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What to watch with your kids: ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ ‘Piece by Piece’ and more

Common Sense Media also reviews “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” and “The Franchise.”

3 min
Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck in “Joker: Folie à Deux.” (Niko Tavernise/DC Comics/Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Joker: Folie à Deux (R)

Age 16+

Violent, downbeat musical sequel disappoints.

The sequel to 2019’s “Joker” stars Joaquin Phoenix — reprising his Oscar-winning role — and Lady Gaga in a long, downbeat musical. Intense violence includes shootings, stabbings and lots of blood. Characters are slammed, shoved, bashed and abused, and we also witness a huge explosion, dialogue about suicide and a building in flames. Characters have brief, awkward sex (mostly clothed), with thrusting and climaxing. There’s also passionate kissing, nonconsensual kissing and brief, full-frontal male nudity. Language includes “f---,” “motherf----r,” “s---,” “bulls---,” “a--hole,” “goddamn,” “Jesus Christ,” “a--,” “hell,” “balls,” “shut up,” “moron” and more, plus middle-finger gestures. Characters constantly smoke cigarettes and sometimes use prescription medications. (138 minutes)

Available in theaters.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (TV-14)

Streaming

Age 13+

Expect violence, peril in action-packed video game adaptation.

This animated series is based on the popular action-adventure video game franchise. Like its source material, the show often puts its title character (voiced by Hayley Atwell) in life-threatening situations. Expect fistfights, guns and blades, as well as some bloody deaths. Potentially scary scenes involve fires, explosions, traps, attacking animals and supernatural threats. Language is largely limited to “a--,” and characters drink and smoke infrequently. Lara’s emotional struggles — including her grief over her father and mentor’s death — are a focus. Our hero is a strong role model with relatable flaws and emotions, and the supporting cast represents various genders and ethnicities in a positive light. (Eight episodes)

Available on Netflix.

Piece by Piece (PG)

Age 9+

Creative Lego bio-doc has positive themes, implied drug use.

This Lego-animated documentary is focused on the life and career of singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams. While it’s not quite as tame as previous Lego movies, it’s creative and colorful, with themes of perseverance, teamwork, humility and gratitude. Strong language is largely bleeped (and accompanied by a poop emoji), but uses of “s---,” “hell,” “stupid” and “oh my God” are audible. When Williams and his producing partner visit the rapper Snoop Dogg, the room is filled with smoke; they spritz “PG Spray” around the room, but adults will understand that it’s meant to be marijuana smoke. Williams sings that he wrote a beat while out of his mind, and some interviewees drink champagne or liquor. Bikini-clad women feature in re-creations of hip-hop videos, and Williams and his eventual wife flirt, hug and kiss. In addition to Snoop, the star-studded voice cast includes Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani and Kendrick Lamar. (93 minutes)

Available in theaters.

The Franchise (TV-MA)

Streaming

Age 15+

Mature humor, language in witty behind-the-scenes satire.

Expect plenty of jokes revolving around drugs and sexual themes in this comedy series satirizing the making of superhero movies. Language is frequent and colorful: “f---,” “f---ing,” “s---,” “b----” and “a--hole,” plus creative insults such as “c---tangle money fascist.” Occasional, cartoonish violence occurs in the moviemaking process. The overall tone is light and funny, and the show is a fine choice for parents and teens to watch together — especially if your family enjoys the kind of blockbusters that the show mocks. Daniel Brühl, Aya Cash, Billy Magnussen and Himesh Patel are among the stars. (Eight episodes)

Available on Max.

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. Go to commonsense.org for age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites and books.