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: 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: Francis Lawrence Starring: Will Smith Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. Parental Notes: Most teens and preteens should be fine — this is a suspenseful movie and youngsters who are already afraid of dark places may find it too intense, but it is not terribly graphic.
Directed by: Ben Garant Starring: Dan Fogler, George Lopez, Christopher Walken, Maggie Q, James Hong Rated: PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language. Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard PG-13 comedy full of crude humor. Nothing unusually awful by Hollywood standards, but certainly not intellectual fare.
Directed by: Paul Greengrass Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Rated: PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action. Parental Notes: This is about the same as the two previous films in terms of violence — car chases and crashes, hand-to-hand combat, and some use of guns. The violence is fairly bloodless, but the sequences are long and intense. There’s very little in the way of sensuality except for a flashback to a scene from the first film.
Directed by: David Silverman Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria Rated: PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout. Parental Notes: If you let your kids watch “The Simpsons,” you’re probably going to be okay with the movie. It’s only a wee bit more on the rude side than the show.
Directed by: Dennis Dugan Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi Rated: PG-13 for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references. (re-rated; originally rated R) Parental Notes: This is a difficult film to offer advice about for parents. It’s thoroughly crude and has more than its fair share of stupid stereotypes, but it lacks graphic violence or sexual content. Whether you’re comfortable with your kids seeing it will probably depend heavily on your opinion of stupid comedies and homosexuality.
Directed by: David Yates Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Imelda Staunton, Evanna Lynch, Matthew Lewis, Katie Leung, Michael Gambon Rated: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images. Parental Notes: This film is definitely darker, scarier, and more maturely-themed than the previous films, so use caution when taking younger children to see it. If they could handle the book, they can probably handle the film (though they’ll likely be peeved by the many cuts the screenwriter made in the story).