THE BOURNE LEGACY
Rating: PG-13 for violence and action sequences
What it's about: Jason Bourne has moved on, but the program that created the superspy continues.
The kid-attractor factor: Another round of epic chases, brawls and shoot-outs
Good lessons/bad lessons: No matter who you meet or what the doctors tell you to take, asking questions keeps you alive.
Violence: Neck-snapping, bullet-piercing, gun-eating
Language: Surprisingly tame
Sex: Not a hint
Drugs: Medications that make you stronger, smarter, faster
Parents' advisory: Quite violent, so take the PG-13 seriously – OK for 13 and up.
HOPE SPRINGS
Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic content involving sexuality
What it's about: A long-married couple tries to relight the flame through couples counseling.
The kid-attractor factor: Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones comically try to re-learn how to get their freak on.
Good lessons/bad lessons: "Even great marriages have terrible years."
Violence: None
Language: Quite clean
Sex: Yes
Drugs: Wine is consumed, inflaming passions.
Parents' advisory: A movie for grown-ups, but 13-and-up teens will find plenty of laughs in the old dogs learning new tricks.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS
Rating: PG for some rude humor What it's about: Another visit with the Wimpy Kid and his pals as they muddle through the summer before eighth grade.
The kid-attractor factor: The kid-friendliest film franchise of them all, with broad, low comedy and the odd booger joke.
Good lessons/ bad lessons: "Be responsible. Learn from your mistakes."
Violence: Pratfalls
Language: Clean
Sex: Flirtation, locker room gags
Drugs: None
Parents' advisory: As kid-friendly and kid-tailored as ever. Suitable for all ages.
TOTAL RECALL
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief nudity, and language
What it's about: A secret agent cannot trust his memory to know which side he is fighting on in a civil war of the future.
The kid-attractor factor: Sci-fi, guns and hover-cars and storm troopers – er, "Synthetic Federal Police."
Good lessons/ bad lessons: "The past tells us who we have become," but "the heart wants to live in the present."
Violence: Lots and lots and lots of shootings, stabbings.
Language: A scattering of mild profanity.
Sex: A woman with three breasts goes topless.
Drugs: Alcohol.
Parents' advisory: Plenty of video game- style action, with a high body count – OK for 13-and-up.Current films are reviewed each week to provide parents a guide to decide what may be appropriate to younger viewers.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Roger Moore
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.