| Jane Horwitz "Everybody's Fine" (PG-13, 1 hr., 35 min.)
Touching in its way, but slow to build and at times downright inert, this family drama isn't likely to grab teens, though it's not inappropriate for them. A few may even appreciate the film's multifaceted view of parent-child relationships in the story of a recently widowed retiree, Frank Goode (Robert De Niro), who visits his adult children and finds they don't open up to him the way they did to their late mother.
Based on the Italian film "Stanno Tutti Bene" (PG, 1990) with Marcello Mastroianni, this American remake, directed by Kirk Jones ("Waking Ned Devine," PG, 1998), isn't without depth in its observations about family dynamics. It's just rather pallid and alternately saccharine. There are a few genuinely sweet moments, as when Frank gazes at the adults and suddenly sees the children they were.
Disappointed that all his adult kids have canceled a weekend visit, Frank, though he's ailing, decides to travel the country to surprise them and find out whether they're happy. What he doesn't know is that one of his sons is missing. We learn this in voice-over phone conversations between his other children, who resolve to keep the facts from Frank until they know more.
He goes first to New York, where there's no sign of David ("Austin Lysy). Then he hits the Chicago suburbs, where daughter Amy (Kate Beckinsale) is a successful advertising executive, with an unhappy marriage. Then to the Pacific Northwest, where Robert (Sam Rockwell) plays drums in a symphony orchestra, through Frank thought he was the conductor. It turns out Robert prefers a less stressful life and wishes his dad would stop pushing. Then to Las Vegas, where Rosie (Drew Barrymore) is a show dancer taking care of someone else's infant, and living a life that's more complicated than Frank knows. It is Rosie who finally tells Frank that perhaps he drove his kids a little too hard and that his high expectations and emotional distance took its toll.
There is rare profanity -- occasionally strong -- references to a death by drug overdose, subtle issues of sexuality and sexual preference, a briefly violent mugging, smoking, an implied heart attack, and themes of grief and loss.
Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various ages
-- OK FOR MANY KIDS 8 AND OLDER:
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" PG -- A savory blend of wit and whimsy -- with a little bit of an edge -- Fantastic Mr. Fox" uses old-style stop-motion animation to wondrous effect. The furry characters are appealingly herky-jerky and the sets look like landscapes for toy trains. Director Wes Anderson has created a film (based on Roald Dahl's children's book) that anyone 8 and older can enjoy. The animals' droll expression "the cuss you are!" is the only strongish language. Yet because of the danger Mr. Fox brings upon his friends and family, when he and all the woodland creatures frantically dig tunnels to escape the farmers coming after them with guns, bulldozers and hoses, the film may be too intense for under-8s and even a few who are older. Mr. Fox (George Clooney), a former chicken thief, is bored. He moves his family into a tree facing the land of three farmers. Unbeknownst to Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep), Mr. Fox aims to raid those farms. He involves his nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson), but ignores his son Ash (Jason Schwartzman), who feels undersized and overlooked. But Ash eventually proves the moral -- what makes you different is what makes you special. Everything about "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is special.
-- OK FOR MANY KIDS 10 AND OLDER:
"Old Dogs" PG -- John Travolta and Robin Williams look desperate in this sad, cheesy comedy. They play Charlie and Dan, respectively -- friends and business partners. Charlie is an unattached good-time guy. Dan is shy and depressed and longs to reconnect with Vicki (Kelly Preston), a woman he met and drunkenly married in Las Vegas seven years earlier, though the union was annulled. Vicki arrives and tells Dan they have 7-year-old twins she's been raising alone. Vicki must go to jail for two weeks for her overzealous environmental activism and asks Dan to care for Zach (Conner Rayburn) and Emily (Ella Bleu Travolta -- real-life daughter of Travolta and Preston). Dan hasn't a clue how to care for kids and the alleged hijinks that follow are so unfunny. In addition to divorce and depression themes, the film has toilet humor, slams in the crotch, prescription drug side-effects gags, and drinking. Not for under-10s.
"Planet 51" PG -- Most of its jokes are crude and geared to adults, yet this ill-conceived animated sci-fi comedy seems aimed at kids. The computer animation has a flat, rubbery look and there are narrative lulls that could induce fidgets. The round, greenish beings on Planet 51 speak English, funnily enough, and live in what looks like 1950s America. When astronaut Chuck Baker (voice of Dwayne Johnson) pilots his lander onto Planet 51 and emerges, both he and they freak out. Planet 51 teenager Lem (Justin Long), who wants to impress his crush, Neera (Jessica Biel), befriends Chuck, but General Grawl (Gary Oldman) is determined to capture and dissect the astronaut. There are crude gags about using corks as protection against alien "probes," as well as toilet and penis jokes. The child characters and their pets are kinda cute, as is Chuck's doglike robot. Not especially for kids under 10.
"Disney's A Christmas Carol" PG -- Though it sticks pretty closely to Dickens' fable, director Robert Zemeckis' dour rendering is more a showcase for actor Jim Carrey (intense and unfunny) and for advances in a type of computer animation. For kids under 10, it is too creepy and unleavened by humor. Some children may need lobby breaks during spookier scenes. Zemeckis uses the same "performance capture" technology (shooting live actors, then overlaying their performances with animation) he used in "The Polar Express" (PG, 2004). He has added 3-D to intensify the many nightmarish scenes and Scrooge's dizzying flights with the ghosts. Scrooge (voiced by Carrey, who also plays Scrooge's younger selves and the spirits who visit him) is so stooped and surly, kids may be scared by mere close-ups of his gnarled hands. All the "visitations" are quite chilling, starting with Marley's ghost (Gary Oldman). Happier moments are simply overshadowed. We also see a Londoner taking snuff.
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"Everybody's Fine" (NEW) -- Touching in its way, but slow to build and at times downright inert, this family drama isn't likely to grab teens, though it's not inappropriate for them. A few may even appreciate the film's nuanced view of parent-child relationships. Frank Goode (Robert De Niro), a recently widowed retiree in frail health, travels the country to see his adult children after they cancel a weekend visit. Based on the Italian film "Stanno Tutti Bene" (PG, 1990), this remake isn't without depth in its observations. It's just rather pallid and occasionally treacly. There are genuinely sweet moments, too, when Frank looks at the adults and sees the children they were. He goes first to New York, where there's no sign of David (Austin Lysy). We learn in phone conversations between the kids that David is missing. They decide not to tell Frank until they know more. In Chicago, he finds that Amy (Kate Beckinsale), a successful ad executive, has an unhappy marriage. In the Pacific Northwest, he learns that Robert (Sam Rockwell) plays drums in an orchestra, and isn't the conductor. In Las Vegas, Rosie (Drew Barrymore), a dancer, has a complicated love life. Frank slowly realizes he drove his kids a little too hard and that's why they don't open up to him now. The film has rare, sometimes strong, profanity, references to death by drug overdose, subtle issues of sexuality, a briefly violent mugging, smoking, an implied heart attack, and themes of grief and loss.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" -- "New Moon" is, critically speaking, a snoozer, but a teen in love with the books, the films and the actors will be happy with the film, anyway. The longing drags on in this dark, slow-moving adaptation of the second book in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight Saga" quartet. High-school senior Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) goes into a deep melancholy after the vampire she loves, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), leaves. Always a gent, he wants to protect and distance her from his world, though she wants to be part of it. Bella's friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) reveals that he and his Native American tribe can morph into werewolves. They despise vampires, though they have a treaty with the Cullens. Jacob adores Bella, but she wants Edward. Whenever she does anything risky, such as jump off a cliff into the ocean, Edward appears to her, so she takes more risks and Jacob tries to protect her. "New Moon" is full of subtle sexual innuendo, but shows no more than a desire-filled kiss. There is an implied neck-snap beheading, a few bloody gashes, and a woman with scars from a werewolf claw, but most fights between the huge, snarling werewolves and yellow-eyed vampires are loud, fast and nongraphic. There are subtle suicide references. OK for teens.
"The Blind Side" -- One could dismiss this uplifting film as a phony feel-good tale in which an inner-city African-American youngster is saved by idealistic white people, but this story is fact-based, taken from Michael Lewis' book, "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game." A wealthy Memphis decorator, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock as a likable steamroller), takes under her wing a homeless teen, Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a charity case who is flunking out of her kids' private Christian school. Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy (country singer Tim McGraw) become Michael's legal guardians, get him a tutor (Kathy Bates) and ready him for football and college, though the path isn't easy. (Oher now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.) Director John Lee Hancock lays it on a little thick, but "The Blind Side" is thoroughly engaging and should hold most teens rapt. There is mildly crude language, overt and implied racial slurs, nonlethal violence, drinking, drug references, a car crash and a gently implied marital sexual situation.
"2012" -- Who knew the end-of-the-world could be such fun? "2012" has a refreshingly diverse cast and world view. The last half-hour of the thriller degenerates into silliness, but before that, it's cool to watch the White House science adviser (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the president (Danny Glover) and his hard-bitten chief of staff (Oliver Platt) agonize over what to do (and whether to tell "the people") that the Earth's crust is shifting and quakes and tsunamis will shortly wipe out civilization. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) meets a wild-eyed radio talker (Woody Harrelson) at Yellowstone who says ancient predictions are coming true. Jackson learns the government has huge "arks" to rescue a few hundred-thousand and is determined to get his loved ones onto one of them. The film shows people falling to their deaths, being crushed or swept away, but the cataclysms look manufactured and most injuries are nongraphic. There is rare profanity and drinking.
-- R's:
"Brothers" (NEW) -- How can a war fighter be plucked from hell, dropped back into his old life, and expected to be his old self? That's the stark question behind this stunning drama. Marine Capt. Sam Cahill (Toby Maguire) is a happy husband and father, but comes home altered after a second tour in Afghanistan. His wife Grace (Natalie Portman) had been told he was dead. He was, in fact, a prisoner of Afghan warlords, who tortured him and forced him to do something awful. Joy turns to anguish as Sam's now-haunted, hair-trigger personality threatens those around him. His young daughters (extraordinary Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare) are afraid of him. While he's believed dead, his ne'er-do-well brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), recently out of jail and the butt of their hard-drinking ex-military dad's (Sam Shepard) constant barbs, becomes more responsible and helps Grace out. Sam is convinced Tommy and Grace had an affair while he was gone. (There is an attraction, but after one kiss, they both back off.) "Brothers" (based on a 2004 Danish film, "Brodre," R, 2004) ends too abruptly, but at least with hope. It has scenes of intensely implied wartime violence and torture, though the camera cuts away at moments of injury. Post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide and the potential for violence toward families are key themes. There is gently implied marital sex, marijuana use, occasional strong profanity, smoking and drinking. Not for under-17s.
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire." Never less than riveting, but not for under-17s, this shattering story of an abused teenage girl is tough to watch, though it offers hope at the end. Claireece "Precious" Jones (gifted Gabourey Sidibe) is failing in school. She has one baby with Down syndrome, which her grandmother raises, and she is hugely heavy and pregnant again -- both pregnancies the result of rape by her biological father, whom we only glimpse in graphic flashbacks as he violates her. Her negligent, resentful mother (Mo'Nique) abuses her verbally, emotionally and physically. Precious takes a counselor's advice and enrolls in an alternative school. Sullen and angry, she escapes into overeating or fantasizing that she's a star, but a teacher (Paula Patton) and a social worker (Mariah Carey) eventually reach her. "Precious" chronicles a human being's rebirth. There is strong profanity, drug use and drinking.
(c) 2009, Washington Post Writers Group.
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