Parents’ Guide to Movies

Published 4:00 am Friday, January 28, 2011

‘The Rite’

Rating: PG-13 for disturbing thematic material, violence, frightening images, and language including sexual references.

What it’s about: A non-believing seminary student is sent to Rome to study exorcism.

The kid attractor factor: Demons and the Devil possess the young and old.

Good lessons/bad lessons: Satan works in mysterious ways, which only a properly trained priest can foil.

Violence: Yes.

Language: Some profanity, some of it spoken by priests.

Sex: None, though incest is discussed

Drugs: Beers are shared.

Parents’ advisory: Not the scariest exorcist movie ever, but certainly too rough for 10-and-unders.

‘The Mechanic’

Rating: R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity.

What it’s about: A hit man takes on an apprentice, the son of a man he killed.

The kid attractor factor: Jason Statham.

Good lessons/bad lessons: “Revenge is an emotion that will get you killed.”

Violence: Lots and lots — drownings, impalings, shootings, stranglings.

Language: Profanity, quite a lot.

Sex: Yes. With nudity

Drugs: Yes.

Parents’ advisory: Take this R-rating seriously, as this is entirely too violent, etc., for 15-and-youngers.

‘The Way Back’

Rating: PG-13 for violent content, depiction of physical hardships, a nude image and brief strong language.

What it’s about: Prisoners make a break from a Soviet gulag during World War II, braving cold, wilderness and other hardships to walk thousands of miles to freedom.

The kid attractor factor: It’s a real-life “Man vs. Wild,” based on a real-life Bear Grylls.

Good lessons/bad lessons: How to navigate, using a stick in the sand and the sun, and other survival skills.

Violence: Yes. Knives are involved.

Language: Some profanity

Sex: None, with one non-titillating nude image.

Drugs: None

Parents’ advisory: A new-fangled old-fashioned adventure epic, this is a bit too violent for the very young — OK for 10 and older.

‘The Green Hornet’

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content

What it’s about: A hard-partying heir to a newspaper fortune, on a goof, decides to become a crime fighter and enlists his martial-arts and gadget-whiz chauffeur as a sidekick.

The kid attractor factor: Seth Rogen and lots of explosions, shootouts and car chases

Good lessons/bad lessons: “Trying doesn’t matter when you always fail.”

Violence: Shootings, crushings, dismemberments, etc.

Language: Lots of profanity, including almost everything but the F-bomb.

Sex: Nubile females are ogled.

Drugs: Drunk scenes, meth labs.

Parents’ advisory: This rude and crude fanboy-oriented, masked-hero movie is a pretty severe test of the limits of PG-13, suitable for 13 and older, but barely.

‘Gulliver’s Travels’

Rating: PG for brief rude humor, mild language and action.

What it’s about: A loser and would-be travel writer is sucked into a world of tiny people where he can be heroic, successful and admired.

The kid attractor factor: Jack Black and lots of teeny-tiny people in 3-D, with the odd butt-crack joke.

Good lessons/bad lessons: “Put yourself out there.” But don’t plagiarize.

Violence: Slapstick, shots to the groin, etc.

Language: A brief dissertation on the “A” word, attached to the prefix “lame.”

Sex: None, though a lengthy pee-to-put-out-a-fire bit should count.

Drugs: None.

Parents’ advisory: More family-friendly than your typical Jack Black farce, with the effects and humor aimed very young. OK for 8 and older.

The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children. Only films rated G, PG or PG-13 are included in this weekly listing, along with occasional R-rated films that may have entertainment value or educational value for older children with parental guidance.