Family reviews
A parents' guide to select new movies:
'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel'
Rating: PG for some mild rude humor.
What it's about: Alvin and his brothers cope with fame, school and the allure of girl chipmunks.
The Kid Attractor Factor: Chipmunks who sing, ride toy motorcycles and crack jokes.
Good lessons/bad lessons: Keep your word. Stick up for family. Never trust an agent.
Violence: Slapstick stuff, one good shot to the crotch.
Language: Chipmunk clean.
Sex: Chipmunk goo-goo eyes.
Drugs and alcohol: None.
Parents' advisory: Kids love their talking critters.
'Sherlock Holmes'
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.
What it's about: The world's greatest detective tries to prevent a murderous cult from carrying out a coup in 19th-century London.
The Kid Attractor Factor: Robert Downey Jr., the once and future Iron Man, is Holmes.
Good lessons/bad lessons: Observation and "data, data, data" back up every informed decision.
Violence: Deaths, some pretty brutal bare-knuckle brawling, the works.
Language: Pretty close to spotless.
Sex: Coyly suggested with near-nudity.
Drugs: Holmes' drug habit is hinted at but never in the foreground.
Parents' advisory: Not the traditional way of approaching Holmes — this one emphasizes brawn over brains. Too violent for younger children but OK for 12 and older.
