“ENDER’S GAME”

Rating: PG-13 for some violence, sci-fi action and thematic material.

What it’s about: A gifted boy is singled out for leadership in a future when the young and the video-game savvy are our best warriors and our greatest military leaders.

The kid attractor factor: Kids, mastering training games, battling each other and bug-eyed aliens.

Good lessons / bad lessons: The killer instinct comes easily; compassion and empathy you grow into.

Violence: Bullying, fistfights, blood, a death.

Language: Pretty tame.

Sex: Not even flirtation.

Drugs: None.

Parents’ advisory: Humorless, dark and brooding, this isn’t sci-fi for the very young. Suitable for 10-and-up, though.

“FREE BIRDS”

Rating: PG for some action / peril and rude humor

What it’s about: Two turkeys travel back in time to change the menu at the first Thanksgiving.

The kid attractor factor: Animated turkeys, in 3-D, outsmarting colonists back then and Haz-Mat suited soldiers today.

Good lessons / bad lessons: “When you’re in a flock, you know you belong to something bigger.”

Violence: Nothing graphic, though the fate of turkeys during the holidays is revealed.

Language: Disney clean, even the “rude humor” bits.

Sex: Flirting turkeys, lots of discussion of the muscles in turkey butts.

Drugs: None.

Parents’ advisory: Tame enough for the whole family, suitable for all ages.

This guide, compiled by Orlando Sentinel film critic Roger Moore, is published here every Friday. It should be used with the MPAA rating system for selecting movies suitable for children. Films rated G, PG or PG-13 are included, along with R-rated films that may have entertainment or educational value for older children with parental guidance.