The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children. Only films rated G, PG or PG-13 are included in this weekly listing, along with occasional R-rated films that may have entertainment or educational value for older children with parental guidance. Compiled by St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall.
RECOMMENDED
Bugs! A
(G) - What's better than IMAX-size entertainment? IMAX with superior 3-D optical effects that make Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over seem like looking through a soft-drink bottle. Judi Dench narrates a 40-minute documentary about insect life cycles. Mild peril for a butterfly, and a few creepy moments when the bugs appear to be right in front of your face.
Freaky Friday B-
(PG) - Disney's remake of a 1976 comedy about mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) and daughter (Lindsay Lohan) mystically switching identities is swell for the entire family, with only a few rude one-liners and mild thematic elements.
Secondhand Lions B+
(PG) - The coming of age tale of a boy (Haley Joel Osment) and his ornery great-uncles (Robert Duvall, Michael Caine) is good, old-fashioned family entertainment. A few mature themes (a negligent parent, mortality, a hint of child endangerment) are handled with taste. Mildly crude remarks, plus a funny brawl, gunplay and flashbacks to French Foreign Legion action containing subdued violence. All of this is secondary to the good feelings left by the conclusion.
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Camp A-
(PG-13) - A close call because of some harsh profanity and sexual content, including a central theme of homosexuality that may concern some parents. But this film, set at a summer camp for musically gifted teenagers, is ultimately a feel-good movie with solid lessons in tolerance, friendship and self-esteem. Mature themes throughout, each worthwhile.
The Fighting Temptations C-
(PG-13) - Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce Knowles co-star in a comedy about raising the roof with gospel music. Some of the singers have shady pasts, however, leading to sexual content and boozing that might make a preacher blush.
Haunted Castle B
(PG) - Virtually a IMAX-size video game set in a spooky mansion, but the frights are a bit more graphic than the usual large-screen entertainment. Glimpses of torture that include electrocution and flesh melting in a vat of acid could upset very young viewers. The plot also contains a sell-your-soul-to-the-devil theme that upset at least one religious group.
The Medallion C-
(PG-13) - Jackie Chan doesn't appear to have a mean bone in his body, so parents usually don't mind their children watching his brand of martial arts violence. The Medallion is more of the same, plus a supernatural angle that leads to mildly scary images. Chan tosses in a few sexy double entendres for grownups, too.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl A-
(PG-13) - Another popular Disney theme-park attraction becomes a full-blown movie, with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom doing battle with ghostly buccaneers. This is Walt Disney Pictures' first film release with a PG-13 rating, mostly the result of macabre special effects and swashbuckling violence.
Seabiscuit A
(PG-13) - This fact-based story of a horse and its owner (Jeff Bridges), trainer (Chris Cooper) and jockey (Tobey Maguire) finding redemption during the Great Depression should inspire moviegoers. The rating arises from moderate profanity, sexual situations in a Tijuana brothel and sports-related violence. Recommended for ages 10 and older.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over F
(PG) - Normally this would be easily recommended for all ages with its video game-style action and mildly perilous situations. But filmmaker Robert Rodriguez also uses 3-D special effects that aren't special, and the overall result is a headache. The only positive outcome would be if parents made children buy their own tickets for a lesson in getting ripped off.
Thirteen A
(R) - Make that strong reservations, since this movie pulls few punches in detailing how a teenage girl (Evan Rachel Wood) implodes under peer pressure. Harsh profanity, sexual content (but nothing graphic) and brief violence. Holly Hunter briefly appears nude as the girl's mother. However, this is a film parents should see with their older children to start conversations that could make a difference.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star D
(PG-13) - David Spade's snide humor is seldom kid-friendly. The MPAA rating results from crude and sex-related humor, profanity and drug abuse.
Grind
(PG-13) - The enduring appeal of skateboarding provides an excuse for just another teen comedy packed with antiauthoritarian attitude, crude humor, sexual content and profanity. All this, plus skating tricks that parents may not want their children to try at home.
Le Divorce B-
(PG-13) - Kate Hudson's popularity with the MTV generation may attract young viewers, but this movie isn't a youth market romantic comedy like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Hudson plays a woman assisting her pregnant stepsister (Naomi Watts) during a divorce. Mature themes and sexual elements make this one for grownups, not Hudson's fan base.
Matchstick Men B
(PG-13) - A father (Nicolas Cage) teaches his teenage daughter (Alison Lohman) how to run a big-bucks con. The MPAA rating results from thematic elements that make heroes of criminals, plus some violence, sexual content and profanity.
My Boss's Daughter
(PG-13) - Ashton Kutcher (That '70s Show) is the teen flavor of the month, but parents of children younger than 13 should be aware that his new comedy includes crude, sexually charged humor, drug content and profanity.
S.W.A.T. C
(PG-13) - This updating of the 1970s television series rounds out the loudest summer movie season in memory with more explosions and gunfire. Some violence is graphic, but mostly it's a sensory assault. Moderate profanity (hey, it stars Samuel L. Jackson), including an f-word. Brief sexual references.
