Ratings - Jeffrey Overstreet

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Ratings

A collection of 7 posts

On Movies & Media

This Post Contains R-Rated Subject Matter: Viewer Discretion is Advised.

Watching the trailers before Chef on Friday night, I was reminded by the smirking comments of viewers around me that the "This Motion Picture is Rated..." screen before a preview does as much, if not more, to intrigue viewers about the violence, language, or nudity included in the

On Movies & Media

A Three-Star Rant About Thumbs

I want to read perspectives and interpretations... not assessments of "I liked it" or "It sucked." When I was a child watching Siskel and Ebert, the thumbs-up/thumbs-down was a suspenseful gimmick; I couldn't wait to see the sparks fly when the critics' thumb-ation of the film put them odds. But it

On Movies & Media

Really, MPAA?

Before I start describing the MPAA with language they would consider inappropriate, I'll just hand the microphone over to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, whose film Blue Valentine was just rated NC-17. Why was it given that rating? It might have been the film's raw love

R-rated Question of the Day

Today, I was interviewed by Paul Asay of Focus on the Family's Plugged In. We had a delightful conversation about Christian discernment at the movies. I respect Plugged In's focus on helping us be discerning moviegoers and discerning parents. It was a very encouraging exchange*, and

On Movies & Media

Caspian's PG and David Dark's Next

Did Prince Caspian get the right rating? Cinematical's Eric Snider thinks the "PG" is misleading. I didn't know the rating before I watched it, and I didn't remember, off the top of my head, whether the first Chronicles of Narnia was PG.

On Movies & Media

PG, PG-13, or R?

How should the MPAA distinguish between PG, PG-13, or R ratings? I find it's very easy to point out when they've done it wrong, but tough to lay out a plan for how to do it right. As I watched Revenge of the Sith, I realized

On Movies & Media

ClearPlay: A Very Bad Idea

[This article was originally published at Christianity Today on June 1, 2004.] When I was in the sixth grade, some of our school library books had words crossed out with black markers—words that teachers thought would harm children who read them. Even Mark Twain received this treatment. To me,