Directed by: Peter Segal Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp Rated: PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language. Parental Notes: This is a pretty soft PG-13. There’s a shot of Mr. Carell with the seat of his pants torn off and some rather cartoony violence, and that’s about it.
Directed by: Louis Leterrier Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content. Parental Notes: This is a pretty straightforward super-hero movie. Youngsters may find some sequences too intense, but there’s very little blood. The most intense violence is between the Hulk and an equally unreal creature.
Directed by: Dennis Dugan Starring: Adam Sandler, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Schneider, John Turturro Rated: PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity. Parental Notes: There’s little in the way of graphic nudity or violence here, the entire movie is very cartoonish. It is, however, very, very vulgar.
Directed by: Steven Spielberg Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf, Ray Winstone, Rated:PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images. Parental Notes: This film is about the same as the other Indiana Jones movies, a solid PG-13. Some youngsters may find the film a bit too intense (the scary images include people being eaten alive by ants as well as chases, fights, and freaky tribesmen with spears and other weapons, not to mention corpses, skeletons, and aliens). Most preteens and older should be fine.
Directed by: Larry and Andy Wachowski Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon Rated: PG for sequences of action, some violence and language. Parental Notes: This is a movie aimed squarely at kids. The racing scenes may be a bit intense for very young kids, but kids old enough to watch Saturday morning cartoons should be fine.
Directed by: Jon Favreau Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content. Parental Notes: This is a fairly-rated PG-13 film. The action is intense but not gruesome and the sensuality is there but with less nudity than you’d see at a public pool.
Directed by: Rob Minkoff Starring: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Yifei Liu Rated: PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence. Parental Notes: Parents of impressionable children should note that this film is packed with martial arts stunts. Children who are likely to attempt to imitate these stunts without the safety precautions used by the actors (harnesses, wires, etc) should probably be left at home.
Directed By: George Clooney Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Root Rated: PG-13 for brief strong language. Parental Notes: There’s some kissing, some swearing, and that’s about it. Unless you don’t want your kids hearing some salty language and seeing some fistfights played largely for laughs, this is probably a safe bet.
Directed by: Robert Luketic Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Laurence Fishbourne Rated: PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity. Parental Notes: This is a solid PG-13 film. There’s some beating of card sharks by Vegas security goons and a sex scene, but neither is as graphic as you’d find in an R-rated film.
Directed by: Roger Donaldson Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Richard Lintern Rated: R Parental Notes: This is not a kids movie (plenty of nudity/sensuality and a bit of violence and kinkiness for good measure) though teens may enjoy it.