This is the true story of the brave dog who saved the lives of Alaskan children with diphtheria when he brought medicine to them through the snow. Kevin Bacon provides the voice for the heroic canine, half wolf, half dog, and not accepted by either species. A jealous rival frames Balto for theft that he will be selected to lead the rescue mission. But when they get lost, Balto steps in to save the day, with the help of his friends, a Russian goose (voice of Bob Hoskins) and two polar bears (both voice of pop star Phil Collins).

Children who visit Central Park in New York City can see a statue of Balto.

What happens when everything we hold on to is taken away from us?

This is the story of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), trouble-shooter for Federal Express, who travels to Moscow to remind the wayward Russian office that “We live or die by the clock.” Before leaving home, he sent a timer to himself in Russia, so that he could track down to the second the time it took to be delivered. He is proud of a new facility that is the ultimate marriage of technology and systems.

He goes home for Christmas Eve, only to be paged in the middle of dinner. He is needed in Asia. He quickly trades gifts with his girlfriend, Kelly (Helen Hunt) on the way to the airport, before racing off, promising to be back for New Year’s.

But he does not keep that promise. The plane crashes in the Pacific, and everyone else is killed. Chuck is washed up on a deserted island. Suddenly, all he has is time.

At first, he expects to be rescued. He efficiently retrieves the Federal Express packages that wash up on the shore and sorts them into piles for delivery. As it is borne in upon him that he is alone and completely out of reach, he starts to open the boxes. We see that these precious items of enormous meaning to the people who sent them — divorce papers, videos, a tulle party dress, ice skates, a volleyball — have little value on a deserted island. Noland (“No Land”), a problem-solver by nature and profession, gets to work, using the net from the dress to catch fish and the ice skate blades to crack coconuts. The volleyball, stained with his own blood, he makes into a companion named “Wilson” (after the ball’s manufacturer).

For 45 minutes in the middle of the movie, we are alone on the island with Noland. There may be crystal waters and azure skies, but this is no “Blue Lagoon” and he is no Brooke Shields. There is no music, and almost no dialogue. It is brutal and painful. He shreds his leg on coral and has to extract an abscessed tooth. Noland is an engaging character (signing “Light My Fire” when he finally is able to get sticks to light), and Hanks is undeniably one of the world’s most engaging actors. But it is more impressive than involving and begins to seem more of an acting exercise than a saga about the triumph of the human spirit or the importance of love and family.

No matter what deprivation he endures, Noland leaves one package unopened. It has an intriguing insignia on the return address, a pair of wings. He holds on to it as a promise of escape and as a symbol of his continuing identity as a man who gets the packages delivered.

Four years later, the side of a cabin bathroom is washed up on the island, and Noland has what he needs to create a sail. He knows the tides and the seasons well enough to begin to plan an escape from the island, and he knows that he would rather die on the ocean than stay where he is. What finally made it possible for him to leave was not the reason he relied on in his old life but the hope he has learned on the island. Still, it is his sense of the press of time (“let’s not commit the sin of turning our backs on time”) that it spurs him to action.

There are some moving and beautiful moments on the raft, especially the glimpse of a whale’s eye peeking just above the water. But once he gets home, the movie falters. We know, though, that the world he left now seems strange to him and that it will take a long while for him to reorient himself and decide where he will go next. He has mastered the skill of spearing a fish and making a raft, but he has to learn a whole new set of survial skills back at home.

Parents should know that the movie has brief strong language, a very scary plane crash, a dead body, and scenes of peril (some bloody). The deprivation and losses may be very upsetting to some children and teenagers. Noland considers suicide, and speaks of attempting it, which some people may also find disturbing.

Families who see the movie should talk about what is left when we strip away the conventions and conveniences of our society. How do we decide what our priorities are, and what our values are? Compare this movie to other desert island sagas, from “Lord of the Flies” to “The Admirable Crichton.”

Families who enjoy this movie might also enjoy one of Hanks’ less successful comedies, “Joe Versus the Volcano.”

You would think that a movie called “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles” would just about make itself work. It starts with two strong assets: an engaging character already well known and fondly remembered from two previous movies and a city that is a big, juicy target for satire. But they are lost in the swamp of a dumb script and lackluster direction.

The story begins in the Australian outback, as Mick “Crocodile” Dundee (Paul Hogan) and his ladylove, Sue (Linda Kozlowski) are living in unmarried bliss with their son Mikey. But Sue is called to Los Angeles to take over a paper in her father’s newspaper empire when an editor is killed in an automobile accident. We have a few scenes of Mick, Mikey, and fellow-croc-catcher Joe getting a kick out of the weirdness of Hollywood (George Hamilton recommends a coffee enema and Mike Tyson recommends meditation, Mick and Mikey go on a tram tour of a studio back lot and Mick stabs a fake anaconda). There are jokes that are older than the 61-year-old Hogan. Do we really need a “thought a skunk was a cat” joke? And there is some silliness about a movie studio that intentionally makes terrible movies like “Lethal Agent III.” I had hopes for a moment there of some “Producers-“like parody of shlocky movies, but what we got instead was a chase scene that, come to think of it, might be an outtake from one of those “Lethal Agent” movies after all. The talented Jere Burns is wasted as a generic bad guy.

All of this would be pretty harmless, except for some aspects of the movie that are affirmatively annoying. One is the language, very strong for a PG movie, with a number of swear words and some “nice ass” remarks that are supposed to be charming or funny and fail at both. Another is the truly shocking plastic surgery on the main characters. Hogan, who is 61, has just had some of the crags removed. But Kozlowski has that botox-mask look, her features as frozen and sandblasted as one of the heads on Easter Island. Even though she is only called upon to have one expression — bemused adoration – through most of the movie, it is more than those features can be called upon to produce.

Finally, the most annoying aspect of the movie is that it is not enough for Sue to adore Mick; everyone else must, too. Every woman who comes into contact with a Real Man from the Outback all but swoons, until the movie is more like a love letter than a comedy.

Parents should know that in addition to the strong language mentioned above, an important element of the plot is that Sue and Mick are not married and have a son together. Characters smoke and drink. Characters are in peril, including guns, knives, and fierce animals, though it does not get too intense. There are a couple of jump-out-at-you surprises that may upset younger kids.

Families who see this movie should talk about how people in families support each other’s careers and about how children learn to think about what they might do when they grow up. They might want to look up Los Angeles and the Outback on a map and talk about what they might like to see if they are able to visit.

Families who enjoy this movie will enjoy the other “Crocodile Dundee” movies, especially the first (some mature material).

This doctor knows what ails you. Sully Travis (Richard Gere) is known as “Dr. T” to the adoring upper-class women of Dallas. He is a popular gynecologist, and why not? No trying to cover your nudity with embarassing paper “gowns” that rip when you sit on the examining table for Dr. T. His patients, still attired in their jewelry and even hats, are draped in heavy linen that matches the elegant uniforms of the staff. The patients rest their feet in the mink covers that protect them from the chill of the stirrups. His busy office feels more like a pricey beauty salon than a doctor’s office, with a constant hum of murmured assurances and air kisses. One impatient patient returns over and over again because it is the only place where people tell her she is beautiful.

And Dr. T does think they are all beautiful. He loves them all, telling his shooting buddies that “by nature they are saints — they are sacred and should be treated that way.” This includes not only his patients but also the many, many women in his own life, including his wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett), his two daughters, Dee dee (Kate Hudson) and Connie (Tara Reid), and his wife’s sister Peggy (Laura Dern), who has moved in to his house with her three small daughters.

Dr. T loves to surround his women with love and care, listening to them, adoring them, and protecting them from any kind of worry. But his women are having problems he cannot solve. Kate is having a mental breakdown that appears to be caused by not having enough problems. She has retreated into childhood and must be sent to a mental hospital. Connie drives a car with a JFK license plate and conducts conspiracy theory “Grassy Knoll” tours of Dallas. Dee Dee is preparing for her wedding, but the person she is really in love with may be her maid of honor. And Peggy barely hides her sense of desperation behind slightly shrill “Love you more’s” and secret snorts of liquor.

Dr. T is attracted to a golf pro named Bree (Helen Hunt). He tries to take care of her, too, but she is very independent. She drives the golf cart — and she leads him to her bedroom. When he tells her that he wants to make sure she never has to do anything or worry about anything ever again, she says, “Why would I want that?” Dr. T must relinquish the illusion of control and remember what really matters.

It is a great pleasure to watch director Robert Altman (“M*A*S*H,” “Nashville,” and many other classic films) and his team do their stuff and the movie is richly enjoyable. The production design is spectacular, perfectly creating the world of wealthy Dallas. The acting is marvelous. Richard Gere is more relaxed and vulerable than he has ever been, and Laura Dern is sensational as the desperate divorcee in outfits that would be considered outrageous anywhere outside of Dallas. The movie raises some thoughtful questions about what we can and can’t — and should and shouldn’t — control, with some mystical overtones as Dr. T is told that a wet woman is back luck, and then has to deal with a succession of drenched females. Some will find the ending abrupt, some misogynistic, and some just mistifying. It may be all three — but it is also moving, and even fitting.

Parents should know that the movie includes a same-sex kiss, brief nudity, and a very explicit childbirth scene. A character commits adultery. A character abuses alcohol. There are several hunting scenes, but no animals are shot. There is some strong language.

Families who see this movie should talk about why Dr. T wants so badly to take care of the women in his life, and what effect that has on them. They should talk about why Dee Dee is planning her wedding when the groom seems superfluous (we never even see him or hear about him until the wedding scene). What is it that Dee Dee and Connie and Peggy want, and how will they get it? How are they different from Bree? What do you think about Bree’s reason for changing jobs? What does that mean to Dr. T?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy “Nashville.”

“Hart’s War” is a big movie that takes on big themes with the courage to give them time and allow for some ambiguity.

Although it is set in WWII and has some battle violence, it is primarily a human drama about honor, sacrifice, courage, and dignity, themes that are explored from the farthest reaches as ideals and from the most personal choices made by individuals.

Lt. Hart (Colin Farrell) is a soldier who works at a desk, far from enemy lines. His father is a Senator, and he was in his second year at Yale Law School when he joined the Army. He tells us that troops were just pins on a map to him. He is glad for the chance to get out into the countryside when he gets an opportunity act as driver for a commanding officer. But the officer is killed and Hart is captured by the Germans. They torture him to try to get him to provide information, and then they ship him off to a prisoner of war camp.

The ranking American officer at the camp is Colonel McNamara (Bruce Willis). The German commandant is Colonel Visser (Romanian actor Marcel Iures). The commanding officers have more in common, and perhaps more respect for one another, than they would like to admit.

When two black officers arrive at the camp, the fragile balance of power is disrupted. Because the officer’s quarters are full, they, like Hart, are put in with the enlisted men, who object. During WWII, the armed services were still segregated, so none of the American soldiers had ever had to live with black men before, much less salute them. When the most outspokenly racist soldier is murdered, a black officer is accused, Hart is assigned as his defense counsel, and a court-martial is set up.

About 45 minutes into the story, it begins to become clear that it is not intended to reflect or illuminate the history of about WWII or indeed any war or any history. It is only set in a POW camp as a way to provide a sharper focus for the issues it addresses. McNamara tells Wasser that Americans don’t make distinctions. Wasser, serving more in the role of Socratic interrogator than enemy, points out that America makes a lot of distinctions, especially when it comes to black people. Will the officer get a fairer trial in a German POW camp than he would in the Georgia of the 1940’s? In the POW camp, the black officers face far more mortal danger from their fellow Americans than they do from the Nazis.

The story has some surprising twists and turns, and an ending that will spark some discussion as audiences leave the theater. The performances are excellent, with Terrence Howard a standout as the accused man, telling the court that in his home town, white German POWs can eat at the diner and go to the movie theater, while he, an officer risking his life for his country, cannot.

Parents should know that the movie has some graphic battle violence. Characters are killed. There is some strong language, and some references to drinking. Issues of honor, integrity, equality, justice, and balancing individual rights with the good of the group are all explored.

Families who see this movie should talk about the segregation that existed in the United States before the 1960’s, and the consequences that are still felt today. They should also talk about the choices made by Hart, McNamara, Wasser, and Scott. Which ones surprised you? Which did you agree with?

Families who appreciate this movie will also like the two great WWII POW dramas Stalag 17 and The Great Escape, both based on true stories. They will also like Breaker Morant, another story of a military legal proceeding with an inexperienced defense attorney and the brilliant anti-war drama Gallipoli, starring Mel Gibson.