Guess Who?

Directed by: Kevin Rodney Sullivan Starring: Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Judith Scott, Zoe Saldana Rated: PG-13 for sex-related humor Parental Notes: This is a fairly innocuous film overall. There are some lewd references and some on-screen goofing around but nothing explicit.

Be Cool

Directed by: F. Gary Gray Starring: John Travolta, Uma thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre 3000, Robert Pastorelli, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, The Rock. Rated: PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references. Parental Notes: This film is fine for most pre-teens. It’s out of the interest range of kids who are too young for the violence and language.

Hitch

Starring: Will Smith, Eva Mendez, Kevin James, Amber Valletta Directed by: Andy Tennant Rated: PG-13 for language and some strong sexual references Parental Notes: This sweet romantic comedy has a good message (that any guy has a shot at happiness with any gal) and a light tone. Although it may not interest younger kids, those old enough to be interested in finding the guy or gal of their dreams will probably like it.

Elektra

Directed by: Rob Bowman Starring: Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic, Kirsten Prout, Will Yun Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Rated: PG-13 for action violence. Parental Notes: This is a fairly innocus PG-13, as far as violence goes. It

House of Flying Daggers

Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi. Directed by: Zhang Yimou Rated: PG-13 for sequences of stylized martial arts violence, and some sexuality. Parental Notes: The super-stylized violence here is unlikely to be a problem for teens and mature youngsters, but there are two brief attempted-rape sequences which some may find distressing.

The Aviator

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda Directed by: Martin Scorsese Rated: PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language and a crash sequence. Parental Notes: Most of this film will be fine for preteens, though they may find its candid portrayal of Hughes’ obsessive-compulsive disorder and an intense airplane crash sequence disturbing. It will likely appeal more to teenagers interested in the era or in Hughes as a person. It’s not every day that a movie comes along which manages to somehow combine comedy, tragedy, and adventure, but “The Aviator” does just that. It’s a mind-blowing film, and not just because it includes exciting airplane sequences. “The Aviator” is the story of Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), Hollywood mogul, aviation pioneer, and walker of the line ‘twixt genius and madness. It covers his life from his arrival in Hollywood until the height of his aviation career when he

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Phantom of the Opera

Directed by: Joel Schumacher Starring: Gerard Butler, Emily Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver Rated: PG-13 for brief violent images. Parental Notes: There isn

Ocean

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and everyone else from

After the Sunset

Directed by: Brett Ratner Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle Rated: PG-13 for sexuality, violence and language. Parental Notes: There’s some sensuality here, but nothing terribly explicit. This is probably a harmless film for preteens but not really aimed at those younger than about 12.

Surviving Christmas

Originally written for The Milpitas Post Directed by: Mike Mitchell Starring: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Christina Applegate Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, language and a brief Parental Notes: There are some mature themes and swearing here but nothing preteens can’t handle. Young kinds probably won’t understand the humor, but teenagers with a cynical streak will probably enjoy it.