FAMILY FILMGOER By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, June 22, 2001

Also Playing Kids 6 and Older "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" (PG). Neat-looking, fun, brainy animated adventure about museum researcher (voiced by Michael J. Fox) who goes on underwater expedition, finds lost but living civilization of Atlantis. Scarier, more violent than most Disney 'toons; underwater attack robots like monster lobsters; gunplay, fights, though no injuries shown; giant cyborgs awaken; volcano erupts; character chain-smokes. "Shrek" (PG). Layers of hilarity in visually rich computer-animated fractured fairy tale about bad-tempered ogre (voice of Mike Myers) who goes on mission with talking donkey (Eddie Murphy) to free spellbound princess (Cameron Diaz) and deliver her to evil lord. Comic violence; fire-breathing dragon; toilet humor; visual gags with derrieres. PG-13s "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." Dithery but handsome, entertaining adventure based on popular interactive games stars Angelina Jolie as aristocrat-adventurer who finds mysterious artifact sought by evil secret society. Bloodless gunplay, fists, daggers; rare mild profanity; subtle sexual innuendo; brief hints of chaste semi-nudity. "Moulin Rouge." Nicole Kidman as Parisian nightclub chanteuse circa 1899, Ewan McGregor as writer who loves her in fabulous-looking, often inspired, but gimmicky postmodern musical with frenetic MTV style. Strong sexual innuendo; prostitution theme; hallucinogenic effects of absinthe. "Pearl Harbor." Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett as U.S. pilots, Kate Beckinsale as Navy nurse who loves them, Cuba Gooding Jr. as ship's cook/hero, in tacky World War II epic with intense battle effects, but nonstop cliches. Largely non-graphic injuries; rare profanity; racial epithet; understated sexual situation; sailors' bare behinds; drinking. Rs "Sexy Beast." Crackerjack gangster flick about amiable former London gangster (Ray Winstone) whose quiet life in Spain is shattered by psychopathic ex-colleague (Ben Kingsley) who demands he return for bank heist. How the retirees handle life-or-death deal is harrowing in film with unusual visual style, soundtrack. Intense violence; strong profanity. Thick accents. Older high school film buffs. "Swordfish." John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry in violent, chaotic, cynical high-tech thriller about mysterious villain who recruits hacker to help transfer billions in government funds for special project. Explicit, often demeaning sexual situations; profanity; shootings, explosions, child held hostage; semi-nudity; drugs, liquor, cigarettes. 16 and older.

"Dr. Dolittle 2" (PG, 87 minutes)
Dr. Dolittle goes environ-mental in this doggone funny sequel, though the clever repartee seems designed to amuse parents and teens more than little kids. In fact, "Dr. Dolittle 2" is mildly risque, despite its PG rating, and full of Seinfeldesque animal-human exchanges. It's far more entertaining than the cruder 1998 film, which was rated PG-13. "Dolittle 2" contains lots of animal toilet humor, jokes about neutering dogs, and sexual innuendo that equates animal instincts with human lust. Many jokes will go over the heads of kids 6 to 10, but the film does offer enough accessible humor and enough cute animal behaviors to keep them at least smiling.

Eddie Murphy is a warmer, busier Dr. Dolittle, and his wife and teenage daughter (Kristen Wilson and Raven-Symone, respectively) are tiring of raccoons at the window, drunken monkeys on the patio, rats in the birthday cake. Narrated by Dolittle's dog, Lucky (voice of Norm Macdonald), the movie tells how a gangster-voiced beaver gets the doctor to help stop developers from destroying a forest. Dolittle tries to mate an endangered woodland bear with a tame one, but Archie (Steve Zahn) the performing bear must learn to live in the wild.

"The Fast and the Furious" (PG-13, 107 minutes)
Deafening and dumb, "The Fast and the Furious" is the kind of teen-oriented movie that gives adults migraines. However, car-crazy teens will probably be entertained by its spectacular 100 mph-plus street racing with souped-up import cars and characters who teeter on the wrong side of the law. The love story and the cops-and-robbers plot are cliche city, and characters start most sentences with "Yo!" "Furious" barely avoids an R rating by toning down the effects of violence in close-ups. But it is violent, with drive-by shootings, other gunplay and fistfights, and contains profanity, misogynistic and racial slurs, strong sexual innuendo and a milder sexual situation.

Vin Diesel gives a strong performance as the macho Dominic, a champion street racer and a big man in his Los Angeles neighborhood. Into the diverse mix of kids involved in the car scene drives blond, blue-eyed Brian (Paul Walker), a would-be racer who takes a liking to Dominic's sister (Jordana Brewster). Yo, what's his deal? And who are the masked racers robbing truckers? And do we care? Yo! No.

"The Anniversary Party" (R, 115 minutes)
A sophisticated film about childish adults, "The Anniversary Party" offers an inside view of life among successful folk in Hollywood – and a creative, self-destructive, depressive, ambitious, unfaithful, yet charming bunch they are. Mature high-schoolers 16 and older may find this neat little ensemble film a revelation – not only for its fly-on-the-wall ambiance but also for its anti-Hollywood aesthetic, shot on digital video. It's an authentic R: Characters take "recreational drugs" such as Ecstasy, drink, go topless and engage in a couple of steamy though non-explicit sexual situations. A subplot involves drug overdoses and suicide.

Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, who also co-wrote and co-directed, star as an estranged Hollywood couple who've just reconciled for their anniversary. He's a writer who's about to direct a film based on his novel. But she will not star in it because she's too old (over 30). Their friends – actors, directors and writers – come to their party, chat, argue, romance, hunt for a lost dog, confess and weep.