"Angels & Demons" (PG-13, 2 hrs., 10 min.)

Harvard "symbologist" Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is back uncovering secrets that make the Vatican queasy, only this time they've asked him to help. The pope has died and several cardinals favored to succeed him have been abducted. The kidnapper has also planted clues and threats, implying that Vatican City may be blown up. We know how, because in the prologue, scientists at a supercollider in Switzerland create antimatter A priest-scientist there is killed, and the antimatter stolen. In the wrong hands (and what other hands would it be in?) it could initiate a blast big enough to level Vatican City.

So beginneth another ponderous -- dare we say leaden and lugubrious? -- thriller based on a best-seller by Dan Brown. Many high-schoolers will enjoy following the clues with Langdon and seeing all the (re-created) church interiors filled with art by Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini and Leonardo da Vinci. However, "Angels & Demons" contains more violence and disturbing images than "The Da Vinci Code" (PG-13, 2006) and may be too intense for middle-schoolers. We see the abductees with painful-looking brands on their chests and two characters burned alive, though not graphically. There are corpses, one being eaten by rats (phobic alert), and a bloodied eyeball on a floor. There are point-blank shootings, though with little gore and mild profanity. Devout Catholics may object to Langdon's sarcastic view of church doctrine.

As with "The Da Vinci Code," Ron Howard directs with a heavy hand and a whole lot of pedantic exposition. (You can almost feel a pop quiz coming.) This time the lectures are about an underground 18th-century group called the Illuminati -- dissident Catholic thinkers who objected to the church's often brutal censorship of science. Langdon believes an exponent of the Illuminati is behind the modern mischief.

He teams with the gruff commander (Stellan Skarsgard) of the Vatican Swiss Guard, and a friendlier inspector from the police (Pierfrancesco Favino), along with the priest (Ewan McGregor) who runs Vatican City, while the college of cardinals chooses the new pope. With a scientist (Ayelet Zurer) from the antimatter experiment, Langdon follows clues from one ancient church and crypt to the next.

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Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various ages

-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER:

"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 this saccharine confection, so her dad, Robby Ray Stewart, decides she needs some "Hannah detox" time at their Tennessee farm. Miley Stewart is played by real-life pop star Miley Cyrus and 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" who got lucky in showbiz. But little girls will thrill to see Hannah/Miley sing, shop, take pratfalls, ride a horse, sing to save her town from a developer, and flirt with an aw-shucks local boy (Lucas Till). The brashest phrase is "sweet cheeks," the strongest brew is iced tea, and there is mild sexual innuendo. OK for under-8s, too, but they won't get everything.

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-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:

"Angels & Demons" (NEW) -- Harvard "symbologist" Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) again uncovers secrets that make the Vatican queasy, only this time they've invited him inside. In "Angels & Demons," the pope has died and several cardinals have been abducted. The kidnapper has left clues and threats. In the prologue, we see scientists at a supercollider creating antimatter. A priest-scientist is killed, and the antimatter stolen. In the wrong hands it could explode and level Vatican City. Thus beginneth another leaden thriller based on a best-seller by Dan Brown. Still, many high-schoolers will enjoy following the clues and seeing all the (re-created) church interiors and Renaissance art. As he did with Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" (PG-13, 2006), Ron Howard directs with a heavy hand and a whole lot of pedantic exposition -- this time about a secret 18th-century dissident group, Illuminati, who objected to the church's censorship of science. Langdon must work with the commander (Stellan Skarsgard) of the Vatican's Swiss Guard, a police inspector (Pierfrancesco Favino), the priest (Ewan McGregor) who runs the Vatican, and a scientist (Ayelet Zurer) from the antimatter experiment, chasing clues from one ancient church to next in search of cardinals and a bomb. "Angels & Demons" contains more violence and disturbing images than "The Da Vinci Code," and may be too intense for middle-schoolers. We see victims with painful brands on their chests, two characters burned alive (though not graphically), a corpse being eaten by a rat (phobic alert), and a bloodied eyeball. There are shootings, though with little gore, and mild profanity. Some will object to Langdon's sarcastic view of church doctrine.

"Star Trek" -- Teens not familiar with the 1960s TV show or the feature films ought still to have a fine time at this "Star Trek" prequel. It works just fine as a popcorn flick and a myth-origin tale for purists. It recounts in boisterous and occasionally jumbled detail how the young and frisky James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) met as junior officers on the maiden voyage of the starship USS Enterprise and wound up boldly going from galaxy to galaxy at warp speed. Fine for teens, the film will also work for many kids 10 to 12, but some may be unsettled by the space battles with the vengeful Romulan leader Nero (Eric Bana), his ominous-looking ship and its planet-killing drill. There is implied torture, intense fighting, an implied impalement and a lobsterish monster, as well as mild sexual humor and innuendo, a brief nongraphic sexual situation, and rare mild profanity. Kirk and Spock clash over how to handle the battle with the Romulans once Capt. Pike (Bruce Greenwood) is taken hostage. Spock struggles with emotions when his Vulcan father (Ben Cross) and human mother (Winona Ryder) are in peril. And thanks to a "disrupted time continuum," young Kirk encounters an old Spock (Leonard Nimoy, who else?), who offers crucial advice.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" -- Though a PG-13, this brooding film about the back story of X-Man Wolverine is darker than its predecessors -- more violent than enlightening, and an iffy proposition for middle-schoolers or preteens. Innocents die and there are implied impalements and a beheading, though little graphic gore in the vicious fights. Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine and Liev Schreiber as his amoral half-brother Victor/Sabretooth get us over narrative bumps (a puzzling prologue and a muddled ending) by force of personality. We meet James Logan and Victor as boy mutants and follow the seeming immortals as soldiers in the Civil War, both World Wars and Vietnam. They sign on with a special ops team of mutants recruited by Stryker (Danny Huston). The unit commits war crimes, so Logan quits. Years later, Victor commits a murder just to hurt Logan. Logan goes to Stryker and submits to an experiment in which his knuckle blades and skeleton are turned into unbreakable metal. Calling himself Wolverine, Logan goes after Victor. There is occasional profanity, sexual innuendo, and brief nongraphic long-distance nudity.

"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" -- Owing its plot to Charles Dickens and its sensibility to "Sex and the City," this crass, yet semi-clever fable lets Matthew McConaughey spoof his own image as Connor, a smarmy fashion photographer who beds all his models. The spirit of his late uncle (Michael Douglas), a now-repentant womanizer, appears to Connor, warning that three ghosts will visit to help save his soul. This unfolds during his younger brother's (Breckin Meyer) wedding weekend, where Connor has been trash-talking marriage and trying to fluster the lovely Jenny (Jennifer Garner), who broke his heart back in middle school. The movie dodges an R with witty euphemisms for sex and promiscuity. There is much sexual innuendo and a few briefly steamy nongraphic sexual situations. There are verbal references to drugs, midrange profanity and toilet humor. Connor shows signs of alcoholism and others also drink. There is a theme about losing one's parents very young. Too bawdy for middle-schoolers.

"Obsessed" -- Beyonce Knowles pouts, gets angry and yells a lot as Sharon, a wife and mother threatened by a woman who is literally crazy for her husband in this cheesy, predictable thriller. Idris Elba gives the only nuanced performance as Derek, Sharon's stockbroker spouse. Lisa (Ali Larter), a flirty/snarky temp at Derek's office, makes a play for him and won't accept his rebuff. Her psychopathic behavior -- jumping into his car wearing lingerie, drugging him at a company retreat so she can sneak into his bed, attempting suicide by overdose -- grows threatening. The film has considerable sexual innuendo and brief nonexplicit marital sexual situations. Lisa's attempted seductions are steamy, but stylized and nongraphic. Sharon and Derek's baby is briefly endangered. There is smoking, drinking and midrange profanity. Not for middle-schoolers.

"The Soloist" -- High art, edginess and entertainment mix in near-perfect proportions in "The Soloist." With some fictionalization, it is based on columns by Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and his discovery of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a homeless musician of great gifts, but hobbled by mental illness. Flashbacks show the young Ayers beginning to hear voices and disassociate from reality while at Juilliard. When Ayers plays a cello donated by one of Lopez's readers, director Joe Wright cuts from his look of ecstasy to pigeons gliding over the city. The moment could be corny, but it isn't. Lopez and Ayers slowly build a friendship. L.A.'s roiling Skid Row becomes another character. There are briefly violent scuffles, a bloody crime scene, people using drugs or unconscious from overdoses, occasional profanity, drinking, smoking, and toilet humor. For thoughtful teens.

"17 Again" -- Teen idol Zac Efron may thrill his fans, but he lacks the screen nuance to play a 37-year-old man zapped back into his 17-year-old body. Seventeen-year-old Mike (Efron) walks away from a college basketball scholarship to marry his pregnant girlfriend Scarlett (Allison Miller). Twenty years later, 37-year-old Mike (Matthew Perry) is out of work, living with his oddball pal Ned (funny Thomas Lennon) and being divorced by Scarlett (now played by Leslie Mann). Visiting his old high school, he wishes he could be 17 again and a magical janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) makes it happen. When young Mike tries to romance his wife, it is creepy/awkward. There is much sexual innuendo, some of it quite strong, mild profanity, and condoms passed out in a human sexuality class, though they're not shown. It's implied that some teen characters drink and engage in sexual activity. Not for preteens.

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-- R's:

"Rudo y Cursi" (NEW) -- Half brothers from rural Mexico get a chance at the brass ring in this raw, wry look at how professional sports can alter the lives of people who see no other opportunities. The film's sexual content and language make it inappropriate for those under 17, but it could fascinate college-age teens looking to enlarge their world view. An unscrupulous scout (Guillermo Francella) for Mexico City's professional soccer teams, discovers Tato (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Beto (Diego Luna), playing with their amateur local league. Beto is a goalie, married with kids, who's addicted to gambling. Tato is a kicker and dreamer who wants to be a pop star. "Rudo" and "Cursi," meaning "tough" and "corny," are the fans' nickames for them. The brothers' naivete about money, women and sports sinks their big-city sojourn. The film has an explicit sexual situation with seminudity and locker-room initiation rituals that are crudely sexual, but more implied than explicit. There is strong profanity, drinking, smoking, drug use and nongraphic violence. In Spanish with subtitles. 17 and older.

"Next Day Air" -- Violent, profane, lewd, full of drug references (and some drug use) and characters on the wrong side of the law, "Next Day Air" is not for under-17s. That noted, the movie is funny and likely to attract some teens. It takes an edgy, satirical jab at inner cities where choices seem so limited, drug dealing looks like an answer. Leo (Donald Faison of TV's "Scrubs"), a delivery guy for the parcel service Next Day Air, is always high on pot. He mistakenly drops a package at the apartment of petty crooks, Brody (Mike Epps) and Guch (Wood Harris of TV's "The Wire"), who find it's full of cocaine. They plan to sell it, but the drug runner down the hall (Cisco Reyes) and his wife (Yasmin Deliz) were supposed to get that package and the mix-up puts everyone on a collision course. The film also has sexualized comedy and brief seminudity.