Who's in It: Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins, Frank Oz
The Basics: Jumanji, but in space.
What's the Deal? Two spoiled brats who can't stop fighting are blasted off into space — not such a bad idea, really — by a very cool vintage board game that they'd have been better off auctioning off on eBay for some big coin. They're lost until they cooperate enough to battle a killer robot, befriend a cranky astronaut and escape some super-gross child-eating monsters. The payoff for grownups is that for 10 bucks, you get to be 8 years old for 100 minutes.
Target Demo Testimonial: The kid who sat in front of me at the screening was practically jumping out of his seat with excitement and shouted approval, which is a better endorsement than anything I could say about it.
Oh, Those Clever Screenwriters: Moms everywhere are going to love the people who put the line "Bring me a juice box, bee-yotch!" into the mouth of a child actor. A nation-ful of mimicking third graders are about to be sent to their room.
Not Terrifically Obtrusive Message Alert: Like its predecessor, Jumanji, it's about kids confronting adult anxieties and coming out the other side wiser. So maybe the smart-mouthed dialogue can be forgiven. Or not.
For Ages: 6 and up. Little ones will be scared of the monsters.
Jailbait Action: Is there a good reason, other than to titillate the dads in the audience of this PG-rated movie, for the teenage sister character to be prancing around in tiny little panties for half the film? Just wondering.
Credits Fun Fact: It was co-produced by Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story. You thought I was going to say "The Dirt Bike Kid," didn't you?