The Bottom Line: Rated R

Daybreakers

Written and Directed by: Michael & Peter Spierig
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan, Michael Dorman
Rated: R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

Written & Directed by: Troy Duffy
Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Julie Benz, Clifton Collins Jr, Judd Nelson, Billy Connolly, Bob Marley, Brian Mahoney, David Ferry
Rated: R for bloody violence, language and some nudity.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

Directed by: Grant Heslov
Starring: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
Rated: R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.

Zombieland

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Rated: R for horror violence/gore and language.

The Informant!

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale
Rated: R for language.

Taking Woodstock

Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Demitri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber
Rated: R for graphic nudity, some sexual content, drug use and language.

Inglourious Basterds

Written and Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent, Daniel Brühl
Rated: R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality.

District 9

Directed by: Neill Bloomkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka
Rated: R for bloody violence and pervasive language.

Orphan

Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sars gaard, Aryana Engineer, Jimmy Bennett
Rated: R for disturbing violent content, some sexuality, and language.
Parental Notes: This is not a suitable film for children or most preteens. There's plenty of graphic violence and some very effective terror-inducing sequences, not to mention moderately graphic sexuality.

Surveillance

Directed by: Jennifer Lynch
Written by: Jennifer Lynch and Kent Harper
Starring: Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman, Pell James, Ryan Simpkins, Kent Harper
Rated: R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some drug use and a scene of aberrant sexuality.
Parental Notes: The MPAA's rating notes are accurate. This is not a film for kids. At all.

Public Enemies

Directed by: Michael Mann
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Stephen Dorff, Jason Clarke, Billy Crudup
Rated: R for gangster violence and some language.
Parental Notes: Between the violence (which is graphic) and the rambling plotline, this is not a kid-friendly film.

The Taking of Pelham 123

Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, James Gandolfini
Rated: R for violence and pervasive language.
Parental Notes: There's lots of swearing here, and a fair bit of violence. Not suitable for youngsters, but fine for teens and mature preteens, provided the language isn't a problem for you.

Crank: High Voltage

Written and Directed by: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez, Art Hsu
Rated: R for frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language.
Parental Notes: To say this film is not appropriate for children is an understatement. Teens will likely enjoy the frenetic action, but parents may find the content problematic.

Crossing Over

Directed by: Wayne Kramer
Starring: Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Ray Liota, Cliff Curtis, Summer Bishil, Alice Braga
Rated: R for pervasive language, some strong violence and sexuality/nudity.
Parental Notes: This is not a film for children -- the violence is sparse but graphic, and the underlying themes are aimed at adults.

Watchmen

Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino
Rated: R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.
Parental Notes: This is not a suitable movie for youngsters. This is a strong R rating and the plot is a very grim one.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Directed by: Patrick Tatopoulos
Starring: Michael Sheen, Rhona Mitra, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux
Rated: R for bloody violence and some sexuality.
Parental Notes: This is not a kids movie. There's plenty of violence and gore, including graphic scenes of people being beaten with a metal-tipped whip and being cut open with swords.

Defiance

Directed By: Edward Zwick
Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Jodhi May
Rated: R for violence and language.
Parental Notes: The violence here is not romanticized or glorified, it is simply there, and given that this is a film about World War II, there is plenty of it. There's also a shot of a mass grave filled with the dead. This is not a movie for youngsters or the faint of heart, but it would serve as a wonderful jumping-off point for discussions with mature teenagers.

Gran Torino

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her
Rated: R for language throughout, and some violence.
Parental Notes: This is not a film aimed at children. Mature teens may enjoy it, but youngsters should stay home. The violence is not glorified and excessive, but it's not comfortably cartoonish either.

Frost/Nixon

Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Matthew McFayden, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon
Rated: R for some language
Parental Notes: Most youngsters will probably be bored by this talk-heavy film, though there's little objectionable here -- very little violence (some footage of American involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia) and even less sexual content. Teens with interest in politics should definitely check it out, though -- ideally with their parents. This film would make a great starting point for a discussion of the ramifications of Watergate.

Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Written and Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks, Traci Lords, Jason Mewes, Craig Robinson
Rated: R on appeal for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and pervasive language.
Parental Notes: This is a film about a group of people making a pornographic movie. It contains frank discussions of sex, lots of graphic nudity, and some very, very dirty humor. It was re-edited to receive an R rating instead of the original NC-17.

Changeling

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Colm Feore
Rated: R for some violent and disturbing content, and language.
Parental Notes: This is a film aimed squarely at adults. There is some nastiness involving missing and murdered children which, while not graphic, renders the film unsuitable for youngsters -- but children of that age would probably find the movie boring anyway.

Pride and Glory

Directed by: Gavin O'Connor
Starring: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich
Rated: R for strong violence, pervasive language and brief drug content.
Parental Notes: This film deserves its rating. The violence is nasty and dark, and while it's not always graphic on screen, we're given enough to have vivid images in our minds.

Righteous Kill

Directed by: Jon Avnet
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg
Rated: R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.
Parental Notes: This is a pretty solid R rating. Not for youngsters, though teens and mature preteens may be fine.

Burn After Reading

Written and Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring: Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Marvel
Rated: R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence.

Death Race

Written and Directed by: Paul W. S. Anderson
Starring: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Natalie Martinez
Rated: R for strong violence and language.
Parental Notes: This is a big, bad, nasty action movie, and not suitable for youngsters. Teens will probably dig it if they like mindless violence, but the R rating is well-deserved.

Tropic Thunder

Directed by: Ben Stiller
Starring:: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.
Rated: :R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.
Parental Notes:: This is not a kids' movie. It's a totally over-the-top comedy aimed at movie-savvy adults and includes plenty of vulgarity, violence, stupidity, and other inappropriateness.

In Bruges

Written and Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy, Jordan Prentice
Rated: Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, and some drug use.
Parental Notes: This is not a film for youngsters. The violence in it is graphic in a realistic way rather than a cartoony one, and thus fairly disturbing.

The Orphanage

Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona
Starring: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep
Rated: R for some disturbing content.
Parental Notes: This is not a child-friendly film, on several counts. For one, it's subtitled. For another, it is very creepy, with the ghosts or corpses of dead children featuring prominently in many scenes, and one graphic car accident scene. This film deserves its R rating and is not at all for kids. Teenagers who can appreciate foreign cinema and love spooky films will likely enjoy it.

Hitman

Directed by: Xavier Gens
Starring: Timothy Olyphaunt, Olga Kurylenko, Dougray Scott, Ulrich Thomsen
Rated: R for strong, bloody violence, language and some sexuality and nudity
Parental Notes: This is a fairly standard action movie -- high on body count, low on graphic gore. There's a fair amount of sexual tension in places and several shots of the female lead wearing a g-string and nothing else, but no graphic sex.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

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.

Michael Clayton

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.

Into the Wild

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.

The Brave One

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.

War

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.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

Written and Directed by: Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis
Starring: Dana Snyder, Dave Willis,Carey Means, Andy Merrill, Mike Schatz, Matt Maiellaro
Rated: Rated R for crude and sexual humor, violent images and language.
Parental Notes: This isn't really a kids film. If you let your kids watch Aqua Teen, though, you might as well let them see the film, as it's basically the same in terms of content.

Grindhouse

Written and Directed by: Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Rose McGowan, Kurt Russell, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Michael Biehn, Marley Shelton,
Rated: R for strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use.
Parental Notes: This is not a kids movie. It's packed with graphic, over-the-top violence of all sorts, from zombies' heads exploding to people being ripped apart in car accidents. Think "Kill Bill" but without the swords.

300

Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro
Rated: R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
Parental Notes: This is a hugely over-the-top film with oodles of graphic violence and one fairly intense sex scene. It's all very cartoonish, though, so it may be just fine for some teens.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

Directed by: Liam Lynch
Starring: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Jason Reed
Rated: R for pervasive language, sexual content and drug use.
Parental Notes: This is an over-the-top film full of foul language and heavy metal insanity. A head explodes on screen, a main character uses his erection as a tool, and there is plenty of sexually-themed profanity and pot smoking.

Running with Scissors

Adapted/Directed by: Ryan Murphy
Starring: Annette Benning, Brian Cox, Joseph Cross, Joseph Fiennes, Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood, Jill Clayburgh
Rated: R for strong language and elements of sexuality, violence and substance abuse.
Parental Notes: This isn't a terribly strong R, but it does deserve the rating. It's not graphic but the emotional violence makes it unsuitable for youngsters.

The Departed

Directed by:Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin
Rated: R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.
Parental Notes: There's violence and language aplenty here, as well as drug content and some sex. The violence is frequently cruel and brutal, as well as graphic. This is not a movie for youngsters at all.

Crank

Written and Directed by: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Efren Ramirez, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Dwight Yoakam
Rated: R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and drug use.
Parental Notes: Teenagers will likely enjoy this madhouse of action, but parents may be concerned about the irreverence and casual public sex and drug use in the film.

Snakes on a Plane

Directed by: David R. Ellis
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips
Rated: R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence.
Parental Notes: This is a fine movie for teens and mature preteens, provided they can handle aggressive snakes and people dying somewhat gruesomely from snakebite. It's not a good movie for youngsters.

Clerks II

Written and Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Trevor Fehrman, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith
Rated: Rated R for pervasive sexual and crude content including aberrant sexuality, strong language and some drug material.
Parental Notes: This is not a kids movie. Sure, Kevin Smith is a funny guy, but this takes the vulgarity of the original “Clerks” and pushes it to the next level. There's discussion of various outrageous sex acts and a scene including bestiality. Mature teens can probably handle it, but this is a movie for grownups.

District B-13

Directed by: Pierre Morel
Starring: David Belle, Cyril Rafaelli, Larbi Naceri, Dani Verissimo
Rated: R for strong violence, some drug content and language.
Parental Notes: This is an action movie with minimal gore, but there is plenty of fighting, gunplay, and some blood. It's a soft R but more intense than a PG-13.

Slither

Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Banks
Rated: R for strong horror violence and gore, and language.
Parental Notes: This is definitely an R-rated horror movie; while it does have quite a bit of humor, it also has people exploding, heads being destroyed, and other unpleasantness. This is not a kid flick.

Inside Man

Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe
Rated: R for language and some violent images.
Parental Notes: This is not a movie for kids. There is plenty of violence and language, not to mention the frightening aspects of the hostage storyline. Moreover, it's not a movie aimed at youngsters. Teens may enjoy it, particularly if they have a fondness for heist films or are politically savvy.

V For Vendetta

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.

Dave Chapelle's Block Party

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.

The Matador

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.

Brokeback Mountain

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.

Jarhead

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.

The Weather Man

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.

Doom

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.

Domino

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.

Two for the Money

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.

Lord of War

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.

Land of the Dead

Directed by: George A. Romero
Starring: Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Eugene Clark, Robert Joy
Rated: R for pervasive strong violence and gore, language, brief sexuality and some drug use.
Parental Notes: This is a zombie movie. It is packed with unspeakably disgusting images and is suitable only for very mature teenagers.

Kingdom of Heaven

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Orlando Bloom, David Thewlis, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Marton Csokas, Alexander Siddig, Brendan Gleeson, Ghassan Massoud , Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Edward Norton
Rated: R for strong violence and epic warfare
Parental notes: There is quite a bit of violence here, and while it's not as gruesome as some R-rated films out there, it's still plenty gory. Youngsters should be kept away, but mature teens can probably handle it.

Kung Fu Hustle

Written and directed by: Stephen Chow
Starring: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Kwok Kuen Chan
Rated: R for sequences of strong stylized action and violence.
Parental Notes: This is an insanely violent film, but the violence is largely the cartoonish, light-hearted violence of Saturday morning cartoons. Some gangster violence early in the film makes it inappropriate for youngsters, but teens and mature preteens will probably love it.

The Amityville Horror

Directed by: Andrew Douglas
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Chloe Moretz, Philip Baker Hall
Rated: R for violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexuality and drug use
Parental Notes: Although this film isn't as viscerally disgusting as many modern horror films, it does include a number of disturbing images and has earned its R rating. It is definitely unsuitable for youngsters, including young teens.

Sin City

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, with "Guest Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, and plenty of others.
Rated: R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue
Parental Notes: The only reason this film is rated R and not NC-17 is because the comic-book style presentation makes the extreme violence and sexuality a bit more palatable. This is not a film for children, or for most adults either, come to that. This makes "Kill Bill" seem cartoonish. Comics are not necessarily children's material, and "Sin City" is the poster child for comics that are potentially damaging to children.

Hide and Seek

Starring: Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue
Directed by: John Polson
Rated: R for frightening sequences and violence.
Parental Notes: This is not a movie for youngsters, though teens who like to be scared might enjoy it. There is not a lot of graphic violence, but we do see a number of corpses and there are numerous, drawn-out suspense sequences.

Kinsey

Directed by: Bill Condon
Starring: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O�Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard
Rated: R for pervasive sexual content, including some graphic images and descriptions.
Parental Notes: Although there is little on-screen sex, there is plenty of discussion of the subject in a scientific and intellectual fashion. Mature teens may find the film interesting but its mature subject matter will probably bore the immature and the young.

Alexander

Directed by: Oliver Stone
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto.
Rated: R for violence and some sexuality/nudity
Parental Notes: With plenty of violence and two near-rapes, his is not a movie for youngsters or preteens, although mature teens may like its interesting portrait of the conqueror.

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Directed by: Beeban Kidron
Starring: Renee Zellwegger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant
Rated: R for language and some sexual content.
Parental Notes: There's some here to offend, but not much. It's mostly language and a bit of naughty but not graphic sexuality.

Sideways

Originally written for The Milpitas Post

Directed by: Alexander Payne
Starring: Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh
Rated: R for language, some strong sexual content and nudity.
Parental Notes: "Sideways" has some brief but fairly graphic sex in it and youngsters probably won't enjoy the film anyway. Teenagers may enjoy it if they like character studies and intelligent humor.

Shaun of the Dead

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.

Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy
Rated: R for zombie violence/gore and language.
Parental Notes: There is a lot of gore in this, some of it quite disturbing. Provided your teen can handle blood and guts and has a wicked sense of humor, they'll like it. Otherwise, they'd be best off checking out a zombie-free romantic comedy.

THX-1138: The Director's Cut

Originally written for The Milpitas Post

Directed by: George Lucas
Starring: Robert Duvall, Maggie McOmie, Donald Pleasance, Don Pedro Colley
Rated: R for some sexuality/nudity
Parental Notes: This dreamlike film is probably too odd for most preteens and it contains sexual material which while not terribly explicit may be considered inappropriate for youngsters.

Exorcist: The Beginning

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.

Directed by: Renny Harlin
Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy
Rated: R for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue.
Parental Notes: This movie is rated R, but could be NC-17 for some pf the material shown. Numerous violent and disgusting images abound here, and this is not material for the faint of heart, let alone youngsters.

Collateral

Originally written for The Milpitas Post

Directed by: Michael Mann
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith
Rated: R for violence and language.
Parental Notes: This film is rated �R� for a reason, and will likely be too intense for preteens and younger. Teenagers may not like its meditative pace, but will probably enjoy the black humor and Cruise�s smooth hitman character.

Fahrenheit 9/11

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.

Directed by Michael Moore

Rated: R for some violent and disturbing images, and for language.

Troy

Originally written for The Milpitas Post

Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen

Starring: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, Peter O'Toole

Rated: R for graphic violence and some sexuality/nudity.

Parental Notes: This is not a movie for little kids - in spite of the comparative lack of disgusting gore, there are still impalings, decapitations, and other sword-injuries galore. Teens with a taste for swordfights and epic battles will enjoy it, and may even be motivated to check out the source material.

Man On Fire

Originally written for The Milpitas Post

Directed by: Tony Scott

Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken

Rated: R for language and strong violence.

Parental notes: This film is full of very strong, on-screen violence. The first half of the film is thoughtful and very well done but the second half includes dismemberment, torture, and plenty of gore. Older teens may like it if they can get past the poor storytelling.

The Butterfly Effect

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.Written and Directed by: Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, Eric Stoltz
Rated: R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use.
Parental Notes: This is an intense and often very disturbing film with images of child and animal abuse and some very distressing sequences. Mature teens may find the philosophy interesting, but it's too intense for younger folks.

The Last Samurai

Directed by: Edward Zwick
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Koyuki, Shin Koyamada, Scichinosuke Nakamura, Hiroyuki Sanada
Rated: R for strong violence and battle sequences.
Parental Notes: This is an intensely violent film at times, although not as gory as some slasher flicks. Both its intensity and its main themes make it unsuitable for youngsters, although teens with an interest in military or samurai films may enjoy it.

The Matrix Revolutions

Directed by: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Lawrence Fishbourne, Collin Chou, Nona Gaye, Nathaniel Lees
Rated: R for sci-fi violence and brief sexual content
Parental Notes: Like the other films in the trilogy, this includes a great deal of violence, both unrealistic and visceral. Youngsters will find it too intense, but those teens who enjoyed the other films in the trilogy will probably like it.

Love Actually

Directed by: Richard Curtis
Starring: Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Laura Linney, Thomas Sangster, Alan Rickman
Rated: R for sexuality, nudity and language.
Parental Notes: This is a sweet and charming film, but not one free of sorrow. Teens and mature preteens with a taste for romance will like it, but other young folk will likely find it dull. If you and your children enjoyed Curtis' other films, this one is a good bet.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Sonny Chiba
Rated: R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content.
Parental notes: Hyper-violent, full of distressing images, and barrels of gore, this is not a movie for the weak-stomached and definitely too intense for younger teens. It's probably too intense for some adults, too.

Bubba Ho-Tep

Directed by: Don Coscarelli
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy
Rated: R for language, some sexual content and brief violent images.
Parental Notes: This is a strange film. Teens who love Campbell's work will doubtless enjoy it, but those without an odd sense of humor and a strong appreciation of adult themes will find it disappointing.