FAMILY FILMGOER By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, September 15, 2000

Also Playing Mature Pre-Teens and Older "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack."(Unrated) Loving documentary on folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott, protege of Woody Guthrie, early mentor of Bob Dylan, by daughter Aiyana Elliott, trying to understand rodeo-riding dad's multiple marriages, unambitious career; with rare backstage glimpses of 1950's-60's folkies, remarks from Jack himself, Arlo Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson, Pete Seeger. Rare profanity, brief drinking, smoking, marijuana use. For kids interested in folk movement. PG-13's "The Crew." Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds, Dan Hedaya, Seymour Cassel in droll caper comedy of retired mobsters who fake a murder at their Miami hotel so rents won't go up. Sexual innuendo; mild sexual situation; toilet humor; corpse; topless bathing beauties; exotic dancing; profanity, crude language; bloodless gun, baseball bat violence. Not for preteens. R's "Nurse Betty." In uniquely charming, witty, humane tale, Renee Zellweger as naive waitress lapses into blissful state of unreality after seeing her awful husband murdered; unaware hit men are following her, she goes to L.A. to find character in a favorite soap she now believes is real. Brief, intense violence-a scalping, shootings; graphic sexual situation; profanity, toilet humor. 15 and up. "The Way of The Gun." Juliette Lewis as pregnant surrogate kidnapped by gun-wielding dudes who don't realize the rich father-to-be is a front man for the mob, in hip but deafeningly pointless blood-bath. Thundering shootouts; bloody Caesarean section during gun battle; suicidal Russian roulette, profanity; drinking, smoking. Should be NC-17. "The Watcher." Keanu Reeves as blandly charming stalker-strangler, James Spader as burned-out FBI agent who's tried to catch him in refreshingly smart psychological thriller, with understated violence. Strangulation killings stylized, though victims with bloodied necks shown; strong profanity. 15 and up. "Love & Sex." (Unrated, but R-ish). Predictable yet amusing, likable adult romantic comedy about self-absorbed, promiscuous writer recalling failed relationships, especially with nice guy less experienced than she. Explicit sexual situations, language; teacher seducing young teen; strong verbal, visual sexual innuendo; profanity. 17 and older. "Backstage." Vivid behind-the-scenes rockumentary about "Hard Knock Life" tour with hip-hop stars Jay-Z, DMX and others shows their dedication to art form, but much locker room behavior, too. Heavy marijuana use; lewd sexual innuendo; toplessness; implied sexual liaison in restroom; drinking; profanity. 16 and up. – Jane Horwitz

"Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport" (PG)
This well-researched, subtly emotional documentary about England's rescue of 10,000 Jewish and other refugee children from Germany and its neighbors just before World War II could fascinate and move mature kids 10 and older. But it won't hold them all with its long recollections by the now-elderly travelers on the Kindertransport, scratched black-and-white newsreel footage and old photos. (A few re-enacted moments seem stilted.) "Into the Arms of Strangers" contains wrenching first-person accounts of train station goodbyes between children and parents, most of whom never saw one another again. There's brief, tough footage of the concentration camps, but the film is most intense uncovering the long-stifled emotions of the Kinder as they remember their loneliness in England, their grief and their gratitude.

"Bait" (R)
Comic actor Jamie Foxx expertly plays a nonviolent, clueless small-time crook unwittingly caught in the middle of a Treasury Department manhunt in this violent, forgettable, yet entertaining comedy-thriller. Not appropriate for teens under 15, the movie features intense gun and fist violence and a coldly murderous villain, along with standard-issue R-rated profanity, a graphic sexual situation, marijuana, an out-of-wedlock child and a long sequence with that child in jeopardy. Foxx plays Alvin, in jail for stealing prawns. His cellmate tells him a few things that Treasury investigators (David Morse and David Paymer) think could reel in the mastermind of a Federal Reserve gold heist gone sour. They secretly plant a tracking device in Alvin's jaw, free him, drop a rumor that he knows where the gold is, then wait for the bad guy to find him. Poor Alvin.

"Turn It Up" (R)
Cliched and violent, this melodrama about a hip-hop musician who works for an urban drug lord while waiting to top the charts only pretends to be a morality tale. It's really just an exploitation of guns and music and thuggery. It's aimed at teen rap fans, but with its deafening shootouts and curdled language, "Turn It Up" isn't appropriate for high-schoolers under 16. In addition to the body count, it contains drug use, sexist slurs, a murder threat against a pregnant woman and sexual innuendo. Rap star Pras plays Diamond, the selfish hero, but his acting doesn't sparkle. Fellow rapper Ja Rule as his mayhem-addicted best friend has more presence, and Vondie Curtis-Hall brings a real actor's depth to Diamond's dad.

"Solomon and Gaenor" (R)
A somber, sometimes heavy-handed tale about ethnic hatred that turns true love into tragedy, "Solomon and Gaenor" contains explicit sexual situations, and isn't a good choice for teen moviegoers under 15. The story includes beatings, antisemitic slurs and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Set with great authenticity and atmosphere in a Welsh village circa 1911, it's the story of Solomon (Ioan Gruffudd), a young Jewish man whose immigrant parents run a local shop. Gaenor (Nia Roberts) is a Welsh girl with whom he falls in love, at first hiding his real identity from her and her family. Because of economy-fueled antisemitic riots in the town, their affair cannot end well.