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"Penelope" (PG, 1 hr., 29 min.)
It's not easy to create an entertainment that will please kids and adults equally, but this zingy modern-day fairy tale about a young woman cursed with a pig nose looks like it might do just that. "Penelope" director Mark Palansky, writer Leslie Caveny and a fine cast mix physical comedy, wit and a touch of magic to charm kids 10 and older as well as parents. And the film delivers a useful moral about self-love without a lecture.
We learn in a prologue about the aristocratic Wilhern family, saddled with a curse by an angry witch centuries ago. The modern Wilherns live in a city much like London. (The locale is deliberately vague and the actors use a mix of accents, adding to the sense of reality suspended.) Mrs. Wilhern (Catherine O'Hara) worries about her secluded daughter Penelope (Christina Ricci), who has inherited the Wilhern curse -- a pig nose that only an upper-class suitor can dispel with a kiss. But upper-class suitors tend to run away screaming when Penelope shows her face. A cynical tabloid reporter (Peter Dinklage), eager to break a story that will reveal Penelope to the world, hires a down-on-his-luck blue blood named Max (James McAvoy) to woo Penelope and snap a few stealthy shots of her. Max is a shambling mess with a gambling problem, but Penelope senses a sweetness in him as they chat through a two-way mirror on their first meeting. Another young gent (Simon Woods), who conspires to marry her for her money, also thickens the plot. Hurt by the crass motives surrounding her, Penelope runs away from her home/hiding place, takes a chance and makes her first friend (Reese Witherspoon).
This is an edgier kind of PG, with a brief, stylized suicide moment in the fairy-taleish prologue -- someone jumping off a cliff. Penelope's "pig-nose" is actually a refined snout, upturned, with wrinkled skin across the bridge. While hardly gross, it is nonhuman enough to make the story credible. The film shows drinking, smoking and gambling. It includes mild sexual innuendo and rare semi-crude language.
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"The Other Boleyn Girl" (PG-13, 1 hr., 54 min.)
Part historical epic, part bodice-ripper, "The Other Boleyn Girl" actually does a decent job of working in factoids about King Henry VIII's reign and his break with the Catholic Church without weighty chunks of explanatory dialogue. The movie is lushly costumed and lit to look like 16th-century paintings. That noted, don't let high-schoolers who see it for the romance assume they're also getting a history lesson. The film is more of a romance novel. Based on Philippa Gregory's book, it imagines how Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) ingratiate themselves into the bed of the young king (Eric Bana) to benefit their family. They are urged on by a scheming uncle (David Morrissey) and their social-climbing father (Mark Rylance), while their mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) looks on, powerlessly. First Mary, the sweet, fair-haired girl of the title, is called to the king's chamber, though she is already married. When she becomes pregnant and bedridden, Henry turns to her sister, the manipulative, envious Anne. Portman and Johansson have a great time jockeying for his affection while encased in stiff collars and posh accents.
Definitely not for middle schoolers, "The Other Boleyn Girl" has no graphic sexual situations, yet there is a strongly implied rape and other consensual encounters that are implied in a stylized but steamy way. The film portrays erotic longing, too, but understatedly. There is plain talk about sex, as when the girls' uncle demands of Mary's first night with the king, "Did he have you?" The film deals with out-of-wedlock pregnancies and strongly depicted, though nongraphic, births and miscarriages. There is also an incest theme. The finale features beheadings, of course. We never see blade meet neck, but there is an unmistakable metallic whoosh.
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BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME
-- OK FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER:
"Penelope" PG (NEW) -- This zingy modern-day fairy tale about a young woman cursed with a pig nose lets a fine cast loose on a clever script that mixes physical comedy, wit and a touch of magic. "Penelope" should charm kids 10 and older as well as teens and adults. It also delivers a fine moral about self-love. Christina Ricci plays Penelope, the latest descendent of an aristocratic family to inherit a curse -- a pig's nose that can only be dispelled by the kiss of an upper-crust suitor. Penelope was raised in seclusion, so her worried mom (Catherine O'Hara) starts bringing in potential husbands, but they all run off screaming. A sleazy reporter (Peter Dinklage) hires Max (James McAvoy), a down-and-out blue- blooded gambling addict, to woo Penelope and get photos, but she sees something sweet in Max. When a real creep (Simon Woods) also seeks her hand, she becomes frustrated at being a freak with a dowry, runs away, and makes a friend (Reese Witherspoon). An edgier PG, "Penelope" includes a brief, stylized suicide moment in the prologue -- someone jumping off a cliff. Her "pig-nose" is actually a rather refined snout -- not gross, but nonhuman enough to make the story work. The film has drinking, smoking, mild sexual innuendo and semi-crude language.
"The Spiderwick Chronicles" PG -- The idea of kids visiting fairy realms is neat, but this film only captures some of the magic. It may be too intense for kids under 10 because it lacks the humor to balance out the scary bits. The magical creatures are mostly slobbering goblins, ogres, and trolls, all trying to kill the likable child protagonists, while the beautiful sprites and sylphs don't hover long enough to lighten the mood. Young Jared (Freddie Highmore), a boy with anger issues, moves with his twin brother Simon (Highmore), his teen sister (Sarah Bolger) and their mom (Mary-Louise Parker) into an old house inherited from an ancestor, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn in flashback). Jared discovers Spiderwick's "Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," and the book's magical protector, the brownie Thimbletack (voice of Martin Short) appears, livid. Then the ogre Mulgarath (Nick Nolte) and his goblin army come after Jared and his siblings to get the book. There are chases and swordplay, and a bird-eating hobgoblin (Seth Rogen) who spits in the kids' eyes so they can see the fairy world. The kids get gashes in their arms and we see lots of green goblin blood. There is also a divorce theme.
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"The Other Boleyn Girl" (NEW) -- Part historical epic, part bodice-ripper, this lushly designed film does a decent job of working in factoids about King Henry VIII's reign without weighing down the dialogue, but don't let high-schoolers see it for the romance and think it's also a solid history lesson. Based on Philippa Gregory's novel, the film imagines how a conniving Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her more naive sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) compete to get themselves into the bed of the randy young king (Eric Bana) to please their social-climbing uncle (David Morrissey) and father (Mark Rylance). Their powerless mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) looks on, disgusted. (Mary is already wed to another man at the time she sleeps with Henry.) "The Other Boleyn Girl" has no graphic sexual situations, yet there is a strongly implied rape and other implied consensual encounters shown in a stylized, nongraphic, but still steamy way. The film also portrays erotic longing, but understatedly. The film includes frank though nongraphic talk of sex, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, strongly depicted, though nongraphic births and miscarriages, and an incest theme. In the finale of beheadings, we never see blade meet neck, but there is an unmistakable metallic whoosh. Not for middle schoolers.
"Vantage Point" (NEW) -- A neat little thriller with a clever conceit, "Vantage Point" wouldn't hold up under picky plot analysis, but it works well. Dennis Quaid plays a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the U.S. president (William Hurt) in Salamanca, Spain, where he is to sign a peace accord. The uptight agent is still recovering from a bullet he took for the president a year earlier. There is an assassination attempt during the public ceremony, then a terrorist attack, as the agent scrambles to find the perpetrators. "Vantage Point" tells the story from multiple angles, each time doubling back to the start and revealing a bit more. Forest Whitaker is strong as an American tourist whose video camera helps the Secret Service man. The movie has too much terror-related violence and intensity for many middle-schoolers. There are bombings in crowded public places, a suicide bomber, point-blank shootings, destructive car chases and a child in mortal danger. The depiction of wounds and corpses is never graphic or overly bloody. The script contains a few midrange swear words. Not for middle-schoolers.
"The Band's Visit" (NEW; LIMITED RELEASE) -- An Egyptian police band on a cultural exchange visit to Israel gets lost and stranded in a tiny Israeli desert town, where they mix tentatively with the locals who offer food and lodging in this charming, off-center comedy. The proper band leader (Sasson Gabai) tries to remain polite and aloof, but the flirtatious cafe owner (Ronit Elkabetz) draws him out. The talk is personal, not political and emphasizes the things people have in common. The film includes a briefly glimpsed nongraphic sexual situation, other sexual innuendo, an adultery theme, a suicide reference, smoking and drinking. Slow and quiet, "The Band's Visit" is more for high-schoolers with an international perspective. There are some subtitles.
"Be Kind Rewind" -- In this comic gem from writer/director Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," R, 2004), Mos Def plays the clerk at a struggling video rental store in depressed Passaic, N.J. When his boss (Danny Glover) leaves him in charge for a few days, disaster strikes. His eccentric pal (funny Jack Black) accidentally erases every tape in the store after his body becomes electromagnetized when he tries to sabotage a power station. In desperation, the two guys grab a video camera and try to make a cheapo 20-minute version of "Ghostbusters" (PG, 1984), starring themselves, for a nosy lady (Mia Farrow). When that takes off, they do "Rush Hour 2" (2001, PG-13), "RoboCop" (R, 1987) and more. The gritty reality of the locale and the use of non-actors in some roles, give the film a wonderful humanity amid the hilarity. It has middling profanity, sexual innuendo and toilet humor. For teens who like their comedy smart and silly.
"Definitely, Maybe" -- What a treat. "Definitely, Maybe" is a smart, engaging, unsappy romantic comedy, set against the world of politics and seen through the prism of a young man's banged-up idealism. Ryan Reynolds plays Will, an about-to-be divorced New Yorker whose young daughter (Abigail Breslin) begs him to tell her about the three women he has loved, but to change their names, so she can guess which one became her mother. Will tells the story in flashback, and we learn how he left a sweetheart (Elizabeth Banks) at the University of Wisconsin in 1992 to work for Bill Clinton's campaign in New York, met a cute but sarcastic campaign employee (Isla Fisher) and an ambitious journalist (Rachel Weisz). The movie uses clinical sexual language (spoken by a child after a sex-ed class), other mild sexual innuendo, gently implied overnight trysts, midrange profanity, smoking and drinking. OK for most teens.
"Step Up 2 the Streets" -- A cliche-ridden script and dance sequences that only occasionally catch fire make this sequel to the 2006 film "Step Up" (PG-13) an uninspiring event. In "Step Up 2 the Streets" Briana Evigan plays Andie, a rebellious, motherless teen who step dances with a street crew in Baltimore. Warned by her guardian to shape up, she enrolls in an arts high school, but finds the ballet discipline tough. Then she meets the school's star dancer (Robert Hoffman). Along with the class nerd (Adam G. Sevani), they start a team to go against Andie's old crew in a street competition. Some characters are fun, but the film feels inert and African-American characters are inexcusably stereotyped. The film contains mild fighting, implied drinking, rare suggestive dance moves, verbal sexual innuendo, occasional mild profanity. OK for most teens.
"Jumper" -- Perhaps it's intended as a new superhero saga, but "Jumper" is a mess, its intriguing moral and sci-fi themes muddled by narrative incoherence and jarring special effects. Hayden Christensen plays David, who discovers as a teen (played by Max Thieriot in a prologue) that he can "teleport" himself out of a near-drowning. He uses his powers to escape an unhappy life (hints of an alcoholic parent), jumping the space-time continuum to the Pyramids or Paris in the blink of an eye. He raids bank vaults and grows into a rich, selfish man (Christensen). When a cult leader (Samuel L. Jackson) who believes teleporters are evil gets on his trail "Jumper" turns into a tired chase movie. A stabbing is bloodless but intense. Other violence is nongraphic. There is a pre-sexual situation with kissing and shedding of outer garments, other mild sexual innuendo, mild profanity, drinking and toilet humor. OK for most teens.
"Fool's Gold" -- This romantic adventure comedy is like its title -- shiny and worthless -- with a torturously contrived plot and co-stars (Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson) who create little spark. McConaughey plays a treasure hunter who gets on the wrong side of a violent rap star (Kevin Hart) when he hunts for shipwreck loot off the guy's island. His wife (Hudson), about to divorce him, gets drawn into the dilemma, as do the millionaire (Donald Sutherland) on whose yacht she works and his silly daughter (Alexis Dziena). There is gunfire, fighting, some blood -- as well as profanity, crude language, brief toplessness, much mild sexual innuendo, scenes that imply sexual situations out of camera range, and drinking. Its one useful theme is that girls should be smart, not act dumb. Not really for middle-schoolers.
-- AN R:
"Semi-Pro" (NEW) -- This is one Will Ferrell comic vehicle that starts with engine trouble and never gets going. "Semi-Pro" is a tedious, unfunny farce set in 1976 about Jackie Moon (Ferrell), the buffoonish owner of an American Basketball Association (ABA) team in Flint, Mich. When he learns the ABA will merge with the NBA and only four ABA teams will survive, Jackie determines that his band of hapless players will make the cut. He brings in a former NBA star (Woody Harrelson), now a drunken has-been, to help. The forced silliness on the court and off just misses. In comedy as in sports, if your timing is off, you're in trouble. "Semi-Pro" is full of crude sexual slang and humor, strong profanity, an explicit sexual situation, voyeurism, an infidelity theme, drug and toilet humor, drinking, and smoking. Preferably no one under 17.
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