G Rating Not Safe for Kids Anymore

It's Complicated spotlights MPAA's wacky marijuana rules

(NEWSER) - Insiders say the only reason Meryl Streep’s new romantic comedy It’s Complicated has an R rating is a scene in which she smokes marijuana, and that’s causing a “minor ruckus” in Hollywood. A source close to the hearings tells Robert Ablon of the Los Angeles Times “pot smoking with no bad consequences” was the MPAA’s top official reason for hanging the revenue-reducing rating on the movie. What’s next, Ablon wonders: “This film is rated R for brief alcohol use portrayed in a positive light”? More»

Over-the-line sex scenes draw MPAA's ire

(NEWSER) - Sacha Baron Cohen’s next risqué turn—this time as a gay Austrian fashionista—is turning out to be a little too raunchy for some: Bruno has been slapped with an NC-17 rating, the Wrap reports. Among the potential reasons: Anal sex and a nude camping scene. The film, which intends to challenge homophobia and racism, “offends everybody,” said one exec. “But you laugh from the minute it starts.” More»

MPAA under fire again after lesbian encounter gets tamer 'R'

(USER SUBMITTED) - Hollywood's rating system is coming under fire again after two Oscar contenders, Black Swan and Blue Valentine, received R and NC-17 ratings, respectively. Debate is raging because both films depict oral sex scenes in essentially the same way, for the same time and with no nudity, reports the Los Angeles Times . The only difference between the two is that Black Swan, which got the tamer rating, features a lesbian encounter. In Blue Valentine, Ryan Gosling's character performs oral sex on Michelle Williams' character. More»

Incredible studio turns out another incredible movie

(NEWSER) - It's only June, but Toy Story 3 already has one call for best movie of the year. In fact, Dan Kois of the Awl goes so far as to declare that “the people of Pixar are currently America's most important filmmakers.” This movie is “totally bonkers,” with loads of crazy scenes—like a mushroom cloud made out of a trillion plastic monkeys—real laughs, and truly exciting moments. And then comes the last 15 minutes, “which I spent bawling, as did every moviegoer around me.” More»

Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech

(NEWSER) - Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling:

• "It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between Wii Fit avatars and real people." Come on, folks: "Just because something can be done with computers doesn't mean it should be."