FamilyFilmgoer
by JANE HORWITZ
AND OLDER
8
SHREK FOREVER AFTER (PG). This
fourth installment in the animated “Shrek” saga will keep kids 8 and old- er — and parents — highly amused. It’s especially clever in its allusions to the beloved movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Shrek (voice of Mike Myers), now daddy to three babies with wife Fiona, finds parenthood too intense. He meets the magical con man Rum- plestiltskin and unwittingly signs away his past. Far Far Away becomes an awful place because he, Shrek, never existed. The ogres are all slaves to Stiltskin. Shrek, now a stranger to his old friends, must win their trust and Fiona’s heart to break the spell.
THE BOTTOM LINE: In 3-D, the action sequences are a bit more harrowing than usual. Characters fall from great heights, or are pursued by witches on broomsticks. There is a brief dragon attack. The idea that a parent could get tired of parenting and want to run off is a rather mature theme.
10
AND OLDER
LETTERS TO JULIET (PG). Amanda
Seyfried plays Sophie, who travels to Verona, Italy, with her sweet but inat- tentive fiance, Victor. Left on her own, Sophie visits the medieval home of the legendary Juliet (of “Romeo and Juliet”) and learns that women tradi- tionally leave notes between the stones, seeking Juliet’s advice on love. Sophie discovers a note that dates to the 1950s. She answers it, and to her surprise, the 60-plus Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), who left the note when she was a teen, arrives from England with her grumpy (but cute) grandson, eager to find her lost love.
THE BOTTOM LINE: There is mild
sexual innuendo, rare mild profanity, and a good deal of wine-drinking. There are also themes about losing one’s parents and being abandoned by a parent.
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF
TIME. Teens who like action flicks mixed with sword-and-sorcery sagas will delight in this movie’s thundering battles and snazzy special effects. The script, based on a video game,
13
PG-
ANDREW COOPER/SMPSP/DISNEY ENTERPRISES AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER
Jake Gyllenhaal plays an adoptive prince in the action-adventure “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.”
mixes modernisms with mythic- sounding lingo, sometimes hilarious- ly. The child Dastan is adopted by the king, who admires his bravery. We next see the adult Dastan (Jake Gyl- lenhaal) and his adoptive brothers, laying siege to a holy city suspected of selling weapons to Persia’s en- emies. Inside the city, Princess Tami- na must protect a special dagger that can turn back time. After the king is assassinated, Dastan becomes a sus- pect. He and Tamina flee with the dagger.
THE BOTTOM LINE: This PG-13 is aw- fully violent for preteens. The sounds of swords clashing and of people be- ing run through with blades and ar- rows are vivid. There is sexual innuen- do, most of it mild, though at one point, Princess Tamina seems in dan- ger of being assaulted by her city’s conquerors. The narrative gets very convoluted.
ROBIN HOOD. This movie offers teens a richly imagined look at medi- eval English life, laced with nifty swashbuckling and subtle humor. It’s not dumbed down, but it’s also too vi- olent and bawdy for preteens. Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe), a marks- man who fought with King Richard the Lionheart on a Crusade, becomes disillusioned with war. He and a small band of friends return to England, where they get on the wrong side of the new king. In Nottingham Robin meets Lady Marion, who joins with him to fight injustice and start a ten- tative romance.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The level of vio- lence is intense. Soldiers are run through with arrows or swords, though you don’t see blood. Some peasants are struck, run over, or in danger of being burned alive. Marion kills a would-be rapist.
IRON MAN 2. This crackerjack se- quel is relentlessly entertaining, and teens will likely be among its fans. Mickey Rourke is wonderfully icky as a Russian physicist with a grudge against Tony Stark (Robert Downey
Jr.), billionaire arms manufacturer and inventor of the Iron Man suit. The film opens with Stark on a huge ego trip. The Russian comes after him in a suit that hurls lightning bolts and all heck breaks loose.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The violence is
loud, but the human damage mini- mal. There is frisky but generally mild sexual innuendo, mild profanity, toilet humor and drinking. The prologue shows the Russian physicist with his father in what could be viewed as an act of euthanasia. The overall inten- sity factor could be too much for some middle-schoolers.
SEX AND THE CITY 2. Too verbally
explicit about sex — and too visually explicit in a couple of instances — this second feature-length spinoff of the hit HBO series is for 17 and older. This installment takes the conspicuous- consuming friends into the realm of mid-life meltdown and menopause, and then on a free luxury trip to Abu Dhabi. Samantha has begun popping pills to counteract her waning hor- mones. Charlotte is worn out by motherhood. Miranda is happily mar- ried but stymied in her law career. Writer Carrie Bradshaw is married to Mr. Big but conflicted about “settling down.”
R
THE BOTTOM LINE: In addition to ex- plicit sexual situations, rearview nudi- ty and nonstop sexual innuendo, the film contains drinking, occasional pro- fanity and people puffing on hookahs in Abu Dhabi. The film deals (largely comically) with the idea of women having to cover up in the street, the ban on public displays of affection and other subtler social issues.
weekend@washpost.com
Horwitz is a freelance reviewer.
Watching with kids in mind “A BIG,
“Queen Latifah & Common are the perfect all-star team.
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THE WASHINGTON POST • FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010
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