FAMILY FILMGOER By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, September 1, 2000

Also Playing Okay for Tots on Up "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" (G). Alec Baldwin as minute Mr. Conductor searches for missing steam engine, magic gold dust in likable blend of live action, animation based on TV's "Shining Time Station," "Thomas the Tank Engine." Bullying diesel engine, Thomas sliding down hillside, spooky night scenes could all scare tots. Many slow moments. More for 8 and Older "Godzilla 2000"(PG) Giant radioactive lizard stomps on Tokyo, fights space alien monster in amusing new Japanese installment with cheesy special effects, badly dubbed English dialogue, a la "50s flicks. Fake-looking mayhem with no graphic injuries; occasional crude language; smoking PG-13's "Bring It On." Kirsten Dunst as captain of cheerleading squad at wealthy high school in refreshing, smart, subversive teen comedy that celebrates the sport, but chides backbiting, fanaticism. Crude language, profanity; verbal and visual sexual innuendo; homophobic jokes; flatulence, vomiting, gross bloody nose. "The Crew." Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds, Dan Hedaya, Seymour Cassel as retired mobsters who fake a murder at their Miami hotel so rents won't go up in droll caper comedy. Sexual innuendo; mild sexual situation; toilet humor; corpse; topless bathing beauties; exotic dancing; profanity, crude language; bloodless gun, baseball bat violence. Not for preteens. "The Replacements." Gene Hackman as retired football coach who revels in chance to lead team of eccentric replacement players during strike in genial sports comedy. Locker room humor; strong profanity; suggestive dancing by stripper-cheerleaders; other sexual innuendo; smoking, drinking; bar fight. Iffy for preteens. "Space Cowboys." Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner as deliciously cantankerous former Air Force test pilots who go on improbable space shuttle mission 40 years after being passed over by NASA, in amiable, rambling, enjoyable tale. Profanity, crude language; mild sexual situation; verbal sexual innuendo; bare tushes. R's "Steal This Movie." Vincent D'Onofrio blazes as Yippie anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman in rare film that really captures the '60s. Mildish R, with semi-explicit sexual situations; marital infidelity; nudity; marijuana; profanity; toilet humor. High-schoolers interested in Vietnam War era. "The Cell." Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn in visually arresting, but vile, exploitative tale of FBI agent, psychologist getting inside sado-masochistic serial killer's subconscious. Killer gets sexual pleasure watching videos of his torture, drowning of young women; naked corpses; strongly implied child abuse; drowning of child; profanity; pot, cigarettes. Should be NC-17. "The Original Kings of Comedy." Stand-up comics Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac, D.L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, captured by filmmaker Spike Lee in concert in Charlotte. All kinds of profanity; descriptions of sexual acts, bodily functions; racial differences hilariously noted – no one spared. Material requires maturity; not for under-17's without permission. – Jane Horwitz

"The Art Of War" (R)
Wesley Snipes plays a covert trouble-shooter for the United Nations in this implausible but slickly entertaining thriller. He uses everything from martial arts to sexual blackmail to get world leaders to keep the peace. Not appropriate for teens under 16, "The Art of War" features little blood early on, but as the movie progresses, the shootouts, garrotings and bone-crunching fights become more point-blank, blood-spattering and gratuitous. Other adult elements include a gruesome pile of corpses (illegal alien stowaways), sexual situations, a sexually explicit video, nudity, cocaine use, profanity, and subtle ethnic and racial slurs.

Offering a sophisticated, if cynical look at how economics can steer international relations, "The Art of War" gets its title from an ancient treatise by Gen. Sun Tsu, about outwitting one's enemies before ever firing a shot. In the movie's convoluted plot, certain Chinese interests are trying to scuttle a new trade agreement, even going so far as to assassinate their own ambassador. Snipes's secret agent must deduce who's up to no good – Chinese organized crime, a Hong Kong business mogul, or a traitorous mole in his own covert team. With its smart repartee and stylish camera work, "The Art of War" needn't have been so bloody.

"Titanic Town" (R)
This scary, funny, painful, riveting drama shows one woman's fight against hatred and violence in her community. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1972, "Titanic Town" (the Titanic was built in the shipyards of Belfast) is far more frightening than any Hollywood thriller because it feels real. It recreates what it must be like to live in a war zone. Bursts of violence regularly interrupt daily life. Any time the camera shows children playing or women shopping, there's an agonizing sense that a car bomb might go off or they'll get caught in cross-fire. Expertly acted, but a little grim despite its humor, "Titanic Town" will work for high-schoolers who like drama and have knowledge of current events. The violence – bombings, shootings, threats at gunpoint, beatings (including the injury of a child) – is intense. There's considerable profanity, too, quite intelligible despite the accents. Characters also drink, smoke, and pop Valium like candy to settle their nerves.

Julie Walters plays Bernie McPhelimy, a Catholic mother living in a housing development in West Belfast, where daily and nightly gunplay between IRA gunmen and British troops has made life miserable. She and a friend begin a petition drive to tell the IRA to stop the neighborhood shootings. Plain-spoken and stubborn, Bernie becomes quite a celebrity. Her life is threatened, and her kids are ostracized. Based on a novel by Mary Costello, writing about her own mother, "Titanic Town" mixes gritty realism with an uplifting moral about one person who makes a difference.