Posted on: Friday, June 20, 2008
Intense 'Hulk' graphic, but not as violent as 'Iron Man'
By Roger Moore
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
'THE INCREDIBLE HULK'
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images and brief suggestive content.
What it's about: The Hulk, after years on the run, comes home in search of a cure and confronts both his past and a new foe.
The kid attractor factor: "Incredible" and "Hulk."
Good lessons/bad lessons: There's something to be said for controlling your temper.
Violence: A lot of it. Graphic without a lot of blood.
Language: Marvel clean.
Sex: Well, Liv Tyler's in it. So it's at least worth discussing.
Drugs: The comic-book superhero kind.
Parents' advisory: Not as violent as "Iron Man," although the violence here has no consequences. At least The Hulk wants to manage his violent tendencies.
'THE HAPPENING'
Rating: R for violent and disturbing images.
What it's about: People all over the Northeastern U.S. turn first catatonic, then suicidal, en masse, and a few intrepid city dwellers flee in order to survive this "attack" or "event."
The kid attractor factor: Colorful, violent deaths, the end of the world and Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel.
Good lessons/bad lessons: Be kind to your potted plants.
Violence: Imagine how a zoo keeper, a cop or a lawn-service man might kill himself.
Language: Quite clean.
Sex: None.
Drugs: None at all. Not even booze.
Parents' advisory: It's a zombie movie without the braineating. Scary enough to warrant keeping the 10-and-unders away.
