margophillips
Susan Sarandon is playful and awesomely young in this kids whodunit. Love the line about women detectives and high heels!The music is fun and it opens with a great shot of Manhattan. There's a lovable brother/sister relationship that plays center stage and an awesome dog named Charlie for comedic relief. Also need to mention the largest rabbit I have ever seen in my life? Why is the guy carrying it? Who cares! It's hysterical! I saw this a few days ago with my kids and it was great. Overall, a great plot, and some good comedy.I recommend this for a rainy day or a weekend rental.
Koustubh Bhattacharya
Not many late summer kiddie movies come out every year. Catering to Pre-teens is tough. Yet, too often the efforts that are made to woo this age group turn out to be bad. That's what has happened with this film too. Ace the Case has nothing to ace neither there is a case. The mystery is not half as intelligent as it should be for the kids that it targets. Yet, its not totally unwatchable. In fact, kids would probably love Olivia, A 9 year old everyday New York girl who will resonate with a lot of kids of her age. Being involved in a detective story that takes her to the uncharted and "dangerous" big city all alone is a child trap. While some may consider it risky content for kids, I think its standard children's story trope. Kids these days are exposed to much worse. Heck, even Home Alone movies had more violence. There's also this adorable dog and a humongous rabbit in it which btw, have zero significance to anything happening in the movie. However, if you ask me its just a steaming pile of toddler puke. Chances are that your kids are asking for this movie or you want to take them out to see it. My advice is well, rather take them to a museum or something. Then again, they're your kids, so do whatever you want. I may even recommend it for my own nieces and and nephews.Susan Sarandon is a pro and its endearing to see her interacting with the the main character of the movie. I hope she got paid well for the role and its not a favour to the producers because her every scene in the movie added a little bit of life to its limp plot. Ripley Solo who plays the role of Olivia, the little red-head kid trying to solve a crime, is promising. Its no wonder that she comes from Broadway experience. She should get more sensible roles in Hollywood while she's cute and charming. We know what happens to most of the prodigious child stars when they grow up. Unless, she turns out to be the next Natalie Portman. Besides these two, every other cast and character is basically unimportant and treated that way.I can see why kids might enjoy it but won't they gobble up just about anything that's got a child doing bold things? Just plop them in front of a TV and put on a DVD of this movie. It will work. Although, I wouldn't go so far as to claim it is the modern Home Alone. It does remind of the Macaulay Culkin's New York misadventures but its not as entertaining. What's most puzzling is that despite so much classic material available for children movies, filmmakers choose to experiment with sub-par concepts that don't sit well with any generation. Make a modern adaptation of Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer and even adults will go to watch it. On second thought, Ace the Case is probably a welcome break from constant barrage of superhero movies that are not even talking to kids anymore.
harrisong-17612
I'd seen a lot of ads for this film on social media and thought I would give it a try. I mean you can't go wrong with Susan Sarandon. The beginning of the film was a bit disjointed, but 10 minutes in I was hooked! Is it getting an Oscar nomination? Probably not, but it's a cute film that I know my little cousins will love. They love Matilda the Musical so I think they will be excited to see Ripley Sobo as Olivia the detective! As a big brother to a much younger sister, It was interesting seeing how this dynamic played on screen. My sister is 6 years younger than me and growing up we had very little in common. Aaron Sauter does an excellent job of playing the uninterested and annoyed older brother. It reminds me of Home Alone and Harriet the Spy from when I was a kid.
