If your feel your kids too young for "Hunger Games," "Battleship" or MiB3," you're sort of up against it this weekend.

There's a bit of vacuum this holiday for family films that cater to little ones, so Disney-Pixar is filling it with rereleases of "Up," "Wall-E" "Ratatouille" and "Toy Story 3" at a few select local theaters Sat. thru Mon. -- AMC Cherry Hill, AMC Plymouth Meeting and AMC Neshaminy 24. 

The movies will screen daily, three showings apiece at these theaters -- check with the AMC website for specific times.  

Memorial Day options: "Battleship" is a goofball sci-fi movie, but there are half a dozen roles in the movie for actual veterans -- of WWII and Iraq. Also this week: George Lucas' "Red Tails," his passion project about the Tuskegee Airmen. The movie focuses on the African-American fighter squadron (Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr.) that saw action in Europe in WWII. The movie has a flag-waving, ultra-patriotic tone that seems out of step with contemporary war-movie attitudes, but Lucas has said he wanted it to be the movie that SHOULD have been made for the airmen in the 1940s or early 50s, before Hollywood was ready to make it (they were barely ready in 2011). "Act of Valor," the action movie featuring real Navy SEALs in action based on actual missions, arrives on DVD June 5.

Apparently poor Taylor Kitsch is no movie star. First “John Carter,” the legendary bomb, and now “Battleship.”  That’s $400 million worth of budget, and a $95 million return, so far.

Audiences have spoken: “Friday Night Lights,” yes. Saturday matinee, no thanks.  Is it fair to lay it all at Taylor’s feet? Surely not. “John Carter” had problems beyond casting. “Battleship” is a weak concept that never tracked strongly with audiences. Blaming Kitsch for the latter would be like blaming Brooklyn Decker.

And Kitsch is a perfectly acceptable standard issue hunk, and a decent actor. I see no huge difference between Kitsch and Channing Tatum, but movie-goers have anointed Tatum  a true star – the definition of “star” being someone who can bring audiences to a mediocre movie.  Like “The Vow,”  which made $125 million.  “21 Jump Street” was actually good, and made even more money -- $135 million.  Tatum is currently on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, hawking his upcoming stripper movie, “‘Magic Mike,” which has every woman in the features department volunteering to contribute sidebars.

Kitsch, for whatever reason, doesn’t have the Tatum pull.  “Battleship,” by the way, was crushed by “The Avengers,” which has pretty good word-of-mouth and made another $55 million. Also holding up well – “Hunger Games,” still making $3 mil a week, and “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” in limited release, up better than 20 percent and adding theaters.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator” has produced a couple of essays arguing that the movie represents the end of Sacha Baron Cohen as an important comedian.

Slate contends he’s lost his sense of anarchy, and a piece on “Grantland” (which correctly notes that Cohen’s new movie has a very Adam Sandler-ish note to it, a la “Zohan,” ) recounts his Ali G improv genius and contends that since then,  returns have been diminishing rapidly.

It’s true to the movie is more conventional, traditional – some of the jokes go all the way back to Vaudeville.  But there are things in “The Dictator” that I liked – the way Cohen uses his  Gaddafi-like title character to satirize a general (pardon the pun) deterioration in leadership standards.

His Admiral/General   is an overgrown child (all my friends have nuclear weapons, he says, in the midst of a tantrum) who reacts to dissent by eliminating it, and who confuses leadership with a selfish, ego-driven assertion of power and privilege. There is no moral framework for his actions. He does things because he can, and holds others accountable for his mistakes.   There are more than a few Aladeen’s loose in society today;  Cohen says as much, in Aladeen’s closing speech.

Sacha Baron Cohen's 'The Dictator" officially opens Wednesday, but if you go now to Fandango.com you may (if it's not sold out) be able to buy tickets to this evening's 9:05 pm sneak at the Riverview. According to the press releases, the "virgin guards" of Cohen's alter ego, General Aladeen, will be on hand to offer complementary small popcorn, small soda, T-shirts, posters and photos "while supplies  last" to ticket holders.

Fans can also get a peek at the new "Anchorman 2" trailer, which is exclusive to "The Dictator."

 "Avengers" massive $200 million haul was the talk of the box office this week, obscuring the mystery of the sudden rebound in the numbers for notorious bomb "John Carter."

"Carter" actually added 169 theaters last week, unheard of for a movie that's been in theaters this long, and performed this badly. The cynic in me wondered if Disney pushed "Carter" into theaters, knowing that overflow, turn-away crowds from "Avengers" shows might see it out of sheer desperation. "John Carter: Because Everything Else Is Sold Out."

Turns out, according to THR, Disney had paired "JC" with "Avengers" on old-fashioned double bills at drive-in theaters in places that still have them. The bookings helped "John Carter" earn another mollion or so, and bumped it past the $70 million mark, which just about covers the catering bills.

More shrewd corporate synergy from Disney, the same sort of thing you saw last night on Disney owned "Modern Family," when the cast visited a Disney owned theme park, and the broadcast included a commercial for the new Cars World exhibit, based on the Pixar movies.

In the summer months, Hollywood is often accused of doing the same thing, over and over and over again. Well, that all changes this summer.

This summer, Hollywood is doing the same thing, over and over again, but with entirely different people!

Here’s a quick look at how studios are putting new faces in old roles, bringing new life to old brands.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Anne Hathaway is Catwoman, replacing Michelle Pfeiffer who played the role in 2004.

SPIDER-MAN

Andrew Garfield replaces Tobey Maguire (2002).

THE BOURNE LEGACY

Jeremy Renner takes the franchise reins from Matt Damon (2002).

THE AVENGERS

Mark Ruffalo is the new Hulk, replacing Ed Norton (2008’s “Incredible Hulk”) and Eric Bana (“The Hulk” 2003). Third time’s a charm?

SPARKLE

Jordin Sparks replaces Irene Cara from “Sparkle” ’79.

TOTAL RECALL

Colin Farrell replaces Arnold Schwarznenegger’s super-sized 1990 original.

Here's a NYT story about a documentary called "The Wrecking Crew" screening this weekend at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut. (5 pm Sat., 12:50 pm Sun., check annenberg site for details). 

Doc tells the story of session musicians known for creating the California Sound of the 1960s and 1970s, working for acts as diverse as Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell. Many, many more. Music rights for the doc have cost $300,000.

More music documentary news -- Friday May 4, the local band Full Service will screen its documentary "Takeover!" at World Cafe Life. The film recounts the bands unauthorized gambit to play concerts in parking lots at venues where Snoop Dogg was touring. The band will answer questions after the screening, and perform, details at the band's site.

If you need something movie-ish to do this weekend, and you don't like the new titles, be advised "Hunger Games" is going back to IMAX for one week, before being displaced by "Avengers" next week.    

The movie adapation of Steve Harvey's "Think Like A Man" made $33 million in its opening weekend to claim the top spot, knocking off long-running champ "The Hunger Games" and posting one of the best numbers ever for an African-American ensemble.

Only "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail" had a better opening weekend among African American ensemble comedies,  according to the genre ranking at BO MOJO.

Audiences apparently like the "Think Like a Man" combination of light comedy and an attractive cast sprinkled with comic talent -- Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Taraji Henson, Romany Malco. 

It's the same basic formula that has worked for Hollywood in the Judd Apatow movies (Malco, remember, was part of the "40-Year-old-Virgin" ensemble), in many variations, including last years mostly female "Bridesmaids."

The Steve Harvey brand obviously boosted the numbers, and the movie's success probably means that Harvey will become a new Hollywood commodity -- expect work to commence on a direct sequel, or another Harvey-inspired comedy within a year.