What do the pets do when we are not home?
A review of one of summer's greatest hits.
Victoria Maciel, Entertainment Reporter
Wednesday, July 20th, 2016
Photo: Illumination Entertainment 2016
The Secret Life of Pets may look like a family movie, but there is enough violence to make you want to think twice before showing it to your children. Max, the dog, is the main star of the movie. Max’s owner goes to work, but she returns home with another dog named Duke, Max and Duke have a fight. These dogs find eventually join a violent gang whose mission is to kill their owners who they feel have abandoned them. Included in the gang is a pig who has tattoos and a cruel viper. The viper gets killed because of a freak accident. The two dogs, Max and Duke take a boat to a different city. Duke gets stuck in a truck because animal control catches him. Duke hangs from the edge of a bridge and Max saves him. A truck had fallen into the water and they almost drowned, but in the end, a bunny comes to the rescue.
This movie definitely has many plot twists and is very entertaining, however, you may need to reconsider showing this movie to your kids younger than 8 years. There is way too much violence and a disrespect for authority that carries throughout the movie. The fact that the gang of animals wants to kill their owners makes you wonder if this movie is more for adults. If you and your spouse or teenager are looking for a good movie, this would not be a bad choice.
From a 0 to 5 I give this movie a 3.5
The Secret Life of Pets may look like a family movie, but there is enough violence to make you want to think twice before showing it to your children. Max, the dog, is the main star of the movie. Max’s owner goes to work, but she returns home with another dog named Duke, Max and Duke have a fight. These dogs find eventually join a violent gang whose mission is to kill their owners who they feel have abandoned them. Included in the gang is a pig who has tattoos and a cruel viper. The viper gets killed because of a freak accident. The two dogs, Max and Duke take a boat to a different city. Duke gets stuck in a truck because animal control catches him. Duke hangs from the edge of a bridge and Max saves him. A truck had fallen into the water and they almost drowned, but in the end, a bunny comes to the rescue.
This movie definitely has many plot twists and is very entertaining, however, you may need to reconsider showing this movie to your kids younger than 8 years. There is way too much violence and a disrespect for authority that carries throughout the movie. The fact that the gang of animals wants to kill their owners makes you wonder if this movie is more for adults. If you and your spouse or teenager are looking for a good movie, this would not be a bad choice.
From a 0 to 5 I give this movie a 3.5
The Music of Teaching
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Hamilton’s story has captivated and inspired many including students of all ages. His story is unique, just like many of the children of today. Kids these days don’t like to sit in their classrooms and be bored to death while the teacher is talking about dead people in history. They want to learn something that makes makes sense to them and someone to whom they can relate. Hamilton is the story of many of America’s kids. Many come from poverty and have to overcome many obstacles to survive and become successful. They overcome odds to be something in this nation and to achieve the American Dream. They are Alexander Hamilton. In addition, the music is upbeat, the characters have attitude that comes off through their voice tone and use of bad language. The kids can feel the heat between Hamilton and Jefferson throughout much of the musical and relate it to their own relationships with school peers. The music leaves many students in awe. They’ve just experienced history in a powerful way that leaves them wanting more of this character.
As a student who just finished her 8th grade year, one of the most rigorous and challenging subjects that kids struggle with is history, due to the pressure heavy amount of reading and writing involved in the state standards. My 8th grade teacher used the musical to teach the founding of our nation. My experience was positive because the catchy rhythms and lyrics stayed with me, even after I left the classroom. To find out more about how Hamilton has been changing the learning experience of other students like myself, I conducted interviews. I found four teens, three of whom had no idea who Alexander Hamilton was, had them listen to the songs from the musical on Youtube and then asked them about what they learned. Following the song clip, Miranda Conejo commented, “So this song says he was a son of a whore and that his dad left him. With that I think it says that his mother died along with his cousin.” Nathan Smith, another students stated, “The song states that he had a big dream to accomplish but people say that he was insane… and that his father left him. Alexander was an orphan and that’s all I heard from this song.” Another student summarized, “ Oh yea this song says his mother was a whore and that he his father abandoned him and his mother. Two year later his mother had died of sickness and his cousin took his own life. People said that he was insane because Alexander wanted to be successful in life but he had no support. He was also an immigrant. When the woman says that they loved him, those women are Angelica Schuyler, Eliza Hamilton (his wife), and Maria Reynolds. Angelica Schuyler was the sister of Eliza and Angelica gave up Alexander when she saw her sister helpless face for Alexander at a ball. After that a man named Aaron Burr says ‘ and me? I’m the damn fool that shot him’. He was the one who killed Alexander while being in a duel. So that’s was this song said.” These students comments show the historical understanding gained simply from listening to pieces of the musical. Imagine the outcomes if every U.S. History teacher played this for their students. Students would enjoy history a lot more and actually be more engaged in the classroom. This is their shot! Information in this article was found from the following news sites: |
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