THE BOTTOM LINE:
The movie pushes the PG-13 envelope when zombies get blown away gorily by humans or kill humans and eat their brains. The skeletal creatures called “bonies” also kill and eat other, fleshier zombies. The dialogue includes a little profanity, and there is mild sexual innuendo.
R
Identity Thief. Fans 17 and older of riotous, raunchy comedy will laugh at first, then wonder why “Identity Thief” doesn’t maintain the hilarity. Many parents will probably deem the film’s profanity and crude sexual language too strong for those younger than 17. Sandy Patterson is a nice family guy. His wife is pregnant with their third child. The boss is a jerk, so when high-level traders leave to start their own company, Sandy goes, too. Then his identity is stolen by Diana, a shopping addict. Police tell Sandy it could take a year to clear his name, so he goes to Florida to bring his nemesis back and get her to confess. Chaos ensues.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Crude, explicit sexual slang and strong profanity earn the R rating, along with comically explicit sexual situations, though no nudity. The mayhem in the film is more comic than graphic. Some characters drink till they’re blotto.
Side Effects. Fairly explicit sexual situations and sexual themes, along with an intense exploration of mental illness, make “Side Effects” too mature for most viewers younger than 17. Some older, more sophisticated high-schoolers, however, might enjoy this taut, handsomely wrought psychological thriller. Emily is married to Martin, who has just finished a prison term for insider trading. She should be happy to have him home, but she finds her old depression returning. Jonathan Banks becomes her therapist, prescribing various drugs. Separately, Banks agrees to join a pharmaceutical company’s study of a new anti-depressant, and he prescribes the drug for Emily.
The bottom line: The film is not for older teens struggling with depression. It includes a graphic stabbing death with considerable blood. Characters engage in one fairly explicit sexual situation with nearly full nudity. Characters misuse prescription drugs and utter occasional strong profanity.
Bullet to the Head. Too violent for most teens younger than 17, this crime story may interest older teens who like their crime sagas in the hard-bitten, noirish vein. James Bonomo is a Louisiana hit man who befriends a cop named Taylor Kwan. Both Bonomo and Kwan are after the same gangster. Crooked cops, gangster developers and thugs abound, and the bullets and blood fly.
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