Family movie reviews: ‘Dolphin Tales,’ ‘Real Steel,’ more

10 abd ikder

Dolphin Tale (PG). Kids 10 and older may find this movie heartwarming and fun, but a movie lover might wish it were less stiffly acted and preachy. Sawyer is at the beach, where a man has found an injured dolphin. The boy goes on to work with a veterinarian who cares for the dolphin, now named Winter. When Sawyer visits his injured cousin at the veterans hospital, he meets a doctor who designs prosthetic limbs and who agrees to work on a tail for Winter.

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

THE BOTTOM LINE: Some kids might be upset by Winter’s injured tail and the way she flails in the water at first without it. Kids might also need help with the sight of wounded veterans.

PG-13

Real Steel. Perhaps teens who like the “Transformers” films will find a similar thrill watching battered robots smack one another around. The film is okay for most teens, but it’s a little too hard-edged for preteens. “Real Steel” follows the adventures of former boxer Charlie, who travels the country with a boxing ’bot and enters it in contests for cash. Into his life drops Max, his estranged son with a long-ago ex. The two are able to bond only after Max finds a beat-up boxing ’bot in a dump.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The robot has enough human qualities that you feel for it when it gets smacked down or damaged. The boxing sequences get fairly intense. Charlie gets beaten up. The script includes occasional mild-to-midrange profanity.

Courageous. Teens who appreciate religiously themed films may be moved by this melodrama, but some of the sermonizing could put others off. Moderately violent confrontations make it iffy for preteens. Nathan has moved to join the sheriff’s department. He hits it off with Adam, a deputy. Then Adam loses a child. He vows to be a better father and husband and gets others to sign a parenting resolution.

The bottom line: The deputies’ face-offs with gang members result in fistfights and a shootout. A car accident that kills a child is not shown, but the film deals extensively with grief. Despite racial and ethnic stereotyping of secondary characters, the film features major characters who are African American and Latino and portrays them with nuance.

Dream House. As the plot hinges on learning the truth of a family’s murder, “Dream House” is not for middle-schoolers. Children die of gunshot wounds; there are disturbing themes about insanity; and ghostly images could set off the nightmare-prone. Will quits his job so he can write a novel and spend time with his family in their new suburban home. Their calm is shattered when Will and his wife learn that a man killed his family there. More than halfway through the film, reality shifts abruptly, adding more confusion than excitement.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The violence in “Dream House” includes gunfire and bloody images. Flashbacks show children succumbing to gunshot wounds. The story deals in spirits and other lurking figures. There are grim scenes in a psychiatric hospital and occasional profanity.

Abduction. Teen fans of Taylor Lautner as Jacob in “Twilight” might want to catch him in this contrived and convoluted thriller. It’s okay fare for most teens. High-schooler Nathan has always felt like an outsider. He longs for Karen, the beauty across the street. When they’re assigned to do a research paper about missing children, Nathan sees a baby picture of himself. Further digging sets off a sudden series of violent events. Soon Nathan and Karen are on the run.