Rating: PG-13, for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language and brief innuendo.
It’s the fourth Michael Bay Transformers movie, so you pretty much know what you’re in for by now. Cars and trucks turn into giant robots that battle each other in lengthy, noisy fashion. Mass destruction ensues. But there isn’t much of a body count here because it’s a PG-13 movie. We do see one character get blasted to death and remain frozen in horror — that’s kind of disturbing. Lots of buildings blow up, including the quaint Texas farmhouse where Mark Wahlberg’s character and his sexy teenage daughter (Nicola Peltz) live. Shadowy government bad guys, including Kelsey Grammer, skulk about the globe furthering their dastardly plans. And while there’s language throughout, Stanley Tucci (as a slick, high-tech inventor) gets to drop one well-placed F-bomb. Probably OK for tweens and up, although with a running time pushing three hours, this is a challenging sit for anyone regardless of age.
Rating: PG-13, for violence and some sensuality.
Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar-winning writer of A Beautiful Mind, writes and directs this romantic fantasy which takes place in a century-spanning New York City. It’s all about angels and demons roaming among us, waging their secret battles. Colin Farrell stars as a seemingly ageless man who tries to save a beautiful young woman (Jessica Brown Findlay) from dying of consumption in 1916. Their brief romance features some partial nudity and a tasteful sex scene. Russell Crowe brings some menace to the film as the leader of the supernatural bad guys who are after Farrell. The mythology here is so dense and the narrative is so complicated, it’ll probably confuse young viewer, but this is probably fine for literary-minded tweens and older.
