Family Film Reviews

NEW THIS WEEK

-- A CLEVER LITTLE THRILLER/CHARACTER STUDY, MORE FOR HIGH-SCHOOLERS ABOUT A NE'ER-DO-WELL WHOSE BRAIN KICKS INTO HIGH-ACHIEVER'S GEAR ON A NEW, ILLEGAL DRUG:

"LIMITLESS" PG-13 -- Smart, visually kicky, and posing intriguing moral questions, "Limitless" takes the idea of mind-focusing drugs, such as those prescribed for attention deficit disorder, and runs into sci-fi territory. (It's based on a novel by Alan Glynn.) Since it hinges on drug addiction and has surprisingly tough violence for a PG-13, the film is more for high-schoolers. Anyone among them who's ever had trouble finishing homework will probably find it fascinating. Bradley Cooper stars as Eddie, an ineffectual wannabe writer who can't seem to put his ideas onto a page. He's a slob, he drinks in the daytime and now his girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) is leaving him. Then he bumps into his drug-dealing former brother-in-law (Johnny Whitworth), who offers him a hot little pill, supposedly stolen from a big pharmaceutical company, and tells him it'll sharpen his mind. Eddie takes it and in short order he seduces his landlord's wife, cleans his apartment, writes his novel, makes a killing on the stock market, slicks up his wardrobe, and impresses a financial mogul (Robert De Niro), who hires him. He's totally hooked on the drug, but his brother-in-law is murdered and Eddie has only a limited supply. He's having hallucinatory side effects, is suspected of murder by the cops, and is being pursued by a Russian loan shark and another scary mystery thug. Is it all worth it?

THE BOTTOM LINE: The level of violence comes close to R territory, with high-caliber gunfire, eye-stabbings, face-gashings, bone-cracking fistfights and much blood. Sexual situations occur a few times and are mostly just comically implied with shots of entangled legs and the sound of moans, but there is also a jokey reference to a condom. The film opens and closes with a suicide theme, and one bad guy threatens to flay Eddie. In addition to the drug abuse, characters smoke some, drink heavily and occasionally vomit. The script contains midrange profanity.

-- AN AUSTERE, MOODY, STILL PASSIONATE ADAPTATION OF THE CLASSIC ROMANCE:

"JANE EYRE" PG-13, LIMITED RELEASE -- This isn't the sort of adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" designed to make teen girls sigh, but it's a darn good film anyway -- darkly emotional and likely to appeal to literary-minded high-schoolers. It is as storm-tossed as the great book, using much of the original dialogue, and told with a clever use of flashbacks, which could confuse some not familiar with the story. There's nothing in this "Jane Eyre" that's inappropriate for middle-schoolers, except that they might have a hard time with the tone and the starkness. In 1840s England, Jane Eyre, a young orphaned girl (Amelia Clarkson as young Jane), is rejected by her relatives and sent to a vicious boarding school where religion is used as a cudgel. Finally of age, the grown-up Jane (Mia Wasikowska) takes a position as a governess at remote Thornfield Hall, where the housekeeper (Judi Dench) is kindly and her little charge (Romy Settbon Moore) is sweet. The gruff, changeable master, Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender), takes to Jane's innocence and honesty and makes her fall in love with him. But when he tries to wed her, his mad first wife, hidden for years in the attic, proves a moral impediment. Jane flees and is taken in by a minister (Jamie Bell) and his sisters. Eventually, though, she is drawn back to Thornfield.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The atmosphere in "Jane Eyre" is decidedly dark and chilly. The students at Jane's childhood school are beaten, underfed and freezing. Her best friend there dies in the night. The sexual charge between Jane and Mr. Rochester is quite apparent, though never explicit, and the innocent Jane is fascinated by a mildly suggestive nude painting. After an incident (not shown) with the madwoman in the attic, a visitor has a bloody gash in his neck. Mr. Rochester smokes and drinks.

-- AN ALL-ACTION WORLD WAR II-STYLE MOVIE, ONLY THE ENEMIES ARE ROBOTIC SPACE ALIENS:

"BATTLE: LOS ANGELES" PG-13 -- Shot with a deliberately shaky camera and designed, despite the Marines-versus-space aliens plot, to look like a classic World War II flick, "Battle: Los Angeles" barely stops to breathe. Profound it is not, but it's a roller-coaster ride likely to carry along action-loving teen audiences. It may be a little too much for some middle-schoolers. The violence is rather intense for a PG-13, though wounds are not particularly bloody or graphic. There's also an "ick" factor involving gushy internal organs of the alien fighters, though they are outwardly robotic creatures. Marine Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), back from a tough tour in the Middle East where he lost some men, plans to retire. Then he learns that alien-aircraft spewing robot warriors and major firepower are attacking cities around the world. So he's back on the front lines. Though it's a worldwide battle, it's Nantz and his small unit who make a stand. Publicity materials for the film refer to a World War II-era UFO incident over Los Angeles that prompted anti-aircraft fire, but the film doesn't deal with that at all.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The dialogue also includes a bit of nonexplicit sexual innuendo amid the occasional soldierly banter, and some occasional midrange profanity. One subplot involves the fears and emotions of a young boy whose civilian dad (Michael Pena) is injured.

-- MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY HAS FUN AS A SLEAZY DEFENSE ATTORNEY WHO TRIES TO REDEEM HIMSELF IN THIS COURTROOM DRAMA/THRILLER:

"THE LINCOLN LAWYER" R -- Juniors and seniors in high school -- say, 16 and older -- will be entertained and not morally damaged by this character-rich legal thriller, adapted from a novel by Michael Connelly. Matthew McConaughey does his best work in years as Mick Haller, a charming but less than ethical defense attorney who works out of his Lincoln Continental and cuts deals with the D.A.'s office for guys who are usually very guilty. He has good relations (including sexual relations) with his ex, Maggie (Marisa Tomei), a prosecutor, and shares custody of their little girl. Then a very wealthy young man, Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), hires Mick to clear him of a charge of assault and attempted murder of a prostitute. He claims total innocence, but Mick eventually figures out that Louis had a secret reason for hiring him that involves a former client (Michael Pena) of Mick's who's serving time and may be innocent. William H. Macy is great as Mick's grizzled investigator, as is John Leguizamo as a slightly shady snitch. Suddenly, sleazy Mick steps up and becomes a hero.

THE BOTTOM LINE: A relatively mild R by current standards, "The Lincoln Lawyer" depicts stylized but still disturbing crime re-enactments, shows bloody murder victims, and includes a lethal shoot-out. Mick and Maggie engage in a nongraphic but very steamy sexual situation. And McConaughey finds many reasons to be sweaty and shirtless, as is his wont. The story touches on drugs and prostitution, and the dialogue features occasional strong profanity, crude sexual slang and a nasty homophobic slur. Characters smoke and drink.

-- 0 -- 0 -- 0 --

ALSO PLAYING

-- OK FOR KIDS 6 AND OLDER:

"GNOMEO & JULIET" G -- Shakespeare's romantic tragedy takes a riotous turn among garden gnomes and even gets a happy ending in this computer-animated 3-D treat. Kids 6 and older and their parents should bliss out on "Gnomeo & Juliet," concocted with a droll mix of realism and colorful exaggeration and laced with old and new Elton John tunes. Human next-door neighbors Mr. Capulet and Miss Montague have feuded for years and the gnomes in their respective gardens reflect that. The young males even drag-race power mowers -- though the gnome world only comes alive when humans are not around. One night, Juliet (voice of Emily Blunt) sneaks out of the red Capulet garden, where she lives with her gnome family, to steal a flower. She encounters Gnomeo (James McAvoy), of the blue Montague garden. It's love at first sight, but their romance wreaks gnomish havoc. Patrick Stewart is fun as the voice of a Shakespeare statue come to life.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The script includes mildly grown-up gags, such as "I'm not illiterate -- my parents were married!" In general, the humor and sexual innuendo are mild and the G-rating justified, but the occasional property-and-gnome-shattering lawn-mower races could perhaps unsettle the youngest kids. Broken gnomes do get repaired. There is a subtle suicide reference to the play -- "took his own life."

-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER:

"MARS NEEDS MOMS" PG -- This 3-D animated tale of a boy realizing how much his mom loves him can be touching and amusing, but it still hinges upon the fear of losing a parent. So it can be grim and scary, too, and perhaps too intense for kids under 8. Also, it was made with "motion-capture" technology. Live actors play the characters and their physical performances are altered to blend into an animated environment. This method lacks the charm of other types of animation. A 9-year-old boy named Milo (voice of Seth Green) doesn't like doing chores or eating broccoli. He has harsh words with his mom (Joan Cusack), and before he can apologize, she's abducted by a Martian spaceship. Milo stows away as it takes off. On Mars he finds a female-dominated militarist society, all underground. Babies are hatched and raised by "nanny-bots." The Martians plan to drain all mothering information from Milo's mom's brain to program their nanny-bots. Milo must rescue her. He gets help from Gribble (Dan Fogler), a lonely man-child who grew up solo on Mars after his own mom was snatched, and from a Martian girl named Ki (Elisabeth Harnois).

THE BOTTOM LINE: Milo is perpetually falling, falling, falling off high places. Though he's nearly weightless on Mars and isn't hurt, it's visually scary. The males in Martian society are dreadlocked and relegated to working on a huge trash heap. The portrayal seems pointlessly racial, though only adults may notice. The Martian guards threaten the protagonists with laser guns.

"RANGO" PG -- This wildly inventive animated Western is both homage and spoof, and ought to charm kids 8 and older as well as their parents. Better yet, it looks like it's in by-gum 3-D, even though it isn't, with stunning depth in every frame, but no annoying glasses or dull colors. A showbiz-loving pet chameleon (voice of Johnny Depp) gets separated from his owners in a desert highway mishap. He wanders into a town called Dirt, populated by a wonderment of desert critters. Using his acting skills, he dubs himself Rango and becomes the new sheriff. Then he discovers that Dirt's mayor, a wily turtle (Ned Beatty), may be part of a water-stealing plot that will kill the parched town. Rango must save Dirt and win over a cute girl lizard named Beans (Isla Fisher). For about three-quarters of its length, "Rango" is a treat, rich in visual and character humor for kids, and witty allusions to classic Westerns for adults. Near the end there is a battle that goes on too long and becomes a little too violent for under-8s -- perhaps even for some kids between 8 and 10.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The PG rating is tested in the battle scene, when bad guys of an indeterminate species fly into the fray on huge bats -- quite creepy. The dialogue makes repeated use of "hell," and has at least one "damn." The excellent script goes over kids' heads at times, but in a good way -- with great words that adults can easily explain. The film ends with an unsubtle but compelling message about not hoarding water.

-- PG-13s:

"RED RIDING HOOD" -- High-schoolers may find it impossible not to giggle through this pseudo-serious medieval horror/thriller. The film's violence is relatively understated, but there is a strong sexual attraction theme that is not quite appropriate for middle-schoolers. Amanda Seyfried (wearing very non-medieval red lipstick) plays Valerie, younger sister of a girl killed by a werewolf in a snowy village. A clerical "werewolf hunter" named Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) arrives, but his brutal treatment of townsfolk (one young man is tortured to death, "cooked" in a metal contraption over a fire -- not graphic) and his miscalculations about the creature are disastrous. The werewolf pauses in the middle of one assault on the village and speaks to Valerie. Since she, and only she, can understand it, Valerie is immediately dubbed a witch. Father Solomon wants to use her as bait to bring the werewolf close enough to kill it. Valerie's would-be lover Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) and jealous ex-fiancee Henry (Max Irons) team up to help her escape. Her father (Billy Burke) and worldly herbalist grandmother (Julie Christie) also figure as the mystery of the creature unfolds. Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first "Twilight" (PG-13, 2008) teen vampire film, also directed this. The similarities are, alas, snicker-inducing.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The werewolf attacks are quite stylized and not especially graphic, but there is considerable spattered blood and images of severed hands and of bloody tissue that could be human or animal. Fights include fatal stabbings and axings. At least one sexual situation between Valerie and Peter becomes very steamy for a PG-13, though not explicit.

"BEASTLY" -- Teen audiences may have trouble taking this magical looks-aren't-everything saga seriously, but that doesn't mean they won't have fun with its unintentional hilariousness. Based on a novel for young people by Alex Flinn, riffing on the old "Beauty and the Beast" tale, it is the story of Kyle (Alex Pettyfer), a vain, mean prep-school hunk. Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), a Goth-style witch in Kyle's class, puts a spell on him. He becomes bald, tattooed and scarred -- though more artfully than spookily. Kendra tells Kyle that if, within a year, a girl tells him she loves him, he'll change back. Kyle's cold anchorman dad (Peter Krause) hides his son in a secluded house and hires a blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris) for him. Riding the streets on a motorcycle, a hooded Kyle rescues a nice girl from his old school, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), and her dad, from thugs. Lindy ID'd the bad guys, so Kyle tells her dad to deliver her to his house where she will be safe. Freaked out by her new situation, Lindy does not yet recognize Kyle.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The script includes crude, sexualized and belittling epithets, though they're not technically profane. However, some mild profanity is also heard. Kyle and Lindy get one near-passionate kiss, but no sexual situations. Nongraphic but lethal street violence takes place, and a subplot deals with Lindy's father's drug addiction.

"THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU" -- For teens who like movies laced with humor and intellect and not stuck in perpetual overdrive, "The Adjustment Bureau" is the ticket -- a fine date-movie mix of science fiction, spirituality, romance and visual inventiveness. Matt Damon plays upstart New York politician David Norris. On the eve of an election that looks bad for him, he meets Elise (Emily Blunt), a charming dancer/choreographer, who makes him not care about defeat. He loses her number and tries frantically to find her again. But mystery men dressed like 1950s FBI agents are following him. Using powers that defy physics, they intercede to prevent David and Elise from connecting. But one of them messes up and they must reveal themselves to him and explain: A romance with Elise is not in the Plan, they tell David, as written for humankind by their Chairman. David then tries to escape this fate. Teens may want to read the Philip K. Dick story that inspired the film.

THE BOTTOM LINE: A genuine PG-13 that's fine for most teens, "The Adjustment Bureau" includes nonsexual profanity and crude language; a nongraphic but slightly steamy premarital sexual situation with implied nudity; and nonviolent but harrowing chases. The film's concept of fate and a higher power that controls it may offend some religious beliefs.

"BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON" -- Young actor/comedian Brandon T. Jackson joins forces with Martin Lawrence in this second sequel (after the original "Big Momma's House," 2000; and "Big Momma's House 2," 2006, both PG-13s), but there's not enough of Jackson as a wannabe rap star, or of the other young cast members performing pop songs, to automatically reel in teen audiences. Nor is the action or the comedy all that much. Still, some teens may be mildly amused. Atlanta-based FBI agent Malcolm (Martin Lawrence) is thrilled when his stepson Trent (Jackson) is accepted at Duke University. But Trent wants to skip college and be a rapper. He follows Malcolm to a stakeout and inadvertently witnesses a murder. Now the killers are after Trent, as well as a stolen flash drive that Malcolm learns is hidden in a performing arts high school for girls. Malcolm goes undercover as Big Momma, gets hired as a house mother, disguises Trent as "Charmaine" and enrolls "her."

THE BOTTOM LINE: The PG-13 reflects the sexual innuendo and toilet humor that emerge when Trent tries to be "Charmaine" and hide the fact that he is smitten with a pretty piano prodigy (Jessica Lucas). Similar innuendo emerges when a security guard flirts with Big Momma. Understated scenes of violence and mayhem include a gun murder, nonlethal gunplay and fights. Characters use some low-grade profanity.

"UNKNOWN" -- High-schoolers who like spy sagas may buy into this espionage-and-assassination thriller, with its middle-aged star and nicotine-stained homage to Cold War cloak-and-dagger. The violence is awfully graphic, however, for a PG-13, making it iffy for middle-schoolers. Liam Neeson plays a biologist who flies to Berlin to deliver a speech at a science summit. As his wife (January Jones) checks into the hotel, he realizes he left his briefcase at the airport. He jumps into a cab and heads back, but the cab is in an accident. Days later he awakens in a hospital, his memory shaky and his ID gone. When he returns to the hotel, his wife does not acknowledge him and claims her husband has always been there (Aidan Quinn plays the "new" husband). Neeson's scientist realizes he has not only lost his identity, but is the target of some sort of conspiracy. A former East German secret policeman (Bruno Ganz) and the cabdriver from the accident (Diane Kruger) try to help. Though a tad ponderous near the end, "Unknown" is still a nifty little thriller.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The violence covers a snapped neck, knifings, tire-iron thwacks, gunplay, a big explosion and dizzying car chases. The intensity approaches R territory. However, the muted marital sexual innuendo, drinking, smoking and mild verbal epithets stay in PG-13 range.

"JUST GO WITH IT" -- This kinda-sorta-sex-comedy aims to warm the heart, but it is merely crude and sounds clumsily ad-libbed rather than scripted. It is not great fare for middle-schoolers. Adam Sandler plays Danny, a plastic surgeon who protects himself from heartbreak by wearing a fake wedding ring and pretending he's unhappily married. This attracts younger women who don't expect entanglements and can't hurt him. Then he falls for Palmer (Brooklyn Decker), a gorgeous schoolteacher who doubts his story. He convinces his office assistant, Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), a divorcee with two kids, to pose as his soon-to-be-ex. When Katherine accidentally mentions her children, Palmer naturally assumes they're Katherine's and Danny's kids and insists on meeting them. This leads to a friendly group jaunt to Hawaii for no reason at all.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The comedy features much toilet humor, implied toplessness, homophobic jokes, and crude verbal and visual sexual innuendo of all kinds. Katherine's young kids are forced to speak jaded, out-of-character adult sentiments for cheap laughs. The language, however, is relatively mild, except for a couple of S-words.

-- AN R:

"HALL PASS" -- Teens 17 and older mature enough to handle crude sexual humor -- and who don't mind it -- may get a charge out of the intermittently funny, always lewd, very adult "Hall Pass." Then again, it's about people of their parents' generation having sexual misadventures, which could be an "ewwwwww!" factor for some. Best-buddy milquetoasts Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) like to eyeball the ladies when they think their wives aren't looking. They're fratboy-ishly sex-obsessed. Rick's loving wife Maggie (Jenna Fischer) decides to give Rick a week off from marriage, no questions asked. Fred's wife Grace (Christina Applegate) then does the same for him. But when the two men start hunting for hook-ups, they have no idea where to start and how not to seem like dorks.

THE BOTTOM LINE: In no way for teens under 17, the film contains male frontal nudity, explicitly implied sexual situations (no nudity, but graphically pantomimed), and crude slang for sex acts and (mostly female) sex organs. Fred gets caught by police for masturbating in his car. There is also profanity, but not as strong as the sexual slang. Characters get high on marijuana brownies and drink. The preachy, pro-marriage ending seems tacked-on and cynical, given all that's gone before.