The Catholic Post Recent movies reviewed by CNS on the basis of moral suitability

Recent movies reviewed by CNS on the basis of moral suitability

By: The Catholic Post - July 17, 2013 - Movie Review

Photo Caption: Turbo, center, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, is shown in a scene from the animated movie “Turbo.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-I — general patronage.

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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“R.I.P.D.” (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.

Scattershot action adventure about a corrupt Boston cop (Ryan Reynolds) who, inspired by the love of his trusting wife (Stephanie Szostak), decides to return to the straight and narrow. Informed of this change of heart, however, his even more crooked partner (Kevin Bacon) kills him and covers up the crime.
Waking up in the afterlife, the slain officer is given the opportunity to forestall judgment of his misdeeds by serving on a celestial police force called the Rest in Peace Department (lead by Mary-Louise Parker). Uneasily paired with a crusty Wild West-era lawman (Jeff Bridges), he must hunt down dead villains who have managed to evade divine justice by lingering on earth — a pursuit that eventually sheds new light on the circumstances of his own demise.
Director Robert Schwentke’s adaptation of Peter M. Lenkov’s series of graphic novels features convoluted post-mortem dynamics only some of which are compatible with Christian faith. Though Bridges struggles to sustain the proceedings with amusing bravado, the screenwriters’ attempt to combine a buddy movie with a special-effects extravaganza, a comedy and a redemptive romance dooms the film to attention-deficit ineffectiveness.
Much action violence with fleeting gore, a nongraphic marital bedroom scene, brief partial nudity, occasional adult humor, a few instances of profanity, considerable crude and crass language, a couple of obscene gestures.

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“The Wolverine” (Fox)

Macho superhero adventure in which the titular character (Hugh Jackman) — whose distinctive gifts include tougher-than-steel claws that sprout from his hands — slices and dices his way through Japan while protecting the heiress (Tao Okamoto) to an old friend’s (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) industrial fortune.
Physical and emotional angst make director James Mangold’s action picture — based on Marvel’s X-Men mythos — a heavy lift for casual viewers. Still, the relentless combat involves only moderate gore, and occasional flashes of wit offer some relief from the fog of testosterone. Constant action violence with some blood, ritual suicides, a nonmarital bedroom scene, rear nudity, mature references, at least one use of the F-word, occasional crude and crass language.

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“The Conjuring” (Warner Bros.)

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

Demons get a presumption of truth and the run of the plot, while the solemn rite of exorcism is reduced to a kind of voodoo practiced by entrepreneurial ghostbusters with dubious credentials in cobwebbed New England basements.
Director James Wan and screenwriters Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes limn the story of one family’s struggle with evil spirits taking over their household, aided by real-life “demonologists” Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
A skewed view of Catholic faith practices, intense action sequences, mild gore, fleeting profanity, and intense but nonviolent scenes involving children.

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“RED 2” (Summit)

Those “retired and extremely dangerous” (RED) secret agents are back on the case in this lively sequel to the 2010 film, directed by Dean Parisot and based on the graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.
An ex-CIA agent (Bruce Willis) is adjusting to a quiet life with his kooky girlfriend (Mary-Louise Parker). Before long, he is recruited by his former partner (John Malkovich) to take on a new case and save the world from nuclear annihilation. Joining the cause are super-spies from Britain (Helen Mirren), Russia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and Hong Kong (Byung Hun Lee). While the tone is light and silly amid the mayhem with witty repartee and innuendo, the high violence quotient places this film firmly in the adult camp.
Frequent but largely bloodless violence, brief drug use, and some profane and crude language.

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“Turbo” (DreamWorks)

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.

Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare gets a Formula One makeover in this rollicking 3-D animated comedy about a garden snail (voice of Ryan Reynolds) whose wish for super speed is unexpectedly granted after a freak accident.
His brother snail (voice of Paul Giamatti) advises caution, but the super-mollusk takes to heart the mantra of his human racing idol (voice of Bill Hader), “No dream’s too big and no dreamer’s too small.” That dream means competing in the Indianapolis 500, achieved with the help of an enthusiastic taco restaurant owner (voice of Michael Pena).
Directed and co-written by David Soren, “Turbo” is a warm-hearted family adventure that champions the underdog and upholds the bonds of brotherly love. A few perilous situations may frighten younger children.

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“Grown Ups 2” (Columbia)

Nearly plotless sequel to the 2010 comedy consists of a series of vignettes that abandon character development for sight gags, nearly all of them involving body functions, most of them scatological, and hits to the crotch when they don’t involve leering at women’s breasts.
Director Dennis Dugan and star Adam Sandler, who co-wrote with Fred Wolf and Tim Herlihy, pick up the story of Sandler’s successful Hollywood producer, who has returned to his home town and has ambling adventures with his former high school friends on the last day of the school year for their children.
Nearly nonstop scatological references, fleeting rear male nudity, mild sexual banter, fleeting crass language.

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“Pacific Rim” (Warner Bros.)

Manmade robots battle alien creatures redolent of Godzilla in an escapist sci-fi spectacle ideal for the summer movie season.
When gigantic monsters called Kaiju emerge from a breach at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, the nations of the world join forces to build machines dubbed Jaegers to battle the destructive intruders. The Jaegers, guided by human pilots (Charlie Hunnam among them), are the planet’s only hope. Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro fashions visual effects that often trigger awe, while weaving together the doomsday scenario, co-written by Travis Beacham, with enough humor and noble human impulses to make us think the movie is doing more than exploiting our fascination with monsters, machines and mayhem.
Much intense but bloodless sci-fi violence between robots and alien creatures, fleeting sexual banter, occasional crude and profane language. Possibly acceptable for older teens.

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“Much Ado About Nothing” (Lionsgate)

The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned.

William Shakespeare’s 1599 comedy gets a modern-day update by director Joss Whedon in a highly entertaining film that ponders age-old issues of marital love, fidelity, and betrayal.
It’s time for a celebration, thrown by Governor Leonato (Clark Gregg) for warriors returning in triumph from a victory: Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) and his officers, Claudio (Fran Kranz) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof). What follows is a tale of two couples: Claudio falls for Leonato’s comely daughter Hero (Jillian Morgese), while Benedick locks horns with Leonato’s niece Beatrice (Amy Acker).
Matchmaking ensues, but the road to a happy ending is not without potholes, especially since Don John (Sean Maher), Don Pedro’s wicked brother, plots against Claudio and Hero on the eve of their wedding. Implied pre- and nonmarital sex, brief drug use.

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“Despicable Me 2” (Universal)

Sweet animated sequel in which the never very wicked and now thoroughly reformed villain of the original film (voice of Steve Carell) teams with a secret agent (voice of Kristen Wiig) to identify the perpetrator of a crime of global significance and foil his plan for world domination.
Along the way, romance blooms between the two partners, much to the satisfaction of our hero’s three adoptive daughters (voices of Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher).
Some potty humor aside, co-directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin’s follow-up to their 2010 feature is a thoroughly endearing comedy that showcases the transformative power of both romantic love and family affection and provides morally suitable entertainment for all ages. Occasional, mostly mild scatological humor, a few perilous situations.

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“The Lone Ranger” (Disney)

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.

Eccentric and overlong reinterpretation of the familiar crime-fighting partnership between the titular hero (Armie Hammer) of the frontier and his faithful Native American companion, Tonto (Johnny Depp). Here an elderly, whimsical Tonto recounts the circumstances that initially brought them together as well as their struggle to capture a viciously depraved outlaw (William Fichtner).
Set primarily amidst the race to complete the transcontinental railroad, with Tom Wilkinson playing a shady train company executive, director Gore Verbinski’s action comedy offers a warning about the corrupting influence of greed. But one of the aspects of European culture that gets trounced is Christianity, with believers shown up as either weaklings or hypocrites. Indian spirituality and values, by contrast, are generally glorified.
A negative treatment of Christian faith, considerable action violence with some gore, mature themes, including cannibalism and prostitution, a transvestite character, brief scatological imagery and humor, at least one crass term.

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Recent movies reviewed by CNS on the basis of moral suitability

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