Family filmgoer

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (PG, 90 min.) Stereotypical ethnic humor and trite doggie poop jokes intermingle with genuinely funny bits in this very uneven live-action (well, mostly) family comedy from Disney. The live dogs talk to one another, their lips forming words (thanks to computer animation), though humans can't hear them. The movie features a bit of doggie toilet humor and jokes about being "fixed." Human characters occasionally wear skimpy bikinis. But the chief reason for the PG rating is the scariness of the villains.

"Igor" (PG, 86 min.) Gloomy and self-consciously glib, this computer-animated feature doesn't know what audience it's after. Inspired by classic monster movies, it is mildly amusing, but not hilarious or heartfelt enough to overcome the creepiness factor. Its spoofs of scary creatures might scare little kids on a big screen. The script is full of plays-on-words geared to adults. The script contains crude phrases, toilet humor, and tasteless humor about blind kids.

"City Of Ember" (PG, 95 min.) A teenage boy and girl save what's left of humanity in this eccentric, occasionally scary parable, based on the books of Jeanne DuPrau. If only the look of the film weren't so unremittingly dreary. A dash of humor wouldn't have hurt, either. The grim atmosphere may unsettle younger kids: There are blackouts that may seem scary; it is hinted that anyone who ventures beyond the city comes back unhinged and contaminated; there is a giant moth that is benign, and a giant mole (with big teeth and a sucker on its snout) that is not. There are brief fights, and the teen heroes have a frightening boat ride over river rapids. There is very mild sexual innuendo.

"The Duchess" (110 min., PG-13) A gripping story, gorgeous design, and vibrant acting make this fact-based tale about an 18th-century ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, shine. Taken from the biography "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire" by Amanda Foreman, the film recounts how 17-year-old aristocrat Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) is wed to a rich, powerful, 40-ish cold fish, the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) in the 1770s. The film contains a nongraphic but strongly implied marital rape and other implied consensual situations. There is an out-of-wedlock child. Characters drink a lot. More for high-school history and romance buffs.

"Eagle Eye" (112 min., PG-13) What begins as a breathless thriller degenerates into endless car crashes and a phony-baloney last act. But "Eagle Eye" has strong performances and, in its goofy way, illustrates for teens the debate over how to fight terrorism without giving up our rights. Casualties are not graphic. The mayhem includes guns, explosions, and children in danger. There is some profanity and drinking.

"The Express" (PG, 129 min.) This sports saga has far more substance to it than most. The story of Ernie Davis, the first African-American college football star to win the Heisman Trophy, tackles head-on the racial attitudes of the late 1950s and early '60s, and what the Syracuse University player faced. Solidly acted and filmed, "The Express" also has more grit and depth than many sports sagas. The PG rating doesn't quite reflect the tension and racial hostility shown in the film, the occasional use of racial slurs and profanity, or the early scene in which two young boys are threatened by teen thugs.

"Flash of Genius" (119 min., PG-13) - The inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper goes up against Ford Motor Co., which he claims stole his design in this fact-based David-and-Goliath tale about Bob Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear). The movie dramatizes how Kearns's obsessive, years-long pursuit of justice drove him to a nervous breakdown and alienated his family. But the film is rather dry and unleavened by humor or dramatic pacing. Many teens could view it more as homework than entertainment. It includes midrange profanity, drinking, heavy smoking, mild sexual innuendo, a mild portrayal of mental illness.

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (90 min., PG-13) The title characters in this witty, eccentric teen comedy are smart and hate booze and drugs, yet are the hippest, most musically savvy kids in the story. How cool is that? "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (based on the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan) isn't for younger teens but ought to give high schoolers a kick. However: Many teens in this film do drink; an active sex life is a given; gay and straight kids accept one another easily. So some parents will balk. There is a strongly implied sexual situation, not seen but heard, other sexual innuendo and slang, a religious spoof, an ethnic slur, midrange profanity, and toilet humor.

"Nights in Rodanthe" (97 min., PG-13) Richard Gere and Diane Lane play unhappy people who find each other in this handsome, utterly predictable weeper. The movie (based on Nicholas Sparks's novel) is so full of cliches that without having read the book you can easily foretell plot twists. Wine, food, stories about their children, a hurricane - all roads lead to love. Many teens would be bored by this movie. The film has implied sexual situations, mild profanity, and drinking.

Jane Horwitz, Washington Post Writers Group.