In the 1980s, a talk counseled members not to attend R-rated movies. Of course, they didn’t say anything about M16 or M18. They didn’t mention M15 either. Did this counsel affect your movie-going practices?
[poll id=”242″]
Which R-rated movies do you consider “must see” if any? What movies did you hate? Which did you love?
Discuss.
Wheat & Tares 
I ignore ratings entirely, but for ALL movies look at IMDB not just the IMDB rating but also at the parent’s guide for content. I’ve become pretty aware of my own sensitivities. I’m overly empathetic, so any comedy where the main character is in a constant state of embarrasment puts me on edge (so, no zoolander for me). My husband hates the F word in common conversation- I couldn’t care less. Neither of us mind war violence but I HATE crime violence.
For instance, some R-rated movies we love that have left us feeling uplifted: Amelie, Last Samurai and the King’s Speech…
Quick question on the choices – does “above pg-13” mean “R and up” and “above R” mean “nc-17 and up”? Or were you intending to include a pg-13 rating amount the factors?
We were “counseled”, not COMMANDED. For those that allow others to do their thinking, just setting the bar at ‘no R’ and they count it good.
I rarely attend first-run productions anymore. Only when I had to take someone (daughter or a date), or for “must sees” (latest reboot of Star Trek, the next Star Wars movies, etc.) do I go. Part of it is that there’s simply nothing new, and most movies are either targeted towards a youthful audience and/or are silly and repetitious. It’s not so much an issue of being “contaminated by the world”, it’s a matter of what I choose to spend my time and attention on.
My parents are very exacting in their obedience, but because the FSOY pamphlet that talks about MPAA ratings came out after all their kids left home (and it wasn’t used widely in the mid-80s when I was a teen), they still don’t pay attention to movie ratings, which is why I was surprised a few years ago when my mother said she & dad went to see Snakes on a Plane earlier that week. They were in their 80s at the time. She didn’t say anything about the language or the rating. She was just freaked out about all the snakes!
I’ve found ratings totally unsuitable. I had to take my Daughter out of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” when she was little because it terrified her. The scariest movie I ever saw was “On the Beach” which had no nudity, little violence, but an overwhelming sense of forboding doom.
I can’t tolerate any horror movie, because I am too aware of real life potentials for horror. Yet, movies like “Schindler’s List”, despite the violence, nudity, and degradation they depict, are things I will force myself to watch to force myself to remember what can happen.
Strangely, I watch sci fi, fantasy, and super heroes because the good guys usually win in the end. Go figure.
My other main criterion is if it looks like there are ZERO interesting female characters, I’m likely to skip it unless the plot is particularly original.
Whitney, that sounds a lot like the Bechdel test, a test to determine if a movie is sexist. Here’s a link: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Bechdel_test
Passing the Bechdel test requires that:
– the movie [media] has at least two women characters;
– who talk to each other;
– about something other than a man.
Movies that don’t pass the Bechdel test usually only have token female characters, like the Book of Mormon. Actually, I think on the women front, the Book of Mormon goes one further in that none of the female characters even talk to each other, let alone about a man. And the Bible is also suffering on the Bechdel test scale.
Fire Tag – I too am a sucker for an uplifting ending, even if there was violence and nudity in between.
There was a visiting GA in my mission (I believe it was Condie) who claimed that Batman (the Michael Keaton one, rated PG-13, which our MP had deemed a good reward for hitting our numbers) had “pornographic levels of violence.” I think adding the word pornographic as hyperbole is a trend that should catch on, as in, this Egg McMuffin has pornographic levels of cholesterol! Or this salsa has a pornographic amount of cilantro!
Hawkgrrrl:
Pornographic violence is actually a pretty good term to describe the Joker, and The Dark Knight certainly topped the Jack Nicholson version of the character, who, even then, was intentionally defacing his lovers.
This latest series is one that I did literally force myself to watch because of the questions it raised about the depths of evil that comes out of nowhere, goes nowhere, and has no purpose any more except to corrupt everything it touches.
But, it really does point out that dwelling too near the abyss too long is so destructive. Even the actor who played the role couldn’t come back from the depression of being in that character, and some potentially violent people, unfortunately, have wanted to emulate the Joker ever since.
I’m not big into movies these days because most, IMO, are crap. Either rehashes, remakes or non-original, full of special effects, gratuitous violence, foul language or sex/nudity. (mainly women)
We did just see “OZ-the Great and Powerful” which I enjoyed, in spite of it being a bit weak on acting and plot movement. But since I love the “Wizard of OZ,” we went.
I loved “Les Miz” because it is a great musical, with an uplifting story (at the end, mind you) and it beats anything Andrew Lloyd Weber ever did.
I bought the “Lincoln” DVD and watched it the other night. I liked it, even with its historical failings, but my wife walked out after a few minutes as she found it boring.
I’d go see anything I thought was a good possibility in spite of the rating, but like I said above, most of the time the gratuitous stuff is there for who knows what reason.
I refuse to see anything with Nicolas cage in it. Though I did like the “National Treasure” movies.
I try to go for anything that has the potential to uplift me, which I suppose I define pretty broadly. Movies like “Saw” with just horrendous levels of violence with virtually no plot or point won’t get my viewership, but I’ll go for violence, nudity, language, etc. if it really does enhance the story and help uplift me.
Apolalypto – awesome! Also, Braveheart, Monster, Bridesmaids, A History of Violence, Leon: The Professional.
When I was young, my mother told me there were a FEW movies that were rated R that I must see before leaving home. On her list were: Last of the Mohicans and Schindler’s List. Beautiful music, soul-crushing history. Yes, it was good to see those films and to appreciate them as art, history and storytelling.
I’ve seen not-uplifting rated PG-13 movies that just make me wish for my mind and 2 hours to be returned. It is totally acceptible to be your own movie critic – just don’t be lazy about it and you’ll be ok. Another nice thing about modern tech is that we don’t have to “Buy” any movies any more. Our kids won’t have to see things in age-inappropriate order if we don’t choose to show it, and it makes the conversations about appropriate movies all the more interesting, applicable, and “my choice” for the kids, instead of vorboden (and therefore, desirable).
I found V for Vendetta to be a very thought provoking movie. I also love Good Will Hunting, and of course, Schindler’s List.