Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is the repressed and depressed daughter of an imperious mother (Gladys Cooper), head of a wealthy and socially prominent Boston family. Miserably unhappy and insecure, she spends much of her time in her room, making carved boxes and sneaking forbidden cigarettes. A sympathetic sister-in-law introduces her to Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains), an understanding psychiatrist. Under his care, at his sanitarium, she begins to develop some sense of herself as worthy, but is still terribly insecure when she departs on a cruise ship, for a rest, before returning home.

On the ship, she meets Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid), an architect. At first awkward and self-deprecating, she begins to bloom under his attention, and they fall in love. But Jerry is married to a woman whose health is too fragile to consider divorce. They say goodbye, and Charlotte returns home. Her mother is as tyrannical as ever, insisting that Charlotte must do as she says or she will refuse to support her. Charlotte meets Elliott Livingston (John Loder), a kind businessman, who wants to marry her, and her mother approves. But when she sees Jerry again, she knows it is impossible for her to marry Elliott, and turns him down. This so infuriates her mother that she has a heart attack and dies.

Overcome with guilt, Charlotte returns to Dr. Jaquith. But at the sanitarium, she meets a troubled young girl, Tina, Jerry’s daughter. In reaching out to Tina, she finds her own strength and sense of purpose. When Charlotte goes home, Tina moves in with her. Jerry at first wants to take Tina away, thinking it is too much of an imposition, but Charlotte persuades him that it is a way for them to be close, telling him, “Don’t let’s ask for the moon; we have the stars.”

This movie has a lot of appeal for highly romantic teenagers of both sexes, and for those who are interested in the dynamics and impact of dysfunctional families. Charlotte’s mother is completely self-obsessed, consumed with power, incapable of compassion, much less love, for her daughter. As Dr. Jaquith says, “Sometimes tyranny masquerades as mother love.” Never hesitating to make it clear that Charlotte was unwanted, she demands that Charlotte make up for the burden she inflicted by being born by giving in to her every demand. But it is also clear that there is no way for Charlotte to be successful in pleasing her mother.

Dependent and fearful at the beginning, she has her mother’s contempt. But, as we see at the end, her independence and self-respect are much more threatening to her mother, who literally cannot survive Charlotte’s assertion of her right to her own life.

In one sense, Mrs. Vale as ogre disappears like the Wicked Witch of the West doused with water or the Queen of Hearts when Alice tells her she is only a card. In another sense, Mrs. Vale’s attack is the ultimate booby- trap for Charlotte, who must then grapple with the guilt she feels for “causing” her mother’s death. Both Mrs. Vale and Jerry’s off-screen wife assert what F. Scott Fitzgerald called “the tyranny of sickness” or what Dr. Jaquith might call passive-agressive behavior, using powelessness as the ultimate method of exercising power. This is a very important form of emotional blackmail to be able to identify.

The title of the movie is from a line by Walt Whitman that Dr. Jaquith gives to Charlotte: “Now voyager, sail forth to seek and find.” Charlotte learns not to be afraid of what she will find, to risk getting hurt, to risk allowing herself to be known, to risk caring about someone else.

It is also worthwhile for kids to see that Charlotte must love herself before she is able to love someone else, and that just as Jerry’s love helps her to bloom, she is able to do the same for Tina. Charlotte tells Jerry, “When you told me that you loved me, I was so proud, I could have walked into a den of lions; in fact I did, and the lion didn’t hurt me.” Just as important, helping Tina is the most enduring “cure” for her sense of being powerless and without purpose, and far better than marrying the man she did not love.

These days, the decision made by Charlotte and Jerry not to stay together seems almost quaint; we tend to think that everyone should have both the moon and the stars. Their sense of sacrifice and duty is worth talking about as well.

Families who see this movie should talk about these questions: Why did Charlotte have such a hard time feeling good about herself? Why did Jerry and Charlotte decide not to see each other any more? Why did seeing Jerry make Charlotte change her mind about marrying Elliott? What did Charlotte’s mother want from Charlotte? Was that fair? What should Charlotte have said to her mother? Why did helping Tina make Charlotte feel better?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy “The Three Faces of Eve.” They might also like to see Bette Davis and Claude Rains in another movie about love, sacrifice and lessons learned, “Mr. Skeffington.” Davis plays a self-centered and flighty woman who marries a man she does not love in order to protect her brother, discovering decades later how much she cares for her husband.

Renee Zellwegger’s lips should be eligible for their own Oscar. As the waitress who is such a big fan of a soap opera that she becomes convinced she is a character on it, she does more to convey her essential sweetness and strength of character with her lips alone than most actresses could manage using a couple of bodies.

Zellwegger plays Betty, a sweet, trusting woman married to a boorish used car salesman (Aaron Eckhardt, unrecognizable as Erin Brokovich’s biker boyfriend). She does not know that her husband has stolen some heroin and hid it in one of his cars. When he is scalped by a hitman who is searching for the heroin, Betty goes into what psychiatrists call a fugue state. She has no memory of seeing her husband killed. Instead, she thinks she has left him to return to her former fiancé, a soap opera doctor. So, she sets off to find him, not knowing that she is driving the car where her husband stashed the heroin. The two hitmen, Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and Wesley (Chris Rock), follow her so they can kill her. Meanwhile, she goes to Los Angeles, gets a job in a hospital, and meets the actor who plays her dream man.

Betty’s trip from Kansas to Los Angeles recalls the journey of that other famous Kansan, Dorothy. Both go to a fantasy land only to find that the answer is within themselves. As someone tells Betty, “Honey, you don’t need anybody. You know why? Because you’ve got yourself.”

Charlie, too, is chasing a dream, wanting to finish this one last job so he can retire but growing more and more drawn to the woman he is supposed to kill. Betty and Charlie both seek a dream that will let them leave their pasts behind.

Parents should know that the movie, while primarily a comedy, has some scary and violent moments. The scalping scene is pretty grisly. The movie also has strong language and sexual situations.

Families who see this movie should talk about how Betty learned that she could solve her own problems and follow her real dream of becoming a nurse. Betty’s husband describes the soap opera fans as “people with no lives watching each other’s fake lives.” Is that true of anyone who watches any television show or movie, including the people who watch this one? Is there a difference between watching for escape and watching for entertainment or insight? Why would Betty stay with such an awful husband for so long? Were any other characters chasing dreams? Who?

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

Parents should not be fooled by the PG-13 rating into thinking that it might be appropriate for middle schoolers and younger kids. The people who rate movies for the MPAA seem to think that if it’s a comedy and no one uses the f-word, anything goes. But parents should be warned that the people behind this movie include the folks who brought us “Ace Ventura” and “American Pie.” In other words, if there’s a bodily function — or dysfunction — to make fun of, you’ll see it in this movie.

This is a sequel to Murphy’s popular remake of the Jerry Lewis classic, “The Nutty Professor.” In that movie, overweight professor Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) experiments with a weight-reduction formula that turns him into the svelt but mean Buddy Love. As this movie begins, Klump is no longer turning into Buddy Love, but he finds Love’s nasty comments coming out of his mouth, especially when he is around dream girl Professor Denice Gains (Janet Jackson). He tries to eradicate Buddy Love for once and for all through genetic alteration, but when the excised genetic material is mixed with a dog hair, Buddy Love emerges as a separate person, albeit one who likes to sniff things and play catch. Meanwhile, the university wants to sell Professor Klump’s youth formula of $150 million, but Buddy Love wants that money for himself.

There are jokes about poop pellets shooting out of the rear of a giant hamster, an old couple having sex, and a middle-aged couple who are not having sex. At the screening, the seven-year-old sitting next to me leaned over to ask her mother, “Mommy, what’s Viagra?” In one extended sequence, intended to be humorous, a man is sexually abused by the giant hamster. Then there is a huge bulge that grows behind Dr. Klump’s zipper until his alter ego — or rather his alter id — Buddy Love bursts forth.

Eddie Murphy is phenomenally talented, and the technology is stunning. Together, Murphy, make-up wizard Rick Baker, and the special effects wizards create six different completely believable characters. They make it all so seamless that you will forget that one person is playing six parts (seven, if you count one brief clip shown when one character watches television). The high point of the movie is the credit sequence, with outtakes that show just how good a job Murphy does in playing the brilliant, sweet geneticist Dr. Sherman Klump, his loving but anxious mother, his father, insecure about losing his job (and who tries the youth formula), his jealous brother, his earthy grandmother, and Buddy Love.

The real shame is that somewhere inside this gross-out raunch-fest is some real acting and some real stories and characters we’d like to know better. Mrs. Klump is a sweet woman, struggling to keep her family happy. Murphy’s portrayal is genuinely touching, even moving, reminiscient at times of Carol Burnett’s best moments as Eunice. The romance between Sherman and Denice had a lot of possibilities — two brilliant but insecure scientists trying to connect to each other. Murphy allows us a tantalizing glimpse of how tender Sherman is, and how much he longs for Denice — until the next hamster poop joke comes along.

Parents should know that in addition to the examples given above, the movie includes many, many gross and raunchy episodes, including a harsh portrayal of the sexuality of middle-aged and elderly people. When the grandmother grabs a man for a big, sloppy kiss, he throws up.

Families who see this movie should talk about how we control our impulses, and about how understanding and accepting all of our thoughts and feelings is the first step in letting them help us instead of getting in our way. Families can also talk about how the people we love can help us feel better about ourselves.

Families who enjoy this movie may also like “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” in which Alec Guinness plays seven members of the same family.

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.

Almost everyone knows the original “Oceans 11,” but almost no one remembers much about it except that Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, and Joey had some plan to knock over casinos in Las Vegas and that they had more fun making it than anyone had watching it.

This loose remake kicks it up several notches with enough genuine Hollywood star power to light all the neon signs in Nevada. George Clooney plays Sinatra’s part, Danny Ocean, this time just out of prison (in the tux he was wearing when he went in) with an idea about robbing three casinos of $150 million. The only problem is that the vault that holds all of their cash is “a security system that rivals that of most nuclear silos.” But Danny figures if he can get a good team together and a bankroll for some equipment, he can make it work.

So this is one of those movies in which we spend 40 minutes meeting the cast, 20 minutes setting up the robbery, and 40 minutes breaking into the vault, “Mission Impossible”-style. It’s done with a lot of panache and is good old-fashioned, Hollywood heist film fun.

Part of the pleasure of the film is its low-key style. The echo of the Rat Pack version is the way that everyone on screen has enough confidence to pull back a little and underplay the scenes to create a kind of intimacy. We feel that we’re listening in on real conversations, and find ourselves leaning forward as though each of us is in on the deal with them.

One problem, though, is that there are just too many goodies on screen. It’s hard for us to adjust our expectations for star turns by the high-wattage cast. There are so many stars that we don’t get to spend enough time with any of them. Matt Damon’s role is criminally under-written (just think of him as “the kid”) and we want to know more about Cheadle’s cockney demolition expert, the bickering brothers played by Scott Caan and Casey Affleck, Garcia’s casino owner, and especially about Tess (Julia Roberts), formerly married to Ocean, and now involved with Garcia’s character. Old-timers Elliott Gould and Carl Reiner are magnificent in small roles, and a couple of young TV stars drop by for a slyly hilarious cameo.

It is fitting that in a heist movie someone could steal the show, and in this movie it is Brad Pitt in a walk. I give Pitt a lot of credit for wanting to show off his considerable acting chops by staying away from glamour roles and often working against his natural appeal. His performance in “12 Monkeys” was as good as any Oscar-winner on his best night. But here he just relaxes and shows us that he can turn in a performance of effortless charm, subtle and witty, completely in service to the character and the movie and yet completely movie star mesmerizing, the most appealing he has been since his breakthrough performance in “Thelma and Louise.”

Parents should know that the movie has some strong language and some violence (no one hurt). The main characters are thieves, con men, and just plain crooks, and we are expected to be on their side.

Families who see this movie should talk about why heist films are perennially popular. How do the writer and director make us root for the crooks? What is it that we enjoy so much about seeing a robbery? Is it the fantasy of instant millions? The fun of seeing how they solve the unsolvable logistical problems? Watching them respond on the spot to the unexpected? Which character did you like the most? Why?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy other heist films like “Topkapi” and “The Lavender Hill Mob.”