Family filmgoer
Kids 6 and older
"The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (G) Sequel is overlong, overstuffed, more retro, and less fun than original. This time Princess Mia (Anne Hathaway), a college grad, is back at her Euro mini-kingdom, being groomed to take the throne when grandmother (Julie Andrews) retires. Mia must marry or give up crown, so she agrees to an arranged match, while falling for handsome nephew (Chris Pine) of a scheming viscount (John Rhys-Davies). A 12-year-old boy asks Mia to let him blow in her ear; she cuddles all night with a fellow, but chastely."Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie" (PG) Interminable, impenetrable (for adults), indifferently animated spinoff of TV show, comics, trading cards, etc. Teen hero Yugi and alter ego Pharaoh use mystical playing cards against longtime teen rival and reawakened Egyptian lord of the dead bent on world destruction. Mayhem pushes PG edge: Skeletal mummies lose heads, arms chasing heroes; dragon/dinosaur monsters demolish one another; female monsters in sexy gear do little for girl empowerment.
Kids 8 and older
"Benji: Off the Leash!" (PG) First "Benji" installment since 1987 will please dog-centric kids, despite home-movie amateurishness. Young teen (Nick Whitaker) rescues unwanted pup from puppy mill of his abusive dad (Chris Kendrick) and raises it secretly. Once grown, the clever mutt and another stray scheme to rescue the pup's sick mother, fool animal-control officers (Randall Newsome, Duane Stephens), and give the bad guy his due. Father threatens to hit boy and mother, who has bruises; puppy thrown but unhurt; sick dog mistreated."Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2" (PG) Awful sequel to awful 1999 comedy. Once again the premise is that babies are really hip intellectuals and talk in a secret language when adults aren't looking. With Jon Voight as Nazi-esque villain bent on world domination via his kids' TV network, Scott Baio as owner of upscale day-care center who goes into business with him. Babies save the day, led by a Peter Pan-ish hero called Kahuna. Slapstick and (very fake) martial arts mayhem; villain talks of snatching orphans; flashback of boy at dying father's bedside.
The middle ground
(PG-13 unless otherwise noted)"Alien Vs. Predator" Inventive prequel unites four "Alien" and two "Predator" films and is less graphically violent than R-rated predecessors. Sanaa Lathan plays lead scientist on Antarctic expedition into mysterious underground pyramid where shape-shifting Predator warriors battle Alien killer-beasts and nosy humans are in the way. Little human gore, but much impalement with razor-like weapons, claws; slimy, reptilian, gut-piercing Aliens, their young popping out of gooey eggs, can still turn stomachs; mild profanity; setting may bother claustrophobics."Anacondas: The Hunt For the Blood Orchid" Not all that scary, and sort of fun. Scientists in search of rare orchid with anti-aging properties in jungles of Borneo are beset by computer-generated (but convincing) gigantic anacondas. Huge snake jaws rear up from river or jungle lightning fast, but killings occur off-camera; alligator, a poisonous spider, leeches; human and snake corpses, skeletons; muted human violence; mild sexual innuendo; rare profanity.
"Danny Deckchair" Cliched but likable Australian romantic comedy about construction worker (Rhys Ifans) who's an underachieving dreamer, aware that his money-mad girlfriend (Justine Clarke) is straying. He attaches heavy-duty balloons to a lawn chair as an experiment and accidentally floats away, landing in a remote town where he finds love (with Miranda Otto) until the real world comes knocking. Rare profanity; sexual innuendo; gently implied sexual situations; drinking.
"Hero" Spectacularly beautiful, mythic, if somewhat confusing (for Westerners) tale about birth of first Chinese dynasty 2,000 years ago. Told with balletic, treetop-skimming martial arts, amazing swordplay, and little blood (though strongly implied lethal wounds). Jet Li plays anonymous lawman who appears before king of Qin region (Chen Daoming) to tell how he killed three of the king's would-be assassins. Mildly implied sexual situation. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
"Without A Paddle" Crass, less-than-hilarious doofus comedy about three guys (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard) on canoe trip/
treasure hunt in wilds of Oregon, meeting angry bears, gun-slinging pot growers, a mountain man (Burt Reynolds in cameo), and tree-hugging girls. Crudely comic, nonexplicit sexual situations; homophobic humor; verbal sexual innuendo about female anatomy; marijuana; profanity; mild ethnic slur; toilet humor; comic mayhem.
"Zhou Yu's Train" Lyrical, poignant, sometimes hard-to-follow story of unfulfilled love set in modern China. Gong Li plays a talented artisan who falls for a naive, commitment-shy poet (Tony Leung Ka Fai) and travels to another city twice a week to see him. When he can't share her life, she turns to a veterinarian (Sun Hong Lei) who adores her, but she can't get the poet out of her heart. Passionate kissing; implied sexual situations; drunkenness. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
By Jane Horwitz, 
