SCREEN IT! INFO

Who We Are
What We Do
Categories
Ratings
Movie/Video Review Info

WHO WE ARE

We are a small but growing team of reviewers who are not affiliated with any political, social or religious group thus assuring that we'll provide unbiased reviews. By doing so, we allow parents and others to decide whether a movie, video or DVD is appropriate for them and/or their kids based on THEIR values.

We started this service after so many parents asked whether certain movies would be okay for their children. At the time I was attending movies to study them for screenwriting purposes, and paid little attention to that issue. After checking around, however, I found that there wasn't a way for parents to find out about the content in movies or videos (especially in an unbiased way), and that most didn't trust the MPAA ratings (G, PG, etc...).

Thus, Screen It! was created and has been in service since March 1996 and on-line since July 1996.

According to Google Analytics, 162,928 Absolute Unique Visitors have used our site in the past month.

A paid subscriber edition of the site was revealed in 2004 for viewers desiring immediate access -- in an ad-free environment -- to our reviews on the day of movie and DVD releases. Since then, tens of thousands of people have signed up.

WHAT WE DO

Screen It! was created to give parents a way to access the content of popular entertainment their kids are exposed to. It is not intended as censorship. Rather, it is designed to allow Hollywood and independent filmmakers to continue to produce movies, videos and DVDs while informing parents of the content in them. Some people argue over the moral quality of films while others want to ban certain releases that contain material that particularly offends them.

That is censorship, and it's not right for others to decide what you or your children can see. That decision lies with you. Until now, however, there was no way for parents to find out about the content of movies, videos, or DVDs. For movies, the MPAA rating (G, PG, etc...) is a start, but offers just a one line, generalized description of the "offending" material. A few newsletters here and there offer a little more information, but are usually biased or are lacking in detailed content listings.

That's why we created Screen It!. An unbiased, easy to use, yet heavily detailed and complete look at popular entertainment your kids might see, rent, or buy. And this applies to kids from one to seventeen. We offer detailed content listing in many categories for every movie and video we review. Each category is then assigned a rating that summarizes the quantity and degree of the content.

RATINGS

Every category is assigned a rating that summarizes the quantity and/or the "quality" of the content. Obviously this is somewhat of an objective practice and should be used as a quick guideline or summary of the content. You are advised to always examine the content listing to determine whether there's something present that you may object to.

People sometimes disagree with a rating we give a particular title's category. For instance, "Star Wars" received an "extreme" in "Violence." While many would argue that the film isn't that violent, especially compared to say, slasher films, thousands if not millions of people are killed in it. Violence being violence, we gave that category the "extreme" rating, but marked it with an asterisk to note that it's not as severe or explicit as other "extreme" ratings for different films.

MOVIE/VIDEO REVIEW INFO

Each review will display the title, the year of initial release, the main actors/actresses and the movie/video's MPAA rating. Following that is our exclusive content table. It contains fifteen categories of content found in the movie/video and how each has been rated rated. Each category heading in the table is linked to the complete scene by scene listing of that category. Clicking on the category headings will toggle you back and forth between the table and the listings. Alternately, you can scroll through the listings as they appear.

Below the table you'll find several helpful listings:

Quick Take:
A one line description of the story.

Plot:
A more detailed look at the plot.

Will Kids Want to See it?
What might draw kids to a film.

Why the MPAA Rated it:
The actual stated reasons of the MPAA for giving a title its rating.

Cast As Role Models:
This explains whether the main characters would be good or bad role models for kids.

Cast, Crew & Technical Info
Information made available by the folks at the Internet Movie Database.

How Others Rated This Movie
Summary of how popular or unpopular a movie/video is provided by the Internet Movie Database based on Internet users who have cast their votes on that particular title.

Our Take:
What we thought of the movie (without considering the objectionable content).

Our Word to Parents:
A summary that highlights the "bad stuff" in the movie/video.

MOVIE/VIDEO REVIEW CATEGORIES

ALCOHOL/DRUGS Any consumption, presence of and/or references to or comments about alcohol or drugs and their effects is noted.

BLOOD/GORE Many kids are scared by (and adults sickened by) the sight of blood or gore. We include such material here, as well as the sight and/or sound of bodily functions and instances of crude humor.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Children will often mimic behavior/attitudes they witness on the screen. We list dishonorable, contemptible, ill-tempered and other such behavior.

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES Although horror films are usually associated with this category, kids are often scared by scenes found in PG and even G rated films. Such scenes are noted here.

GUNS/WEAPONS This category includes the use and effects of any guns or other weapons (knives, bombs, etc...).

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Here you'll find irritating or dangerous behavior and dialogue that kids may imitate. Things ranging from playing with electrical wiring to performing karate moves to using phrases such as "shut up," "idiot," and "butt head" will be noted. For the most part, actions listed in other categories (such as drinking or smoking) will not be listed here.

JUMP SCENES Usually associated with horror/suspense movies, this category includes any scene from any genre (such as a person suddenly being grabbed) that will make you and/or your child jump.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) Suspenseful movie scenes are usually more suspenseful due to the use of tense music. We'll include any such music here.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) Movies aimed toward teens usually contain popular music. We'll note any objectionable material in any of the songs.

PROFANITY Even PG films are often filled with words or phrases you'd rather your kids not hear. You'll find a detailed listing of expletives and religious phrases used as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY This category lists any scenes that show nudity (including scantly clad people, cleavage, etc.) and/or sexual behavior (partial, full or implied), as well as related dialogue and any other sexual/sensual material.

SMOKING Any scenes where characters smoke (cigarettes, cigars, pipes) are noted.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES Children are often upset from scenes that show or imply family problems. We list any such scenes or discussion of family bickering, fights or upheavals (such as divorce and death).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Often a film will contain scenes or subject material that you may want to discuss with your children. You'll find such material in this category.

VIOLENCE Any scenes of violence -- hitting, kicking, stabbing, shooting, exploding, and every other possible act of harming people, animals, or property is listed, as is physical slapstick style humor

MOVIE/VIDEO REVIEW CATEGORY RATINGS

EXTREME The movie is full of such scenes in the category. The "Die Hard" type action films (with lots of shooting and deaths) are usually extreme in the violence category.

HEAVY Many scenes in the category. Steady drinking and frequent drunken behavior throughout a movie would be rated this way, as would profanity with at least 1 use of the "f" word.

MODERATE More than just occasional scenes in the category. This rating may raise a warning flag for you.

MILD Many incidents such as 3 "s" words or students smoking several times during the movie.

MINOR Just a few incidents, or ones with little or no impact.

NONE No content at all in this category.

[Contact Info]

ABOUT US