 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Twisted
- Review Date: August 30, 2004
- R
- Genre: Thriller
- 2004
Common Sense Media says
Numbingly predictable, inept, and boring.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie has grisly dead bodies and characters in intense peril. There's fighting and shooting, and characters are killed. The movie also has some very strong language, including a very ugly epithet. Characters smoke and drink, one to excess. Some are drugged. There's an attempted suicide.
What's the story?
TWISTED stars Ashley Judd as Jessica Shephard. We first see her with a knife at her throat. She overpowers her attacker and then, when he is cuffed and on his knees, she kicks him in the nose. She is promoted for the capture by police chief John Mills (Samuel L. Jackson), but sent to the police psychiatrist (David Strathairn) for counseling. The first murder she and her new partner (Andy Garcia) are assigned to turns out to be the first in a series of connected murders. Each of the victims has been marked on the back of the hand with a cigarette burn. And each had a one-night stand with Jessica. She is too good a detective to deny that "I'm my best suspect." Her father was a murderer who killed her mother and then committed suicide. And she is having blackouts, and has no alibi for the nights of the murders.
Is it any good?
Fifteen minutes into this movie, before the very first murder victim turned up, I figured out who the murderer was. That left me the rest of the movie to ponder much more fascinating mysteries, like why any of these people agreed to be in it. I remember when Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, and David Strathairn, and especially director Philip Kaufman had some class and credibility. I even remember when Ashley Judd made movies that were not about spunky but sensitive women in peril who do not know whom they can trust. But that all feels very long ago.
A good portion of Twisted is numbingly predictable. Jessica is supposed to be a great detective, but she keeps missing glaring clues. Could that be the murderer? Nope, he's the next victim. Well, we've never seen that before! Jessica pricks her finger to get a blood sample. Can she be like Sleeping Beauty? Can symbolism be more heavy-handed? There is a good idea in there somewhere about resolving guilt and insecurity, but it is all lost because this movie is inept and boring.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the nature vs. nurture question. Jessica says, "I was raised to be a good girl but I was born to bad people." What can we change about ourselves? How do we know?
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AGE
I hate movies that have graphic sex scenes. Does this movie show the immoral, not very nice girl Ashley Judd strip and having sex with men? Is this movie alot of nudity and petting and reenacted sex? I find this stuff offensive. People don't need to see Ashley Judd naked to get the idea she is having sex. Why not just show her under the blankets and kissing for example. I am disturbed because my spouse watched it and sees nothing wrong with R movies with nudity and sex. Please tell what scenes were in here involving nudity and sex. I do not care to watch this crap movie. The movie industry is going way too far. R movies seem more like Porn today and PG-13's are like R's. We need more G and PG movies again. Thank you Catherine
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Philip Kaufman |
| Cast: | Andy Garcia, Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 97 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | February 26, 2004 |
| DVD release date: | August 30, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | violence, language and sexuality |
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