The Catholic Post Recently released films reviewed on basis of moral suitability

Recently released films reviewed on basis of moral suitability

By: The Catholic Post - February 3, 2012 - Movie Review

Photo Caption: Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams star in a scene from the movie “The Vow.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13.

The following movie reviews are supplied by Catholic News Service in conjunction with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Film and Broadcasting.

For full reviews of these films, as well as earlier releases, visit the CNS movie site here.

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“Chronicle” (Fox)

The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Reasonably original, curiously dark exploration of the troubling results that ensue when mere mortals obtain godlike powers. After stumbling on a mysterious object, a trio of Seattle teens (Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan) find themselves endowed with telekinesis and the ability to fly. Though initially they do no more with their newfound gifts than goof around and play pranks, darker emotions and more serious consequences soon come to the fore, especially for DeHaan’s character, who’s struggling to cope with an alcoholic father (Michael Kelly) and a dying mother (Bo Petersen).
Director Josh Trank conveys all this in the pseudo-found footage style of “The Blair Witch Project.” Though it feels more than a little overused, that conceit nonetheless contributes to an atmosphere of realism and lends urgency to the moral debates in which the principals engage — discussions which, for viewers of faith, will likely represent the film’s main appeal.
Limited action violence, scenes of physical abuse, an implied premarital encounter, a scattering of profanity, at least one rough term, pervasive crude language and an obscene gesture.

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“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” (Warner Bros.)

The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Leaden adventure — improbably sourced from books by Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jonathan Swift — follows an intrepid teenager (Josh Hutcherson) and his stepfather (Dwayne Johnson) to a South Pacific island crawling with natural anomalies and opportunities for derring-do. Joined by a helicopter pilot (Luis Guzman) and his daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), the pair encounter the young hero’s explorer grandfather (Michael Caine).
Director Brad Peyton helms a mostly wholesome sequel to 2008’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” though one marred by a somewhat casual attitude toward youthful sexuality as well as by a few potty jokes. With its merely serviceable visuals, logically suspect script and lame expository dialogue, the project fails to evoke significant awe or wonderment. Some teen sensuality, several moderately scary sequences, a few uses of suggestive language, occasional toilet humor.

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“Safe House” (Universal)

The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Excessively violent and unconvincing espionage thriller in which the low-ranking but loyal CIA operative (Ryan Reynolds) who runs the agency’s safe house in Cape Town, South Africa, tries to keep a veteran agent-turned-traitor (Denzel Washington) alive and in custody after a massive raid on the facility leaves everyone else who was guarding the prisoner dead.
Perfunctory exchanges about personal and institutional corruption in screenwriter David Guggenheim’s script offer no more than a scant cover story for director Daniel Espinosa’s real agenda: to showcase lengthy fistfights, bloody stabbings and fatal shootouts. Constant, sometimes gory, violence, torture, cohabitation, fleeting sensuality with partial nudity, occasional rough and crude language.

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“The Vow” (Screen Gems)

Stricken with partial amnesia as the result of a car accident, a Chicago artist (Rachel McAdams) awakens from a coma with no memory of her romance with, or marriage to, her husband (Channing Tatum). So he sets out to win her heart all over again, despite the opposition of her controlling parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) who would prefer to see her reunite with her more conventionally respectable ex-fiance (Scott Speedman).
Based on real events, director and co-writer Michael Sucsy’s well-intentioned but flawed love story celebrates the extraordinarily determined marital fidelity of Tatum’s character, and strikes a generally amiable tone as it does so. But shallow characterizations — mildly bohemian hubby takes on conniving 1-percenter in-laws — and an initial relationship too cute to be credible undercut its impact.
Brief nongraphic marital lovemaking, a premarital situation, fleeting rear nudity, adultery theme, numerous sexual references and jokes, at least one use of profanity, a couple of rough and about a half-dozen crude terms.

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“Big Miracle” (Universal)

In 1988 Barrow, Alaska, a television reporter (John Krasinski) stumbles on a hole in the offshore ice and discovers a family of gray whales. Trapped five miles from open water, they’ll drown unless something is done to free them. The story of their plight is broadcast around the world, and soon a varied host of people — including a Greenpeace activist (Drew Barrymore), an oil magnate (Ted Danson), a local Inupiat boy (Ahmaogak Sweeney) and even President Reagan (Quinn Redeker) — join in offering assistance.
Director Ken Kwapis’ screen adaptation of the real-life events recounted in Thomas Rose’s 1989 book “Freeing the Whales” makes an inspiring and uplifting feature suitable for all but the youngest viewers. A few mild oaths, one semi-profane expression.

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“Man on a Ledge” (Summit)

Tedious thriller about an ex-cop (Sam Worthington) wrongly convicted of stealing a fabulously valuable diamond from a morally stained millionaire (Ed Harris). His convoluted plan to vindicate himself involves distracting a crowd of New Yorkers — as well as the police negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) who’s trying to coo him down — while his brother (Jamie Bell) and his brother’s girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) crack open the moneybags’ vault and prove the putatively purloined jewel is still in situ.
As director Asger Leth’s wronged-innocence caper piles conspiracy on top of collusion, with dull consequences, the Lord’s name is under constant assault in screenwriter Pablo F. Fenjves’ risibly bad dialogue. Occasional action violence, an implied premarital situation, much profanity, at least two uses of the F-word, considerable crude and crass language.

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“One for the Money” (Lionsgate)

Forgettable fish-out-of-water comedy in which an unemployed New Jersey department store saleswoman (Katherine Heigl) takes a job as a bail bondsman, and an old high school boyfriend (Jason O’Mara) for whom she still carries a torch — despite his having spurned her — becomes her first target for recapture. As the two go from rivalry to cooperation in trying to solve the crime of which he’s accused, she gains the protection of a formidable colleague (Daniel Sunjata) and encounters representative denizens of the wrong side of town (most prominently John Leguizamo and Sherri Shepherd).
Director Julie Anne Robinson’s slack adaptation of the first of Janet Evanovich’s popular series of mystery novels — which also features Debbie Reynolds as the protagonist’s breezily eccentric grandmother — tries to get by on jauntiness but fails to charm. An attempt to capitalize on sexual tension, and such gags as an elderly exhibitionist that the heroine takes into custody, and a surfeit of profane dialogue are further deficits.
Some action violence, brief rear and partial nudity, an instance of blasphemy and at least 20 uses of profanity, much sexual humor, frequent crude and crass language, a couple of obscene gestures.

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“The Woman in Black” (CBS)

The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

This big-screen version of Susan Hill’s popular 1983 horror novel — previously adapted for radio, television and the London stage — headlines Daniel Radcliffe as a British barrister struggling to unravel the mysteries of a remote mansion and battling the vengeful ghost (Liz White) who inhabits it. Director James Watkins aims for a classic horror feel. But a high body count and a story line involving kids taking their own lives make his chillfest unsettling in all the wrong ways. Numerous scenes of suicide by children and occasional gore.

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“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (Warner Bros.)

Devastated by the sudden loss of his devoted father (Tom Hanks), a victim of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, an introverted grade schooler (Thomas Horn) sets out to identify the purpose of a mysterious key he discovers among his dad’s belongings. His quest gains him the friendship of the traumatized German immigrant (Max von Sydow) who lodges with his grandmother and ultimately brings him closer to his seemingly grief-paralyzed mom (Sandra Bullock).
Director Stephen Daldry’s grim drama, adapted from the best-selling novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, focuses on community, shared suffering and familial solidarity as it upholds positive, humanistic values. But the main character’s eccentricities — he may or may not have a mild form of autism — and the diffuse nature of his search, which brings him into contact with a whole series of strangers, makes it difficult for viewers to establish a sense of connection with his plight, and renders his story, for the most part, more emotionally trying than cathartic.
Mature themes, some disturbing images, a transvestite character, a couple of crude terms, occasional vulgar wordplay.

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“The Grey” (Open Road)

Survival story set in the Alaskan wilderness has an oil-rig worker (Liam Neeson) struggling to lead six other victims of a plane crash in their battle against marauding wolves. As directed and co-written by Joe Carnahan, the chases, killings and feats of courage are brisk but routine while the script (written in collaboration with Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, and based on Jeffers’ short story “Ghost Walker”) includes attempts at profundity and spiritual reflection that are wildly uneven. Given the meager rewards of trekking through it, even most adults would be well advised to decline this grueling cinematic journey altogether. Troubling themes — including suicide and one character’s blasphemous expression of despair — frequent gory animal attacks, at least one use of profanity, pervasive rough, crude and crass language.

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“The Iron Lady” (Weinstein)

Touching dramatization of the life of Margaret Thatcher (a glorious Meryl Streep), Britain’s first female prime minister, and arguably its most important post-World War II politician. Shuttling between the present day, with Thatcher suffering from dementia and short-term memory loss, and flashbacks recounting significant passages in the handbag-wielding ex-leader’s life — including her romance with future husband Denis (Jim Broadbent) — director Phylidda Lloyd’s film is sympathetic yet fair, Despite a few historical inaccuracies and moments of overemotional fluff, her portrait is both intimate and educational.
Viewers of faith will appreciate its explicitly pro-family celebration of Thatcher’s successful marriage as well as its implicitly pro-life vindication of her dignity (and enduring perceptiveness) despite mental frailty.
Two scenes of terrorist attacks, documentary footage of real-life violence, a glimpse of upper female nudity, a few instances of crass British slang.

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“Underworld: Awakening” (Screen Gems)

The Catholic News Service rating is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

In this fourth installment of the horror-fantasy series, Kate Beckinsale squeezes into the black vinyl tights again as Selene, avenging warrior of the Vampire clan. She battles werewolves called Lycans as well as predatory human scientists, and learns she has a daughter (India Eisley). Co-directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein serve up a familiar and somewhat dreary formula of neck-bitings, stabbings, martial-arts kicks and more gunfire than Custer’s last stand. Stylized gun, knife and martial-arts violence, brief, shadowy upper female nudity.

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“Haywire” (Relativity)

Fairly suspenseful but frequently brutal espionage thriller about a lethal operative (played by mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano) who becomes a fugitive after being betrayed during an assignment. Trying his hand at yet another cinematic genre, director Steven Soderbergh deploys a novice lead actress and a clutch of seasoned supporting players (including Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas) with his usual stylistic aplomb, although the result is neither substantive nor original. Moreover, the protagonist’s merciless reaction to her situation is morally culpable, even after allowing for the life-and-death nature of international spying and covert military operations.
Much fierce hand-to-hand violence and gunplay, brief gore, an implied nonmarital encounter, at least one use of profanity and of rough language, some crude terms, an obscene gesture.

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“Red Tails” (Fox)

Flag-waving hokum about the all-black 332nd Fighting Group of the Army Air Forces during World War II. What director Anthony Hemingway obviously intended as an enthusiastic fact-based homage to greatest generation patriotism instead comes off as shallow and cliched storytelling about a famed group of Tuskegee Airmen (including Terrence Howard, Tristan Wildes, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Marcus T. Paulk). Extensive aerial combat violence, an instance of implied premarital sex, fleeting crude and crass language.

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“The Artist” (Weinstein)

A modern-made silent film proves to be a breath of fresh air without uttering a word. A dashing star of the silent screen (Jean Dujardin) plays every role with panache: the handsome lover, the swashbuckling hero, the athletic comedian with a sidekick Jack Russell terrier. But Hollywood is changing, and the arrival of the “talkies” presages his decline. Meanwhile, an adoring fan (Berenice Bejo) gets her big break in show business and becomes destined for stardom. Their paths intersect in a film that is at turns zany and hilarious, sad and affecting, uplifting and inspiring. One obscene hand gesture, two scenes of attempted suicide.

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“Contraband” (Universal)

The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Expletive-laden, dispiriting crime thriller about an ex-smuggler (Mark Wahlberg) forced to ply his illicit trade once more in order to protect his family from a drug dealer. Set in New Orleans, and in the shipping lanes between the Crescent City and Panama, this Hollywood retread of a 2008 Nordic movie immediately bogs down in vulgar language, while director Baltasar Kormakur, who starred in and produced the original, fails to provide any depth or to exploit the relatively novel crime scenario. Adding insult to injury, Aaron Guzikowski’s script shows its putative hero profiting from his escapade and thus transmits a false message about the consequences of felonious behavior and a supposed immunity from ethical corruption.
Skewed values, much lethal but only moderately graphic violence, one instance of drug use, some profanity, pervasive rough, crude and crass language.

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“The Devil Inside” (Paramount)

The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Director and co-writer William Brent Bell’s eye-poppingly bad, grotesque exorcism outing combines inept storytelling with a lazy, sullen antagonism toward the Catholic Church. Keen to know what provoked her mother (Suzan Crowley) to murder two priests and a nun during an exorcism 20 years earlier, a plucky documentary maker (Fernanda Andrade) jets off to Rome in search of answers, accompanied by her faithful cameraman (Ionut Grama). They eventually join forces with two renegade clergymen (Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth) who conduct unsanctioned exorcisms for the ostensible benefit of those the “institutional” church refuses to help.
Anti-Catholic animus, a fallacious presentation of church teaching and practice, implied acceptance of abortion, rare but intensely gory violence, a few uses of profanity and frequent rough and occasional crude language.

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“Joyful Noise” (Warner Bros.)

Vibrant, faith-driven blend of comedy, drama and music focused on the sometimes raucous but ultimately friendly rivalry between two leading members (Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton) of a small-town Georgia church choir. As the chorus competes for regional and national recognition, the free-spirited, mildly prodigal grandson (Jeremy Jordan) of Parton’s character falls for the strictly reared daughter (Keke Palmer) of Latifah’s. Though it gives a pass to an incidental out-of-wedlock fling, and showcases some humor and vocabulary that make it unsuitable for youngsters, writer-director Todd Graff’s otherwise uplifting celebration of traditional values emphasizes trust in God and illustrates the positive effects of compassionate and forgiving behavior. A premarital situation, occasional sexual references and jokes, about a half-dozen crude expressions, some crass language.

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“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (Focus)

The hunt is on for a double agent within Britain’s intelligence service in this faithful adaptation of John le Carre’s best-selling 1974 novel, set at the height of the Cold War between East and West. A loyal lieutenant (Gary Oldman) of the agency’s chief (John Hurt) is sacked when a covert mission to find the mole goes awry. Secretly rehired and commissioned to ferret out the traitor, he identifies four principal suspects (Toby Jones, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, David Dencik).
Swedish director Tomas Alfredson sets a deliberately slow pace, especially for an espionage thriller. But amid all the stimulating conversations and lengthy ruminations, his film also includes elements severely circumscribing its appropriate audience.
Bloody violence including gunplay and torture, a scene of nonmarital sexual activity, brief rear nudity, a homosexual reference, some profane and rough language.

Recently released films reviewed on basis of moral suitability

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