Directed by: James McTeigue Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Stephen Rea Rated: R for strong violence and some language. Parental Notes: This is not a film for youngsters. There is a fair dose of violence and the glorification of rebellion against authority. Parents will want to consider whether their children are ready for this sort of grown-up movie.
Directed by: Michel Gondry Starring: Dave Chapelle, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Fred Hampton Jr, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Dead Prez, Jill Scott, Kanye West Rated: R for language. Parental Notes: There’s plenty of foul language and both racial and sexual humor, but visually the film is fairly innocuous. Parents who don’t mind their kids watching “Chapelle’s Show” or listening to rap music probably won’t mind their kids seeing this film.
Directed by: Richard Shepard Starring: Hope Davis, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear Rated: R for strong sexual content and language. Parental Notes: This is not a film for kids. It’s aimed squarely at adults, and if the explicit sexual content and language didn’t keep youngsters away, the adult, sophisticated nature of the film would. This probably isn’t a movie youngsters who love James Bond will enjoy.
Directed by: Ang Lee Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rated: R for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence. Parental Notes: This film is a sensitive but brutally honest look at the difficulties of homosexual love in the 60s and 70s. The sex scenes and violence are no more explicit than those in most R-rated films, but they are very emotionally affecting. This is a film aimed at adults, but mature teens may find it well worth watching.
Directed by: Sam Mendes Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard Rated: R for pervasive language, some violent images and strong sexual content. Parental Notes: This film definitely deserves its R rating. The language is crude, there are lots of violent images (both physical and mental violence), and there is plenty of sexual content as well. This is not a movie for kids, and it’s not designed to appeal to bloodthirsty teens either. This is a movie for adults and mature teenagers.
Directed by: Gore Verbinsky Starring: Nicholas Cage, Hope Davis, Gemmenne de la Pena, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Caine Rated: R for strong language and sexual content. Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard R film in terms of sexual content, and it has plenty of foul language. More importantly, it’s not the sort of film likely to appeal to youngsters; it’s a melancholy and thoughtful character study.
Directed by: Andrezej Bartkowiak Starring: The Rock, Karl Urban, Ben Daniels, Richard Brake, Al Weaver, Rosamund Pike, Dexter Fletcher Rated: R for strong violence/gore and language. Parental Notes: This mediocre film is violent and messy, and therefore not for youngsters who can’t handle that sort of thing. There’s some sexually suggestive language as well. While not suitable for kids or most preteens, teenagers will probably enjoy it.
Directed by: Tony Scott Starring: Keira Knightley, Mickey Rorke, Edgar Ramirez, Delroy Lindo, Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari. Rated: R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content/nudity and drug use. Parental Notes: This is not a kids film. This is probably not a film you want your preteens or immature teenagers seeing either. It’s gleefully violent and the main character borders on being a sociopath.
Directed by: D.J. Caruso Starring: Al Pacino, Rene Russo, Matthew McConaughey. Rated: R for pervasive language, a scene of sexuality and a violent act. Parental Notes: This isn’t a film for kids, but mature teens who can appreciate the tension of a grand-tragedy-slash-character-study will likely find it fascinating.
Written and Directed by: Andrew Niccol Starring: Nicholas Cage Rated: R for strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality. Parental Notes: This is not a film for children. Older teens who can handle the realistic violence and sexuality may find it interesting, and it would certainly serve as a good conversation starter for a discussion about international arms trafficking.