New movies, including 'Old Dogs’

A guide to movies from a family perspective:

“Old Dogs”

Rated: PG for some mild rude humor.

Suitable for: Grade-school kids and parents.

What you should know: John Travolta and Robin Williams play best friends and business partners forced to take care of 7-year-old twins in this slapstick Disney comedy.

Language: Nothing notable.

Sexual situations and nudity: We get an eyeful of Williams when he’s stripped down to briefs for a tanning scene.

Violence/scary situations: An Ultimate Frisbee game during a Boy Scout retreat turns violent and even bloody.

Drug or alcohol use: Williams gets drunk on margaritas during a getaway weekend in South Beach and marries a woman he’s known for one night. Later, Williams and Travolta get their prescription drugs mixed up and suffer comical side effects.

“Fantastic Mr. Fox”

Rated: PG.

Suitable for: Kindergartners, especially if familiar with the book, and older.

What you should know: Roald Dahl’s book of the same name has been turned into a movie using stop-motion animation and the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep and others.

Language: None. The word “cuss” is used as a substitute for anything naughty.

Sexual situations and nudity: None.

Violence/scary situations: Farmers try to flush out or kill a fox family and other animals. Shots are fired (Mr. Fox loses his tail), animals caught and temporarily caged or zapped by electrified fences, and fire breaks out. A rabid dog and a rat factor into the tale. It’s somewhat disturbing to watch the animals eat.

Drug or alcohol use: Champagne and alcoholic cider are consumed.

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”

Rated: PG-13.

Suitable for: Mature tweens and up.

What you should know: This is the second movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s best seller about a human girl, her vampire boyfriend and, now, a werewolf rival.

Language: About nine stronger versions of “heck” or “darn.”

Sexual situations and nudity: Brief but passionate kisses and embraces are exchanged, and there are lots of shots of shirtless, buff young men.

Violence/scary situations: Wolves set upon a vampire and kill him. Vampires twist someone’s head off and attack others.

Young men turn into snarling wolves and fight and threaten a human. Various mishaps leave a young woman bloodied. A crowd of tourists is led into a vampire den and you hear their screams (but don’t see anything) as they are attacked. A man has a heart attack and dies, and a woman’s face bears scratch marks from a wolf attack.

Drug or alcohol use: An adult is seen with what appears to be a beer can in his hand.

“The Blind Side”

Rated: PG-13.

Suitable for: Children in middle school and up.

What you should know: This is based on the true story of a homeless African-American teen taken into the home and hearts of a wealthy white family. It stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and newcomer Quinton Aaron.

Language: About a half-dozen mild expletives or phrases.

Sexual situations and nudity: A reference is made to a topless bar and crude comments are made about scoring with women.

Violence/scary situations: The homelessness of the lead character is sad and distressing. A confrontation quickly escalates to violence, with a gun drawn and physical attacks. There is a quick flashback to a chaotic scene involving a child.

Drug or alcohol use: A mother is described as being on crack and a gang is shown drinking, smoking and with drug paraphernalia.

“An Education”

Rated: PG-13.

Suitable for: Mature high-school students and older.

What you should know: This coming-of-age story is set in 1961 England and stars Carey Mulligan as a 16-year-old who falls for a charming older man (Peter Sarsgaard).

Language: Very clean, with maybe one use of “hell.”

Sexual situations and nudity: References are made to the loss of virginity, a girl drops her top briefly (nothing is shown) and a couple are shown in bed and the next morning.

Violence/scary situations: None.

Drug or alcohol use: Adults, and the underage teen, drink champagne and other alcoholic drinks.

“Planet 51”

Rated: PG.

Suitable for: Kindergartners and up.

What you should know: This is an animated adventure comedy about an American astronaut who lands on a planet inhabited by little green people in a world reminiscent of our 1950s.

Language: None.

Sexual situations and nudity: After the astronaut drops his towel, a wisecrack is made about his anatomy.

Violence/scary situations: Talk or scenes about eating or removing brains, anal probes, near-electrocutions, flashes of military might and explosions.

Drug or alcohol use: None.