What to watch with your kids: Twisters, My Spy: The Eternal City and more

Publish date: 2024-08-24

Twisters (PG-13)

Age 12+

Propulsive sequel to 1990s hit features frightening storm scenes.

Like 1996’s “Twister,” this sequel is a disaster film about storm chasers. After a personal tragedy, meteorologist Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is lured back to Oklahoma to help with a scientific study that should improve understanding of the catastrophic storms. But she must deal with a “tornado-wrangling” social media influencer (Glen Powell) whose crew seems more concerned with YouTube subscriptions than science. Expect genuinely frightening disaster scenes, the deaths of supporting characters and several scenes of mass destruction. People are swept away and injured in tornadoes. Occasional language includes “s---,” “a--hole” and “oh Lord,” and the romance is limited to flirting and an early kiss. Both storm-chasing crews are more diverse than in the first movie. While the main point is to wow viewers with effects and stunts, the movie also promotes using science and social media for the greater good and emphasizes empathy, courage and curiosity. (122 minutes)

Available in theaters.

My Spy: The Eternal City (PG-13)

Age 13+

Funny action sequel has language, violence and innuendo.

This “My Spy” sequel is a Dave Bautista-starring action movie that features violence, strong language and innuendo. This film moves the action to Italy, where characters face car chases, gunfire, stabbings, fistfights, near-drownings, explosions, Tasers and bird attacks. A teen is kidnapped, held hostage and chased by a gunman. Three teens sneak out a window and crawl along the high outside wall of a hotel. Two people are knocked out, hung from a ceiling and threatened with death as part of an effort to stop evildoers from detonating nuclear bombs in major cities. Teens are caught drinking alcohol; they also have crushes and play spin the bottle, and two share a kiss. A woman advises a 14-year-old to use lots of tongue on her first kiss, and when viewers see the character kissing later, it’s with a wide-open mouth. A nude male statue’s private parts are used as a weapon, and a woman makes a suggestive comment about them. Parents learn to give their teens more independence, and teens learn to respect their parents’ careers and caretaking. Language includes one use of “f---,” plus “s---,” “damn,” “dammit,” “hell,” “a--” and more. (112 minutes)

Available on Prime Video.

Lady in the Lake (TV-MA)

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Age 14+

Stylish, dark murder mystery has language, sex and violence.

“Lady in the Lake” is a 1960s-set drama series based on the book by Laura Lippman. Natalie Portman stars as Maddie Schwartz, a Baltimore housewife who is galvanized into action by the murders of a local Jewish girl and a Black bookkeeper (Moses Ingram of “The Queen’s Gambit”). Language includes “f---,” “motherf----r,” “a--” and “s---.” Characters drink whiskey, have sex, and smoke cigarettes and pot. There’s no nudity, but a woman takes off a dress and is shown in a bra and slip. (Seven episodes)

Available on Apple TV Plus.

Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black (R)

Age 16+

Stale marriage melodrama includes domestic abuse and language.

“Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black” is a drama about a woman (Meagan Good) who fights for her marriage until she realizes everything her husband (Cory Hardrict) has done to sabotage it. The movie includes intense domestic abuse (verbal, physical and emotional), gun violence, death and descriptions of patricide. Expect tons of swearing (“f---,” “s---” and more) and uses of the n-word. A sex scene is mildly graphic. Characters drink alcohol, sometimes to excess, and a character takes a CBD gummy. While the film has an all-Black cast (and was written and directed by Black filmmaker Tyler Perry), the characters ultimately reinforce clichés. (143 minutes)