The Bottom Line: Rated PG-13

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Directed by: Chris Carter
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly
Rated: PG-13 for violent and disturbing content and thematic material.

Hancock

Directed by: Peter Berg
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.
Parental Notes: This film had to work hard to get its PG-13 rating rather than an R. This is pretty edgy stuff for its rating, and is likely not appropriate for youngsters. You've got hands being chopped off, gunfights, beatings -- all without too much in the way of spurting blood or disgusting sound effects, but still likely to be inappropriate for some kids.

Get Smart

Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp
Rated: PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language.
Parental Notes: This is a pretty soft PG-13. There's a shot of Mr. Carell with the seat of his pants torn off and some rather cartoony violence, and that's about it.

The Incredible Hulk

Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.
Parental Notes: This is a pretty straightforward super-hero movie. Youngsters may find some sequences too intense, but there's very little blood. The most intense violence is between the Hulk and an equally unreal creature.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf, Ray Winstone,
Rated:PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images.
Parental Notes: This film is about the same as the other Indiana Jones movies, a solid PG-13. Some youngsters may find the film a bit too intense (the scary images include people being eaten alive by ants as well as chases, fights, and freaky tribesmen with spears and other weapons, not to mention corpses, skeletons, and aliens). Most preteens and older should be fine.

The Forbidden Kingdom

Directed by: Rob Minkoff
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Yifei Liu
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence.
Parental Notes: Parents of impressionable children should note that this film is packed with martial arts stunts. Children who are likely to attempt to imitate these stunts without the safety precautions used by the actors (harnesses, wires, etc) should probably be left at home.

Leatherheads

Directed By: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Root
Rated: PG-13 for brief strong language.
Parental Notes: There's some kissing, some swearing, and that's about it. Unless you don't want your kids hearing some salty language and seeing some fistfights played largely for laughs, this is probably a safe bet.

21

Directed by: Robert Luketic
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Laurence Fishbourne
Rated: PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.
Parental Notes: This is a solid PG-13 film. There's some beating of card sharks by Vegas security goons and a sex scene, but neither is as graphic as you'd find in an R-rated film.

I am Legend

Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Will Smith
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.
Parental Notes: Most teens and preteens should be fine -- this is a suspenseful movie and youngsters who are already afraid of dark places may find it too intense, but it is not terribly graphic.

Balls of Fury

Directed by: Ben Garant
Starring: Dan Fogler, George Lopez, Christopher Walken, Maggie Q, James Hong
Rated: PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard PG-13 comedy full of crude humor. Nothing unusually awful by Hollywood standards, but certainly not intellectual fare.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen,
Rated: PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action.
Parental Notes: This is about the same as the two previous films in terms of violence -- car chases and crashes, hand-to-hand combat, and some use of guns. The violence is fairly bloodless, but the sequences are long and intense. There's very little in the way of sensuality except for a flashback to a scene from the first film.

The Simpsons Movie

Directed by: David Silverman
Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria
Rated: PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout.
Parental Notes: If you let your kids watch "The Simpsons," you're probably going to be okay with the movie. It's only a wee bit more on the rude side than the show.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi
Rated: PG-13 for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references. (re-rated; originally rated R)
Parental Notes: This is a difficult film to offer advice about for parents. It's thoroughly crude and has more than its fair share of stupid stereotypes, but it lacks graphic violence or sexual content. Whether you're comfortable with your kids seeing it will probably depend heavily on your opinion of stupid comedies and homosexuality.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Imelda Staunton, Evanna Lynch, Matthew Lewis, Katie Leung, Michael Gambon
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.
Parental Notes: This film is definitely darker, scarier, and more maturely-themed than the previous films, so use caution when taking younger children to see it. If they could handle the book, they can probably handle the film (though they'll likely be peeved by the many cuts the screenwriter made in the story).

Ocean's 13

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Casey Affleck, Ellen Barkin, Scott Caan, Vincent Cassel, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Elliott Gould, Eddie Izzard, Eddie Jemison, Bernie Mac, Al Pacino, David Paymer, Brad Pitt, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Julian Sands
Rated: PG-13 for brief sensuality.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly straightforward caper film -- all talk and scheming, little-to-no violence or sex. There's some heavy breathing and innuendo in a few scenes, but that's about it. It will likely go over the heads of youngsters, and it's innocuous for older kids.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley, Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Naomie Harris
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.
Parental Notes: This is definitely PG-13 -- there are plenty of scary parts, including one fellow who gets suffocated by tentacles wrapped around his face and shoved into his mouth and nose. However, the combat violence isn't terribly graphic and it's more chaotic than anything. Most teens and preteens should be fine, it's the youngsters you will want to think about before taking.

Blood and Chocolate

Directed by: Katja von Garnier
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Hugh Dancy, Olivier Martinez
Rated: PG-13 for violence/terror, some sexuality and substance abuse.
Parental Notes: This is a fair PG-13 movie. The substance abuse consists of drinking absinthe. The violence is not overly graphic (you can tell what is happening, but it's not gratuitous).

Eragon

Directed by: Stefan Fangmeier
Starring: Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Sienna Guilory, Robert Carlyle
Rated: PG for fantasy violence, intense battle sequences and some frightening images.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard PG movie -- the violence is not very graphic and there is no language or nudity. The battle sequences may be a bit intense for the very young.

Casino Royale

Directed by: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.
Parental Notes: That this movie is rated PG-13 highlights the idiocy of the MPAA. The torture scene involves a man's genitals being beaten with a large rope while he screams in agony. This is not appropriate for youngsters.

Stranger than Fiction

Directed by: Mark Forster
Starring: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah, Dustin Hoffman
Rated: PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.
Parental Notes: This is an interesting, thought-provoking film which teens and preteens may well find fascinating. It is a solid PG-13, which makes it unsuitable for youngsters.

The Prestige

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie
Rated: PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.
Parental Notes: This is not a film for youngsters -- they will likely be both confused and frightened. Teens with an interest in magic and in films that have plenty of plot twists will probably enjoy it.

Man of the Year

Written and Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum
Rated: PG-13 for language including some crude sexual references, drug related material, and brief violence.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly innocuous film for teens and mature preteens, but youngsters may be frightened by the thriller plot line.

School for Scoundrels

Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Jacinda Barrett, Matt Walsh, Horatio Sanz, Todd Louiso
Rated: PG-13 for language, crude and sexual content, and some violence.
Parental Notes: This is a safe movie for teens and mature preteens, though offhand mentions of rape may make it inappropriate for some.

The Illusionist

Written and Directed by: Neil Burger
Starring: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewel
Rated: PG-13 for some sexuality and violence.
Parental Notes: Fine for teens and most preteens; neither the violence nor the sexuality is very graphic.

Pulse

Directed by: Jim Sonzero
Starring: Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Rick Gonzalez, Jonathan Tucker,
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi terror, disturbing images, language, sensuality and thematic material.
Parental Notes: This is probably too spooky a film for youngsters, but teens and mature preteens will likely get a kick out of it if they like scary movies.

The Devil Wears Prada

Directed by: David Frankel
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci
Rated: PG-13 for some sensuality.
Parental Notes: This is a good movie for teens, especially those who have jobs. Preteens may enjoy it as well. There is very little in the way of language or sex, and then sensuality mentioned in the rating is very minor. The only questionable content is the incredibly thin actresses splattered all over the screen.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Nighy,
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.
Parental Notes: As with the first film, this is not a movie for youngsters. The bad guys are scary monsters, and there's plenty of icky stuff on screen -- crows going after corpses, people falling to their deaths as a ship is pulled in half by a giant monster, and so on. Preteens and teens will likely be fine, but the pre-school crowd is best left at home and you should probably think twice before taking elementary students.

Superman Returns

Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Kevin Spacey
Rated: PG-13 for some intense action violence.
Parental Notes: For the most part, this is a very comic-book film, with cartoonish violence that should be fine for most kids. However, there is a sequence near the end in which Luthor gets the best of Superman and nearly kills him, which is quite unpleasant and which may be too intense for some youngsters.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Lucas Black, Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Nathalie Kelley
Rated: PG-13 for reckless and illegal behavior involving teens, violence, language and sexual content.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly innocuous film aside from the over-the-top racing. Provided you trust your preteen or teen not to be overly influenced to take up street racing, this should be a fine film for them.

X-Men: The Last Stand

Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, James Marsden
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexual content and language.
Parental Notes: This film is in the same vein as the other two; there's a lot of thrilling comic-book violence, minor sexual content and language, and a good bit of melodrama. There's very little gore or graphic content.

American Dreamz

Directed by: Paul Weitz
Starring: Hugh Grant, Mandy Moore, Sam Golzari, Dennis Quaid Willem Dafoe.
Rated: PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly safe movie for preteens and teens. The sexual references are fairly tame and the strong language is sparingly used.

Take the Lead

Directed by: Liz Friedlander
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Yaya DaCosta
Rated: PG-13 for thematic material, language and some violence.
Parental notes: This is an accurately rated film. It's not aimed at the Kindergarten-and-younger set, and they probably wouldn't enjoy it. Teens and preteens are likely to have a good time, though, especially if they're interested in dancing.

Date Movie

Written and Directed by: Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
Starring: Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Sophie Monk, Eddie Griffin, Tony Cox, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge
Rated: PG-13 for continuous crude and sexual humor, including language.
Parental Notes: This is a very crude film, and while it's rated PG-13 some parents may not be comforatble with their children seeing it.

Firewall

Directed by: Richard Loncraine
Starring: Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen, Paul Bettany, Jimmy Bennett, Carly Schroeder
Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence.
Parental Notes: The violence in the film is sporadic but sufficiently graphic to be too intense for most youngsters. The children-in-peril situation and the home invasion scenes may also be too intense for young children. Mature preteens and teenagers will probably be fine.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

Written and Directed by: Albert Brooks
Starring: Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, Jon Tenney, John Carroll Lynch
Rated: PG-13 for drug content and brief strong language.
Parental Notes: This film will go straight over all but the most politically astute teens' heads. It's not inappropriate for younger kids - there's almost no violence and only a little drug and language content - but youngsters probably just won't find it interesting.

The Producers

Directed by: Susan Stroman
Starring: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Farrell
Rated:PG-13 for sexual humor and references
Parental Notes: There's plenty of vulgar humor here, which makes it somewhat inappropriate for youngsters. However, it's still Mel Brooks: it's sweet, funny, and lighthearted. Like "Spaceballs" and his other films, kids 12 and up will probably enjoy it, but unlike his other works, they'll like it more if they've seen a few old musicals.

Aeon Flux

Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence and sexual content.
Parental Notes: Aeon Flux is a fairly standard PG-13 film. There's little explicit sexual content and the violence is not particularly graphic.

Walk the Line

Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick
Rated: PG-13 for some language, thematic material and depiction of drug dependency.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard PG-13; the subject matter and some of the language may not be appropriate for youngsters. There's emotional abuse, death, drug use, and sex; they're handled tactfully and not gratuitous, but they are still there.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Brendan Gleeson, Robert Pattinson
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.
Parental Notes: This is a darker film than the first three, and not as suitable for young children. There are frightening creatures, death-defying chases, and more than a few dark and frightening images. Children who easily handled the book should be fine, but the younger, more sensitive set may wind up with nightmares about skulls and evil wizards.

Serenity

Written and Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, and some sexual references.
Parental Notes: This film has some fairly intense moments but is probably fine for mature preteens and up.

The Transporter 2

Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jason Statham, Amber Valletta, Allesandro Gassman, Kate Nauta.
Rated: PG-13 intense sequences of violent action, sexual content, partial nudity and brief language.
Parental Notes: The violence here is mostly cartoonish, and the partial nudity consists of half a nipple, half a rear end, and a villainess who spends as much time as possible wearing nothing but her underwear. It walks a fine line as far as suitability for preteens, but teenagers should be fine.

The Brothers Grimm

Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Heath Ledger, Matt Damon, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Stormare, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci
Rated: PG-13 for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material.
Parental Notes: This is a strong PG-13 -- Terry Gilliam is known for including disturbing elements in his films and this is no exception. Viewers will encounter a pulverized kitten, a living corpse, a horse which swallows children, and plenty of grim fairy tale elements.

Red Eye

Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rachel McAdams, Brian Cox
Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence, and language.
Parental Notes: This is a solid PG-13 thriller with action, suspense, and good-looking leads. There's some violence, and while it's not especially graphic, it is rather creepy in spots. "Red Eye" is probably fine for teens and mature preteens.

The Dukes of Hazzard

Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar
Starring: Sean Williams Scott, Johnny Knoxville, Willie Nelson, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, crude and drug-related humor, language and comic action violence.
Parental Notes: Some parents may have concerns with the racial and sexual humor of the film, but overall it's a fairly average PG-13 rating. Not too scary for preteens, but maybe too intense (or too racy) for kids under 10.

Must Love Dogs

Directed by: Gary David Goldberg
Starring: John Cusack, Diane Lane, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard romantic comedy. There's some bawdy material but nothing graphic. Really, the most damage it might do to your children is give them unrealistic expectations in life.

Bad News Bears

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Sammi Kraft, Brandon Craggs, Timmy Deters, K.C. Harris, Tyler Patrick Jones
Rated: PG-13 for rude behavior, language throughout, some sexuality and thematic elements
Parental Notes: This film deserves its PG-13 rating; although it features kids in the 10-13 set as characters, the foul language and rude behavior may be a bit much for some parents to consider this appropriate for their own kids. That said, the underlying messages of the film are good and most kids have heard all this language before.

Fantastic Four

Directed by: Tim Story
Starring: Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffud, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Julian McMahon
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard comic-book movie. It's not too gory, and there's little in the way of sexually suggestive content. While the action scenes may be too intense for youngsters, it's mostly harmless.

War of the Worlds

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin
Rated: PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images.
Parental Notes: This is a reasonably strong PG-13 film. Although it isn't terribly graphic, there are several disturbing scenes including one of mob violence and numerous shots of dead bodies at a distance. Youngsters may find it too intense.

Batman Begins

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe
Rated: PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements.
Parental Notes: This film is a pretty heavy PG-13, right on the edge of R. There is quite a bit of violence here and some intensely scary moments as well. This is not a film for kids who are easily spooked by bats or boogiemen. That said, preteens who aren’t still kind of scared of the dark will probably enjoy it.

Mr. And Mrs. Smith

Directed by: Doug Liman
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Vince Vaughn
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence, intense action, sexual content and brief strong language.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly typical action movie; mature preteens and teenagers will probably have a blast watching it.

Cinderella Man

Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko
Rated: PG-13 for intense boxing violence and some language.
Parental Notes: This film is probably fine for preteens and teens, but youngsters may find the boxing scenes too intense for comfort.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Directed by: George Lucas
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid,
Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images.
Parental Notes: This is a much darker film than the previous two episodes, and is not for young children. Anakin's journey to the dark side is disturbing and the final battle he engages in is graphic and includes dismemberment. This is a strong PG-13 film, so take that into consideration when thinking about taking your kids.

Sahara

Directed by: Breck Eisner
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn, Lambert Wilson, William H. Macy
Rated: PG-13 for action violence.
Parental Notes: This is standard summer PG-13 fare. The violence is mostly of the big explosions and fast chases sort, with plenty of scattered gunfire, but it's all in good fun and generally not dark or cruel in tone. There are deaths, but not gruesome ones. This is a good film for preteens and teens who like summer action flicks.

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Directed by: John Pasquin
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Diedrick Bader, Treat Williams, Heather Burns, William Shatner
Rated: PG-13 for sexual references and a scene of violence.
Parental Notes: This film is fairly innocuous for most preteens. There is a little violence but nothing graphic and some sexual references but nothing all that explicit.

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’s not particularly gruesome, although some of the monsters may frighten youngsters.

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.

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’t much here to disturb parents of youngsters except some violence -- a swordfight, a chandelier that falls on a crowded opera house, and so on. None of it is particularly graphic but it may be frightening to young children.

Ocean’s Twelve

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and everyone else from “Ocean’s Eleven.”
Rated: Rated PG-13 for language.
Parental Notes: There really isn’t much here that’s objectionable for preteens. This is a caper flick with some swearing. If you don’t mind letting your kids see a film where the good guys are thieves, there should be no problem.

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.

Mr. 3000

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.

Directed by: Charles Stone III
Starring: Bernie Mac, Angela Basset, Michael Rispoli, Brian J. White, Ian Anthony Dale
Rated: Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.
Parental Notes: This is a good movie for teens and preteens, although some parents may find the good-natured swearing and mild sexuality objectionable.

Cellular

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.

Directed by: David R. Ellis
Starring: Chris Evans, Kim Bassinger, Jason Statham, William H. Macy
Rated: PG-13 for violence, terror situations, language and some sexual references.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly intense PG-13 film, and may be way to intense for preteens. Teens will doubtless enjoy the humor-action mix.

Hero

Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Daoming Chen, Donnie Yen, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung
Rated: PG-13 for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality.
Parental Notes: The violence in this movie is all heavily stylized and largely bloodless. This should be fine for preteens and up, although more mature kids will appreciate the philosophy more.

The Village

Review originally written for The Milpitas Post

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody
Rated: PG-13 for a scene of violence and frightening situations.
Parental Notes: “The Village” is a nearly gore-free thriller, too intense for little ones and possibly too slow for preteens. Teenagers who enjoyed Shyamalan’s other films will probably like it.

The Bourne S