The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the ownership or management of this newspaper.

In a recent column for Entertainment Weekly magazine, the "Master of Horror" author Stephen King writes of true-life horror stories at movie theaters and concert venues. In one story, a woman named Mary tells of going to see "The Godfather" at the tender age of 13.

Her parents, she said, seldom went to films and knew little about the movie, but heard the film contained some great Italian wedding scenes. So they brought their daughter, only to be embarrassed when one "great Italian wedding" found Sonny engaging in some not so discreet relations with a bridesmaid against a wall.

Please, peopleÖ..Before going to a movie (and especially when towing children along), know what the movie is about and take heed of the movie ratings.

I once saw a mother toting a child into a Hannibal Lecter gore film. Maybe it was the same lady who brought her boy to "Saw." (C'mon, the movie is not about a tool sale at Home Depot!)

Last week I watched in amazement as a grandmother brought three girls ranging from about 7 years to 10 years of age into the first-run showing of "Definitely, Maybe," a romantic comedy which includes a cute Abigail Breslin as a young daughter asking about her father's love life.

"See how cute she is," said the grandmother as Breslin appears in the opening sequence.

Then the cute little actress, whose character had just come from an elementary sex education class, mouthed anatomically correct sex language in questioning her daddy's love life and her subsequent conception.

The "P" wordÖthe "V" wordÖThe grandmother was horrified, and whisked the kiddies out of the theater within five minutes. She was probably angry at the theater owners, but she should have looked in the mirror.

First, the film was rated PG-13. Secondly, if she had read any of the reviews, she would have known that the plot wasn't fare for pre-teens. And let's face it, children 10 and under are not easily fascinated by the hip tales of dating in New York City.

Generally, people who complain most about today's movies are people who either haven't seen a film since 1979 or those who enter a theater without any idea of the film's plot. Hey, No Country For Old Men is not about senior citizens trying to go back to high school; There Will Be Blood is not about a Red Cross Blood Drive. Just because pregnancy is in the plot, don't confuse Juno with a hormone-filled sex comedy.

Those folks who show up at the multiplex and mumble, "Let's see what's showing at 7" will probably find the movie experience less than satisfying.

But don't blame Hollywood. Blame them for not reading the newspaper.