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 - August 2, 2012 - Movie Review

Photo Caption: Rachel Weisz and Jeremy Renner star in a scene from the movie “The Bourne Legacy.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.

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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“The Bourne Legacy” (Universal)

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.

Mediocre extension of the popular action franchise — based on a series of novels by Robert Ludlum — that began with 2002’s “The Bourne Identity.” After the (now-absent) titular character’s public exposure of a top secret program that biologically altered government spies to enhance their skills, the intelligence establishment (led by Edward Norton) decides to terminate a similar Defense Department project — and kill everyone involved.
One subject (Jeremy Renner) manages to escape assassination, and teams with another of the authorities’ targets, the researcher (Rachel Weisz) who treated him as he was being endowed with his heightened powers. The duo goes on the lam and struggles to evade their pursuers’ global reach.
Standard shootouts, fatal vehicular accidents and at least one close-up scene of medical unpleasantness mark director and co-writer Tony Gilroy’s convoluted cat-and-mouse game as off-limits for youngsters. Most adults, though, will probably take these elements — along with the script’s occasional lapses into foul language — in stride. Considerable, at times harsh, violence with some gore, about a half-dozen uses each of profanity and crude language, a few crass terms.

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“The Campaign” (Warner Bros.)

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.

A potentially salient critique of the nation’s political process gets buried under a landslide of vulgarity and sex jokes in this comedy from director Jay Roach. With the career of a longtime North Carolina congressman (Will Ferrell) endangered after he misdirects an obscene phone call intended for his mistress, the two wealthy brothers who were formerly his most powerful supporters (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) scheme to replace him. They back the bumbling director of a local tourist center (Zach Galifianakis) in a race that quickly descends into farce.
Though it includes a few relatively serious passages of commentary on issues like campaign finance reform, Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell’s screenplay is primarily devoted to sophomoric humor and repellant shock gags. And some funny swipes at how politicians try to use religion to win votes are mingled with material genuinely odious to viewers of faith.
An instance of blasphemy, some mild violence, an adultery theme, obscured frontal male and partial upper female nudity, a few uses of profanity, much sexual and occasional irreverent humor, pervasive rough and crude language, an obscene gesture.

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“Hope Springs” (Columbia)

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.

Flawed, but fundamentally moral, mix of comedy and drama in which Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones play a long-married couple who have grown physically and emotionally distant. At her insistence, they set off from their home in suburban Omaha, Neb., to Maine for a week of intensive therapy with a marriage counselor and self-help author (Steve Carell). Even discussing their intimate problems, much less solving them, proves a challenge for the buttoned-up duo.
A resounding pro-marriage message undergirds director David Frankel’s film, which sees its leads in top form. Yet the proportion of Vanessa Taylor’s script devoted to talk about, or activity in, the marital bedroom narrows the appropriate audience for this keenly observed study. Only mature moviegoers well formed in faith and morals will be up to the task of gleaning its virtues from its failings.
Considerable sexual content, including semigraphic scenes of marital lovemaking and masturbation; pervasive references to sexuality; a benign view of aberrant sex acts; about a half-dozen uses of profanity; and at least one crude and a few crass terms.

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“Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D” (ARC Entertainment)

Amiable collection of stunts, performed with dirt bikes, monster trucks and even tricked-up Big Wheels, adapted for the big screen from the popular MTV series, with a crew headed by Travis Pastrana.
The flying conveyances are balletic in slow motion, and their tricks are possibly not quite as dangerous as co-directors Gregg Godfrey and Jeremy Rawle would like you to believe. Fleeting crass language and stunts no one should try at home.

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“Total Recall” (Columbia)

In a post-apocalyptic world divided between a rich region where people live in luxury and an oppressed colony where the working classes dwell, an Everyman factory drudge (Colin Farrell) discovers his past identity as a secret agent. Stunned by the revelation — which instantly makes him a wanted man — and thrown further off balance when his seemingly loyal wife (Kate Beckinsale) turns against him, he goes on the lam, eventually joining forces with the envoy (Jessica Biel) of a guerrilla resistance group.
Director Len Wiseman has sanitized Paul Verhoeven’s extremely violent 1990 action thriller, itself an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1966 short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” Yet although toned-down, the new version still contains more than its fair share of objectionable content.
Frequent action violence, including gunplay; upper female and brief rear nudity; references to prostitution; occasional uses of profanity; at least one rough term; and pervasive crude language.

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“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” (Fox 2000)

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

This second sequel to 2010’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” — based, like its predecessors, on author Jeff Kinney’s series of “novels in cartoons” — provides a warm, kid-friendly comic outing that emphasizes the virtue of honesty and the importance of familial ties.
Zachary Gordon once again plays the awkward preteen protagonist who, in this installment, is out to thwart his dad’s (Steve Zahn) plans to transform his housebound, video-game-playing summer vacation into a father-son bonding experience via a long sequence of outdoor activities. His initially honest schemes to evade this dread prospect gain the aid of his loyal best friend (Robert Capron). But when the two pals have a falling-out, and he turns to subterfuge, his deceit leads to all manner of trouble, thanks in part to his knuckleheaded older brother (Devon Bostick). Director David Bowers delivers a moving message amid the laughs, so that touches of vaguely crass humor are easily overlooked in favor of the generally amiable proceedings. Some mild scatological humor.

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“To Rome With Love” (Sony Classics)

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.

Woody Allen writes, directs and stars in this picturesque but morally misguided romp through the Eternal City, featuring a confusing quartet of stories about the search for romance, happiness and — all too frequently — sin.
A retired opera director (Allen) discovers a potential star in the person of an undertaker (Fabio Armiliato) who only sings in the shower. A honeymoon couple (Alessandra Mastronardi and Alessandro Tiberi) face twin temptations: He at the hands of a sexy prostitute (Penelope Cruz), she at those of a sleazy movie star (Antonio Albanese). A famous architect (Alec Baldwin) takes on a protege (Jesse Eisenberg) who reminds him of himself in youth, and coaches the lad in the art of seduction. An ordinary man (Roberto Benigni) becomes a media sensation for no apparent reason, only to find his life turned upside down.
A benign view of adultery and nonmarital sex, much sexual innuendo, some uses of profanity and of rough language.

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“The Dark Knight Rises” (Warner Bros.)

The lavish conclusion to director and co-writer Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy will not disappoint dedicated Batman fans. But casual viewers may find its 164-minute running time bloated and unwieldy. Set eight years after the events of 2008’s “The Dark Knight”, the latest adventure finds billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) injured, exiled and grief stricken. Yet, inevitably, he and his chiropteran alter ego find themselves pulled out of retirement. Initially, that’s due to the arrival on the scene of a morally ambiguous cat burglar (Anne Hathaway). But it’s a terrorist mastermind (Tom Hardy) who really forces the Caped Crusader to don the cowl once more.
Nolan’s script evinces a surprising amount of humanity and emotion — especially so as it shows us Wayne’s touching relationship with his long-serving butler (Michael Caine). While the bone-breaking nature of the mayhem on display excludes the youngest batfans, some parents may deem this acceptable fare for older adolescents. Frequent and intense action violence, including gunplay, an implied nonmarital encounter, a few uses of profanity, some crass terms.

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The Watch” (Fox)

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.

After the night watchman at the Costco store he manages is mysteriously murdered, an earnest suburbanite (Ben Stiller) forms a ragtag team of neighborhood guardians (Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade) to investigate. But the quartet of bumbling sleuths gets more than they bargained for when clues begin to suggest that the culprits were other than human.
Director Akiva Schaffer’s potentially interesting blend of comedy and science fiction founders under an endless stream of juvenile sex jokes. Brief but gruesome violence and an orgy scene played for laughs sink it still further. Demeaning view of human sexuality, including the frivolous treatment of aberrant sex acts with gratuitous nudity, fleeting but horrific gore, about a dozen uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

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Step Up Revolution” (Summit)

Top-notch choreography gets lost amid half-baked political posturing and self-indulgent sentimentality in first-time director Scott Speer’s dance sequel. The hackneyed plot of this fourth installment in the franchise — which began with 2006’s “Step Up” — focuses on a Miami urbanite (Ryan Guzman) who, together with his best friend since childhood (Misha Gabriel), leads a dancing flash mob that’s on its way to fame and fortune. After he falls for an equally fleet-of-foot hoofer (Kathryn McCormick), they join the whole troupe in protesting her millionaire father’s (Peter Gallagher) plans to redevelop local land and raze their downscale neighborhood in the process.
Risque routines — as well as a few turns of phrase too salty for the youngsters who would otherwise probably enjoy this outing the most — dampen the fun still further. Much highly suggestive dancing, a single censored rough term, occasional crude and crass utterances.

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“The Amazing Spider-Man” (Columbia)

The legendary web-swinger is back, battling teen angst by day and catching crooks at night in this 3-D reboot of the classic Marvel comic book character, directed by Marc Webb. A high-school science geek (Andrew Garfield) is bitten by a radioactive spider and undergoes the familiar transformation. As he impresses a comely classmate (Emma Stone), he neglects his family, resulting in the death of his uncle (Martin Sheen). When genetic engineering run amok turns a scientist (Rhys Ifans) into a monster, however, the once-arrogant lad finds his inner hero. The style and vision of Webb’s version are darker than those of director Sam Raimi’s trilogy. Still, amid the action and thrills lies an inspirational tale about accepting responsibility and using one’s gifts for the greater good. Intense action violence, including gunplay, some rough language.

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“Ice Age: Continental Drift” (Fox)

Modestly entertaining 3-D animated sequel in which the sudden sundering of the once-united continents separates the goodhearted father (voice of Ray Romano) of a family of mammoths from his levelheaded wife (voice of Queen Latifah) and headstrong teenage daughter (voice of Keke Palmer).
Dad’s determined efforts to reunite his clan are aided by his two closest friends, a sloth (voice of John Leguizamo) and a tiger (voice of Denis Leary). But he’s temporarily stymied when the trio of pals is taken prisoner by a band of pirates led by a bellicose orangutan (voice of Peter inklage). Scenes involving a manic squirrel (voice of Chris Wedge) provide the high points of this fourth installment of the popular franchise, co-directed by Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier.
Though other comic elements are beginning to feel worn, lessons in loyal friendship and family solidarity are more durable. Mild menace, a bit of scatological humor.

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“Moonrise Kingdom” (Focus)

Pretentious, deadpan whimsicality overwhelms a core story about adults trying to do the best for two troubled pre-teens (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward). Director Wes Anderson, who co-wrote with Roman Coppola, portrays the grownups (Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton among them), along with a troop of young scouts, as caring and sensitive, if occasionally clueless. But one scene involving the two leads teeters queasily on the edge of sexual exploitation. An instance of underage sensuality, a reference to an extramarital affair, fleeting crass language.

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“Katy Perry: Part of Me” (Paramount)

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

Though she attracts a youthful following, the campily costumed central figure of this concert film sings lyrics ranging from the suggestive to the blatantly sexual that parents will almost certainly find unsuitable for their kids. The mildly entertaining but overlong proceedings, helmed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, moreover, are characterized by an ambiguous outlook on the pop diva’s Pentecostal Christian upbringing and a message promoting individualism without limit that at least implies acceptance of a gay lifestyle. Some suggestive outfits and dancing, mature references, including to homosexual behavior, obvious double entendres, childish scatological humor, at least one mild oath and a censored crude term, a bit of crass language.

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Savages” (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.

Directed and co-written by Oliver Stone from the 2010 novel by Don Winslow, this vicious, blood-soaked saga of drug lords glorifies primal urges, vulgarity and man’s inhumanity toward man. Two friends (Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch) and their shared lover (Blake Lively) run a successful business growing the best marijuana in North America. When a takeover by a Mexican drug cartel (led by Salma Hayek) is rebuffed, the girlfriend is kidnapped, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues. Perverted values; pervasive brutal and grisly violence, including gunplay, torture and rape; graphic nonmarital sex with rear and upper female nudity; off-screen aberrant sexual activity; suicide; a benign view of drug use; and frequent rough language.

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People Like Us” (Disney)

A basically good-hearted but less-than-scrupulous businessman (Chris Pine) faces a moral dilemma when he discovers, in the wake of his long-estranged father’s death, that he has a half-sister (Elizabeth Banks) and that Dad left secret instructions for him to convey a large cash bequest to her. Up against significant financial reversals, he sorely needs the money himself. But as he gets to know his struggling sibling — he contrives to cross her path as though he were a chance acquaintance — and bonds with her troubled preteen son (Michael Hall D’Addario), less selfish considerations come to the fore.
Director and co-writer Alex Kurtzman’s low-key blend of comedy and drama, based on real events and aimed at intelligent, mature audiences, showcases some fine acting and delivers a thoughtful — if not always entirely plausible — examination of its main characters’ struggle to overcome a legacy of dysfunction.
Cohabitation, brief semi-graphic sexual activity, drug use, addiction theme, a few instances of profanity, at least one rough term and considerable crude and crass language.

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“Ted” (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.

Sporadically funny, but excessively vulgar comedy charting the long-standing friendship between a slacker car rental agent (Mark Wahlberg) and the teddy bear (voice of Seth MacFarlane) his childhood wish miraculously brought to life. When their bond is tested by tensions surrounding the wastrel’s romance with his live-in girlfriend (Mila Kunis), the party-loving plush toy proves a negative influence, despite good intentions.
MacFarlane, who also directed and co-wrote this mix of live action and computer-generated animation, endows the titular character with a foul mouth, a taste for the company of prostitutes and a love of illegal substances. Cuddly does not describe it.
Occasional irreverence, a benign view of drug use, cohabitation, brief upper female and rear nudity, a same-sex kiss, much sexual and scatological humor, numerous uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

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Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection” (Lionsgate)

Writer-director Tyler Perry reprises the role of Madea, the familiar, frequently mixed-up, but mostly moral force of nature in a muumuu.
In one of her weaker outings, her district attorney nephew (also Perry) convinces Madea to shelter a white family (headed by Eugene Levy) after a massive corporate Ponzi scheme gone awry, leaving Levy’s falsely suspected character not only facing fraud charges but threatened by mobsters as well. Perry plays on the well-worn theme of the cultural shock that ensues when stuffy Caucasians mingle with earthy black folks. Still, his trademark themes of respect for parents, adherence to one’s religious beliefs and self-confidence are not to be quarreled with, any more than is his feisty heroine herself.
Occasional slapstick violence as well as fleeting crass language and drug references.

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Magic Mike” (Warner Bros.)

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.

Sordid drama in which a veteran male stripper (Channing Tatum) convinces his boss (Matthew McConaughey) to hire a novice (Alex Pettyfer) he has befriended. But the experienced burlesque boy’s romantic interest in his new pal’s sister (Cody Horn) runs up against her well-founded disapproval of his immature, hedonistic lifestyle.
Though it follows a morally acceptable thematic path, director Steven Soderbergh’s somewhat random-feeling journey into the subculture of ladies-only clubs includes too many sleazy detours and too much flaunted flesh.
Strong sexual content, including adultery, full nudity, semi-graphic nonmarital sexual activity and off-screen group sex, drug use, a couple of instances of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

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“Stella Days” (Tribeca)

The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Change is in the air in 1950s Catholic Ireland, and a discontented parish priest (Martin Sheen) struggles to keep his flock — and himself — from spiritual exhaustion in director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s adaptation of Michael Doorley’s memoir.
Ordered by his bishop (Tom Hickey) to build a new church, the pastor lights on a novel scheme to raise funds and, at the same time, engage his wandering flock: build a cinema, to be called “The Stella.” His project gains the support of a newly arrived young teacher (Trystan Gravelle), but ignites opposition both from the bishop and from a local politician (Stephen Rea) who predicts filth and immorality will result.
Antoine O. Flatharta’s script does not condemn the church and its role in Irish society outright. But he marginalizes it, casting it as a relic of a rose-colored time in recent history. An unflattering portrayal of the Catholic Church, an adulterous relationship and some rough language.

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“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (Fox)

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.

The 16th president of the United States uses his trusty ax to split a lot more than rails in this goofy mash-up of American history, directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith (based on his 2010 novel).
Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) vows revenge after his mother is killed by a vampire’s bite. Trained in the killing arts by a mysterious mentor (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln sets out to vanquish evil and prevent the undead-aided Confederacy from winning the Civil War.
Relentless bloody violence, fleeting upper female nudity, occasional use of profanity and rough language.

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“Brave” (Disney)

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.

A teenage Scottish princess goes to extreme lengths to break free of custom and convention in this 3-D animated adventure, directed by Brenda Chapman and newcomer Mark Andrews.
A king and queen (voices of Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson) rule a peaceable version of medieval Caledonia. When it comes time to arrange the marriage of their rambunctious daughter (voice of Kelly Macdonald), however, she rebels and runs off to the forest.
Determined to change her destiny, she persuades a witch (voice of Julie Walters) she encounters there to cast a spell, with disastrous consequences. Her adventure teaches the royal miss the hard way that selfishness and revenge are wrong, and family, duty and honor paramount.
Intense action and scenes of peril, the use of sorcery, brief rear animated nudity and some rude humor.

Recently released films reviewed on basis of moral suitability

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