Bentkey, a new family-friendly streaming service from The Daily Wire, debuted a new kid-friendly show that will bring back nostalgic memories of “Mister Rogers.” In theaters, the animated film “Inspector Sun” and biopic “Priscilla” underwhelm. Read the reviews from Higher Ground Partner, Plugged In.
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A Wonderful Day With Mabel Maclay – New series streaming on Bentkey from The Daily Wire
With Mister Rogers, we got “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” With Mabel Maclay, we get “a wonderful day.” And this “Mister Rogers”-esque show from Daily Wire’s Bentkey certainly lives up to its name.
Mabel and her pet dog, Jasper, speak directly to their viewers, teaching them about creativity, curiosity, perseverance and more.
Be sure to listen in to The Plugged In Show, a weekly podcast with lighthearted reviews for parents and conversations about entertainment, pop culture and technology:
This series is free of language, drugs, violence, sexual content and political and social agendas. (As you can read about in my blog, Bentkey itself was created at least partly as a reaction to those agendas, especially in Disney.)
However, it’s also God-free. The first episode expounds upon the amazing creativity we all possess. But it never mentions the great Creator.
That arguably fits in with the show’s (and the platform’s) no-agenda agenda. It certainly leaves room for you, as a parent, to talk about God—but it’s not going to wade into the conversation itself. And for many parents so wary of agendas in children’s entertainment, the idea of having a series that they can allow their children to watch without wringing their hands over what it’s teaching, that may be a welcome change.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here. Discover more about Bentkey from The Daily Wire here.
Inspector Sun – In Theaters
On a list of famous detectives, I’ll be surprised if I ever see Inspector Sun.
The spider isn’t the brightest of creatures, nor is his story in Inspector Sun all that compelling. It’s a bit of a wonder how such an idea as a spider detective was spun.
Now, in terms of content, it’s always a hard sell to make a murder mystery child-friendly—perhaps why the subjects of said film are insects rather than people. But a couple lewd references, the apparent death of a dog and various insects and some alcohol consumption sully what may have been a fun mystery in which kids could tag along.
And such content issues stick out a bit more when you’re advertising to a young audience.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Priscilla – In Theaters
In 1985, Priscilla Presley published a memoir titled: “Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N’ Roll.” It became an instant bestseller. Elvis fans couldn’t wait to read the behind-the-scenes story of this musical icon and his beautiful bride.
They wondered what happened: What was it like? Was it true love? How did it all go wrong?
Likely, answers to those questions are what people plunking down the ticket price for “Priscilla” will be eager to see and hear as well. But while director Sophia Coppola may have stayed true to her source material, it doesn’t make for much of a movie.
The film feels like a series of disjointed, vacuous moments in the couple’s lives. The acting is hollow, the dialogue bland. Priscilla and Elvis are certainly both attractive up on screen, but their interludes feel like a child’s shoebox theater, cast with pretty paper dolls. The characters go through the movements but never muss their paperboard hair.
Of course, they’re also pill-popping, profanity-spewing, R-rated paper dolls. So you probably wouldn’t open that shoebox anywhere near the kids.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Reviews written by: Bob Hoose, Emily Tsiao and Kennedy Unthank.
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