New films from a family perspective

A guide to movies from a family perspective:

"Hancock"

-- Rated: PG-13.

-- Suitable for: 9-year-olds and up.

-- What you should know: Will Smith plays an unhappy superhero -- surly, often drunk and sad -- who gets an image makeover after he meets a public-relations specialist played by Jason Bateman.

-- Language: Adults and children typically call him an offensive seven-letter word that starts with "a." One f-word and other less harsh expletives are used throughout, and people give the finger. The word "homo" is also used to describe traditional comic-book characters.

-- Sexual situations and nudity: A quick partial shot of Hancock's behind after his clothes are burned.

-- Violence/scary situations: Lots of both, including car chases, an exchange of gunfire, a hostage-taking, a super-size fight, the slicing off of a hand and the near-deaths of key characters.

-- Drug or alcohol use: At the beginning, Hancock is drinking or drunk, lugging around a whiskey bottle with him.

"Get Smart"

-- Rated: PG-13.

-- Suitable for: 8 and older.

-- What you should know: The 1960s TV series, a spy spoof starring Don Adams, has been turned into a big-screen movie with "The Office" star Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99.

-- Language: About a dozen uses of generally mild four-letter words.

-- Sexual situations and nudity: Hathaway is seen, briefly, in lingerie, a reference is made to an affair and a couple of kisses are exchanged.

-- Violence/scary situations: A steady stream of both, some played for laughs. There are explosions, fires, airplane mishaps, weapons planted in public places, exchanges of gunfire, a car-train collision and other scary stunts.

-- Drug or alcohol use: Champagne is served at a party.

"The Love Guru"

-- Rated: PG-13.

-- Suitable for: Middle school and older.

-- What you should know: Mike Myers is "The Love Guru," who comes to America to become the No. 1 self-help celebrity and assists a woeful hockey star with his love life.

-- Language: Crude jokes and mild profanity throughout.

-- Sexual situations and nudity: Mostly verbal and lots of innuendo.

-- Violence/scary situations: Slapstick comic violence without visible injuries resulting.

-- Drug or alcohol use: Many references to being or getting high, but no on-screen use.

"The Incredible Hulk"

-- Rated: PG-13.

-- Suitable for: 9- or 10-year-olds and older.

-- What you should know: The Marvel Comics character, the focus of a 1970s TV show and a 2003 movie with Eric Bana, gets another big-screen treatment. This time, it stars Edward Norton as scientist Bruce Banner, who turns into the Hulk against his will. The cast also includes Liv Tyler, William Hurt and Tim Roth.

-- Language: A dozen or so mild profanities, at least one with "God" attached.

-- Sexual situations and nudity: In a discreetly filmed shot, a naked man curls up on the bottom of a tub. A couple kiss while reclining on a bed but stop because if Banner gets too "excited," he will transform into the Hulk.

-- Violence/scary situations: Lots of both. Banner turns into the Hulk, and a soldier becomes an even bigger behemoth called the Abomination. They have a violent, noisy fight, and the story also has military attacks, explosions, fires, injuries that send people to the hospital, chases and old-fashioned fisticuffs.

-- Drug or alcohol use: A brief scene is set in a bar where a character downs a couple of drinks.

"Kung Fu Panda"

-- Rated: PG.

-- Suitable for: Preschoolers and older children who can sit through a 90-minute movie.

-- What you should know: A klutzy panda, working in his family's noodle shop, is unexpectedly chosen to be the next dragon warrior in this action-packed, colorfully animated film with the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie.

-- Language: None.

-- Sexual situations and nudity: None.

-- Violence/scary situations: An evil snow leopard, with glowing eyes, escapes from a dark, spooky prison. Lots of martial-arts mayhem, including a number of nasty fights. An elderly character, whose time has come, disappears into a swirl of peach blossoms.

-- Drug or alcohol use: None.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)