Posted on: Friday, June 6, 2008
'Strangers' too intense for tweens
By Roger Moore
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
'THE STRANGERS'
Rating: R, for violence/terror and language.
What it's about: A quarreling couple face real problems when they are terrorized by motiveless strangers in a house in the country.
The kid attractor factor: Teasing, taunting terror committed by faceless villains wearing Halloween masks.
Good lessons/bad lessons: Leaving your girlfriend alone in the middle of nowhere is no way to show her how much you love her, and it's irresponsible to live in a house with guns and not know how to use them.
Violence: Shotgun blasts to the head, knives to the gut.
Language: Some profanity, as people trapped in a house by maniacs are given to cursing their fate.
Sex: Close, but terror interrupts.
Drugs: Alcohol is consumed, and cigarettes.
Parents' advisory: More intense, a bit more gory and violent than the current run of PG-13 "teen friendly" horror, this is way too much for 12-and-unders.
'INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL'
Rating: PG-13, for adventure violence and scary images.
What it's about: The much older Dr. Jones, a couple of new sidekicks and one old flame set out in search of some magical crystal skulls that the Russkies want to get their hands on in 1957.
The kid attractor factor: Indiana Jones action, stunts, magic and Shia LaBeouf.
Good lessons/bad lessons: The importance of a college education is stressed.
Violence: Lots of it, with a pretty high body count.
Language: Quite clean.
Sex: Some discussion of parentage.
Drugs: None, though an underage teen tries to get his hands on a beer.
Parents' advisory: The violence and that "scary images" bit should give parents of under-age-10s some pause. But if your child has seen the earlier Indys on DVD, they're old enough for this one.
