"17 Again" (PG-13, 1 hr., 45 min.)

Teen idol Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year," G, 2008, "Hairspray," PG, 2007) will charm his fans with that angelic face and sweet persona, but acting-wise, he lacks the skills to play a 37-year-old man zapped back into his 17-year-old body and into high school again. While Efron isn't up to the subtleties of characterization this overplotted comedy needs, the supporting cast gives him great help -- and provides much amusement.

In a prologue set in 1989, we see Mike (Efron) at 17, walking away from a basketball scholarship because his girlfriend Scarlett (Allison Miller) is pregnant. Twenty years later, we find 37-year-old Mike (a shlumpy Matthew Perry) living with his eccentric friend Ned (Thomas Lennon), a rich software designer obsessed with sci-fi mythology. Scarlett (now played by Leslie Mann) is divorcing him, he loses his job, and his teenage kids Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight) won't talk to him. A visit to his old high school makes Mike wish aloud he were 17 again. A magical old janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) makes it happen. Suddenly Mike has the face and physique of his 17-year-old self (Efron). After the initial shock (in which he tries to kill Mike with a light saber), Ned pretends to be his father and enrolls him at the school. Still thinking like a dad, Mike lectures giggling teens about abstinence, tries to help his own struggling kids, and even flirts with his estranged wife. The whole premise is more squirmy than funny. The best thing in the film is the love story between Ned and the prim school principal (Melora Hardin), which deserves its own movie.

Not really for preteens, the film has considerable sexual innuendo, some of it semiexplicit, crude language, mild profanity, kissing and make-out scenes, condoms passed out in a human sexuality class, though they're never actually shown. It's implied that some teen characters drink and engage in sexual activity.

"State of Play" (PG-13, 1 hr., 57 min.)

Two-thirds of this political thriller, adapted and Americanized from a hit 2003 British miniseries, is smart, taut and terrific. It's final act, however, staggers beneath an avalanche of red herrings. But two-thirds of a good movie is better than nothing. The rat-a-tat dialogue and well-captured atmosphere of political Washington and the fast-shrinking world of old-style newspaper reporting will likely appeal to adults, but could also capture the imaginations of news-savvy high-schoolers. In fact, repartee and ambience pay much bigger dividends in this movie than the actual plot. (The final credits roll over a montage showing how a big-city newspaper hits the streets each night and it may bring a tear to the eye of many a print reporter and news junkie of a certain age.)

Russell Crowe plays ink-stained wretch Cal McAffrey, a gifted reporter/slob who works for the struggling Washington Globe, where his editor (Helen Mirren at her tart-tongued best) is desperate for a big story to show new owners that the Globe is worth saving. When a prominent congressman's (a nuanceless Ben Affleck) pretty young staffer dies mysteriously, a scandal erupts. Cal, an old buddy of the congressman, tries both to cover the story and protect his friend -- a tricky ethical balancing act. He butts heads with Della (Rachel McAdams), a blogger from the paper's online side, neatly encapsulating the tensions between old and new media. As the evidence seems to point away from suicide to murder, a big private security company looms as a possible culprit. People keep dying and the cops suspect that Cal and Della are withholding evidence.

The movie contains several bursts of gun violence, but shows little blood and no graphic wounds. We do see dead bodies, and even a liver resting on a scale in the morgue. There is midrange profanity and some crude sexual slang, as well as innuendo about promiscuity and marital infidelity. There are drug references, drinking and smoking.

Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various ages

-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER

"Dragonball: Evolution" (NEW) PG-- The characters are likable and the action sequences bloodless and colorful in this bland, convoluted special-effects-laden coming-of-age fantasy. It is adapted from a popular series of Japanese manga comics and video games. Battles feature martial-arts fights, hurled fireballs, falling rocks and zapper gunplay. Kids under 8 may be briefly scared by horned beasts, slime monsters and molten lava in a cave. There is a flying dragon, but it's not evil. The film also contains mild sexual innuendo and teen bullying. Set in a sci-fi near-future, the movie finds high-schooler Goku (Justin Chatwin), nearing his 18th birthday. Grandpa (Randall Duk Kim), who raised Goku and taught him martial arts, gives him a beautiful Dragonball, which looks like a glass paperweight, but has powers. There are only seven in the world. Grandpa says Goku's true identity will be revealed on his birthday. But Goku skips his birthday dinner for a teen party and returns to find Grandpa buried under their collapsed house. As he dies, Grandpa warns that the alien Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) has returned in search of the Dragonballs. Goku joins eccentric martial arts Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat), a feisty inventor (Emmy Rossum) and a desert highwayman (Joon Park) to defeat Piccolo.

"Hannah Montana The Movie" G -- Teen pop star Hannah Montana's off-stage self, Miley Stewart, gets too big for her high-heeled sneakers in "Hannah Montana The Movie," so her dad, Robby Ray Stewart, decides it's time to take her down a peg with some "Hannah detox" time at the family's Tennessee farm. Hannah's off-stage self, Miley Stewart, is played by Miley Cyrus, and Miley Stewart's dad, Robby Ray, is played by her real-life dad, country-and-western star Billy Ray Cyrus, so it's hard to see them as "just folks" in this saccharine confection. Equally unconvincing is the premise that Miley Stewart's school friends never realize she's Hannah. Outside the family, only her BFF Lilly (Emily Osment) knows. But for little girls, none of this matters. They'll get to see Hannah/Miley sing, shop, take pratfalls, ride a horse, do a benefit to save her hometown from a developer, and flirt with an aw-shucks local boy (Lucas Till). There is mild sexual innuendo. The brashest phrase is "sweet cheeks," the strongest brew iced tea. OK for under-8s, but they won't understand everything.

"Monsters vs. Aliens" PG -- Kids 8 and older ought to have a fine time at this silly, pretty ingenious animated 3-D spoof of 1950s "creature features." The movie fizzes along funnily, apart from a couple of slow bits midway. Even the "scary" scenes are amusing, which helps calm younger kids. There is toilet humor, but nothing too gross. Some under-8s may be spooked when the human heroine Susan (voice of Reese Witherspoon) mutates into a nearly 50-foot-tall version of herself, or when the multi-eyed outer space villain Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) clones himself into an army, or when his killer robot (which looks like a huge pickle) attacks. Susan walks too near a just-crashed meteorite and soon morphs into a giant. Government forces abduct her, name her Ginormica and imprison her with other mutant "monsters": B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), a blob with an eyeball; Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), a mad scientist; an ape-fish called The Missing Link (Will Arnett), and a huge grub worm, Insectosaurus. They all must defeat Gallaxhar. There is a remark about "boobies" and a hint of bare behind. One monster seems to die but is OK.

-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:

"17 Again" (NEW) -- Teen idol Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year," G, 2008) will charm his fans with that angelic face and sweet persona, but acting-wise, he lacks the skills to play a 37-year-old man zapped back into his 17-year-old body. Luckily, the supporting cast gives him great help and provides much amusement. In a prologue set in 1989, 17-year-old Mike O'Donnell (Efron) walks away from a basketball scholarship because his girlfriend Scarlett (Allison Miller) is pregnant. Twenty years later, we find 37-year-old Mike (a shlumpy Matthew Perry) living with his best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon), a rich software designer obsessed with sci-fi mythology. Mike has lost his job and Scarlett (now played by Leslie Mann) is divorcing him. A visit to his old high school makes him wish he were 17 again and a magical janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) makes it happen. Suddenly Mike has the face and physique of his 17-year-old self. He gets the stunned Ned to pose as his father and enroll Mike in their old high school. Once there, Mike lectures giggling girls about abstinence, tries to help his own troubled teens (Michelle Trachtenberg and Sterling Knight), and to reconcile with his estranged wife. Because Efron can't quite carry it off, the whole premise seems more weird than funny. There is considerable sexual innuendo, some of it semiexplicit, other mild profanity, and condoms passed out in a human sexuality class, though they're never shown. It's implied that some teen characters drink and engage in sexual activity. OK for teens.

"State of Play" (NEW) -- Two-thirds of this political thriller, adapted and Americanized from a hit British miniseries, is smart, taut and terrific, but its final act falls beneath an avalanche of red herrings. The rat-a-tat dialogue and well-captured atmospherics of political Washington and the shrinking world of old-style newspaper reporting pay bigger dividends than the actual plot. This will appeal more to adults, but could also capture the fancy of news-savvy high-schoolers. Russell Crowe plays ink-stained wretch Cal McAffrey, who works for the struggling Washington Globe, where his hard-bitten editor (Helen Mirren) is desperate for a big story. When a prominent congressman's (Ben Affleck) pretty staffer dies mysteriously, a scandal erupts. Cal, a buddy of the congressman's, tries to both report the story and protect his pal. He butts heads with Della (Rachel McAdams), a 20-something blogger from the paper's online side. As the evidence points to murder and other people die, the reporters suspect a private security company. The movie has bursts of gun violence but shows little blood or graphic wounds. We do see dead bodies, and even a liver resting on a scale in the morgue. There is midrange profanity, sexual slang, innuendo about marital infidelity and promiscuity, drug references, drinking and smoking. High-schoolers.

"Fast & Furious" -- Teens will likely enjoy the ride in this third sequel, which reunites the moody cast of the original film ("The Fast and the Furious," PG-13, 2001). The acting and dialogue are often dumb, but the racing stunts are heart-stoppingly staged. Parents may worry that kids will imitate the driving. At least one pedestrian (albeit a bad guy) gets smashed. The movie has gun violence, explosions and head-banging fights, but no graphic injuries and contains midrange profanity, a couple of steamy kisses, briefly implied sexual situations, young women in skimpy outfits, drinking and drug references. It also uses tired racial and ethnic stereotypes. Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), the muscled antihero, remains a fugitive from justice. After his girlfriend is murdered, he reconnects with his sister (Jordana Brewster) and FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) to avenge the murder and bring down a Mexican drug lord.

"Knowing" -- This parable about the end of humankind blurs the line between science fiction and theology in a way high-schoolers may find interesting -- the ghostly men in black coats who speak telepathically to children could be aliens or angels. It's heady, sometimes chilling stuff, but "Knowing" gets overwrought and silly. In the prologue, a little girl fills a page with numbers and it goes into her school's time capsule. Fifty years later, professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), a hard-drinking widower, attends the capsule's reopening. His little boy (Chandler Canterbury) gets the page with the numbers. John realizes they are dates of disasters past and future. There are quick, intense depictions of the Asian tsunami, hurricane Katrina, 9/11, a plane crash, a derailed subway train mowing people down. We see no graphic injuries. There is a suicide theme and rare mild profanity.

-- R's:

"Observe and Report" -- Though it has arresting moments, this dark, nihilistic comedy lurches about, never settling on a tone. The film contains drug abuse and drinking, steaming profanity, a couple of explicit sexual situations, and prolonged scenes of male frontal nudity in the form of a flasher tearing through a shopping mall. The mayhem includes fights, a police beating and gun violence. Comic actor Seth Rogen plays Ronnie, the mall's chief security guard. Stupid, racist, profane, and a bully, he longs to impress the drunk, promiscuous cosmetics salesperson, Brandi (Anna Faris). He also irritates a police detective (Ray Liotta), who rightly views Ronnie as an idiot. When we see Ronnie care for his alcoholic mom (Celia Weston) he earns a bit of sympathy. Not for under-17s.

"Adventureland" -- Strikingly unsentimental, witty and humane, "Adventureland" is a coming-of-age saga geared to adults looking back. It features much pot-smoking and drinking, driving under the influence, steaming profanity, crude sexual slang and innuendo, subtly implied sexual situations, and brief comic mayhem. It is 1987. James Brennan, a smart but naive brainiac, has just graduated college and his family is financially strapped. A comparative lit major, James has no skills and winds up working at the tacky local amusement park where he finds kindred spirits, including Em (Kristen Stewart of "Twilight," PG-13, 2008), who drinks too much and dallies with a married man (Ryan Reynolds). James learns he can't intellectualize life -- he has to live it. For thoughtful high-schoolers 16 and older.