Parents guide: 'Skyfall,' more

9:52 a.m. EST, November 8, 2012|

By Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers



Summary: A computer hacker has stolen a list of secret agents, and James Bond wants them back.

Kid attractor: It's James Bond, with car chases, epic brawls and lots and lots of action.

Good/bad lessons:"Age is no guarantee of efficiency," and "Youth is no guarantee of innovation."

Violence: Plentiful.

Language: Not much profanity at all.

Sex: Nothing explicit, but James Bond is catnip to the ladies.

Drugs: A few drinks, a few cigarettes.

Advisory: The lightest of the Daniel Craig Bond films, it's still violent and too sexual and too long for anybody younger than 12.

'The Man With the Iron Fists'

Rating: R for bloody violence, strong sexuality, language and brief drug use

Summary: An ex-slave blacksmith is caught up in clan wars in late-19th-century China.

Kid-attractor: Martial arts, and lots of it. And that 40-something rapper RZA.

Good/bad lessons: "A dog living in a palace is still a dog."

Violence: Constant, graphic, played for blood-gushing laughs.

Language: Shockingly modern in its profanity.

Sex: Coarse and crude.

Drugs: Booze, opium.

Advisory: Yeah, they're telling you they're going to see "Wreck-It Ralph." Just make sure the cutlery's hidden when they get back. Unsuitable for anyone younger than 16.

'Wreck-It Ralph'

Rating: PG for some rude humor and mild action/ violence

Summary: A disgruntled video-game bad guy escapes and tries to show his true colors.

Kid attractor: It's a new 3-D Disney cartoon set inside the lives of video game characters.

Good/bad lessons: Labels don't matter; "you must love you" before you can live a happy, contented life.

Violence: Cartoon slapstick, even the first-person shooter game scenes.

Language: Disney-clean, despite the presence of Sarah Silverman.

Sex: A little game-on-game smooching

Drugs: None.

Advisory: Suitable for all ages.

'Cloud Atlas'

Rating: R for violence, language, sexuality/nudity and some drug use

Summary: People, interconnected through time, seek a way out of intolerance, corruption, fear and greed.

Kid attractor: It's possibly the most eye-popping picture of the year

Good/bad lessons: "My life extends far beyond the limitations of me." "You have to do what you can't not do."

Violence: Quite a bit, much of it graphic and gruesome.

Language: Profanity, racial slurs.

Sex: Yes, explicit.

Drugs: Yes.

Advisory: Take the "R" rating seriously.




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