Kin movie review

Kin is NOW AVAILABLE on DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes, and Amazon Video wit this link: Kin

Movie Title: Kin

Grade: C

Rating: PG-13, 102 minutes

In a Nutshell: Based on the short film “Bag Man” by brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker, this feature film is also directed by them. Kin is a movie that is a little bit unsure of what it wants to be: family drama, crime thriller, or science fiction. It’s all three, but the part that most intrigues is the Sci-Fi twist at the very end.

Unfortunately, this movie bombed at the box office and quickly left theaters to make room for more popular flicks. I heard a movie critic mention that this would be a good first episode of a TV series and I agree. The story could really go somewhere and doesn’t really hit that mark until the very end of the movie! You’ll see what I mean when you finish watching it.

Tips for parents:

This felt like it should have been Rated R. Just because there weren’t any F-bombs, doesn’t make it PG-13. There was a lot of violence, crime, strippers, and other bad influences.
Jack Reynor’s character is a horrible example, makes TERRIBLE choices and puts his younger brother, played by Myles Truitt, in incredibly dangerous situations. For example, he takes his younger brother to a strip club to “make him a man.” You see girls dancing suggestively, but they have clothes on, mostly like bathing suits. One of the strippers seems to have more common sense and wisely says, “Coming to a place like this never made anyone into a man. Ever.” (That’s for sure.)
Lots of profanity.
A man pees in a convenience store. Disgusting.
Someone flips the bird.
People get drunk.
Lots of violence, sometimes with blood.
Adoption

Uplifting theme:

“A good man does the right thing, even when it’s not the easy thing.” – Eli Solinski (Myles Truitt)
Don’t borrow money from low-life loan sharks. Duh.
Parenting and abuse. Zoe Kravitz’s character said, “Sometimes people who aren’t ready to have kids have them anyway.” When people have sex, in or out of marriage, they rarely think about how that act could possibly turn them into parents. I wish people would THINK more. Every action has a consequence. We can’t choose the consequences, but we can choose to act or not.
Families
Survival

Things I liked:

Jack Reynor did a really great job as a terrible brother in this movie. He has a Chris Pratt quality about him. I love Chris Pratt, so that’s a compliment. Most people might recognize him from Transformers: Age of Extinction. He actually won “Best Actor” at the Irish Film and Television Academy Awards for his role in What Richard Did in 2013. Wow! His highest ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Sing Street Did you ever see that one? What did you think?
I thought that was really cool how the aliens could see images of what happened in a certain location.
Zoe Kravitz is adorable…..well, more hot in this movie than adorable. Did you know her dad is Lenny Kravitz? What struck me was how much she looked like her mother, Lisa Bonet, in this movie. Wow, what parentage, eh?
Ah, Dennis Quaid. He has an irresistible smile. Unfortunately, he doesn’t smile in this movie and is a cranky, grouchy old man.
Michael B. Jordan! He’s on a roll now! He makes a fun cameo performance in the end of the movie and was actually an executive producer for this film.
James Franco. His character is despicable, but he is oh, so talented.
Fun twist. I love twists.
There’s a great horned owl in the movie that was also in the directors/brothers movie that this film was based on: BAG MAN.

Things I didn’t like:

I felt so sorry for Eli who didn’t really have any good role models inn his life. His father and brother were both fighting demons and didn’t have the time or skills to help him make good choices.
Who teaches someone to drive while outside the actual car?
Jack Reynor pronounced Nevada incorrectly. People from Nevada are really sensitive about that for some reason. I live in Las Vegas and hear people complain about it all the time. Ha ha
The character arc is not very good. None of the characters learn and grow.
The funeral scene was a bit odd and long.
The movie poster is way too dark to see what’s going on.

Funny lines:

“$60,00 and a space gun? Who the h_ll are you people?” – Milly (Zoe Kravitz

Interesting lines:

“Just because you’re by yourself doesn’t mean you’re alone.” – Male Cleaner (Michael B. Jordan)
“He was hard on us because life is hard.” – Eli Solinski (Myles Truitt)