SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2 (PG, 90 minutes)
In 1999, "Baby Geniuses" (PG), a laughless comedy about a crazed child psychologist (Kathleen Turner) aiming to decipher baby talk to prove its brilliance, earned horrible reviews. So naturally, they've made a sequel. Apart from Jon Voight, slumming and turning in a rather droll, if lonely, performance as the German-accented villain, the movie amounts to cynical, cutesy claptrap. This time, when the tots exchange big words and ideas with one another (when adults aren't watching) their punkin lips move more convincingly than in the first film. That's not much of an improvement. The amusement-park-ish sets, the slapstick and (very fake) martial arts mayhem and the tots themselves might offer a glimmer of entertainment for kids 8 to 10. The PG rating reflects talk of snatching orphans and a scene between a boy and his dying father. Voight plays Bill Biscane, a media mogul bent on world domination via a children's TV network. Stan and Jean Bobbins (Scott Baio and Vanessa Angel) run an upscale day-care center in Los Angeles and enter into partnership with him, not realizing his evil ways. It is their own toddler and all the diapered dynamos in their care who stop him. The babies get help from Kahuna (triplets Leo, Myles and Gerry Fitzgerald), a mythic figure who looks like a little kid, but fights like a kung-fu master.
ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID (PG-13, 93 minutes)
True, it is formulaic and predictable, with bad jokes, baldly contrived tension and few truly scary bits, but "Anacondas" is kinda fun and many teens will enjoy the roller-coaster ride. Those with reptile or insect phobias should stay away, though, as the movie roils with gigantic (computer-generated, but convincing) man-eating anacondas. It doesn't overdo the gory bits, staying largely within PG-13 range. Huge snake jaws loom up from the river and grab at victims, but apart from sudden moves and occasional crunching sounds, very little of the killing occurs on camera. Other creepy critters include an alligator, a nasty spider and leeches. Corpses, skeletons, understated human violence, mild sexual innuendo and rare profanity also earn the rating.
ALSO PLAYING
6 and Older
"The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (G). Overlong, overstuffed, more retro, less fun sequel to likable first "Princess Diaries" (G, 2001), this time with Princess Mia (charming Anne Hathaway), a college grad, back at her Euro-mini-kingdom, being groomed to take the throne when grandmother (Julie Andrews) retires; Mia must marry or give up the crown, so she agrees to an arranged match, while falling for the handsome nephew (Chris Pine) of a scheming viscount (John Rhys-Davies). A 12-year-old boy asks Mia to let him blow in her ear; she chastely cuddles all night with a fellow.
8 and Older
"Benji: Off the Leash!" (PG) Meandering tale -- first "Benji" installment in mostly G-rated series since 1987's "Benji the Hunted" -- will please dog-centric kids despite clumsy, home-movie amateurishness; young teen (Nick Whitaker) rescues unwanted pup from his abusive dad's (Chris Kendrick) puppy mill and raises it secretly; once grown, the clever mutt and another stray scheme to rescue the pup's sick mother, fool animal control guys (Randall Newsome, Duane Stephens) and give the bad guy his due; father threatens to hit boy and mother, who has bruises; puppy thrown but unhurt; sick dog mistreated. Parents of under-8s should note parental abuse theme.
PG-13s
"Hero." Spectacularly beautiful, mythic, if somewhat confusing tale about birth of first Chinese dynasty 2,000 years ago, told with balletic, treetop-skimming martial arts, amazing swordplay and little blood, though strongly implied lethal wounds; with Jet Li as lawman who appears before the king (Chen Daoming) to tell how he killed three of the king's would-be assassins; but the story changes as it is told. Mildly implied sexual situation. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
"Without a Paddle." Crass doofus comedy about three guys (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard) on canoe trip/treasure hunt in wilds of Oregon, meeting angry bears, gunslinging pot growers, a mountain man (Burt Reynolds) and tree-hugging girls. Crudely comic, non-explicit sexual situations; homophobic humor; verbal sexual innuendo about female anatomy; marijuana; profanity; mild ethnic slur; toilet humor; comic mayhem. High-schoolers.
"Alien Vs. Predator." Inventive prequel to four "Alien" and two "Predator" films is less graphically violent than R-rated predecessors; Sanaa Lathan plays scientist on Antarctic expedition into underground pyramid where shape-shifting Predators battle Alien killer-beasts. Little human gore, but much impalement with razorlike weapons, claws; slimy, reptilian, gut-piercing Aliens, their young popping out of gooey eggs, still turn stomachs; mild profanity; setting may bother claustrophobics. High school sci-fi horror, video game buffs.
R
"Exorcist: The Beginning." Bloody, violent, but oddly gripping prequel imagines early life of exorcist-priest Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard); embittered by World War II Nazi atrocities, he has left priesthood, but in 1949 is asked to study an ancient church found near an African village; he encounters signs of demonic presence, a possessed child (Remy Sweeney) and an attractive refugee doctor (Izabella Scorupco). Disturbing flashbacks of Gestapo officer shooting children; boy attacked by hyenas; boy cut up in tribal rituals; graphic suicides; stillborn baby covered in maggots; soldiers and villagers massacre one another; crude, explicit sexual language; other profanity; racial slurs. 17 and older.
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The first "Anaconda" (PG-13, 1997) was set in the Amazon. This one follows a group of scientists and money mavens for a drug company into the jungles of Borneo in search of a rare orchid that may hold the key to an anti-aging serum. The hunky captain (Johnny Messner) of the boat they hire thinks the rainy season is a bad time to travel, but the lead scientist (Matthew Marsden) pays well. But nature pays back.
MEAN CREEK (R, 87 minutes)
A group of friends trick a school bully into going on a boat trip with them and then exact revenge. But the humiliating practical joke they plan turns tragic in this absorbing, well-played, though self-consciously profane drama about immature judgment and moral choices. Rated R for the strong, crude and explicit sexual language and curses the characters hurl at one another, "Mean Creek" isn't appropriate for kids under high school age. This is a pity, because the story explores bullying and the way misguided older kids can lead younger ones astray. Middle school and high-school-age characters smoke pot and cigarettes and drink beer, sometimes while driving. One older teen exposes his privates on a dare (we see only his behind). The film contains homophobic slurs, muted violence and a graphic verbal description of a parent's suicide.
Set in a blue-collar Oregon town, the film begins as obnoxious George (Josh Peck) beats up Sam (excellent Rory Culkin) in middle school. Sam tells his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan), who tells his pals (Ryan Kelley and Scott Mechlowicz). They concoct the scheme. Sam's girlfriend, Millie (Carly Schroeder), objects, and Sam begs the boys to drop it, but fate intervenes.
