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
Benji: Off the Leash!
(PG) - Rather than the Benji character, the film focuses on two puppies hidden by a boy from his ill-tempered father, a dog breeder. Topics include animal cruelty (not graphically depicted) and family strife, but nothing too disturbing. Mild profanity.
The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement
(G) - The sequel to 2001's surprise hit continues the fairy tale of an American teenager (Anne Hathaway) growing into her destiny as ruler of a fictional European country. Like the first film, this one is squeaky clean and filled with delights for young female viewers.
Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2
(PG) - This sequel to a 1999 flop features more toddlers with computer-animated mouths and bodies doing preternatural things while adult actors fake awe. The MPAA rating is because of action violence and a few rude comments.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie
(PG) - Fans of the imported Japanese TV series, and ensuing card-collecting, may enjoy this big-screen version, a slightly more mature version of Pokemon. The MPAA rating is the result of "scary combat and monster images."
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Napoleon Dynamite
(PG) - This low-budget comedy may strike a chord with social outcasts such as its hero (Jon Heder), a painfully awkward high school student. The jokes are mostly at his expense, the profanity is mild, and a few jokes concerning his brother's door-to-door sales job are risque. Recommended for ages 12 and older.
Riding Giants
(PG-13) - Brief profanity is the only objectionable material in a superbly photographed documentary of surfing history and thrills. Children with such interests will be entertained, although parental cautions about trying some of these dangerous waves is probably in order.
The Village
(PG-13) - M. Night Shyamalan, creator of The Sixth Sense and Signs, returns with another creepy tale, this one involving forest creatures who break their truce with a 19th century community. The MPAA rating results from one violent scene and several others with Shyamalan's brand of skin-crawling terror; not graphic, but effective. Could be nightmare material for viewers younger than 10.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Alien vs. Predator
(PG-13) - Two of the grisliest creatures from R-rated horror films are defanged just enough to earn a PG-13 rating and the child audience that comes with it. There's still plenty of violence, horror images, scary special effects and profanity to give parents, if not their children, nightmares.
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
(PG-13) - Explorers searching for the flower of youth meet a bunch of giant snakes. That means action violence, skin-crawling images (especially for viewers afraid of snakes) and bad words people often say when their scared.
The Bourne Supremacy
(PG-13) - Matt Damon returns as a professional assassin framed by the CIA and not happy about it. As in 2002's The Bourne Identity, this film includes intense action, loud violence of the gunshot and car-chase varieties, and moderate profanity.
Catwoman
(PG-13) - Halle Berry's provocatively ripped, form-fitting costume is evidence of the sexual underpinnings in this comic book adaptation. Benjamin Bratt plays the detective whose leg Catwoman rubs up against. Plenty of intense action violence and brief profanity.
I, Robot
(PG-13) - Will Smith's science-fiction adventure includes mild profanity, futuristic action violence and brief partial nudity.
Little Black Book
(PG-13) - A woman (Brittany Murphy) nervous about her lover's past romances snoops into his Palm organizer, paving the way to comedic discussions of sex, love, sex and more sex. That pervasive theme and moderate profanity make the film inappropriate for children.
