ShareThisTuesday, November 07, 2006
A guide to movies from a family perspective:
"Catch a Fire"
_ Rated: PG-13.
_ Suitable for: Mature high-school juniors and older.
_ What you should know: This movie tells the real-life story of Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke), an apolitical oil-refinery foreman, family man and soccer coach in 1980s South Africa. All of that changes when he is wrongly accused of a terrorist act, jailed and tortured. Tim Robbins also stars.
_ Language: One use of the f-word and a couple of milder words.
_ Sexual situations and nudity: A man is forced to take off his clothes while being arrested. References to infidelity and an illegitimate child are made.
_ Violence/scary situations: People are shot, sometimes fatally, imprisoned, interrogated and tortured. The movie dramatizes deadly raids, funerals, explosions and the consequences of living under apartheid.
_ Drug and alcohol use: Adults are shown drinking.
"The Queen"
_ Rated: PG-13.
_ Suitable for: Mature tweens and up.
_ What you should know: The days immediately after the death of Princess Diana are dramatized and replayed (through archival TV footage) in this movie starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II. She is reluctant to join Prime Minister Tony Blair in a public display of mourning for her former daughter-in-law.
_ Language: One use of the f-word and some milder language.
_ Sexual situations and nudity: None.
_ Violence/scary situations: News clips from the time of Diana's 1997 death from a car accident are threaded throughout and an animal carcass and severed animal head are shown.
_ Drug and alcohol use: Adults reach for alcohol with regularity but no one overindulges.
"Marie Antoinette"
_ Rated: PG-13.
_ Suitable for: Teens and above.
_ What you should know: Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this sympathetic, music-soaked take on the teen royal (Kirsten Dunst).
_ Language: Nothing notable.
_ Sexual situations and nudity: Naked body shown from behind, a flash of breast, talk of an unconsummated marriage, passionate embraces and kisses. Childbirth, a mistress and a lover also factor into the story.
_ Violence/scary situations: A child's death is conveyed through a series of portraits. Angry crowds advance on the castle.
_ Drug and alcohol use: Lots of champagne and wine are consumed.
"Flicka"
_ Rated: PG.
_ Suitable for: Preteens and older.
_ What you should know: A rebellious teen disobeys her rancher father by befriending a wild horse. Her disobedience results in physical harm coming to her and the mustang, but it all leads to an intense bonding with the horse and a warm and fuzzy ending.
_ Language: A few mild cuss words.
_ Sexual situations and nudity: None.
_ Violence/scary situations: Scenes of intense peril and violent animal attacks.
_ Drug and alcohol use: None.
"Man of the Year"
_ Rated: PG-13.
_ Suitable for: Teens and above.
_ What you should know: The TV commercials for this Robin Williams movie, about a comedian running for president, are somewhat misleading. It's a comedy, but it also deals with a sinister attempt to silence a whistleblower about the results of the presidential election.
_ Language: One use of the f-word, with other milder curses. Williams makes wisecracks or double entendres dealing with sex, body parts (real and fake) and the like.
_ Sexual situations and nudity: None.
_ Violence/scary situations: Someone becomes short of breath and is hospitalized. A person is attacked and knocked out with an injection. Someone has a drug-induced breakdown. A man's face is banged against a car window, leaving his nose bloody. A frightening car accident lands a character in the hospital.
_ Drug and alcohol use: A joke about smoking marijuana is made, and adults consume wine, champagne and other alcoholic drinks. A cocktail of illegal drugs, including cocaine, is purposely injected into someone.
"The U.S. vs. John Lennon"
_ Rated: PG-13.
_ Suitable for: Teens and above.
_ What you should know: This excellent documentary provides an objective account of the government's attempt to deport Beatle John Lennon in 1971, on the grounds of his conviction for a minor drug offense in England _ but really for his increasingly threatening opposition to the Vietnam War.
_ Language: Scattered profanity, including several f-words.
_ Sexual situations and nudity: Sexually suggestive situations, but no nudity.
_ Violence/scary situations: There are film clips of the violent demonstration at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968.
_ Drug and alcohol use: Marijuana is used, and there is much discussion of drug use.
