Sunday, January 8, 2012

We Bought A Zoo Movie Review


Set in southern California, and based on a true story, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and reopen a struggling zoo. To read more, go here.

Matt Damon plays a father and zoo owner in this film, a surprising role for him if you are used to him in movies such as the Bourne trilogy, the Ocean's movies, etc. But he fills this role incredibly and does a superb job at gripping your heart.

Scarlett Johansson fills a less intense role here than in Iron Man but more comparable to her role in In Good Company. She's sweet, cute, but also hardcore in her role as zookeeper.

There are many surprises in this film - both my friend and I cried during it, which really surprised us. We'd gone in expecting a humorous, family-oriented movie. And while there is much of that, it's also touching, tear-jerking, and powerful.

A couple of things I didn't care for were:

  • Matt Damon's character says Jesus's name in vain right at the beginning
  • The 14 year old boy swears
  • A few sexual innuendoes 
The movie is rated PG and is supposed to be family-oriented, but if I had young children I wouldn't take them to the movie because of the previously mentioned issues.

Overall though from my perspective, and my friend's, it was enjoyable, funny, surprisingly sad, and really good! Not a must-see, but enjoyable for what it is.

And yes, I know I'm stricter than some people, but trust me, I know people who are stricter than I am on this stuff too!! Namely, my mom & stepdad, and while we disagree to some extent, I utterly respect them for their strong stance on not watching any movie with God or Jesus's name in vain. Not a bad habit to have!


1 comment:

Liz Mays said...

I feel like if any of what you mentioned is in a movie, it needs to be a PG-13. PG movies used to be completely safe, but that's not true anymore. :(