Directed by: Oliver Stone Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto. Rated: R for violence and some sexuality/nudity Parental Notes: With plenty of violence and two near-rapes, his is not a movie for youngsters or preteens, although mature teens may like its interesting portrait of the conqueror.
Directed by: Beeban Kidron Starring: Renee Zellwegger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant Rated: R for language and some sexual content. Parental Notes: There’s some here to offend, but not much. It’s mostly language and a bit of naughty but not graphic sexuality.
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.
Directed by: Jon Turtletaub Starring: Nicholas Cage, Harvey Keitel, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Justin Bartha Rated: PG for action violence and some scary images. Parental Notes: This film is fairly innocuous for preteens, with little innuendo and fairly bloodless violence.
originally written for The Milpitas Post Directed by: Brad Bird Starring the voices of: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson Rated: PG for action violence. Parental Notes: This movie has plenty of things to entertain adults but nothing to make it inappropriate for all but the youngest kids. Some of the action scenes may be a bit too intense for little children, but kids eight and up will almost certainly love it.
Originally written for The Milpitas Post Directed by: Alexander Payne Starring: Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh Rated: R for language, some strong sexual content and nudity. Parental Notes: “Sideways” has some brief but fairly graphic sex in it and youngsters probably won’t enjoy the film anyway. Teenagers may enjoy it if they like character studies and intelligent humor.