Movie reviews for families

6 and older

The Lion King 3D (G). It’s the same story you remember, but now digitally converted to 3-D. Set in the African savanna, it is the “Hamlet”-esqe story of Simba, a lion cub whose majestic father is stampeded by wildebeests and falls to his death. It is an assassination engineered by Simba’s evil uncle, Scar. Simba flees to the jungle then returns as an adult to fight for the mantle of leadership in the pride.

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

THE BOTTOM LINE: For parents taking children to see this rerelease, remember that a big screen and 3-D could make the film feel overwhelming to kindergartners and even some kids 6 and older. “The Lion King” should perhaps have been rated PG for its vivid depiction of the death of a parent and the child’s subsequent feelings of grief and guilt. (The movie is also showing in 2-D around the region.)

10 and older

Dolphin Tale (PG). A disabled dolphin learns to swim with a prosthetic tail and gives inspiration to wounded veterans. Kids 10 and older may find it heartwarming and fun. Sawyer is at the beach, where a man has just found an injured dolphin. Sawyer helps free it, and the creature responds to him. He goes on to work with Dr. Haskett, who cares for the dolphin. The doctor’s daughter, Hazel, names the dolphin Winter, and she and Sawyer become friends. When Sawyer visits his injured cousin at the VA hospital, he meets Dr. McCarthy, who designs prosthetic limbs. The doctor agrees to work on a tail for Winter.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Some kids may be upset by the sight of Winter’s injured tail, the stump after it is amputated and the way she flails in the water at first without it. Kids may also need help with the sight of wounded veterans.

PG-13

Moneyball. This is the ticket for teens who like sports stories that go beyond the playing field and into philosophy and character. Brad Pitt is Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who rethinks how to compete with wealthier teams. He hires a stat-crunching nerd who helps him find players who have been ignored, but who get on base regularly. Everyone thinks Billy is nuts, but he forges ahead. The subplot about the divorced Billy’s relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, Casey, is unforced and sweet.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The script includes occasional midrange profanity and sexual innuendo. Apparent tobacco use is obvious, and lots of beer is consumed.

Restless. Teens with a strong romantic bent may find “Restless” both charming and tear-inducing. Enoch is a bright prep school dropout whose parents recently died in a car crash. He talks to his imaginary friend, a Japanese kamikaze pilot. Enoch spends his time crashing funerals, where he meets Annabel, who has brain cancer. What begins as a quirky friendship grows into romantic love.

The bottom line: Annabel has a brief seizure. We see photos of the destruction of Hiroshima. The script includes rare profanity and a homophobic slur. Enoch and Annabel have a gently implied overnight tryst.

I Don’t Know How She Does It. High-schoolers may find diversion watching adults freak out in this heavy-handed comedy about juggling parenthood and work. Its use of crude sexual slang could make it iffy for middle-schoolers. Kate is a busy working mom who is racked by guilt over how much time she works. Her toddler son forgives everything, but her older daughter holds it against her. Kate’s architect husband is flexible and willing to do most of the child care at first, but as her absences increase, he starts to lose patience.

The bottom line: The script includes mild profanity and a few outbursts of crude sexual slang. The story hints at marital infidelity.

R

Straw Dogs. Not for under-17s because of strong violence and a graphic rape scene, this is an engrossing but rather lurid remake of the 1971 film. College-age cinema buffs may want to compare and contrast. David comes to Mississippi with his actress wife, Amy, to live in her childhood home. Charlie, a high-school ex of Amy’s, offers his and his pals’ services as roofers and gradually leads his guys into ever-more hostile warfare with David.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The violence doesn’t explode until the last third of the film, but it is bloody. We see a young girl suffocated, a hanged house cat and two deer shot dead. Amy is sexually assaulted in graphic fashion. Characters use profanity and drink. There is implied nudity and nonviolent sexual innuendo.

Drive. Too viciously violent for anyone younger than 17, “Drive” is an odd mix of high-art cinema and exploitative mayhem. Ryan Gosling plays the nameless Driver, a loner who rarely speaks. By night, he works as a getaway man for robbers. He also works at an auto repair shop. His boss has pals who are gangsters. This complicates things when Driver tries to help his neighbor Irene and her little boy. Irene’s husband is just out of prison and owes money to the mob. Driver decides to help her husband get the money. His plan goes awry.

The bottom line: When the violence finally breaks out in “Drive,” it is stunningly gruesome and intimate. A child is exposed to some of this. The profanity is very strong and includes ethnic slurs. The film shows topless dancers.

Horwitz is a freelance reviewer.