Directed by: Sidney Lumet Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney Rated: R for a scene of strong graphic sexuality, nudity, violence, drug use and language. Parental Notes: This movie definitely deserves its R rating and is not suitable for youngsters.
Directed by: David Dobkin Starring: Paul Giamatti, Vince Vaughn, Kevin Spacey, Rachel Weisz Rated: PG for mild language and some rude humor. Parental Notes: This is a fair PG film. If you’re overly concerned about vulgar humor, you might want to keep your youngsters away, but that’s about it.
Directed by: Peter Hedges Starring: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook Rated: PG-13 for some innuendo. Parental Notes: Beyond teens getting away with speaking to their parents in a way some adults might not appreciate and a bit of innuendo, this film doesn’t have anything objectionable for teens/tweens.
Directed by: David Slade Starring: Josh Jartnett, Melissa George, Manu Bennett, Danny Huston Rated: Rated R for strong horror violence and language. Parental Notes: This is not a movie for children. It features torture, brutal violence, and loads of scary, scary vampires.
Written and Directed by: Tony Gilroy Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Syndey Pollack, Tilda Swinton Rated: R for language including some sexual dialogue. Parental Notes: This is not a movie aimed at kids. Most preteens and teens will probably be fine with the violence and sexual content, but they may not be captivated by the story.
Directed by: David L. Cunningham Starring: Alexander Ludwig, Frances Conroy, Ian McShane Rated: PG for fantasy action and some scary images. Parental Notes: This film is safe for just about all kids, though those who are passionate fans of the books may want to skip it.
Written and Directed by: Sean Penn (based upon the novel by Jon Krakauer) Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn Rated: R for language and some nudity. Parental Notes: There isn’t much in the way of violent content, aside from some footage of hunting. Scenes depicting the slaughter and cooking of wild animals might upset children, however, and there are shots of the meat being consumed by maggots that are far from pleasant. There’s a bit of non-sexual nudity, as well.
Directed by: Neil Jordan Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Nicky Katt, Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen Rated: R for strong violence, language and some sexuality. Parental Notes: This is not a film for children or even most preteens. It contains brutality and fairly graphic violence and is emotionally brutal as well.
Directed by: Ben Garant Starring: Dan Fogler, George Lopez, Christopher Walken, Maggie Q, James Hong Rated: PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language. Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard PG-13 comedy full of crude humor. Nothing unusually awful by Hollywood standards, but certainly not intellectual fare.
Directed by: Philip G. Atwell Starring: Jason Statham, Jet Li, Devon Aoki Rated: R for sequences of strong bloody violence, sexuality/nudity and language. Parental Notes: This mediocre film is very violent, with nudity and sexuality sprinkled throughout. Not one for the kiddies.