Family Film Reviews

NEW THIS WEEK

-- AN ANGRY DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE 2008 WALL STREET AND MORTGAGE BANKING CRISIS:

"INSIDE JOB" PG-13; Limited Release -- Even high-school-age news junkies may have trouble following the econo-speak and bar graphs in this fascinating, infuriating documentary about the Wall Street crisis of 2008 and how it cost people their jobs and homes. If high-schoolers stick with it, however, they will come away with a sense of stunned outrage at how the profit motive ("greed is good") mixed with Type A personalities in the world of finance led some men to take risks that destroyed their own companies and worked against their own country's (let alone the world's) economic best interests, often with the blessings of government regulators and politicians. Filmmaker Charles Ferguson has done much research and talked to many financiers, economists and former government types, but his own view is apparent from the start -- that deregulation of the financial markets has been a terrible, even criminal, idea. Matt Damon voices the narration.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Some profanity turns up in unlikely places, such as when a U.S. senator quotes a crude e-mail sent inside a Wall Street firm. Other mild profanity turns up, but rarely, as well as references to financial high-rollers using cocaine and hiring prostitutes.

-- A PREQUEL/SEQUEL SO SLOW, EVEN THE DEMONS ARE POKEY:

"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2" R -- This movie uses the same kind of slow, repetitive (very repetitive) sequences to build tension and the same fidgety camera work around its characters that helped make "Paranormal Activity" (R) a surprise hit in 2007. Neither film, in which everyday people are visited by hostile, violent spirits, is great, but both are clever riffs on old-fashioned ghost stories. "Paranormal Activity 2," which is a mildish R, could intrigue high-school-age horror buffs, though they may be underwhelmed when it's over. This time around, a married couple (the wife is related to the female character in the first film) fires their nanny because she keeps praying and burning incense to rid the house of evil spirits. They think she's crazy -- their mistake. It starts with the house being ransacked, they think by intruders. Security cameras are installed. Nothing much happens for the looooongest time. We spend endless minutes watching videos of empty rooms, with distant, ominous sounds suddenly interrupted by the real-life noise of a pot falling, or a dog barking, or a baby crying. Through a clever narrative hook, the new film manages to be both a prequel to the first movie, and by the end, a sequel to it.

THE BOTTOM LINE: "Paranormal Activity 2" doesn't contain much profanity, apart from a few strong words and midrange sexual slang and innuendo among teen characters. The violence comes almost entirely in the third act and is quick and not very graphic. An infant is shown to be in danger (though we never see the baby hurt, we do see it briefly levitated), as is a family pet (which is hurt, but not graphically or lethally).

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ALSO PLAYING

-- OK FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER:

"SECRETARIAT" PG -- Teens and preteens may yawn a bit during this reverent, stolidly told tale. "Secretariat" goes a tad heavy on the human story and rather stingily on Secretariat himself. True, the great Triple Crown winner died in 1989, but even so, it's too obvious that the film uses multiple horses to portray him, offering little sense of the creature's legendary personality. There are racing scenes, of course, but heavily edited and somehow short on excitement. (YouTube is the place to see him run those historic races.) The movie is clearly intended more as a portrait of the horse's devoted and determined owner, Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), and eccentric trainer, Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich). It is the early 1970s and Chenery is dismissed as a "housewife" out of place in the racing world. She overcomes sexism, financial pitfalls and family disputes, to raise and race Secretariat.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Some soft-hearted animal-loving preteens may find the horse races hard to watch, though no injuries are shown. Secretariat does have a mild ailment early on, which clears up. Some characters use mildly crude humor.

"LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE" PG -- The level of violence, and complex war themes in this handsome, harrowing animated 3-D feature make it problematic for kids under 10. An adolescent owl named Soren falls from the family nest with his brother Kludd. As they struggle to flee a snarling wolf, they're abducted by owls from the feared Pure Ones group -- an authoritarian parliament that aims to dominate weaker owls and rule the owl world through brainwashing (called "moon blinking") and force. Soren avoids indoctrination, but his brother Kludd buys into it. Soren escapes and flies to the great Guardian owls, where he's trained as a warrior to fight the Pure Ones. Based on books by Kathryn Lasky, this story clearly harks back to the rise of fascism and communism in the 20th century, though it unfolds in fantastical sword-and-sorcery style.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Even without recognizing the historical references, kids will find the evil owls, the Pure Ones, frightening. The battles between owl civilizations show the feathered creatures in armor, and taking part in aerial dogfights, a la World War II. Narrative elements about brothers torn asunder by ideology, or infants kidnapped and separated from their parents, are strong and moving.

-- PG-13s:

"HEREAFTER" -- Clint Eastwood's surprising, elegant, profound new film deals with the idea of an afterlife. Thoughtful teens, especially high-schoolers and college kids, will find much to ponder in it. The narrative has three strands, which connect only in the last act: Marie (Cecile de France), a French TV news anchor on vacation in Indonesia, nearly drowns in the 2004 tsunami. She's transformed by memories of what she saw and felt when she was near death -- a bright light, shadowy figures, a sense of peace. She researches and writes a book about it. In London, twin little boys, Jason and Marcus (George and Frankie McLaren) are torn asunder after one boy is hit by a car and killed. The desolate surviving child is put into foster care and becomes obsessed with contacting his dead brother. And in San Francisco, George Lonegan (Matt Damon), a psychic who seems able to contact dead people, tries to ignore his gift so he can have a normal life. A connection is woven that is magical, in the cinematic sense.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The depiction of the Asian tsunami is truly harrowing. The terrorist bombing of the London Underground in 2005 is re-enacted, in a more understated way. There is a subtle reference to childhood sexual abuse regarding an adult character. The twin boys' mother is a drug addict. Characters use midrange profanity and drink.

"RED" -- Teens can savor this spies-in-action comedy, full of terrific actors and blessed with a consistently funny, occasionally hilarious script, however ridiculous. The acronym RED stands for "Retired, Extremely Dangerous" and refers to Frank Moses (Bruce Willis). A retired CIA "black ops" agent, Frank is so bored in his suburban home that he likes to chat with a pension clerk, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), in Kansas City, pretending his check didn't come. When assassins come after him, Frank demolishes them, then heads to Kansas City to protect Sarah, knowing his calls must have been tapped. She's petrified that he's abducting her, which he kind of is. Then Frank tracks down former colleagues: Joe (Morgan Freeman), a nursing home resident; Marvin (John Malkovich), a weapons freak; Victoria (Helen Mirren), a one-time killer who now arranges flowers; and Ivan (Brian Cox), their long-ago Russian adversary. Realizing it's the CIA (Karl Urban as the chief assassin) that's after them, the "old folks" find out why.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The film includes some rather naughty but vague sexual innuendo, midrange profanity and crude language, but the PG-13 mostly reflects high-intensity shoot-outs, explosions and chases, with a few bloody point-blank killings. People make references to LSD.

"IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY" -- Discriminating high-school-age audiences can take delight in this perceptive serio-comedy, based on the 2006 book by Ned Vizzini. Craig (Keir Gilchrist), a brainy 16-year-old New York City high-school student, checks himself into a hospital psychiatric unit because he's depressed, possibly suicidal, and nearing collapse over a big exam that's coming up. His dad (Jim Gaffigan) has been pressuring him about it. In the hospital, he's befriended by Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), a funny, but also suicidal long-term patient, and by Noelle (Emma Roberts), a girl Craig's own age who has depression issues and has cut herself. It's a treat to watch Craig regain his bearings, find a new passion for drawing, and help others.

THE BOTTOM LINE: There's a brief make-out scene with a girl (Zoe Kravitz) from Craig's school and nonexplicit chat about sex. Patients sometimes steal and take drugs they're not prescribed, and make references to LSD. One scene implies nudity as someone poses for an artist.

"LIFE AS WE KNOW IT" -- High-schoolers watching this slightly raunchy romantic comedy (it's not really for middle-schoolers) will know from the start that while Holly (Katherine Heigl) and Messer (Josh Duhamel) can't stand each other, they are destined to be together. Predictability aside, however, the story of Holly, a perfectionist bakery owner, and Messer, a promiscuous TV sports techie, unfolds in a sweet, funny style from start to finish. It begins with the pair on an awful blind date. Then the married couple who had set them up die in a car crash (not shown). Holly and Messer learn the couple's will names them guardians of their baby girl. The pair take up residence in their late friends' house, bickering and griping, and learning parenting as they go. They fall into bed one night and romance blossoms, then complications.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The discussion of sexuality among the film's droll supporting characters is part of what makes "Life As We Know It" more for high-schoolers. The film has several gently implied overnight trysts, steamy kissing, midrange profanity, drinking and lots of baby toilet humor. Grief over the death of Sophie's parents is treated with sensitivity.

"THE SOCIAL NETWORK" -- The brainy, machine-gun dialogue, computer high jinks and collegiate sex roiling at the center of this crackerjack movie make it problematic for middle-schoolers. Sophisticated high-schoolers, however, won't be able to ignore "The Social Network" and its sad, edgy (fictionalized?) portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook while still a Harvard undergrad. David Fincher's film portrays Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) as a socially inept computer geek and arrogant motormouth. It's 2003. Zuckerberg gets dumped by his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) and trashes her on his Harvard blog. The backlash makes him a pariah, but also gives him an idea about a new way for students to connect online. Facebook is born and grows fast. The film cuts intriguingly back and forth in time between Harvard and a law office a few years later, where Zuckerberg faces lawsuits by former friends who say he stole the Facebook idea and betrayed them.

THE BOTTOM LINE: "The Social Network" takes a fairly R-ish approach to the behavior of its college-age characters. It depicts drug use, drinking, smoking, a strongly implied sexual situation and less strongly implied promiscuity, as well as partial nudity, verbal and visual innuendo. Characters use sexist slurs and occasional strong profanity.

"WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS" -- Teens will find "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" a fun diversion, but they're unlikely to learn much about how or why our financial system nearly went belly up in 2008. In this flabby sequel to his 1987 indictment of coldhearted American financiers, "Wall Street" (R), filmmaker Oliver Stone doesn't render a searing moral judgment, as we'd hoped he would. His new movie turns out to be a shiny soap opera. Jake (Shia LaBeouf), a young Wall Street trader, is in love with Winnie (Carey Mulligan), a liberal blogger who is the estranged daughter of convicted inside trader Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Gekko gets out of prison and back in the game. Jake believes father and daughter should reconcile and starts meeting with Gekko without Winnie's knowledge. Gekko manipulates Jake to settle old scores against another shady trader (Josh Brolin), while also trying to win back Winnie's love.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Characters consume a lot of wine and spirits and use salty profanity. The film includes sexual innuendo, particularly scenes in a men's club that may be an upscale brothel.

-- R's:

"CONVICTION" (Limited Release) -- Based on real events, "Conviction" will move high-schoolers with its rich characters and its gripping, gritty, unsentimental tale of filial devotion. Hilary Swank plays Betty Anne Waters, a working-class Massachusetts mom, circa 1980, who's devoted to her ne'er-do-well brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell). Flashbacks show how they protected each other during a chaotic childhood with a neglectful and angry mother. When Kenny gets picked up for a brutal murder and sent to prison, Betty Anne promises she'll prove his innocence. She goes back to school, gets her GED, then a college diploma, and then a law degree. Her dedication wrecks her marriage and causes her to neglect her own kids. Her only friend is a law school classmate (Minnie Driver) who makes Betty Anne's cause her own.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The murder scene, with the victims' bodies and, later, photos of them, are depicted graphically. Other adult elements include a nasty barroom fight, raw prison scenes, strong profanity, drinking and smoking, and backview nudity.

"JACKASS 3D" -- Johnny Knoxville and his band of MTV-bred merry pranksters are back on the big screen, trying ridiculous stunts, this time in 3-D, and looking a little old for it -- like frat house cutups who can't seem to graduate. Putting one of their number into a bungee-bouncing porta-potty filled with dog poo gives you the idea. There are many more moments of "EWWWWWWW, GROSS" than there are of laughter, and certainly no narrative line. The movie is not for middle-schoolers and problematic for high-schoolers. Whether the profane, excreta-obsessed "Jackass" crew offer harmless entertainment is a matter for debate. Civilization will survive them, one hopes.

THE BOTTOM LINE: There is frontal nudity, extremely graphic, gag-inducing toilet humor, very strong profanity and dangerous stunts that someone somewhere may try to copy, despite the movie's disclaimer, warning people to leave it to the professional jackasses.