“Hardball” is a softball, and this umpire calls it out at first base.

Keanu Reeves plays a compulsive gambler named Conor O’Neill who owes a lot of money to various thugs. A childhood friend offers to pay him $500 a week if he will take over the friend’s responsibility to coach a baseball team in Chicago’s Cabrini Green, one of the nation’s most dangerous housing projects. You know where it goes from there because you’ve seen it in “The Bad News Bears” and “The Mighty Ducks” and dozens of clones. That is not always a bad thing – there’s always room for another story of underdogs and redemption. But this one never delivers on any of the opportunities that formula creates. There’s a nine-member team and we barely get to know any of them except for two inevitable cliches — the fat kid and the cute little kid who talks a lot. Reeves can be terrific in a part that suits his range, but the blankness that works well for him in dumb parts (“Bill and Ted”) and silent parts (“Speed,” “The Matrix”) does not give him enough to work with when he is supposed to be struggling with his compulsion to gamble or angry with himself for getting into trouble. Reeves gets no help from the script, which makes him behave in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner and does not have a single memorable line of dialogue. We don’t want to be told that he and the kids come to care for each other in a movie like this – we want to be shown. And there is not one moment of practice, teaching skills (baseball or otherwise), or conversation to make us believe it.

The movie makes the most of the audience’s inherent commitment to the storyline. We want those kids to make it, and we want Conor to make it, too. The other reason to watch is yet another quietly arresting performance by Diane Lane, who brings a delicacy and complexity to every moment she is on screen.

The script is strictly by-the-numbers, but there is a timely plot twist concerning a player with a forged birth certificate. One of the movie’s most wrenching scenes shows him after he is kicked off the team, wearing gang colors and warning his former teammates with a meaningful glance to get away quickly.

Parents should know that the movie includes very strong language, including many four-letter words used by children. The boys are surrounded by drug use and gang violence. They can identify the weapon by the sound of the shooting and take it for granted that they must sit on the floor to be out of the way of gunfire that might come in the window. One child is badly beaten and another is killed.

I have to say something here about the MPAA’s rating system. This film was originally intended to be released as an R, due to the language used by the children. The producers argued that it was an authentic portrayal of the way that people in that environment speak. Protests during the filming, and, more significantly, marketing concerns about whether the audience really wanted an R-rated movie about a little league team, led them to cut some of the worst language to obtain a PG-13 rating. This shows again the absurdity of the MPAA’s standards because the movie still has some material, including the gang shooting of a child, that is far more likely to be upsetting to younger audiences than a few four-letter words.

Families who see this movie should talk about how the children helped Conor realize that he needed to make some changes. Why was it important that Conor made a rule that the players could not insult each other? What did Conor learn from G-Baby? What do you think will happen to the members of the team when they get too old to play in the league?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy The Sandlot and Angels in the Outfield. They might also like To Sir, with Love.

It may seem odd to speak of a made-to-be-blockbuster as unpretentious, but the aspirations of “Jurassic Park III” are remarkably — almost endearingly — modest. It does not waste time with chaos theory mumbo-jumbo or dumb “dinosaurs come to America” plot twists like the second episode, “The Lost World.” It just gets right down to business in 90 quick minutes of little people being chased by great big scary things, with just enough plot and character to provide breathing space and a reason to care who survives. It is not art, but it is fun

Instead of Steven Spielberg, director of record-breaking parts one and two, “Jurassic Park III” is directed by Joe Johnston, who showed a sure hand with little people being chased by great big scary things in “Honey I Shrunk the Kids.” We can never be astonished by the CGI technology again the way we were by the first one, and this chapter does not waste much time on grand themes of hubris in playing God with DNA.

There are few surprises. Two good things to have when fighting smart dinosaurs are opposable thumbs and a cell phone. When a man’s ex-wife says that he never takes chances, you know what’s coming, and you will probably be able to guess as we meet each character which ones will survive to the end of the movie. But the script it has clever moments, including some sly digs at “The Lost World.” There is a delicious variation on “Peter Pan’s” crocodile that once swallowed a clock, so Captain Hook can always hear ticking when he is approaching. And there is a nice “Blair Witch” moment when some characters find a video camera dropped by another character and replay the footage to see what happened to him.

Sam Neill, as the first episode’s paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant returns, now assisted by Billy (Alessandro Nivola). They are tricked onto the island by the Kirbys (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni). They are searching for their son, who fell onto the island when he was parasailing.

The dinosaurs are bigger and better than ever. This time, they swim, they fly, and they fight each other. They appear to play a sort of kick-the-can with the downed plane’s cabin. They also work together to trap the humans, so it is a war of brains, not just brawn.

Parents should know that, like the others, this movie is nonstop action and violence. There are jump-out-at-you surprises and some gross-out moments. Characters are in extreme peril and several are killed, but the movie is careful not to get rid of anyone we really care about. Some children will nevertheless find it very upsetting, especially because one of the characters is a child. But the child is brave, smart, and resilient, which some kids will find very satisfying. I also want to caution parents that this movie features what I call the “Parent Trap problem,” divorced parents who reunite and live happily ever after at the end of the movie. Families who are dealing with divorce may find this a scarier prospect than the dinosaurs.

Families who see this movie should talk about Dr. Grant’s comment that “Some of the worst things imaginable are done with the best intentions.” He also talks about the difference between astronomers and astronauts. Is he right in saying that the difference is between imagining and seeing?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the first two episodes (the first vastly better than the second, in my opinion). If they would like to see some friendlier dinosaurs, they might like to try “Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend” or “The Land Before Time.”

Rachel Griffiths (Oscar nominee for Hilary & Jackie) plays Pamela Drury, a harried 30-something magazine writer who wonders if she made a mistake, 13 years earlier, when she turned down a marriage proposal from Robert (David Roberts). She gets a chance to find out when she is hit by a car driven by none other than herself, the Pamela who married Robert and who is now living in the suburbs with husband, three children, and a dog.

The second Pamela disappears, leaving Pamela One to cope with assorted domestic crises. At first, in a daze, she lets the kids eat pizzas in front of the television, and she is so used to shopping for one that she forgets to take food for them at the grocery store. But she loves being with Robert, and begins to warm to family life. She teaches the baby to wipe his own bottom and the older boy to stop calling her “dumbhead.” She finds herself responding to her daughter’s first period the same way her mother responded to hers. She is disconcerted to find that the married Pamela is also a magazine writer, but of women’s magazine drivel like “ten ways to keep your marriage alive.”

Things are more complicated than she thought. As Pamela One, she met an attractive and sympathetic teacher named Ben (Sandy Winton), who tells her he once thought of being a journalist, and who dashes her hopes of romance when she sees him with a wife and children. As Pamela Two, she meets him in his other incarnation, now a single journalist who never got over the death of his first love.

Things get pretty much sorted out by the end. As in “Groundhog Day” or “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the main character gets a different perspective on his/her life, and gets a second chance to make it work. But this situation has some special poignance because it relates to the central conflict of many women’s lives — and many men’s, too — the balance between work and family. Pamela’s struggle, as Pam Two, to make her writing assignment into something meaningful about the modern woman, is a metaphor for her experience. So is her Pam Two nightie, with “Tic Toc Tic” on the front.

What Pam learns from experiencing her “what if” helps to turn her from someone who recites affirmations to herself every morning to someone who truly learns to value herself enough to connect to someone else.

The movie opens with young girls telling us their dreams — fashion designer, supermodel, wife and mother. Pam asks her own daughter (well, Pam Two’s daughter) about her dreams, but she is content for the moment to be open to everything.

Parents should know that the movie contains strong language, sexual references, including adultery, and sexual situations, including a comic encounter with a diaphragm. Characters smoke and drink, including use of alcohol to soothe anxiety, loneliness, and fear. One character attempts suicide.

Families whose teenagers see this movie should talk about how we make decisions and handle the consequences, and how any meaningful achievement at home or work requires sacrifices in other areas. They may also want to discuss why the youngest child is the only one who can tell the difference between the two Pams — is he the only one who really looks at her? — and how couples handle the challenges of long-term relationships.

Families who enjoy this movie will also like Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow and Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

Doves flutter in a bell tower as an angelic choir sings. We hear someone say, “I know you’re not supposed to be jealous of anything, but to soar and take flight — that’s living.” As he speaks of his envy of hawks, the music shifts to hip-hop, setting the state for an imaginative and arresting retelling of Shakespeare’s “Othello,” set in a contemporary southern prep school.

Instead of Othello, a Moorish conquering warrior married to Desdemona, a white noblewoman, we see Odin (Mekhi Phifer) a talented black athlete, the only black student in the school, in love with Desi (Julia Stiles), the headmaster’s daughter. Instead of Iago, the trusted friend who is consumed with jealousy, we see Hugo (Josh Harnett), the coach’s son.

“Othello” works exceptionally well in a high school setting because so much of the plot fits in with the overheated emotions and impetuousness of adolescence. The plot turns on rumors, misunderstandings, trusting the wrong people, and jumping to conclusions, all of which will seem familiar to teenagers. They will also be very familiar with the racial issues, and their impact on O’s hypersensitivity to believing that Desi is faithful to him. Hugo’s use of steroids deepens the credibility of his fury at Odin’s success.

First-time director Tim Blake Nelson (who was last seen singing “In the Jailhouse Now” in “O Brother Where Art Thou”) shows a strong command of the storyline and imaginative use of visuals that underscore the movie’s themes. He gets very strong performances from the actors, especially Harnett and Phifer and Martin Sheen as the coach.

Parents should know that the movie’s release was delayed because of its violence. As in the original play, characters are brutally murdered and there is a suicide. Teen characters smoke, drink, and use drugs. The language is extremely harsh, including the n-word and a homophobic epithet and very harsh rap lyrics on the soundtrack. A consensual sexual encounter turns into a rape, and there are other sexual references and situations. A girl is referred to as a slut.

Families who see this movie should talk about how easy it can be to shake someone’s trust, and how difficult it is to determine who we should believe. They should talk about Odin’s conflicts — the reason he doubts Desi so quickly is more a reflection of his doubts about himself than his faith in her. Would he be so quick to believe that she was unfaithful to him if Mike was black? Would Hugo be so angry at Odin if Odin was white? What do you think about O’s use of the word “nigger” and his reaction when he is told that Mike and Desi call him that behind his back?

Odin also shows his conflicts about women when he asks Desi, “If you were a virgin like you said you were how come you acting all freaky?” This is typical of immature people who cannot reconcile mature sexuality as a reflection of true intimacy. Families should discuss the scene in which Hugo is invited to have dinner with his father. Why does the camera show only Hugo? Why is Hugo so hurt by what his father says? What does Hugo want his father to see that he doesn’t?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy one of the filmed versions of Othello, especially the ones starring Laurence Olivier and Laurence Fishburne. They may also want to read or see Native Son, another tragic story about a young black man.

Rat Race” is a loving salute to the spirit of “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” a splendid salute to slapstick that featured just about everyone who happened to be in Hollywood in 1965. “Rat Race” has an all-star cast playing characters who all want to be the first one to a $2 million treasure and will do anything — ANYTHING to get it. It is outrageous, cheerfully vulgar, undeniably lowbrow, and very, very funny.

John Cleese plays a Donald Trump-style casino owner who has a plan to attract the really high rollers. He will let them bet on a race between creatures who can think, plan, and lie — humans. Six randomly selected customers of the casino are each given a key to a box in a train station in Utah. Inside the box is $2 million, and the first one there gets it all. The six include Rowan Atkinson as a narcoleptic Italian, Cuba Gooding, Jr. as a disgraced football referee (he blew the call on the coin toss), Whoopi Goldberg as a woman just reunited with the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Brecken Meyer as a conservative lawyer who always plays by the rules, Jon Lovitz as a father on vacation with his family, and Seth Green and Vince Vieleuf as small-time con artists. Along the way, they meet up with the prettiest helicopter pilot in the world (Amy Smart, brilliantly funny), neo-Nazis, real-life superlawyer Gloria Allred, a rocket car, a truck driver delivering some very important and delicate cargo, and a bus full of Lucy impersonators. There is a lot of good, old-fashioned, hit-on-the-head humor, but it’s like a Road Runner cartoon — everyone bounces back without a scratch in the next scene, ready to get right back into the game.

Director Jerrry Zucker, shows the sure hand with sight gags that brought us “Airplane!” While this does not have that movie’s surreal moments of comic ecstasy, its stronger narrative coherence and more interesting characters make it almost as satisfying. All of the performances are delights. Kathy Bates’s brief cameo as a woman who really likes squirrels and Amy Smart’s expression when she dive-bombs her cheating boyfriend (played by TV Superman Dean Cain), Vieluf’s encounter with his multi-pierced dream girl, Seth Green’s encounter with a monster truck rally, and Kathy Najimy’s encounter with the Barbie Museum are among the funniest movie moments in years. And the final resolution beats “It’s a Mad…World” by a thousandfold.

Parents should know that the PG-13 rating comes from some vulgar humor, including bathroom jokes, a weird proposition made to a prostitute, an offensive porn movie title, and a cross-dressing man. A multiply-pierced woman flashes her breasts as a way of flirting with a man she does not know (nothing seen).

Families who see this movie should talk about Brecken Meyers’s statement that “Good things take time, but great things happen all at once.” Why does money make people take such foolish risks? Who were you rooting for? Why? Compare the amount at issue in this movie with the amount that people were racing for in “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” Why is it so much more?

Families who see this movie will also enjoy “Airplane!,” “Top Secret,” and “Blazing Saddles” (all with some vulgar humor). And every family should watch “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.