Current films are reviewed each week to provide parents a guide to decide what may be appropriate to younger viewers.
SNITCH
Rating: PG-13 for drug content and sequences of violence
What it's about: A teen lets a pal talk him into accepting a drug shipment, and the kid's dad has to go undercover to get his son's federal prison sentence reduced.
The kid attractor factor: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, fighting drug dealers, driving tractor trailers.
Good lessons, bad lessons: Minimum mandatory sentencing means you make a single drug- related mistake, your life is ruined.
Violence: A few shootouts with bloody consequences.
Language: Profanity, but not as much as you might think.
Sex: None.
Drugs: Sold, shipped, and cocaine is sniffed.
Parents advisory: A reasonably realistic portrayal of what happens when civilians get mixed up in the drug trade, suitable for 13-and-up.
ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH
Rating: PG for action and some mild rude humor
What it's about: Aliens who "come in peace" find themselves abducted, held captive in Area 51 and in need of rescue.
The kid attractor factor: Aliens and space ships.
Good lessons, bad lessons: Looking out for you, "that's what brothers do." And beware the Slurpee "brain freeze."
Violence: Some, mostly of the cartoon slapstick variety.
Language: Squeaky clean.
Sex: Not a hint.
Drugs: Tranquilizer darts.
Parents advisory: A mash-up of "Planet 51" and "Monsters vs. Aliens," inoffensive to all ages.
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
Rating: PG-13 for violence, scary images and some sexual material
What it's about: The dark, poetic and pretty new girl in high school? She's a witch.
The kid attractor factor: A witchy "Twilight" with a smattering of action and a great sense of humor about itself.
Good lessons bad lessons: Fate, shmate. "We make our own lives." Violence: A shooting, a few supernatural tussles.
Language: Pretty clean, actually.
Sex: Implied, after a lot of smooching.
Drugs: None.
Parents advisory: Funny; light on the violence, profanity and heavy breathing; suitable for 10-and-up.
SAFE HAVEN
Rating: PG-13, for thematic material involving threatening behavior, violence and sexuality
What it's about: A young woman in trouble flees to the sleepy Carolina coast, where romance awaits.
The kid attractor factor: Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, cute kids, lightweight comedy. Do children read Nicholas Sparks novels?
Good lessons, bad lessons: "Take a lot of pictures. You'll only regret the ones you didn't take."
Violence: Yes, involving knives and fires and guns.
Language: A scattering of profanity, a smidge more than you see in your typical Nicholas Sparks movies.
Sex: A little more than you see in your typical Sparks movie.
Drugs: Alcohol is abused.
Parents advisory: A little edgier than your typical Sparks romance novel adaptation, but nothing that will unsettle anybody over 12.
IDENTITY THIEF
Rating: R for sexual content and language
What it's about: Jason Bateman has his identity stolen by loose cannon and credit-card hijacker Melissa McCarthy.
The kid attractor factor: Adults behaving badly.
Good lessons, bad lessons: There's no such thing as a victimless crime.
Violence: Fights, shootings – a little blood.
Language: Melissa McCarthy is rated R, with or without a movie.
Sex: Yes, loud, crude and rude.
Drugs: Booze and pills.
Parents advisory: A comedy in the "Hangover" tradition – raunchy and violent. Suitable for 15 and up.
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