Parent Guide – Avengers: Age of Ultron (or, is Avengers 2 Appropriate for kids?)

Apr 30, 2015 By ParentingGeekly in Uncategorized Tags: Age of Ultron, Avengers, Marvel, Parents guide

I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron at a press screening last night. I watched with an eye towards the question I’m always asked when these superhero movies come out: “Can I bring my 6 year old to Avengers: Age of Ultron” (Seriously, six is the age that brings the most search inquires to my site for every movie). I totally get it, one of the reasons that I started this site was because I couldn’t find parent guides that fit my family’s needs (nerds with nerd kids who were probably a little more liberal with the content they let their kids view in that context than many mainstream parents would be). Parents want to know if the superheroes their kids adore in print and on the small screen translate to an age-appropriate big screen experience.

So, with that in mind, this isn’t a critical review of Avengers: Age of Ultron, – you’ll find tons of those all over the internet – but a parents’ guide written with geeky parents in mind.

So, is Avengers: Age of Ultron appropriate for kids? Here are some of the things you might want to keep in mind:

Sensory issues –There is a lot of action, it’s almost non-stop. If you have a kid that experiences sensory issues, it may be a bit much. Super-Dad and I saw it in 3D, I have vision issues, and found the fast moving fight scenes painful to watch in a few instances and removed my glasses. I don’t see 3D, and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything, so if you think this could be a problem for your child you may want to opt for a traditional 2D viewing.

Violence – There is a lot of violence, though blood and gore is minimal. The violence can be pretty intense, as it affect children, other civilians and characters we know. There is a prominent death scene that may be upsetting for some viewers.

Violent!

Language – There is a fair amount of mild swearing (damn, hell, ass), and one utterance of “shit”. The other characters make fun of Captain America throughout the entire run time for protesting the use of bad language by his teammates.

Sexual Content – Avengers: Age of Ultron probably has the most sexual innuendo of any of the Marvel films to date. From an abundance of racy one liners (which will more than likely go over most younger viewers’ heads) to an actual sexual relationship, which is more than hinted at, but not shown, I found it to be a bit risque. For the most part sexual content of this nature isn’t really an issue for our family, but there is probably enough here to make less permissive families a bit uncomfortable.

Scary and emotional Content – There is definitely a creep factor to the main villain, Ultron. He is a sarcastic robot. made by Tony Stark, who is bent on destroying humanity. He repeatedly sings “I”ve Got No Strings” from Pinocchio in a menacing way, which may be upsetting.

Also creepy!

Scarlet Witch causes other characters to hallucinate, and some of those scenes are dark and a bit scary.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver talk about the violent death of their parents in a war. The story of their survival in a war zone is also discussed and is pretty emotional.

It’s also worth noting (and this may be a small spoiler if you are unfamiliar with Iron Man’s Hulk-Busting armor and therefore didn’t extrapolate this from the previews) that the Hulk rampages pretty hard at one point, putting many civilian lives at risk. This results in a pretty brutal duel between the Hulk and Iron Man. Young Hulk fans may find this hard to understand.

Things I love and that I think would be great talking points for kids;

Teamwork – The first Avengers movie really highlighted a group of individuals who were had different moral values, work ethic and life stories coming together to work as a team. This is still a major part of the plot, with the characters differences causing the major conflict in the film.

Second chances – The current Avengers also embrace several new members in this film, allowing some of them to redeem themselves by joining the team.

Strong female characters – Black Widow plays a much more prominent role in this movie, which was great to see. Maria HIll is also back, and a new addition to the cinematic universe, Dr. Helen Cho, uses one of her own inventions to save an injured Avenger.

Strong!

Final Thoughts and recommendations – We are having reservations about bringing Kitty, who is eight. She is really looking forward to seeing it, so if we take her we will talk to her about some of the things she will see beforehand. I would say that this one is definitely better for ages ten and up and possibly even older if your child is especially sensitive.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is rated PG-13 and opens in theatres everywhere on May 1.

For some Avengers Coloring Pages click here.

Is it Worth Your Allowance – Worms Revolution

Apr 20, 2015 By ParentingGeekly in Uncategorized

Is it Worth Your Allowance? Is a weekly column written by 14 year old Nate. Nate reviews inexpensive games and lets your geeklings know if it’s worth spending their hard earned allowance on. Have a game to suggest? You can email Nate here.

Worms Revolution

Genre: strategy, action, multiplayer

Cost: $14.99

Developer: Team17 Digital Ltd

If you want to buy this game go to this link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200170

The worms series started in 1995 and is still going with the most recent game, Worms Revolution. like it’s predecessors, Worms is a turn based 2D shooter (flat side scrolling game) where you play as sentient worms in ant farm like map with various settings and one goal; destroy the enemy team(s). Worms Revolution has a four person local multiplayer that is lots of fun to play with friends. Worms is competitive with up to four teams battling for victory though it stays playful and fun for all. While battling there are tons of weapons to choose from, ranging from the classic rpg (rocket propelled grenade), to little silly things like water balloons. My favorite weapons are the are the bunker buster, turret and of course the rpg but there are the crazy ones like the old lady and the sheep. I have been playing the Worms games with my family since I was just a little kid and this one is my favorite.

Worms Revolution came out in 2012, but the older ones still hold up if you’re interested. There have been many Worms game before this one and weird ones like Worms 3D and Worms Crazy Golf and more. The game has a cartoony art style with great bright colors and detail.

I love the Worms games but most of them are really only fun to play with friends it gets really boring when you play alone, though if you don’t have any friends over to play the game does feature an online option. All of the Worms games are based around violence but all of it is cartoon violence so there’s no blood or gore, making the games good party games for anyone. I recommend this game for people ages 6 and up.

Overall, my final rating for this game is 7.5/10 and I definitely think it’s worth your allowance.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha Review

Apr 18, 2015 By ParentingGeekly in Uncategorized

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha solves Nate’s two complaints about the the Galaxy s5 “it’s huge” and “it’s cheap looking”. Indeed, in the world of iPhones, Samsung’s Galaxy line, while superior in most ways, is lacking in looks. It’s plastic and it feels flimsy. Nate’s complaint about the size also rings true. While the larger form factor makes for gorgeous movie viewing, it’s hard for my petite hands (and his teen hands) to manipulate, and forget about using it one handed without having to switch to “one handed mode”. The Galaxy Alpha also looks like it carries a hefty price tag (which it does) with a real metal frame – not the metallic plastic of the s5 – and a thinner more compact body. It really is a beautiful device.

The phone looks and behaves so much like a smaller s5, that it’s hard not to make comparisons. It has the same Snapdragon processor as the s5, and it also has a fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor – some of my favorite features of the s5. What’s really disappointing though, is where it is lacking. Though it comes with a decent 64gb of internal storage, there is no SD card slot. Pictures, music and video will fill that up fast. It also has a lower resolution screen than the s5, while Nate neither noticed or cared, I am surprised that with so much attention paid to looks that Samsung wouldn’t have included the same amazing display that’s in the s5. It also lacks an IR emitter, this became a problem for me while I tested it out because I use my phone as a remote for my Samsung TV on a daily basis. The lack of this feature was unimportant to Nate, though.

I’d add that it’s not waterproof, but my s5’s waterproof charging cover broke about three months after I purchased it, so it’s not waterproof either.

I noticed all of these “shortcomings” because my primary phone is an s5. Going on specs alone, the Alpha is still a zippy phone. Nate loves it. It looks really cool, it’s sized better for his hands/texting. He was given the choice of taking my s5, or continuing to use the Alpha he chose the Alpha. His only complaint is that the power button seems to be in a bit of an awkward spot.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is available at AT&T and other carriers. (Special thanks to AT&T Seattle for providing us with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha!)

The Galaxy Alpha is a perfect choice for anyone who is missing the style factor of an iPhone or who is looking for a smaller form factor while maintaining a high-end mobile experience. We found it to be fast, a good size, and very attractive.