MOVIE REVIEWS

Review by Reno

**An American girl in the Amazon Jungle.** This is the tenth film in the 'American Girl' franchise. And this time the theme is a rescue mission. Like I mentioned in the 'Grace Stirs Up Success' (the previous film), I haven't seen all film in the series. This is for children, particularly the preteen girls. So for the grown ups it is like a joke, especially if you are a man. But basically I watch anything, there's no restriction to that, because I want to be an all-rounder. Despite I'm not the target audience, I think it is just an okay film, I mean an average. Though the response from the kids would differ, so watch for them, with them, if you have got one in your family. Well, the 'American Girl' films never followed the order or the cast had ever returned. It is so random from the story to the characters and the timeline. So this tale is about another American girl called Lea Clark, who loves adventures and the wild animals, but it is a far more dream than reality to her. But when her family receives a message that her brother gone missing in Brasil, she packs her bag along with her mother and lands in Manaus. While her mother making an effort to bring him back, Lea makes her own attempt and while doing that, she gets lost in the Amazon forest. From there how she makes back and what about her brother, all comes solving in the final quarter of the film. > "What one finds is not stolen. Whoever lost was careless." The little girl Maggie Elizabeth Jones from 'We Bought a Zoo' all grown-up to a teenager. Looks like another young artist who might make big in the filmdom in the near future. Because many who played in this series are now the well known names. Maggie's role was decent, but the issue was the story's silly and predictable. Anyway, that's how a children's film looks like, without the adult contents and explosions. So if you want to watch this, you must compromise on those stuffs, otherwise don't go for it. As I have heard, the story takes place in the Amazon forest, but the filming was done in the African rainforest. But I guess some of them were the settings. Overall, the locations are very beautiful and they make good use of it tell the story. Since it takes place in Brasil, some of the lines are in Portuguese. This is suppose to be a comedy, but the theme was very serious, still somewhat it manages to produce a few jokes now and them. A good mix of everything, like a whole family can sit and watch together. Not all the films in this series were the theatrical product, but this one was with a couple of others. One thing I always fascinated with this franchise is that they all gives a good message to the youngsters. So every time with a different topic and on the bottom line, takes a bit sentimental dip as well. This time it is highlighted the poaching and its related problems. The wildlife and the forest conservation is a good message to teach kids in this global warming era. So I think it would be a good watch for them. It's nearly time for the production house to announce the next film, so I'm looking forward to know what theme they would choose. Meantime, if you think it is not for you, at least show it to your kids. _6/10_