when she sees him for the first time in a while, she flings herself on top of him and both crash on the floor. And there a couple of dancers that show up a few times; with pretty short dresses on.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
There is quite a bit of slapstick in the movie, but none of it is up there with the wackiness from The Muppet Show.

Walter pleads with Gary to throw him over a fence, Gary finally agrees and folds Walter's legs up to make him more aerodynamic. (The folds are accompanied by breaking sounds.) He then hurls him straight into the electrified fence, leaving poor Walter to spark for several moments before falling to the ground a little charred.

One of the Muppets start a huge fight during a self-control class. A celebrity has his head shrunk. A large bear is slightly injured several times in a fencing match. A car runs into an electrical pole. Kermit gets slammed into a door. A head hits a desk. A face hits a TV. Muppets fall down. A man falls off a building (but survives, apparently unhurt) and is smacked in the gut with a bowling ball. Piggy lays down a karate chop on a rival. Gonzo literally blows up his toilet business. A refrigerator full of moldy (talking) food is destroyed.

PROFANITY:
One Muppet (a bad version of Fozzy) says; "What the wocka?!" A group of chickens sing Cee Lo Green's F**k You, but it's sung in gibberish chickenese, so you can't understand it. We hear a use of both "heck" and "butt" as well as a couple misuses of god's name.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
The Muppets kidnap a celebrity, and at one point Fozzie wears "fart shoes". Characters are invited to sit on toilets during one of Gonzo's business meetings. The Muppets knock on a celebritie's door, and he yells; "I don't have my balls on!" The balls on his motion capture suit that is.

CONCLUSION:
I'm a little biased to review this movie; since I grew up with The Muppet Show. But if you can look past the more odd moments in the film; and if you love the old Muppet movies, you will definitely enjoy this movie. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger (14A)

STORY:
Steve Rogers is just a normal-sized man, but he wants to fight in the war that's going on (WWII) but's too thin to be a soldier. That is until he meets a doctor who has a machine that turns him into a huge body-builder, who becomes known as Captain America.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
It's shown that Steve Rogers had a lot of bravery even before he was pumped up, he stands up to bullies and later jumps on what he thinks is a live grenade. The guy who created the machine; Erskine tells him. "And knows compassion." And before the procedure begins, Erskine makes Steve promise one thing: "That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man." Steve does just that, striving to be a "good man" through the entire course of this movie—capping his efforts with an act of heroic sacrifice.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
Schmidt is in possession of an energy cube of awesome power—one supposedly the stuff of Teutonic myth. We hear several times that the cube is a power that comes from "the gods." Those who saw Thor earlier this year know that the cube comes from Thor's home planet of Asgard, and that he and his kin actually aren't gods, they were just perceived to be such by ancient humans. But that doesn't wholly mitigate the references we hear here.

SEXUAL CONTENT:
USO girls wear skimpy sequined outfits and dance in short skirts. Other women sport blouses that accentuate their breasts. After Steve undergoes his transformation, he walks out of the contraption shirtless—obviously impressing Peggy.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
Schmidt guns down a civilian, spattering bright-red blood. We also see a small exit wound in the man's back. Another unfortunate ends his screen time in the blades of a propeller. (There's a brief blood spray visible.) Folks fall from great heights, and one man is sucked into a weird energy vortex. Another is crushed by part of a building, and we see a bit of blood on his head. People are zapped from a giant energy gun and disintegrates right there.

PROFANITY:
Hell shows up several times, as well as ass, jeez, b--ch, damn, and a Brit interjects 'bloody'. We don't see it, but it's implied that one of the soldiers makes an obscene gesture, aiming it at Cap.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
In trying to get into the army, Steve falsifies his records. He later leaves base against orders (but does so in order to rescue 400 men from certain death, and when he comes back he gives himself up for disciplinary action). Schmidt shows disregard for the prisoners he's forcing to build weapons. "Use up what strength they have, doctor," he says. "There are always more workers."

CONCLUSION:
Since it is a superhero movie and also a war movie, there is a lot of fighting going on, and quite a few profanities, so I give it a 2 out of 5.

GAME REVIEW: LEGO Island (E)

STORY:
The Infomaniac and the Brickster are created, and then the Infomaniac creates the island, the Brickster gets mad and tries to destroy the island and gets put in the jail. And he stays there at least until Pepper comes along.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
After he accidentally lets the Brickster out of jail, Pepper bravely tries to get him back in. And even though it's not their job, the characters still go around and help the other minifigs.

GAMEPLAY:
There are some missions that you can do, like; racing your car or skiboat, deliver pizzas, and so forth. But before you can do any of the quests, you have to build the vehicles. But when you let the Brickster out, you have to look around for the bricks for helicopter, then you have to fly around in the helicopter (after you build it again.)

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
The Infomaniac and the Brickster are created and sent to the island, but it's never mentioned who or what created them.

SEXUAL CONTENT:
nothing

VIOLENT CONTENT:
If you run into another character, they will smash into pieces but then they put themselves together again. The Brickster also blows up some of the buildings, once he gets out of jail.

PROFANITY:
nothing

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
Every character has something they can't do like; Nick can't smell, Pepper can't read that well, and every time they talk to the Brickster he makes fun of them.

CONCLUSION:
This is a very fun game to play, but if you are looking for a game with a great story this is not the game you are looking for. This is one of the cleanest games I've ever played, I give this a 5 out of 5 stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (PG-13)

STORY:
As Voldemort's grip tightens on the magical world, the end is upon everyone Harry holds dear should he fail in his quest to vanquish his adversary. It's a last-ditch race against time as Harry, Ron, Hermione and assorted allies seek to unravel the few final mysteries that might tip the balance in Harry's favor in a final showdown.

[Spoilers are in the following sections]

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
Everyone who sides with Harry, risks everything to confront the evil Voldemort. And they do so with full knowledge of the possible repercussions. Repeatedly the Dark Lord speaks in a horrific whisper that everyone can hear, tempting them to abandon Harry … and the dire fate awaiting them if they don't. Yet no one defects (except the Slytherins, of course.).

Harry learns about Severus' past and discovers that Snape had been acting as a deeply planted double agent striving to protect him. During this, Harry finds out that he must let Voldemort kill him, for the Dark Lord to die, and he goes off to sacrifice himself for the sake of the whole wizarding world.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
Magic is still used during the movie, but the magic is used for warfare purposes. When Harry opens the snitch, just before he dies he sees the spirits of his parents and his godfather. And when Harry dies, he finds himself in a place called "Limbo" that people end up in before getting sent to the afterlife. He meets Dumbledore there, who tells him that he could 'hop on a train', Harry later asks where that train would take him, Dumbledore responds, "On". Dumbledore implies that the afterlife is a good place for those who have chosen to love, saying, "Do not pity the dead, pity the living and all those who live without love."

SEXUAL CONTENT:
One of Hermione's outfits, especially once wet reveals quite a bit of cleavage. She and Ron kiss passionately. Harry and Ginny steal a quick kiss during the battle.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
The Battle of Hogwarts is a no-holds-barred battle between Voldemort and his Death Eaters against the students and professors of Hogwarts. The battle for Hogwarts begins with magic — both offensively and defensively. Those within create a shield around the school that keeps arrow-like spells from the Dark Lord's forces at bay — temporarily. Several ground troops unwisely try to penetrate the shield - and get incinerated.

Using the Elder Wand, Voldemort overwhelms the shield. Soon, the school's defenders are overrun by his bloodthirsty forces. A bridge full of Voldemort's minions explode, meanwhile the Death Eaters are destroying the castle, and a werewolf can be briefly seen feeding on a dead student. A flaming body hurtles past our view. Upon death, some of Voldemort's soldiers (Bellatrix Lestrange among them) explode. We hear Nagini repeatedly pummel Snape.

When each Horcrux is destroyed, Voldemort feels pain. Not enough, however, to stop him from killing Harry with his wand. Finally, after the last remaining Horcrux, gets destroyed, Voldemort withers into tiny bits of ash floating in the wind.

PROFANITY:
Mrs. Weasley steps between Bellatrix and her daughter, Ginny, spitting fiercely, "Not my daughter, you b‑‑ch." We hear the British vulgarity "bloody" four or five times, twice paired with "hell." There's another use of "hell" on its own, and an utterance of "blimey" as well.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
The Dark Lord occasionally vaporizes his own troops when they displease him. The camera shows the corpses of some of the students. Griphook entraps the trio inside Bellatrix's vault, while he runs off with the Sword of Gryffindor.

CONCLUSION:
This movie is darker than any of the others, and the body count is much higher than any other, I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: Brave Little Toaster (G)

STORY:
A band of appliances; a toaster, a blanket, a vacuum, a radio, and a lamp go out to find their 'master' who was a little boy. However, their 'master' is now a man who is getting ready to go to college.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
The appliances band together to overcome freaky obstacles; and their grumbling about each of the other's faults doesn't get in the way of them sticking together through thick and thin. There is a nice message about the value of the tried and true over constantly needing newer, better things.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
The way the appliances talk about their 'master', you would think that he was some type of god.

SEXUAL CONTENT:
A line in one of songs says that there were: "bikinis and buns filled with weenies." And also there is a tape recorder that shows up for about 30 seconds, that seems to have breasts.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
The appliances are dropped into waterfalls, sucked into quicksand, and chased by a malicious supermagnet at a dump. There is also cars getting crushed into unbelievably small cubes. There is also an owner of an appliance parts store, that takes apart appliances, and we see a silhouette of him 'killing' a blender by ripping it's motor out.

PROFANITY:
There is one misuse of 'god', and also a character says 'darn' once but that's the worst of it.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
There is a dream sequence where Toaster is dreaming about the 'master', and it is a rather frighting scene. There is also a line in one of the songs that says: 'I took a man to a graveyard, I beg your pardon, it's quite hard enough, Just living with the stuff I have learned.' At the end of the aforementioned blender scene, you see oil or something dripping off the end of the wire like blood. There is a scene where a flower falls in love with Toaster, but Toaster has to leave and the next time we see the flower; it was dead. One of the cars in the junkyard, commits suicide by driving into the car crusher. And then you can see one car's wheels turning trying not to get crushed.

CONCLUSION:
This is a surprisingly dark film, I wouldn't recommend it to a kid. But I think that a tween may enjoy it. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

GAME REVIEW: Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction (E10+)

STORY:
Ben, Gwen and Kevin are at Rome fighting the Forever Knights, when they find out there is an evil To'kustar coming toward Earth. And Azmuth tells them that they must find some Galvan tech; called the Potis Altiare.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
Even though the news says that he is a menace to society, Ben goes around the world saving people from aliens, giant REDs, and annoying clones.

GAMEPLAY:
You are gong to end up fighting against hordes of enemies, but when you aren't doing that you'll be doing some interesting puzzles like; figuring out which alien to use to start a fire, using Humungosaur to move blocks, and other puzzles.And during certain parts of some stages one of the aliens can go Ultimate, that makes the alien super-powered.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
In a flashback, you can see the Galvan seem to be worshiping the Potis Altiare.

SEXUAL CONTENT:
Gwen wears a mini-skirt that covers her thighs; she is also wearing black stockings covering her legs.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
Like I said in the Gameplay section, there is quite a bit of fighting but it is not very realistic as you are either punching, zapping them, throwing fireballs and other stuff like that. But when you're playing as Humungousaur and Armadrillo, all of your attacks are melee that involves punching the ground and causing a shockwave.

PROFANITY:
Ben once says 'heck' and Kevin says 'shoot' once but that's the extent of the language.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
At the beginning of the game, Jimmy is trying to contact Ben about an oncoming cosmic storm and when his mom calls him for dinner, he yells 'I don't have time for that Mom! I have the fate of the world in my hands!"

CONCLUSION:
This is a very fun game and is a pretty clean game, I would recommend this game to anyone wanting to spend a couple of hours but if you're looking for a long game this is not the game you are looking for. I give this game 4 out of 5 stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: Battle: Los Angeles (14A)

WARNING: THIS MOVIE HAS A LOT OF VIOLENCE AND SWEARING.

STORY:
There appears to be thousands of meteors heading toward the Earth, and looks like they're going to smash into several cities but then they realize that they're not meteors they are UFOs! And they are coming to blow up the Earth and take our resources.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
The film shows the value of human life, as the squad puts themselves on the line to protect the civilians. Several times Nantz is willing to strike out on his own to draw away the alien fire, and a civilian and his son go over personally to Nantz to thank him for saving them and the rest of the civilian. A civilian bravely picks up a gun and shoots it at as many aliens as he can.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
None

SEXUAL CONTENT:
Some of the platoon members joke about a comrade's virginity. A Marine cracks a sexual joke after a female soldier is splashed with a dying alien's bodily fluids.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
Battle LA is pretty much one firefight after one firefight, with humans vs. whatever the aliens can think up.

A Marine is shot through his helmet, and we see the burning and bleeding results. Dead bodies litter the streets. A man's skin is crisped and cracked by fire. A helicopter full of the wounded is blown to smithereens—sending the dead and large chunks of shrapnel flying in all directions.

Perhaps the goriest scene takes place when Nantz determines to find a way to kill the seemingly indestructible enemy. He finds a wounded alien and, with the aid of a civilian veterinarian, begins to cut and stab into the creature, exposing its internal organs and searching for a weak point. After several gooey and spurting attempts, they finally hack into the creature's heart and it gurgles its last.

Armored vehicles smash through groups of aliens, crushing them beneath their wheels. A dying Marine detonates a bag full of C4, igniting a bus's fuel tank and tearing the vehicle (and surrounding enemies) to pieces. Several soldiers bury the barrels of their weapons inside a large enemy before unloading clips of ammo.

PROFANITY:
Two f-word. About 35 s-words. Twenty or so uses of "hell" Over a dozen each of "d‑‑n" and "a‑‑." About 4 uses each of "b‑‑ch" and "b‑‑tard." God's name is misused well over 20 times.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
One Marine gets so drunk he vomits, and partyers down bottles of beer and other alcohol, too.

CONCLUSION:
If you loved 'Independence Day' and/or '2012' you'll love this movie, the movie had the best effects I've seen since 'Transformers'. Unfortunately; it has a bad camera, and it seems to go on a little too long. But I give it 2.5 stars out 5.