Digger (R)
Age 15+
Tom Cruise shines in profane, profound climate change satire.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s creative climate change satire has quite a few twists and turns. No spoilers here, but know that the Tom Cruise-starring film depicts catastrophic peril as a real-life warning. There’s footage of a tsunami washing away cities, dozens of corpses covered in sheets and a doomsday iceberg. Also expect vomiting, a suicidal reference and frequent yelling. The walls of a billionaire’s house are decorated with trophy heads, guns and a painting of a lion attacking another animal. Crude language includes “f—,” “c–t,” “g–d—,” “a–hole” and “oh Jesus.” A butt crack is visible and there’s some innuendo, as well as drinking, smoking and a reference to drug dependency. The movie points a finger squarely at older generations for letting corrupt corporations and politicians destroy the planet for their profits. (128 minutes)
Available in theaters.
Unabomber (R)
Age 15+
Crime drama about domestic terrorist has violence and language.
This fact-based drama focuses on Ted Kaczynski (Jacob Tremblay), the American terrorist who killed three people and injured many more over myriad attacks spanning nearly 20 years. The film depicts one victim’s death, and there’s discussion of other injuries. It also shows the psychological experiments Kaczynski participated in as a teenager at Harvard, where adult mentors allowed him to be mistreated. Language includes “f—,” “s—,” “g–d—,” “hell,” “pervert,” “slut,” “whore” and “retard.” People wield guns. There’s also kissing and some drinking (beer and liquor). (97 minutes)
Available on Netflix.
Coven Academy (TV-PG)
Age 11+
Supernatural violence in appealing teen witch tale.
This series depicts a school for teen witches and warlocks in New Orleans. New student Briar (Malina Pauli Weissman) teams up with her friends to combat a threat from evil creatures and solve the mystery of who killed her mother. Though the show’s tone is light and often comic, you can expect frequent violence and supernatural menace. For example: Vampires crouch over prone victims, and viewers hear them slurping blood (but don’t see necks being punctured or blood being consumed). Otherworldly battles are common, with characters using incantations that levitate objects, cause explosions and knock down victims (who aren’t dead or physically harmed). There’s teenage dating and kissing. Language includes insults, such as “loser,” and “God!” as an exclamation. A bar serves vampires vials of blood. (10 episodes)
Available on Disney+.
Verity (R)
Age 15+
Strong acting can’t save dark, uninspired erotic thriller.
This dark, steamy adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel follows a struggling writer (Dakota Johnson) who is hired to help finish a book series from a popular author (Anne Hathaway) — then becomes entangled with the writer and her husband (Josh Hartnett). The thriller deals with disturbing topics such as murder, adultery, obsession, deception and grief. A graphic scene shows a bicyclist being struck and killed by a car, splattering a nearby person with blood. Also expect brief images of a dead body, a car accident that leaves someone in a catatonic state, references to a mother possibly causing her child’s death, bloody biting, and a murder and its cover-up. The film also includes several sex scenes, a masturbation scene in a bathtub and partial nudity (breasts and buttocks). Adults drink frequently, and one character takes a deceased parent’s Xanax and vapes regularly. (114 minutes)
Available in theaters.
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