Family Film Reviews

EDITORS: The Family Filmgoer has included her favorite 10 films for 2009.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" (PG, 1 hr., 28 min.)

Alvin and the Chipmunks take a break from their rock-star careers and enroll in high school in this "Squeakquel," which again mixes live-action and computer-animation. (It follows "Alvin and the Chipmunks," PG, 2007.) The trio are as cute and cuddly as ever, but the cobbled-together story, despite the reintroduction of their female counterparts, the Chipettes (first seen on the 1980s animated "Alvin and the Chipmunks" TV show), warms over a lot of high-school movie cliches and never jells. (The worst is how the girls immediately defer to bullying jocks.) The last third of the film is plain boring. Yet The Family Filmgoer saw that the kids 6 and older at a recent showing seemed to enjoy the "Squeakquel." The film includes requisite flatulence humor, a few semi-crude expressions and very mild sexual innuendo. One Chipmunk is briefly menaced by a large bird of prey.

Dave (Jason Lee), the Chipmunks' songwriter/guardian, is sidelined for most of the "Squeakquel," so he only gets to holler "Alviiiiiiiiiiin!" a few times, often by phone. Alvin's mischief during a Paris concert injures Dave so badly, he must stay in the hospital and send the boys home to Los Angeles, into the care of Aunt Jackie (Kathryn Joosten). But Aunt Jackie is hurt when her wheelchair bumps down a staircase (this is a pretty scary accident for a kids' film). So it's left up to Toby (Zachary Levi of TV's "Chuck"), Dave's clueless slacker cousin, to care for the irrepressible Alvin (voice of Justin Long), the studious Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and the timid Theodore (Jesse McCartney).

Toby enrolls the Chipmunks in high school, where the girls think they're cute and the jocks bully them (there are toilet-dunking "swirlies"). Alvin joins the in-crowd, putting a strain on the Chipmunks' fraternal bond. The principal (Wendie Malick) asks the Chipmunks to compete in a citywide high-school music competition. Then up shows the villain from the first film, slimy music promoter Ian (David Cross), determined to make his fortune with a Chipmunk sister trio, the Chipettes -- Brittany (Christina Applegate), Eleanor (Amy Poehler) and Jeanette (Anna Faris). That's a lot of plot -- for not much movie.

MY FAVE FAMILY FILMS OF 2009

There was a real shortage of live-action family films about "real people" in 2009, but a bumper crop of terrific animated features, some, such as "Coraline" and "Where the Wild Things Are" dealt with actual childhood crises in highly imaginative ways.

Here is The Family Filmgoer's list of her Top Ten Family Films for 2009. These are films that will entertain children (suggested ages specified), but also older siblings and adults -- i.e. families!

-- Animated and Special-Effects Films

1. "Up" (PG, recommended by The Family Filmgoer for ages 6 and older)

2. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (PG, 8 and older)

3. "Coraline" (PG, 8 and older)

4. "Where the Wild Things Are" (PG, 10 and older)

5. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" (PG, 6 and older)

6. "The Princess and the Frog" (G, 6 and older)

7. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (PG, 10 and older)

8. "Star Trek" (PG-13, some 10-to-12s, all teens)

-- Live-Action

9. "The Blind Side" (PG-13, all teens)

10. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (PG, 10 and older) -- seriously; a sweet film

Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various ages

-- OK FOR MANY KIDS 6 AND OLDER:

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" PG (NEW) -- The cute and cuddly Chipmunks take a break from their rock-star careers and enroll in high school in this "Squeakquel," again mixing live-action and computer-animation. (It follows "Alvin and the Chipmunks," PG, 2007.) The cobbled-together story warms over a lot of movie cliches about high school, and the last third of the film is plain boring. Still, The Family Filmgoer saw that kids 6 and older at a recent showing enjoyed it. Alvin's mischief during a concert in Paris injures the Chipmunks' guardian Dave (Jason Lee) so badly, he must stay in the hospital. He sends the boys home to Los Angeles, into the care of Aunt Jackie (Kathryn Joosten). But she is hurt when her wheelchair bumps down a staircase (a scary accident for a kids' film). So it's left to Toby (Zachary Levi of TV's "Chuck"), Dave's clueless slacker cousin, to care for Alvin (voice of Justin Long), the studious Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and the timid Theodore (Jesse McCartney). They're sent to high school, where the girls think they're cute and the jocks bully them (toilet-dunking "swirlies"). Alvin joins the in-crowd, putting a strain on the Chipmunks' fraternal feeling. The principal (Wendie Malick) asks them to compete in a teen music competition. The villain from the first film, music promoter Ian (David Cross), turns up with a Chipmunk sister act, the Chipettes -- Brittany (Christina Applegate), Eleanor (Amy Poehler) and Jeanette (Anna Faris). That's a lot of plot for not much movie. It has flatulence humor, a few crude expressions and very mild sexual innuendo. One Chipmunk is briefly menaced by a bird of prey.

"The Princess and the Frog" G -- Disney's new animated feature is a highly enjoyable confection. The characters have eccentric charm and real emotion, as do Randy Newman's tunes. Hand-drawn in the old way, the film re-imagines "The Frog Princess," with a young African-American heroine, Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose), in early 20th-century New Orleans (beautifully depicted). Tiana grows up to be a gifted chef with dreams of opening a restaurant. Segregation and the limits it imposes are subtly portrayed. When international playboy Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) hits town, a voodoo "shadowman," Dr. Facilier (Keith David) turns Naveen into a frog. Tiana meets the frog/prince at her rich friend Charlotte's (Jennifer Cody) mansion. All green and slimy, he's perched on a windowsill. He begs the shocked Tiana to kiss him, but the kiss turns her into a frog, too. The amphibious duo flee to the bayou in search of a voodoo priestess who can change them back. It's scary when they're chased by alligators, but they're also befriended by a horn-playing gator (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a Cajun firefly (Jim Cummings). Dr. Facilier's demons are spooky. One animal dies. There is crude, but kid-friendly humor.

-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY, PLUS A PG MORE FOR TEENS:

"Sherlock Holmes" -- Highly exaggerated fight scenes are only part of the contemporary tone that British director Guy Ritchie brings to this entertaining take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved Victorian detective. Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson deliver droll repartee and emotional nuance in equally deft doses. Ritchie gets carried away, and the movie can get too self-consciously stylized and cute. Yet this "Sherlock Holmes" is nearly always a kick. The original story pits Holmes against an evil aristocrat, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) who, even after he's hanged for murder (which is shown), directs a satanic cult. Emotionally, Holmes is not happy with Watson's plans to marry (their relationship remains subtly ambiguous), and is distracted when his own one-time love (Rachel McAdams), an international thief/seductress, returns. Downey's Holmes is overwhelmed by his own hypersensitivity, and self-medicates with drugs and liquor. (He tests drugs on his bulldog, too.) The mayhem includes fisticuffs, gun and knife play, electrocution, hanging, explosions, abductions, sexual innuendo, implied nudity, dead and dissected animals, and a maggoty corpse. OK for high-schoolers, but too intense for some middle-schoolers.

"Nine" -- Director Rob Marshall and his team have achieved something splendid in "Nine," adapted from the 1982 Broadway musical. The musical in turn was adapted from Italian director Federico Fellini's autobiographical 1963 film "8 1/2," about a great film director who is creatively blocked, obsessed with women, and guilty over betraying his wife. This movie is both a contemporary musical (the numbers have that MTV look) and a touching homage to all things Italian and Fellini-esque. The starry cast performs with panache. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Guido, the director; Marion Cotillard is his wife; Penelope Cruz his latest mistress; Nicole Kidman his actress/muse; Judi Dench his costume designer/pal; Kate Hudson a reporter eager to seduce him; singer Stacy Ferguson, aka Fergie, an earthy woman from Guido's boyhood; and Sophia Loren his mother. "Nine" is full of steamy sexual innuendo, implied sexual situations and suggestive dancing and is less appropriate for middle-schoolers. Characters smoke and drink a lot. For high-schoolers into the arts.

"Avatar" -- James Cameron's futuristic sci-fi epic mixes live-action with digital animation in gorgeous, miraculous ways. (Try to see it in 3-D.) The story and dialogue, however, are leaden and preachy. Even so, teens may find Cameron's view of human history eye-opening. "Avatar" is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a mineral-rich moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. The indigenous Na'vi there are nearly-naked (but modestly so) bluish humanoids with tails. They bond spiritually with all of nature. Jake (Sam Worthington), a former Marine whose legs are paralyzed, comes to Pandora to work for Grace (Sigourney Weaver), a scientist. She lets Jake walk again by transferring his consciousness into a manufactured Na'vi body -- his avatar -- so he can mingle with the Na'vi and earn their trust. But a bloodthirsty security officer for a mining firm is eager to start killing Na'vi so the digging can begin. Jake meets a Na'vi warrior, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and romance blossoms. When the violence starts, he must choose sides. There is intense, fairly bloodless mayhem, an implied sexual tryst, remarks that recall racial slurs, and some profanity. OK for most teens.

"Did You Hear About the Morgans?" -- Nothing quite saves this mess of a romantic comedy from its sloppy predictability or Sarah Jessica Parker's irritating performance. However, Hugh Grant's knack for delivering witticisms helps a lot, as do Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen as a gun-toting, rodeo-loving Wyoming couple. Teens may eke some enjoyment out of the verbal sparring and slapstick. Manhattanites Paul Morgan (Grant) and Meryl Morgan (Parker) are separated because Paul cheated. After an awkward dinner, they witness a murder, so U.S. marshals relocate the couple to Wyoming while the killer is at large. Rustic U.S. Marshal Clay Wheeler (Elliott) and his wife Emma (Steenburgen) are their hosts. There is much mild sexual innuendo, brief nongraphic violence, mild profanity, smoking, and a threatening bear.

"Invictus" -- This reverent docudrama, directed by Clint Eastwood, is a ponderous thing, full of good intentions but little art. It could, however, interest teens as a history-and-sports saga. It tells how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman), as the new president of South Africa in the post-apartheid 1990s, inspires the captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar (an unusually flat Matt Damon), to rally his players to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Mandela wanted to show support for white South Africans' favorite sport as a way of uniting the citizenry. The title is from a poem by William Ernest Henley, which gave Mandela solace as a political prisoner. It ends, "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." The rugby scenes are rough and tumble. There is some profanity, implied racism and threats of violence. OK for teens.

"The Blind Side" -- One could dismiss "The Blind Side" as a phony feel-good movie, but it is fact-based, taken from Michael Lewis' book, "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game." A Memphis decorator, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock as a likable steamroller), takes under her wing a homeless teen, Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a charity case who is flunking out of her kids' private Christian school. Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy (country singer Tim McGraw) become Michael's guardians and set him on a not-always-easy path to football and college. (Oher now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.) Director John Lee Hancock lays it on a tad thick, but "The Blind Side" is thoroughly engaging and will hold many teens rapt. There is mildly crude language, overt and implied racial slurs, nonlethal violence, drinking, drug references, a car crash and a gently implied marital sexual situation.

-- R's:

"It's Complicated" -- Adults behave bawdily in "It's Complicated," a mildish and often hilarious R that will entertain sophisticated high-schoolers with little harm. Writer/director Nancy Meyers' flawed-but-fun comedy imagines a divorced woman, Jane (Meryl Streep), owner of an upscale bakery in Santa Barbara, starting an impetuous affair with her reprobate ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin), who is tired of his much younger second wife (Lake Bell). This affair occurs just as Jane meets a nice architect (Steve Martin). She scandalizes hers and Jake's grown children, most of whom are bland and unconvincing. Only John Krasinski as their son-in-law keeps up, laugh for laugh. The film includes several nongraphic sexual situations, backview nudity, marijuana use, drinking, occasional profanity and an adultery theme.

"Up in the Air" -- High-schoolers with a taste for smart cinema will be taken with this laserlike dramatic comedy. George Clooney oozes cool and emotional nuace in the tragicomic role of Ryan Bingham, who travels the country firing people because their bosses fear to do it. Ryan loves to accumulate air miles and avoid human commitment. Then he falls for a female frequent flyer (Vera Farmiga); a young efficiency expert (Anna Kendrick) makes him feel paternal; and his sister (Amy Morton) tugs at his family ties. Some of the fired people are nonactors who really lost jobs and the scenes are truly poignant. There are implied sexual liaisons, backview nudity, some strong profanity and crude language, a suicide theme and drinking.