Your rating system is so arbitrary. eg. The Matrix and The Cell were both rated 'R' which is just ridiculous in my book (the latter very much deserved it, the former certainly didn't). Although I haven't seen Shutter Island yet, I'll probably be seeing it later this week. The movie is likely rated 'R' for disturbing images, some strong language and intense violence. Bkey would be better at answering that question.

I agree with W4J that the US rating system is very arbitrary and fickle, but in this case I think that Shutter Island certainly deserves it's R-rating. There is a lot of dramatic tension building the plot, since he is stuck in a mental institution. There is some strong language, the f-word is used a few times, I honestly don't remember how much because cursing is something that I don't even really notice. The main reason it received an R-rating is the violence and disturbing images, which almost all occurs in the flashbacks. For example,

I definitely think the movie is worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of psychological films, or of the director. The story is full of twists and turns that make you think and will keep you on the edge of your seat. I feel like the only thing that might make one leery about seeing it is if images like the ones I mentioned might bother you, or you don't like frightening/jump scenes.

I've been considering going to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians because I got a free ticket for being in a film festival a few weeks ago. After reading the Plugged In review, my antennae went up and I wasn't sure about going. I decided, however, to see what other reviews were saying. (i.e., I checked here and elsewhere as well)

I like Plugged In because it tells you the details about what is going to happen in the movie. You can decide if the negative elements that happen are okay by you, or if they're definitely not okay. I think that some of their reviews do seem to end negatively, but for the most part I think that they don't give a definite conclusion at all. They seem to say, "Here are the facts. Make your own conclusion."

Tis one of the reasons I like their reviewing style- they don't tell me what to think. And I do take the reviews with a grain of salt and go elsewhere to read reviews as well.

Most of the movies I want to see right now are in limited release, unfortunately: The Last Station, The Young Victoria, and An Education. If I were back home I could see all three of them, but here in the wilds of NW Arkansas The Young Victoria is the only one I could get to - and that with a 30 min drive!

Oh, and two that have had a wider release but are no longer playing in the theater here in town: Invictus and The Princess and the Frog.

They seem to say, "Here are the facts. Make your own conclusion."

Actually, they say "Here are the facts. And here is my conclusion."

But, as you said, I do really like how

it tells you the details about what is going to happen in the movie. You can decide if the negative elements that happen are okay by you, or if they're definitely not okay.

lys, I hope you can see An Education. It's possibly one of my favorite movies right now. Reallyreallyreally worth seeing. Not a super happy movie, but you probably already know that. More a coming-of-age story, slightly bittersweet, I guess.

I know it's rated R but it sounds kinda interesting...why exactly is it rated that high?

pluggedin has their review of it up, according to it the movie contains some (nonsexualized) male nudity, and it seems fairly violent/disturbing. I still want to see it tho, probably on dvd.

If you go to see Percy Jackson, sweeet, you'll have to read the books after. They're 100x better. Though if you really like the movie you might not want to, because it's a horrible adaptation, though a good movie on its own.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Most of the movies I want to see right now are in limited release, unfortunately: ...and An Education

That's a pretty good movie. I liked alot of things in it, but I also disliked a few things in it. For me, the best thing of the movie is:

bkey: I don't know if I'll be watching it then. I'm kinda sensitive to swearing and murder affects me alot (I don't get scared or anything, but I'm an extremely sensitive person and after just watching the Night Raid scene in PC, I was depressed for days...so I don't think I'd do well with a movie like that)...

My parents said I can watch PJ after Thursday...*sigh* I WANT TO SEE IT SO BAD!!!! I went on the movie site the other day. I took a quiz that would say what god/goddess/mythological creature you would be a child of and I got Hades . But my sister got Medusa and I think that's worse , and my other sister got Grover .

Wow, yes, definitely avoid Shutter Island if you were depressed for days after watching Prince Caspian. Also, avoid most dramas and especially anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion (it has it's moments of greatness but mate, it's depressing beyond belief).

^^yeah I don't do well with depressing. I like emotional movies but not depressing. Like I saw this one movie called Swing Kids and it was an interesting movie but it ended so completely sad and depressing. No hope at all. Those are the kind of movies I don't like, the ones that depress me. No hope or redeeming ending.

Hades may be a grumpy jerk

I HATED the way they portrayed him and Persephone in the movie. Worst scene ever IMAO. Though the first part with Charon was funny. No quips about drowning in a big bathtub though.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

^^ok, I'm not gonna click on that spoiler yet b/c I just started Titan's Curse last night. I saw some pics of Hades and Persephone...not at all how I imagined him. Percy describes him in the book as the only god he met (at least that far in to the series) that looked god-like. And Hades does NOT look god-like in the movie...and Persephone looks exactly the opposite of how I imagined her

I just came back from seeing The Young Victoria. What a beautiful movie! Despite some flaws, I think it's probably the strongest costume film we've had since Amazing Grace, although unlike AG I don't think it's going to become a favorite. Let me start with my major problem with the movie: the pacing. Going back to Amazing Grace, I recall that a lot of people had problems following the flashbacks, but they flowed nicely and never really bothered me. A large portion of The Young Victoria is a flashback, and very awkwardly set up at that; however, even putting that aside, the narrative structure is just odd. The movie has a bunch of varying scenes and plot threads that just seem to be cobbled together without any dramatic purpose. A different editor might have made a far better movie out of it. But then again, I caught myself thinking that this approach—while questionable artistically—might better reflect real life than a more typical scriptwriting/editing job. The ending, too, doesn't feel particularly conclusive, but again this seems to be a conscious decision. Whether these things sink the movie or not is debatable, but they're definitely distracting.

However (and that word is capitalized for a reason), The Young Victoria is also one of the best, most human love stories I've seen on the screen in many years. If what the movie says is true, Victoria and Albert were a couple who really loved each other in all senses of the word. They love each other in spite of the others' mistakes, and disregarding the political side of the match. Their refreshingly chaste courtship makes the intimacy they achieve in marriage that much more beautiful and satisfying. Many of the scenes during their honeymoon period are highly sensual without being explicitly sexual. The whole presentation just reeks of taste and class. But their relationship isn't idealized, either. They fight rather bitterly during one part of the film, but make up later. (This scene does go rather over-the-top when Victoria accuses Albert for walking over her simply because she's a woman—a comment that seemed a little too modern in a movie that otherwise sticks close to the values of its period.)

Emily Blunt and Rupert Fiend do a beautiful job of portraying this wonderful and fascinating couple. Blunt manages to make Victoria a strong woman without falling into many of the standard Hollywood Strong Women cliches; again, for the most part she seems to be very much a woman of the period, but one with her own moral convictions. I feel that Jane Austen would have liked her. Friend's performance is similarly refreshing. Too often men in period movies are so charismatic and "in control" that they don't seem quite real; Friend's Albert, on the other hand, is timid, quiet, and has struggled with many of the same social inhibitions as Victoria. At the same time, he never comes across as a ninny. Kudos to them both!

The rest of the cast is quite strong, with Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong, and Harriet Walter all showing up. But "showing up" is the key term here. These are all strong performances, but none of them are star turns. Since this film is mostly about Victoria and Albert, that's probably a good thing: they're the ones you're supposed to remember.

The costumes and cinematography are simply gorgeous, and the soundtrack by Ilan Eshketi (whom people may know from Stardust) is going straight to the top of my wishlist. Recommended to all costume drama lovers. A generous 8/10.

Not my type of movie but the costumes do look very nice. Thanks for reminding me to watch Amazing Grace. I've heard it's good but I still haven't seen it.

I havn't seen Amazing Grace yet either, but I have been wanting to for some time.