Family Film Reviews

NEW TO THE COLUMN:

-- A COUPLE TRIES TO RECOVER FROM THE TRAGIC LOSS OF A CHILD IN THIS RATHER AIRLESS ADAPTATION OF A STAGE PLAY:

"RABBIT HOLE" PG-13 -- The only thing this drama lacks is, well, drama. Teens interested in theater and the art of acting may find "Rabbit Hole" absorbing, despite its relative juice-lessness. Adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the script as directed by John Cameron Mitchell never fully occupies the screen, despite the emotional subject matter. Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) lost their little boy in a car accident eight months before the film opens. It was a teen driver (Miles Teller), but it was not his fault -- the boy ran out unexpectedly. Mother and father are dealing very differently with their grief, which is pulling them apart. Becca's mom (Dianne Wiest) and pregnant sister (Tammy Blanchard) seem to say all the wrong things. Visits to a support group for grieving parents don't go well. Becca starts meeting with the teen driver, as a way of working through what happened.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Howie tries to initiate sex with Becca in one scene, but the moment isn't explicit. The film features midrange profanity, pot smoking and the implication that Howie may start an affair.

-- A VERY ADULT DOCUDRAMA ABOUT A WASHINGTON SCANDAL THAT COULD GRAB POLITICALLY ATTUNED COLLEGE-AGE KIDS:

"CASINO JACK" R -- This saga of one man's overweening ambition and downfall is highly watchable, but very adult. And even young people 17-and-older may not be fascinated by the saga, unless they're savvy about the machinations of backroom Washington. Kevin Spacey embodies ambition, neediness and self-righteousness with subtlety and fine hyper-active verve as Jack Abramoff, who lobbied his way to the top spheres of influence during the George W. Bush administration, until his swindling of Indian tribes and unsavory dealings with politicians became public. His downfall was equally dramatic, and this high-speed account (no doubt using some dramatic license) is hard to follow but is gripping, thanks to Spacey, Barry Pepper as Abramoff's partner and Kelly Preston as Abramoff's loyal wife.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The film bristles with strong profanity and depicts a gun murder and a punch-up. Characters use cocaine, drink and smoke. Sexual images include toplessness.

-- AN ENERGIZED BRITISH "NORMA RAE" (PG, 1979), ABOUT WOMEN WHO WENT ON STRIKE AT A FORD MOTOR COMPANY PLANT IN 1968:

"MADE IN DAGENHAM" R -- For history-loving teens 16 and older, this edgy, fact-based film could be quite an eye-opener about labor unions, which are so often demonized in today's politics. It tells the story of female machinists at a Ford Motor Company plant in Dagenham, England in 1968. The women, only 187 of them among thousands of male Ford workers, go on strike because they're downgraded to "unskilled" so the company doesn't have to pay them at parity with men. The union leadership isn't too helpful, nor is the new Labor government. The women's spokesperson, Rita O'Grady (Sally Hawkins), devotes herself so fully to the cause that she jeopardizes her roles as mother, wife and friend. All the roles, both history-based and fictionalized, are played with depth and color. As Barbara Castle, the new government's fiery Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity, Miranda Richardson is a treat, pondering whether to intervene in support of the women. Teens 16 and older may have trouble deciphering the various British accents, but they'll surely get the gist.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The film includes one explicit, though clothed, sexual situation, as well as considerable strong profanity, much smoking and some drinking. There is a suicide.

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-- OK FOR MOST KIDS 3 AND OLDER:

"YOGI BEAR" PG -- The very youngest kids you might bring to a cartoon matinee, say ages 3 to 8, may be amused by the slapstick gags in this labored farce. Parents will just have to nap. The film clumsily blends live-action, computer animation, and 3-D. The resulting hybrid looks dim and drab. And when real-life actors share scenes with Yogi and Boo Boo, it never seems the humans and 'toons occupy the same space. Stalwart Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh), in charge of Jellystone Park, is not all that impressed that Yogi Bear (voice of Dan Aykroyd) and his sidekick Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake) can talk. What drives him nuts is how Yogi keeps building gliders and catapults so he can swoop in to steal visitors' "pic-uh-nic" baskets. But when a sleazy politico (Andrew Daly) decides to close Jellystone to make way for developers, Ranger Smith and the bears team up to save the park, along with a perky visiting filmmaker (Anna Faris), who makes Ranger Smith's heart flutter.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The 3-D aspect of the film is not scary, nor is the cartoony mayhem. Yogi nearly gets smashed using his crazy inventions, but he always recovers. An accidental setting-off of fireworks isn't that loud and only destroys property. Someone uses the phrase "screwing up," and there is a bit of toilet humor. Adult characters use bad grammar. Grrr.

-- OK FOR KIDS 6 AND OLDER:

"TANGLED" PG -- A 3-D, animated riff on the Rapunzel fairy tale, "Tangled" is a sure bet for kids 6 and older -- funny in both dialogue and physical humor, handsomely made, and with inspired musical comedy moments. The talk bristles with today's slang, yet somehow works in a medieval setting. A sorceress (voice of Donna Murphy) steals the baby princess Rapunzel from the castle and locks the infant in a tower. Rapunzel grows up believing the sorceress is her overprotective mother and doesn't realize that her magically resplendent 600-foot-long tresses keep the sorceress looking young. When Rapunzel nears 18 (now voiced by Mandy Moore) and her "mother" is away one day, Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), a thief on the run, scales the tower to hide, having just stolen a crown from the palace. Rapunzel bops him on the head with a skillet, but he's secretly smitten and takes her to see a bit of the real world. Maximus, a royal horse, is still on Flynn's trail for the theft. Man and horse soon realize they must save Rapunzel from the sorceress.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Rapunzel and Flynn nearly drown in one scene, but most of the action sequences are not scary and played for comedy. That goes for the sorceress and her band of goons, too. The muted 3-D effects won't overwhelm most kids 6 and older.

-- OK FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER:

"GULLIVER'S TRAVELS" PG -- Jack Black brings his laid-back, irreverent sensibilities to this genial if under-produced adaptation of Jonathan Swift's 18th-century novel. The film lacks cinematic panache, but radiates good humor, which could win the affection of kids 10 and older. They might like watching Gulliver (Black) tromp around Lilliput like a giant wandering through a dollhouse. Lemuel Gulliver has languished for years in the mailroom of a big modern-day magazine. He can't bring himself to ask out his secret crush, travel writer Darcy (Amanda Peet). On a bad impulse, he submits plagiarized writing samples to her and she gives him an assignment to sail solo in the Bermuda Triangle. He encounters a huge, slightly scary storm, is engulfed, and wakes up on a beach, tied up by the itty-bitty people of Lilliput, who appear to live in old, pantalooned Europe. Gulliver helps the Lilliputians repel tiny invaders and becomes their hero, until he oversteps.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The battle scenes are not scary, even when tiny invading ships fire cannonballs at Gulliver. His sojourn with giants (where he is the tiny person) is very brief, and we only see one (albeit huge) girl who plunks Gulliver into her dollhouse. There he finds the skeletal remains of a previous prisoner. The film does a decent job of showing how unacceptable Gulliver's lying and plagiarism are.

"TRON: LEGACY" PG -- This update/sequel may well delight video, computer and Xbox game-loving kids 10 and older. The soundtrack is almost too deafening for under-10s. The original "Tron" (PG, 1982) was a pioneering film that introduced the idea of virtual reality to audiences, mixing live actors with computer-generated and hand-drawn animation. The new movie uses the latest technology, including 3-D, and it looks good. But its makers are so in love with visual effects that the human element seems a dull afterthought. And the action sequences, in which characters race and fight gladiator-style on "Lightcycles," are loud and fast, but repetitive. Twenty-seven-year-old Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) has lived without his dad Kevin (Jeff Bridges, reprising his 1982 role) since he was a boy. A genius inventor of virtual technology, Kevin disappeared into his own computer game "grid." Sam finds a portal into his dad's virtual world. He must outsmart rogue humanoid "programs" holding Kevin hostage.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The script contains rare mild profanity, sexual innuendo and implied nudity in the virtual world, as well as characters drinking what could be spirits. The loudness of the action sequences may upset some kids under 10. Some non-human characters shatter into shards of light. The convoluted plot requires much familiarity with the 1982 film.

"THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER" PG -- As this third film based on C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" books begins, World War II rages. The only violence takes place in Narnia, though, and it is not graphic. The film is fine for kids 10 and older -- even if this latest film adaptation seems rather tired. (For under-10s, it could be thematically confusing, too.) The (bloodless) battle sequences are awkwardly rendered, and the plot drags, but the younger Pevensie children have grown a bit more interesting and the spiritual themes more clearly focus on ideas of faith and purity of heart. It's 1943. Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) Pevensie are staying with their cranky cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). A painting of a ship comes to life, engulfing the three kids in sea water. They're suddenly flailing in the waters of Narnia. King Caspian (Ben Barnes), sailing on the Dawn Treader, rescues them and they join him on a mission. An evil green mist taps into their worst fears and flaws, testing their mettle.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The battle scenes show the Narnians and their enemies wielding swords, crossbows and fists, with no injuries shown. The Dawn Treader encounters giant sea serpents and huge waves. The film includes references to "slave traders" in Narnia, who are portrayed in stereotypically Arab or Persian garb of yore.

-- PG-13s:

"LITTLE FOCKERS" -- Sometimes a comedy franchise runs out of steam. Despite a scattering of real laughs, the humor feels awfully forced in "Little Fockers." That doesn't mean high-schoolers won't get a charge out of watching adults behave badly in it. The sexually focused humor is pretty graphic at times, making the movie inappropriate for middle-schoolers. Nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) has been promoted at the hospital, and he and his wife Pam (Teri Polo) have two young children. Greg's relationship with his hard-nosed ex-CIA father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) has mellowed, until Jack suspects Greg of having an affair with a flirty pharmaceutical rep named Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba). Greg's own dad (Dustin Hoffman) is off learning the tango in Spain, while his mom's (Barbra Streisand) sex advice TV show is a hit. Throw in his ostentatiously rich, New Age-y pal Kevin (Owen Wilson) and Greg is in for a rough and embarrassing time.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The adult-oriented sexual humor features erectile dysfunction jokes, including visual gags about that 4-hour Viagra side effect, as well as other sexual innuendo and behavior. In a hospital scene, Greg and Andi insert a tube into a patient's backside. Characters use mild profanity, abuse prescription drugs, drink and engage in toilet humor.

"TRUE GRIT" -- A new adaptation of Charles Portis' novel, as opposed to a remake of the 1969 John Wayne movie (G-rated on video), this "True Grit" is breathtaking. Yet it is problematic for middle-schoolers because of the grim lawlessness it portrays, including gun and knife violence, hangings, fights, casual (if fairly mild) mistreatment of Native American children, and harsh treatment of animals. The mayhem is certainly intense and graphic enough to earn an R. For older teens and adults, however, this "True Grit" is a brilliantly spun yarn. Co-directors and co-writers Joel and Ethan Coen celebrate language (and the book) here. Everyone from the lowest criminal talks in a colorful, literary style that is both hilarious and beautiful. It is the post-Civil War frontier. Formidable 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) comes to Fort Smith, Ark., to hire a lawman to kill the rogue (a scary Josh Brolin), who murdered her father. She lands drunk-and-disorderly Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and comic/heroic Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon). The three set off on an odd, but epic journey.

BOTTOM LINE: Something's amiss when "The King's Speech" gets an undeserved R, but "True Grit" gets a PG-13, despite its intense bursts of violence and haunting images of death, both human and animal (including this SPOILER ALERT FOR SOFTHEARTED ANIMAL LOVERS -- a pony that is ridden to death in order to get someone to a doctor). It also shows drinking and smoking and includes some sexual innuendo, such as LaBoeuf admitting he thought of stealing a kiss from Mattie as she slept.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW" -- It's tough to imagine anyone much under high-school age loving this smart but often wayward and overwritten comedy. Yet writer/director James L. Brooks always gives moviegoers more to chew on than does the average Hollywood product, especially in his smart dialogue. George (Paul Rudd) works at his dad Charles' (Jack Nicholson) financial firm. One day, George learns he's to be indicted for fraud and he has no idea why. Professional softball player Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) learns she won't make her team again, due to her advanced age (31!). She takes up with Matty (Owen Wilson), a professional baseball player who's a hopeless playboy. She also meets George, who falls for her despite his legal woes. The film's least satisfying element is Witherspoon's emotionally muted characterization.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Witherspoon's Lisa and Wilson's Matty characters have a live-in relationship for a while, preceded by a couple of one-night stands, but sex scenes are only implied. Promiscuity for Matty is a key trait, and there's a reference to "anonymous sex." The script includes occasional strong profanity as well as a condom joke. George's secretary is an unwed mom, and some characters drink.

"THE TOURIST" -- This overdressed, underwhelming romantic thriller is acceptable for teens, but they may find it tedious. Stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp strike few sparks and the plot isn't much, either. At least Venice looks lovely. Jolie swans through the film in an array of designer duds and a languid smile as Elise. She is in Europe for a clandestine meeting with her estranged lover. He is, we're told, a financial criminal wanted by Interpol. Elise is being watched by a British agent (Paul Bettany), who thinks she'll lead him to the thief. However, she receives instructions from her ex-lover to get on a train and latch onto a man of his build, and pretend to be "with" him. That hapless fellow is Frank (Depp), a rumpled American teacher on holiday who's smitten and drawn into Elise's world.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The action features relatively bloodless shoot-outs, fights and boat chases in the canals of Venice. The script, such as it is, includes rare strongish profanity and a gently implied sexual situation. Some characters drink and briefly smoke.

-- R's:

"THE KING'S SPEECH" -- Bizarrely rated R for a few brief bursts of profanity in scenes involving speech therapy, this marvelous film deserves a wide audience that includes teens, especially those who prefer human stories over special effects. It tells a fascinating and moving fact-based story with vivid characters and dashes of real history. Britain's King George VI (Colin Firth) comes to the throne after his older brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) abdicates in 1936 to marry his American mistress. "Bertie," as the royals call George VI (he was Queen Elizabeth II's father), doesn't want to be king. He has a terrible stutter and dreads public speaking. In the film, his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), known to us as the late Queen Mother, prods her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), well before "Bertie" ascends the throne. The film culminates in a crucial radio address as war begins. Scenes between Firth and Rush are sheer bliss.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The strong profanity (including nonsexual use of the F-word) occurs only in some of the speech therapy scenes. The film has vague sexual references, and shows much smoking and some drinking.

"THE FIGHTER" -- Teens 17 and older who like drama straight from the gut may gravitate toward this gritty true-story of estranged, then reconciled blue-collar boxing brothers of Lowell, Mass. Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) longs to get his one-time promising welterweight career back on track. His half brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale in a glassy-eyed performance so over-the-top he sucks the oxygen out of scenes), now Micky's trainer, was once an up-and-coming boxer, but veered into a life of crack addiction and petty crime. Then there's the brothers' tough-as-nails mom (Melissa Leo), backed by her Greek chorus of equally harsh daughters. Poor Micky's life is pulled every which way after he falls for Charlene (Amy Adams), who tries to rescue him from his family's clutches.

THE BOTTOM LINE: "The Fighter" earns its R with portrayal of drug abuse, drinking, smoking, steaming profanity, a lone sexual situation, graphic boxing scenes and some outside-the-ring nonlethal violence.

"BLACK SWAN" -- This gripping, stylish, but also lurid ballet-inspired thriller is not really for under-17s, as it includes explicit sexual situations and language. Director Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler," R, 2008) and star Natalie Portman examine the obsessive pursuit of perfection. Nina (Portman) dances with a New York City company, but she's not a star. A naive woman-child, she lives with her controlling mother (Barbara Hershey), a former dancer. Nina's troubles (bulimia; a tendency to scratch and cut herself) go into overdrive when she's cast in "Swan Lake" as both the innocent White Swan and the demonic Black Swan. A potential rival (Mila Kunis), plus her own anxieties, drive her to the edge.

THE BOTTOM LINE: "Black Swan" features explicit sexual situations and fantasies, both heterosexual and lesbian. Moments of violence and implied self-injury are intense and somewhat bloody, but not highly graphic. Characters drink, use recreational drugs and smoke. The script uses very strong profanity and crude sexual slang.