8
and older
Mirror Mirror (PG). Julia Roberts has fun playing the evil Queen in this often humorous, yet rather misshapen re-imagining of the classic Brothers Grimm tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The laughs come pretty far apart, yet kids 8 and older will probably like the tongue-in-cheek approach and appreciate the more active role this Snow White takes in her own fate. It is the nasty Queen herself who narrates the tale, complete with sarcastic asides, and who communes through her mirror with a magic alter ego. The dialogue is a jarring mix of modern slang and fairy-tale speak, and the narrative makes little sense, with whole, illogical scenes that seem dropped in by helicopter. Yet somehow it still manages to be a bit of a lark.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The violence features sword-and-dagger fights, fisticuffs and other mayhem, but is PG-bloodless. Some under-8s may be scared when the Queen’s alter ego unleashes giant marionettes to destroy the little men’s forest hideout. The “beast” in the woods is mostly bluster but may frighten under-8s. The Queen does a facial with bird poop. The film features mild sexual innuendo. One of the little men wants to “get to know” Snow White better, and says it with a bit of a leer. Much of this could go over kids’ heads.
PG-
13
Wrath of the Titans. Like its predecessor, this follow-up to “Clash of the Titans” takes the Greek myths and runs amok, but entertainingly so. Teens in middle school and beyond may take considerable delight in this film, which is really fun. We find the widowed hero Perseus living a simple fisherman’s life and raising his young son Helius. The Olympian gods are weak now, because humans no longer pray to them. Zeus visits Perseus to warn him that he must prevent the demise of the gods. Zeus, Hades and Poseidon had long ago overthrown their father, Kronos, and imprisoned him in the Underworld. Now he wants out. “Wrath of the Titans” makes little narrative sense, but it’s highly watchable.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The film depicts a great deal of hard fighting between mortals, immortals, dragons, Cyclops and volcanic monsters, but the wounds and the fights stay within PG-13 parameters. We see little blood, but monumental mayhem, some of which could really scare some preteens and younger kids.
Hunger Games. Even teens who haven’t read Suzanne Collins’s popular trilogy will be gripped by this film adaptation of the first book. Despite the bravery and selflessness of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, however, the film has a dark view of human behavior which some younger teens — and certainly preteens — might have trouble processing. Katniss lives in District 12 of Panem. Every year, as punishment for a long-ago rebellion, the Capitol requires each district to contribute two teenagers, or “tributes,” to take part in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death in which only one can win. When Katniss’s little sister is chosen in the lottery, Katniss take her place. Peeta, the son of a local baker, becomes District 12’s second “tribute.” The competitors are let loose in a woodland battlefield, and their actions are broadcast on TV.
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