A Satisfying 'Air Bud' By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, August 14, 1998

Also Playing Okay for 6 and Up "The Parent Trap" (PG). Slick, likable update of Disney classic makes twins separated by divorce even spunkier. Graphic ear-piercing scene;reference to fatherhood as "the F-word"; drunk adult. "Madeline" (PG). Adventures of spunkiest girl in Paris boarding school in generally charming adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans's beloved children's books. Scurrying mice, a snake; Madeline falling into river; loud thunderstorm; scary chase scene; discussion of Madeline losing parents; kidnapping subplot. "Mulan" (G). Gorgeous animated fable based on Chinese legend of girl who goes to war in ailing father's place. Over-the-top comic elements detract slightly. Intense battle scenes, scary Hun invaders; tots may jump when Mulan's ancestors come alive; other children may be moved when she leaves home. PG-13's and Why "Ever After." Light, lavish take on "Cinderella" tale has 16th-century lass master her own fate and win prince with Leonardo da Vinci's help. Heart attack; subtle sexual innuendo; sword fights with a little blood; rare crude language. "The Mask of Zorro." Champion of downtrodden in colonial California trains his successor in rip-snorting swashbuckler. Swordplay, explosions, headbanging, fisticuffs; steamy but non-explicit sexual innuendo; semi-nudity; drinking; peasants enslaved; mother shot before infant's crib. R's, Commercial or Artsy "Halloween/H20." Jamie Lee Curtis, heroine of original '78 "Halloween," still stalked by killer brother in less scary, more predictable, okay sequel. Bloody slasher violence; gun death; teen and adult drinking; profanity; mild sexual situations. High-schoolers. "Snake Eyes." Nicolas Cage as corrupt cop faces moral choices investigating assassination of government official in cleverly filmed but self-conscious thriller. Bloody gun, fist violence doesn't get graphic; occasional profanity; mild verbal sexual innuendo. Teens. "Safe Men." Talentless singing duo mistaken for safe crackers, conscripted by Jewish mafia in droll comedy that might offend some with spoofs of Jewish religion. Profanity; toilet humor. Teens. "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss." Gay photographer falls for sexually confused guy in cute, but trifling romantic comedy. Marijuana use, drug humor; non-explicit sexual situations and innuendo; profanity; toilet humor. Mature high-schoolers. "Marie Baie de Anges." Young love among lawless teens cruising French Riviera in disjointed slice-of-life drama. Implied gang rape; nudity, sexual innuendo; gun violence; profanity; smoking; drinking. In French with subtitles. High-schoolers. – Jane Horwitz

"Air Bud: Golden Receiver" (G)
How can anyone resist a sweet-faced doggy whose talents include shooting baskets, making touchdowns and rolling around joyously in the end zone? Kids 6 and up who liked the 1997 film "Air Bud" (PG), about golden retriever Buddy and his boy, the fatherless Josh (Kevin Zegers), will find this lively sequel just as satisfying. The G rating doesn't mean that issues of grief and loss are avoided when Josh thinks of his dad and objects to his mother (Cynthia Stevenson) dating the vet (Gregory Harrison). But the emotions are low-key and the language even milder than in the first film. Late in the story, Buddy appears to be slightly injured, but it's clear that he's okay. (Kids who ask can be told that one of the three dogs who played Buddy in the first film did die, but two are back, along with several others.)

Now in junior high, Josh tries out for football. Buddy exhibits pigskin talents, too, and soon Josh is backup quarterback and Buddy's a wide receiver-complete with uniform. No one ever asks whether having a dog on the team violates any rules. Set in a squeaky-clean town in the scenic Pacific Northwest amid universally nice people, "Air Bud: Golden Receiver" is definitely a throwback to kid flicks of yore. Even the Russian villains who plot to snatch Buddy for their animal circus are mere cartoonish bumblers, so tots shouldn't be scared.

"How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (R)
Based on Terry McMillan's novel, this swoony, sentimental story of a 40-year-old divorced mom who takes up with a 20-year-old Jamaican while on vacation is liable to elicit more giggles than sighs from high-school audiences. It looks and feels like a piece of romantic fiction in a women's magazine. The rating reflects a few sexual situations ranging from muted to semi-explicit. The script also contains sexual innuendo, brief partial nudity, profanity and a subplot about death and grieving.

Angela Bassett plays Stella, a San Francisco stockbroker who's talked into a Jamaican holiday by her hilariously trash-mouthed best friend, Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg). The Adonis in question is a sweet and smart Jamaican named Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs). His liaison with Stella soon turns serious but is cramped by bickering, second thoughts and money troubles, all cured by love.

"Return to Paradise" (R)
A turgid, implausible character drama that's being advertised falsely as a thriller, "Return to Paradise" may still capture the interest of older high-schoolers with its exotic locales and its morality tale of friendship and sacrifice. The rating covers smoking of hashish, drinking, heavy cigarette smoking, occasional strong profanity, sexual situations, semi-nudity and a chilling depiction of a dank Third World prison and a hanging.

In "Paradise," three American guys meet and party while vacationing in Malaysia. One (Joaquin Phoenix) stays behind while the others (Vince Vaughn and David Conrad) return to New York. Two years later, a lawyer (Anne Heche) shows up to tell the two that their pal was arrested for possession of the drugs that belonged to all three. Unless they go back and serve three years each, he'll be executed. Good performances and a touch of romance don't mask the mixed-up writing, aimless dialogue and pointless scenes, but high-schoolers could have a good time critiquing it.