Unlike the MPAA we do not assign one inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest, depending on quantity and context.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit [2005] [G] - 2.3.1
In their big screen debut, clay animation characters Wallace and Gromit run a
humane pest-control outfit called "Anti-Pesto." But, while protecting the
gardens of their neighbors from infiltrating pests, they come face-to-face with
an enormous rabbit that is ravaging the veggies. They try to find a way to
capture it or drive it off before the town's big vegetable competition, but a
hunter is also commissioned to go after the giant vermin. With the voices of
Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham-Carter, Ralph Fiennes, John Thomson and Peter Kay.
Directed by Steve Box & Nick Park. [1:34]
Just Like
Heaven [2005] [PG-13] - 4.4.4
A grieving widower (Mark Ruffalo) sublets an apartment in San Francisco and
devotes himself to drinking to oblivion. One night, when he has had a few too
many, he sees a woman (Reese Witherspoon) in his apartment and she insists that
it is really her apartment. She appears and disappears periodically and he
quickly suspects that she is actually dead and it is her spirit that's visiting
him. He agrees to help her find out who she was and why she's ethereal, but they
start falling in love with each other. Also with Donal Logue, Dina Waters and
Ben Shenkman. Directed by Mark S. Waters. [1:35]
Elizabethtown
[2005] [PG-13] - 4.3.5
Orlando Bloom stars as a man who is contemplating suicide after being fired by
his company for losing millions of dollars and also then being promptly dumped
by his girlfriend (Jessica Biel). While trying to figure out how to go about it,
he learns that his father has died and that he has to travel to his family's
small Kentucky hometown. That's when he meets a talkative flight attendant
(Kirsten Dunst) with whom he falls in love. Also with Susan Sarandon and Judy
Greer. Directed by Cameron Crowe. [2:03]
Doom [2005] [R] -
5.8.7
Film version of the eponymous video game, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as
Sarge, the leader of a group of highly trained troops whose mission it is to
retrieve six scientists from a research facility on Mars. The facility also
houses civilians and they appear to be under attack by nightmarish creatures of
unknown origins. Also with Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Ben Daniels and Razaaq
Adoti. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. [1:40]
Waiting [2005]
[R] - 8.4.10
Ryan Reynolds stars as a twenty-something man waiting tables at a restaurant
where each member of the wait staff appears to have emotional problems. They all
seem to be stuck in a rut of doing something just because it is familiar as
their lives are passing them by. Also with Justin Long, Anna Faris, David
Koechner and Wendie Malick. Directed by Rob McKittrick. [1:33]
February 14
Saw II [2005] [R]
- 1.9.10
The bloodletting that started in "Saw" continues in this second installment
about a serial killer called "Jigsaw" who likes to create elaborate puzzles that
force his victims into self-mutilation and murder in a vain attempt to escape a
grisly death. This time the puzzle revolves around eight strangers, locked in a
room, who have no idea of their connection to each other. With Tobin Bell,
Shawnee Smith, Donnie Wahlberg, Erik Knudsen and Franky G. Directed by Darren
Lynn Bausman. [1:31]
Proof [2005]
[PG-13] - 5.1.5
Gwyneth Paltrow stars as a woman haunted by the idea that she may suffer from
the same mental illness as her recently deceased father (Anthony Hopkins). Her
father was a brilliant mathematician, who had done his most important work by
the age of 27. She is now turning 27 and feels the pressure to follow in his
footsteps but is hamstrung by the people around her who believe that she may be
slipping into mental illness. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David
Auburn. Also with Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis and Gary Houston. Directed by John
Madden. [1:39]
Zathura [2005]
[PG] - 1.5.2
Sequel of sorts to 1995's "Jumanji": Two bickering brothers are left at home
with their teenage sister, who just wants to be left alone in her room, when
their father runs to his office for a few minutes. The youngest boy finds an old
board game and when he starts playing their house is transported to outer space,
where they're attacked by a meteor shower, a dysfunctional robot, and
lizard-like aliens. The only way to get back to Earth is to finish the game.
With Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart and Tim Robbins.
Directed by Jon Favreau. [1:35]
Nine Lives
[2005] [R] - 5.4.6
Drama about nine women who, under various circumstances, are all being forced to
confront the relationships in their lives and make choices about the direction
they will now take. With Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Andrew Borba, Elpidia
Carrillo, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter and Sissy Spacek. Directed by Rodrigo
García. [1:54]
The Thing
About My Folks [2005] [PG-13] - 3.3.5
After 40+ years of marriage, a man (Peter Falk) finds a note from his wife
(Olympia Dukakis) on the refrigerator door announcing that she's left him
because she needs to be alone. Befuddled, he shows the note to his son (Paul
Reiser) who is equally confused. Desperate to help his father somehow he takes
him for a road trip through upstate New York and along the way they begin to
understand each other and figure out what might have happened to their wife and
mother. Also with Elizabeth Perkins and Mackenzie Connolly. Directed by Raymond
De Felitta. [1:36]
February 21
North Country
[2005] [R] - 7.5.6
Charlize Theron stars as a woman who runs away from an abusive husband and to
her family home. However, she's not welcomed by her father, who's still upset
that she became pregnant when she was a teenager. Determined to make her own
way, she gets a job at the nearby iron mine, only to realize that the men who
work there, including her father, do not want to compete with women and can be
extremely abusive. She refuses to quit and ends up suing the mine for sexual
harassment. Also with Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson and Sean
Bean. Directed by Niki Caro. [2:06]
The Weather Man
[2005] [R] - 7.3.10
A successful Chicago weatherman (Nicolas Cage) may have hit the big time when a
national morning television show calls him for an audition. However, his
personal life is in disarray: Having gone through a bitter divorce, his two
children are troubled, and his brilliant, Pulitzer Prize winning father (Michael
Caine) is dying from cancer. Also with Hope Davis, Gemmenne de la Peña and
Nicholas Hoult. Directed by Gore Verbinski. [1:42]
Separate Lies
[2005] [R] - 4.4.5
Tom Wilkinson stars as a workaholic London attorney whose wife (Emily Watson)
feels unfulfilled and becomes involved in an extramarital affair. When she and
her lover (Rupert Everett) are involved in a hit-and-run on a country lane, her
husband finally finds out, and while shocked and depressed, he tries to protect
her. However, truth and lies become entangled and their lives are torn apart by
the reality of what has happened. Also with Hermione Norris and Linda Bassett.
Directed by Julian Fellowes. [1:27]
Domino [2005] [R]
- 7.9.10
Based on the real-life story of the late Domino Harvey, the daughter of actor
Lawrence Harvey, who was a Ford agency model when she answered a classified
advertisement soliciting people who were not afraid to die and became a bounty
hunter. Keira Knightley stars in the eponymous role. Also with Mickey Rourke,
Edgar Ramirez, Rizwan Abbasi, Ian Ziering, Lucy Liu, Christopher Walken, Mena
Suvari, Jacqueline Bisset and Delroy Lindo. Directed by Tony Scott. [2:00]
Rent [2005] [PG-13]
- 5.4.5
Adapted from the popular musical play, we follow the interconnected stories of
people living in a rundown apartment building in NYC's East Village. Many of
them suffer from AIDS, others carry the grief of losing a partner, others go
after their dreams even in the face of disappointment, and all wrestle with
their ability to pay the rent. With Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson
Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, Rosario Dawson, Adam Pascal, Taye Diggs and
Tracie Thomas. Directed by Chris Columbus. [2:15]
February 28
The Ice Harvest
[2005] [R] - 8.8.10
John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton star as two men who think they've committed
the perfect crime by stealing $2 million from their mob boss. It's Christmas Eve
in Wichita, Kansas, and they're desperate to get out of town unnoticed before an
ice storm prevents them. Other complications include a sultry nightclub owner,
an inebriated friend, and a sadistic mob enforcer who's looking for them. Also
with Connie Nielsen, Oliver Platt and Randy Quaid. Directed by Harold Ramis.
[1:28]
Pride &
Prejudice [2005] [PG] - 3.1.1
In this adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Keira Knightley stars as Elizabeth
Bennet, the second eldest daughter of an 18th century British family. Her mother
is desperate to marry off her five daughters before they are completely
destitute. But Elizabeth is a strong-willed young woman and will not accept just
anyone's proposal; she's instead holding out for true love, and she finds it
most unexpectedly with the initially unlikable Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen).
Also with Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland and Judi Dench. Directed
by Joe Wright. [2:07]
Yours, Mine
and Ours [2005] [PG] - 3.4.2
In this remake of the 1968 film, Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo star as a widower
and widow who were also high-school sweethearts. Since they separated years ago,
they each have had children, lost their spouses, and have been doing their best
to run their households on their own. When they meet, the sparks fly again, and
they marry, bringing together their two families that now include 18 children.
Also Sean Faris, Katija Pevec, Rip Torn, Tyler Patrick Jones, Linda Hunt,
Danielle Panabaker and Lil' J.J. Directed by Raja Gosnell. [1:30]