Subscribers Only Content Area

Home

New Movies

All Movies

New DVDs

All DVDs

Newsletter

Search

Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "THE INFORMERS" (2009) (Jon Foster, Austin Nichols) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Extreme Heavy Extreme Moderate Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Minor Minor None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Heavy Heavy Heavy Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama: The lives of various spoiled, self-centered, narcissistic and unhappy people intersect in 1980s era Los Angeles. PLOT: It's Los Angeles in 1983 and William Sloan (BILLY BOB THORNTON) is a successful movie producer who's decided to get back with his estranged wife, Laura (KIM BASINGER). Yet, he's doing so in order to avoid a costly divorce, and clearly plans on continuing to see his lover, TV newscaster Cheryl Moore (WINONA RYDER), although she clearly wants nothing to do with him anymore. The same seems to hold true for William and Laura's young adult son, Graham (JON FOSTER), and his sister, Susan (CAMERON GOODMAN). While she's grounded, he's a spoiled rich kid who's upset that his equally spoiled girlfriend, Christie (AMBER HEARD), has also been sleeping with Martin (AUSTIN NICHOLS), music video director whose latest work features rocker Bryan Metro (MEL RAIDO), a troubled singer whose manager, Roger (RHYS IFANS), keeps a watchful eye on him and his career. It turns out, however, that not only is Martin sleeping with Christie, but he's also sexually involved with Graham and, unbeknownst to him, his mother as well. The encounters with Christie take place in her apartment where the night doorman and aspiring actor, Jack (BRAD RENFRO), isn't pleased that his uncle Peter (MICKEY ROURKE) is staying at his place with teenage runaway Mary (ANGELA SARAFYAN). Things get worse when Peter kidnaps a young boy and holds him hostage in Jack's place, awaiting a sale of the boy to some unsavory types. At the same time, Graham's friend, Tim (LOU TAYLOR PUCCI), isn't pleased that his playboy dad, Les Price (CHRIS ISAAK), has dragged him off to Hawaii and tries to pick up women with him. As the various characters' stories unfold, they end up playing out and intersecting in ways they hadn't imagined. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of anyone in the cast or films based on the works of author Bret Easton Ellis, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong sexual content, nudity, drug use, pervasive language and some disturbing images. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: Considering what occurs in the film, it's unlikely that many, if any, parents would consider any of the major characters as good role models. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 95 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present (much of it explicit), while explicit sexual encounters (movement, nudity and sounds) occur in several scenes (including viewed and implied group sex), as does nudity (male and female full frontal and rear). Violence includes a fatal car accident, a man striking a woman, another man abducting and then holding a bound & gagged boy hostage, and some self-inflicted and accidental wounds. Some of that has bloody results, and a few scenes might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers. Bad attitudes are present, while some behavior might be enticing for kids to imitate. All sorts of drug use occurs in various scenes, as does drinking and smoking, while various instances of tense family material are also present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's a strobe effect at a concert, while there's some of that from camera flashes. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Various young people do drugs at a party (coke and pot), including Graham, Christie and other friends. Roger has a beer on a plane and asks Bryan if he wants valium, 'ludes or something else, while champagne is also present. Laura takes some sort of prescription pills. Christie and Graham both smoke from a bong after having sex. Laura has wine and others drink after a memorial service. Tim and Graham smoke pot. Peter is accompanied by Mary, a teen who appears to be drugged or under the influence of something. Bryan has a drink in a bathtub full of ice water and then a joint or cigarette. A person smokes a joint and Tim then leaves the room carrying a bag of joints. Les has a drink in a limo, offers one to Tim who turns that down, and then pours him one anyway. Tim then has it and downs the drink in one gulp. There are beer bottles on the table by Roger and Bryan. Susan tells Graham, "You're so stoned," but he claims he isn't. Les, Tim and others drink in a bar. William and his family have champagne with dinner. Laura has wine and pills. Graham delivers coke to Bryan and another guy in the band, with Martin referring to the latter two as coke-heads. Les has a drink and then tells Tim to get him another and one for himself (mainly to see how his son behaves around men at the bar). Bryan snorts coke. Les has a drink, Tim has a beer, and the young woman with Tim (Rachel) has wine. Martin and Graham do coke in a parked car. Martin then tells Graham, "You need some f*cking 'ludes," but Graham says he needs someone to tell him what's good and bad. We see Jackson asleep with an empty bottle of booze by him. Laura comments that Graham sells drugs. Laura says she'll attend a benefit with William where they can have drinks, but when they return, he'll move out. Tim smokes a joint or cigarette. We see empty bottles by Graham and Martin's bed. BLOOD/GORE A person at a party is suddenly struck by a car that then slams into another car. We then see the first person the street, bloody and dying, while part of them or another person is on top of the parked car that was also hit. The victim ends up smearing some of their blood on a friend's face. Laura longingly looks out the window at the shirtless pool boy until he pulls out a dead and wet rat from the drain (seen from a distance). Bryan has a drink in a bathtub full of ice water. When he gets out, he slips on the floor and his hand lands on the bottle that shatters on the floor, cutting his hand (with bloody results -- running from his hand and pooling on the floor). There's a TV news story about AIDS, and we see blood in vials and there's talk of drug use associated with the disease. Jackson vomits (mostly heard, but some is seen) after learning of Peter's intention of selling a kidnapped boy to others. Jackson cuts his own palm and smears some of that blood on his face to make it appear that he killed Peter's abducted boy. We see Christie in a bikini lying on the beach, but she's covered in bad-looking bruises (presumably from AIDS) DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE After their recently killed friend, Martin tells Graham that the guy was "f*cking" Christie behind Graham's back, but Martin reminds Graham, "You were f*cking around as well." Many of the friends to a young man who was accidentally hit and killed by a car are somewhat callous about his death. Peter gets out of his van and grabs a boy off the sidewalk, kidnaps, and puts him into the back of the van. Despite telling Laura he wants to reconcile, he still wants to have an affair with Cheryl who no longer wants to see him. We see that Peter has a kidnapped young boy bound and gagged in Jackson's bathtub and is going to sell the boy to others for unknown but presumably bad intentions. Bryan calls his ex-wife and wants to speak to their daughter, but that ends in a yelling match where she reminds him that he doesn't have visitation rights and tells him never to call again and he refers to her as a "f*cking Medusa." We see that a young woman (or teen) has been allowed into Bryan's hotel suite and she's dressed in just panties and a camisole type top. She then comes over to him, he removes his shirt and they kiss, but he then grabs her by the throat and punches her in the face (the scene ends there, so we don't know what else if anything happens). Les and Tim's date make fun of Tim not knowing who a TV actor is, and of the latter apparently being gay. An associate of Peter's enters Jackson's place, wanting the kidnapped boy. When Jackson pretends not to know what he's talking about, the man pushes Jackson back to a wall and holds his thumb near his eye. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Peter gets out of his van and grabs a boy off the sidewalk, kidnaps, and puts him into the back of the van. An associate of Peter's enters Jackson's place, wanting the kidnapped boy. When Jackson pretends not to know what he's talking about, the man pushes Jackson back to a wall and holds his thumb near his eye. Peter readies a switchblade to use on the boy he's abducted, saying that will be better than what the boy's buyers will do to the kid. Jackson then says he'll kill the boy, but after Peter and Mary leave, Jackson cuts his own palm and smears some of that blood on his face to make it appear he did the deed. GUNS/WEAPONS We hear gunshots off in the distance outside, and later hear of a shooting that took place. Peter readies a switchblade to use on the boy he's abducted, saying that will be better than what the boy's buyers will do to the kid. Jackson then says he'll kill the boy, but after Peter and Mary leave, Jackson cuts his own palm and smears some of that blood on his face to make it appear he did the deed. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh f*ck," "F*ck that," "F*cked up," "What the f*ck /are you doing (here)/does that even mean/did you do/do you want/are you looking at?" "Can't f*cking believe this sh*t," "You don't f*cking give a sh*t," "You were f*cking around as well," "So the f*ck what?" "I f*cked up my hand," "Who the f*ck cares?" "F*cked up," "F*ck, dude," "F*ck's going on?" "You make me f*cking sick," "You f*cking coke-heads," "F*ck you, you f*cking asshole," "You f*cking Medusa," "Are you f*cking around?" "You need some f*cking 'ludes," "We get the f*ck out of here," "That's bullsh*t," "Sh*tty," "I can't see sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Get your sh*t together," "Without your c*ck hanging out of some 14-year-old girl's ass," "Stop pissing yourself," "What way, Ray-Ray?" "Shut up," "Totally grody" and "Freaks." We see miscellaneous graffiti. Peter has various tattoos. Bryan has a drink in a bathtub full of ice water and then a joint or cigarette. Peter gets out of his van and grabs a boy off the sidewalk, kidnaps, and puts him into the back of the van. A miscellaneous guy has a Mohawk haircut. JUMP SCENES A person at a party is suddenly struck by a car that then slams into another car. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A tiny bit of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 95 "f" words (8 used sexually), 18 "s" words, 1 slang term using male genitals ("c*ck"), 5 asses (4 used with "hole"), 1 hell, 4 uses of "Graham-damn," 3 each of "God" and "Oh God," 2 of "Christ," and 1 use each of "Holy Christ," "Jesus," "My God" and "Swear to God." SEX/NUDITY We see Graham and Christie making out on a lounger (clothed) by a pool, with her partially on top of him. A painting in Laura's place shows a seated woman whose bare butt is visible. Laura then longingly looks out the window at the shirtless pool boy. Laura longingly looks out the window at the shirtless pool boy until he pulls out a dead and wet rat from the drain (seen from a distance). We see a close-up and then full side view of Christie having sex on top of Graham, with movement, sounds and views of her bare breasts and the side of her bare butt. We then see her breasts post-sex. We see a photo of a shirtless young man (on display at his memorial service). After their recently killed friend, Martin tells Graham that the guy was "f*cking" Christie behind Graham's back, but Martin reminds Graham, "You were f*cking around as well." We see Martin seated nude on top of Laura on a bed (his bare butt, she has on a top and nothing sexual is occurring at this moment). She's trying to call off their affair and when he gets up, we see his bare butt. Bryan wakes up in bed with a fully nude young woman and young man (they could also be teens), suggesting earlier 3-way sex. We see Bryan's bare butt and then a brief/partial view of his full frontal nudity, while the young woman's breasts and butt are seen, followed by a brief glimpse of her full frontal nudity when Bryan's bodyguards remove her and the young guy from the room. We see Peter with his shirt open. Bryan has a drink in a bathtub full of ice water. When he gets out, we see his full frontal nudity, but from a distance and somewhat out of focus, followed by him in just a towel. Roger tells Bryan he wants him "without your c*ck hanging out of some 14-year-old girl's ass." We see Bryan shirtless in a music video, followed by a view in another location of a young woman wearing just panties dancing around to that video on TV. Some guys are there with her as she does her sultry moves, and she then ends up on the floor where two shirtless guys kiss, caress and fondle her bare breasts. There's a young woman in a t-shirt and panties seated on the floor watching TV. Bryan then gets up from a movie idea being pitched to him, goes into the room where she's located, and closes the doors, suggesting sex is going to occur. We see Christie and other young bare-breasted women by a pool, while various guys are also shirtless. Graham finds Christie in bed with Martin and another couple, all on their sides having sex (the men behind the women who briefly kiss each other). We see nudity (bare butts and breasts) as well as movement, and hear related sexual sounds. Graham tells Christie that her sleeping with Martin is stressing him (Graham) out. She tells Graham that he knows she's on the pill, and then reminds that both of them (Christie and Graham) are sleeping with Martin. We see Tim shirtless at the beach and he meets a bikini-clad young woman there. We see a woman in a one-piece bathing suit. We see that a young woman (or teen) has been allowed into Bryan's hotel suite and she's dressed in just panties and a camisole type top. She then comes over to him, he removes his shirt and they kiss, but he then grabs her by the throat and punches her in the face (the scene ends there, so we don't know what else if anything happens). We see Martin, Christie and Graham all together in bed (we see bare butts), presumably after a 3-way sexual encounter. Jackson tells Graham that he's willing to do awful things to break into the acting business (presumably meaning sex of some sort in reference to Martin). Martin comments to Graham about "just because you're f*cking the hostess...you'll f*ck anybody, right?" He then reminds Graham that he "f*cked" him. About Martin and Christie, Graham asks, "Are you f*cking around?" and "Do you f*ck when I'm not there?" William has Laura give him a shot somewhere in his lower abdomen/crotch area, but he's turned so we don't see exactly where or the actual insertion of the syringe. About Cheryl, Laura asks William, "Do you think I'd stay here while you f*cked her?" Mary wears small shorts. We see Christie in a bikini lying on the beach, but she's covered in bad-looking bruises (presumably from AIDS) SMOKING Brian, William, Tim and Peter each smoke several times, while Roger, Graham and Martin smoke at least once, and a number of miscellaneous characters smoke in various scenes. Cheryl discovers she's out of cigarettes and thus buys a pack from a vending machine. TENSE FAMILY SCENES The mother of a young man who was hit and killed by a car at a party talks of losing a child (at his memorial service). We learn that William and Laura are estranged and headed for divorce, but he's trying to get back together with her to avoid a costly settlement. Susan chats with her dad about his desire to reconcile with Laura. Susan makes a remark about when Laura is coherent, and tells her dad that any such reconciliation doesn't mean they're going to be a family again. Tim obviously has no respect for his dad and doesn't appear to like him, but accompanies him to Hawaii where Les's actions only seem to embarrass Tim. Bryan calls his ex-wife and wants to speak to their daughter, but that ends in a yelling match where she reminds him that he doesn't have visitation rights and tells him never to call again and he refers to her as a "f*cking Medusa." About Cheryl, Laura asks William, "Do you think I'd stay here while you f*cked her?" Laura asks William if he ever loved her, and he replies that he doesn't know. She then says she'll attend a benefit with him, but when they return, he'll move out. Tim tells Les that there are no more chances for him (Les) to ruin, adding that there's nothing between them. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT There's a TV news story about AIDS, and we see blood in vials and there's talk of drug use associated with the disease. A person later appears to be suffering from the disease. Bisexuality. Group sex. Vain, self-centered and/or narcissistic people. VIOLENCE A person at a party is suddenly struck by a car that then slams into another car. We then see the first person the street, bloody and dying, while part of them or another person is on top of the parked car that was also hit. Bryan has a drink in a bathtub full of ice water. When he gets out, he slips on the floor and his hand lands on the bottle that shatters on the floor, cutting his hand (with bloody results -- running from his hand and pooling on the floor). Peter gets out of his van and grabs a boy off the sidewalk, kidnaps, and puts him into the back of the van. We see that Peter has a kidnapped young boy bound and gagged in Jackson's bathtub and is going to sell the boy to others for unknown but presumably bad intentions. We see that a young woman (or teen) has been allowed into Bryan's hotel suite and she's dressed in just panties and a camisole type top. She then comes over to him, he removes his shirt and they kiss, but he then grabs her by the throat and punches her in the face (the scene ends there, so we don't know what else if anything happens). We hear gunshots off in the distance outside, and later hear of a shooting that took place. An associate of Peter's enters Jackson's place, wanting the kidnapped boy. When Jackson pretends not to know what he's talking about, the man pushes Jackson back to a wall and holds his thumb near his eye. Peter readies a switchblade to use on the boy he's abducted, saying that will be better than what the boy's buyers will do to the kid. Jackson then says he'll kill the boy, but after Peter and Mary leave, Jackson cuts his own palm and smears some of that blood on his face to make it appear he did the deed. Reviewed April 8, 2009 / Posted April 24, 2009

Advertising Info

Info/FAQ

Mail

Sneak Previews

Parenting Food Health Home Pregnancy Beauty News

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2010 Screen It, Inc.