The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children.
Only films rated G, PG or PG-13 are included in this weekly listing, along with occasional R-rated films that may have entertainment or educational value for older children with parental guidance. Compiled by St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall.
RECOMMENDED
Benji: Off the Leash!
(PG) - Rather than the Benji character, the film focuses on two puppies hidden by a boy from his ill-tempered father, a dog breeder. Topics include animal cruelty (not graphically depicted) and family strife, but nothing too disturbing. Mild profanity.
The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement
(G) - The sequel to 2001's surprise hit continues the fairy tale of an American teenager (Anne Hathaway) growing into her destiny as ruler of a fictional European country. As was the first film, this one is squeaky clean and filled with delights for young female viewers.
Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2
(PG) - This sequel to a 1999 flop features more toddlers with computer-animated mouths and bodies doing preternatural things while adult actors fake awe. The MPAA rating is the result of action violence and a few rude comments.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie
(PG) - Fans of the imported Japanese TV series, and ensuing card-collecting, may enjoy this big-screen version, a slightly more mature version of Pokemon. The MPAA rating results from "scary combat and monster images."
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Napoleon Dynamite
(PG) - This low-budget comedy may strike a chord with social outcasts such as its hero (Jon Heder), a painfully awkward high school student. The jokes are mostly at his expense, the profanity is mild, and a few jokes concerning his brother's door-to-door sales job are risque. Recommended for ages 12 and older.
The Village
(PG-13) - M. Night Shyamalan, creator of The Sixth Sense and Signs, returns with another creepy tale, this one involving forest creatures who break their truce with a 19th century community. The MPAA rating results from one violent scene and several others with Shyamalan's brand of skin-crawling terror; not graphic, but effective. Could be nightmare material for viewers younger than 10.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Alien vs. Predator
(PG-13) - Two of the grisliest creatures from R-rated horror films are defanged just enough to earn a PG-13 rating and the child audience that comes with it. There's still plenty of violence, horror images, scary special effects and profanity to give parents, if not their children, nightmares.
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
(PG-13) - Explorers searching for the flower of youth meet a bunch of giant snakes. That means action violence, skin-crawling images (especially for viewers afraid of snakes) and bad words people often say when they are scared.
The Bourne Supremacy
(PG-13) - Matt Damon returns as a professional assassin framed by the CIA and not happy about it. As in 2002's The Bourne Identity, this film includes intense action, loud violence of the gunshot and car-chase varieties, and moderate profanity.
Cellular
(PG-13) - Kim Basinger stars in a kidnap thriller that may be too intense for younger viewers. The MPAA also cites violence, profanity and sexual references as reasons for the rating.
The Cookout
(PG-13) - A basketball player (Quran Pender) signs a pro contract and invites the neighborhood to celebrate at his new mansion, creating cross-cultural humor along the lines of TV's Method and Red. The MPAA rating cites "drug content, sexual references and language."
Evergreen
(PG-13) - A teenage girl (Cara Seymour) living in poverty seduces a wealthy family to improve her lot in life. The film was originally rated R for its sexual content and profanity, before producers won an appeal with the MPAA.
I, Robot
(PG-13) - Will Smith's science-fiction adventure includes mild profanity, futuristic action violence and brief partial nudity.
Vanity Fair
(PG-13) - This lavish adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 19th century novel doesn't contain any role models, and the era generally won't appeal to younger tastes, anyway. Only a dash of sensuality and a brief, comical shot of rear nudity, but teenagers dying to see what Reese Witherspoon does next will be interested.
Wicker Park
(PG-13) - Josh Harnett plays an investment banker obsessed with following a woman who may be his former lover, which doesn't sit well with his fiancee. The MPAA rating cites "sexuality and language."
