The Catholic Post CNS reviews of recent films on the basis of moral suitability

CNS reviews of recent films on the basis of moral suitability

By: The Catholic Post - June 22, 2015 - Movie Review

Rating: By Catholic News Service

PHOTO: Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard star in a scene from the movie “Jurassic World.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. (CNS/Universal)

—–

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.

This list will be updated regularly.

—–

“Max” (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.

A “military working dog” returns from Afghanistan to vanquish evil while mending a broken home in this wholesome — and welcome — family drama. When the eponymous canine’s handler (Robbie Amell), a Marine, is killed, the distraught animal is honorably discharged and sent home to Texas to live with the Leatherneck’s parents (Lauren Graham and Thomas Haden Church) and his troubled younger brother (Josh Wiggins). With the encouragement of the sassy girl (Mia Xitlali), for whom he’s fallen, the rebellious teen overcomes his initial resistance and bonds with his new pet. Together, they uncover a nefarious plot by an ex-Marine (Luke Kleintank) to peddle illegal weapons.
Director and co-writer Boaz Yakin nicely conveys his youthful main character’s evolution from zero to hero while underscoring the importance of telling the truth and respecting your parents. Scenes of combat and human peril as well as dog-fighting, a few mild oaths.

—–

“Ted 2” (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.

Sequel to the 2013 film is another wallow in sexist, racist, stoner vulgarity. Seth MacFarlane, who directed, co-wrote the screenplay with Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and voices the potty-mouthed teddy bear as a fuzzy, bawdier version of Peter Griffin from “Family Guy,” ventures into crude sexual gags and casually expressed racism along with his trademark pop-culture riffs.
Casual racist remarks including the N-word, references to aberrant sexual behavior, fleeting female nudity, pervasive drug use, pervasive crude, crass and profane language.

—–

“Dope” (Open Road)

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.

An academically gifted high school student (Shameik Moore) struggles to dodge the lawlessness of his inner-city Los Angeles neighborhood until he accidentally acquires a large stash of narcotics. Together with his two best friends (Kiersey Clemons and Tony Revolori), he then markets the drugs online in what writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s blend of comedy and drama perversely presents as an ingenious extracurricular activity proving the lad’s resourcefulness and affording him a new level of self-awareness.
While taking a brief sneering swipe at religion, Famuyiwa’s script not only normalizes wayward sexuality but misuses the array of social ills it endeavors to satirize as a justification for criminal behavior. Distorted values, considerable, sometimes gory violence, drug use and underage drinking, strong sexual content — including scenes of masturbation and obscured full nudity as well as tacit approval of homosexual acts — at least one use of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

—–

“Inside Out” (Disney)

Splendid animated comedy, founded on strong values, in which an 11-year-old girl’s (voice of Kaitlyn Dias) personified emotions — principally Joy (voice of Amy Poehler) and Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith) — struggle to help her cope with the crisis brought on by her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco.
Aided by top-notch supporting performances from, among others, comedian Lewis Black as the lass’ Anger and Richard Kind as her big-hearted imaginary friend, co-directors Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen prove equally deft at tickling and touching the wide-ranging audience for which their Pixar production is suitable. A few potentially upsetting incidents, a single mature reference.

—–

“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” (Fox Searchlight)

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.

Sensitive, though ultimately shallow drama in which, at the insistence of his mother (Connie Britton), a precocious, movie-obsessed high school misfit (Thomas Mann) reluctantly befriends a classmate (Olivia Cooke) afflicted with leukemia. As the two develop a genuine affection for each other, the outcast and his best buddy from childhood (RJ Cyler) — who has also gotten to know, and like, the patient — collaborate on a film paying tribute to their new pal.
Unusually, director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s adaptation of screenwriter Jesse Andrews’ best-seller for young adults sidelines romance, keeping the relationship between the central characters strictly platonic. But marginal tinges of sexuality, some of them distasteful, make this a doubtful choice for the source material’s targeted age group. The prospect of death is also considered from a strictly secular perspective, impoverishing the script’s outlook and putting it at odds with a Christian worldview.
Mature themes, unintentional drug use, fleeting images of pornography with implied masturbation, brief, mild irreverence, several uses of profanity, at least one audible and a few bleeped F-words, much crude and crass language.

—–

“Jurassic World” (Universal)

Humans are mere dinosaur fodder in this extension of the $2 billion-grossing sci-fi franchise that dates back to 1993’s “Jurassic Park,” Steven Spielberg’s wildly popular adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel.
The potential victims of the latest crop of genetically recreated prehistoric predators who, for a price, can be observed at the resort of the title, include a career-focused member of the theme park’s staff (Bryce Dallas Howard), her visiting nephews (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins) and the ex-military animal trainer (Chris Pratt) with whom she shares a romantic attraction thinly disguised as mutual dislike.
Anyone looking for interaction more meaningful than that between the DNA disaster of an uber-dino to whose rampage director Colin Trevorrow devotes most of his attention and the anonymous extras on whom the ill-designed creature contentedly munches have come to the wrong fictional island. Though the elements listed below rule out the “Flintstones” crowd, parents of insistent teens who find their patience in danger of extinction need not feel too guilty if resistance proves futile.
Some gory interludes, a bit of comic innuendo, at least one use of profanity, a few crude and crass terms.

—–

“Love and Mercy” (Roadside)

This profile of Brian Wilson, the driving force behind 1960s chart toppers the Beach Boys, evades a descent into sentimental gloss. Instead, director Bill Pohlad adopts an intelligent, steady approach to his subject, almost like that of a documentary. He focuses on lengthy scenes showing the young Wilson (Paul Dano) laboriously crafting his distinctive sound in recording studios.
But, in an effort to avoid sensationalism, he also undoubtedly strips away uncomfortable details from the story of the troubled musician’s later life, during which he’s portrayed by John Cusack. Though Pohlad ducks explicit portrayals or discussions of the substance abuse that may have led to Wilson’s experience of auditory hallucinations, his film can be appreciated for its celebration of one star’s at least partially successful maneuvering through the moral minefield laid down by wealth and fame.
A premarital bedroom scene, drug use, fleeting instances of profanity and coarse language.

—–

“Entourage” (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.

In this big-screen version of the HBO series which premiered in 2004, a Hollywood star (Adrian Grenier) convinces the studio executive (Jeremy Piven) who discovered him to let him direct as well as act in a high-concept adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
But as the production runs over budget, the demands of the movie’s Texas-based financial backer (Billy Bob Thornton) and his egotistical son (Haley Joel Osment) put a strain on the leading man’s relationship with his feckless half-brother (Kevin Dillon) and the duo of old pals (Kevin Connolly and Jerry Ferrara) who make up the remainder of his devoted retinue.
Writer-director Doug Ellin, who created the TV series, helms an occasionally funny send-up of Tinseltown’s eccentricities. But glimmers of morality involving loyalty to family and friends as well as artistic integrity are vastly outshone by the glare of glamorized materialism, an outlook that includes a blatantly debased attitude toward sexuality.
Misguided values, including a benign view of drug use and of homosexual acts, graphic scenes of aberrant behavior and casual encounters with upper female and rear nudity, fleeting gore, frequent uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

—–

“Insidious: Chapter 3” (Gramercy)

Run-of-the-mill horror prequel in which the unassuming but spunky psychic (Lin Shaye) featured in the previous outings reluctantly emerges from self-imposed retirement to aid a high school senior (Stefanie Scott) whose do-it-yourself attempt to contact her recently deceased mom has instead summoned up a malignant spirit.
Writer-director Leigh Whannell’s script takes an incidental stance against suicide. But the film’s spiritual battle between good and evil is viewed exclusively from a paranormal perspective, with no reference to faith, while elements of language and subject matter put it beyond the appropriate reach of a youthful audience.
Potentially disturbing scenes of a car accident and its aftermath, occult themes, fleeting references to homosexuality, a couple of uses of profanity, at least one instance of the F-word, about a half-dozen crass terms.

—–

“Spy” (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.

When a James Bond-like CIA field operative (Jude Law) becomes a casualty in the agency’s effort to bring down the ruthless heir (Rose Byrne) of an international crime dynasty, his devoted but previously desk-bound partner (Melissa McCarthy) goes undercover to avenge him by nabbing the evildoer.
She’s aided, albeit ineptly, by the goodhearted officemate (Miranda Hart) who doubles as her best friend. But the relentless, disdain-driven interference of another colleague (Jason Statham) threatens to derail her improvised project at every turn.
An excess of crude material and vulgar dialogue overburdens writer-director Paul Feig’s sharply observed, cleverly executed comedy, squelching the potential fun to be derived from its array of eccentric characters. Intermittent harsh violence with gore, brief obscene images, much sexual and some scatological humor, over a dozen uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

—–
“Aloha” (Columbia)

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

Unstable yet genuinely poignant romantic comedy about a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) with a checkered past who returns to Hawaii where his ex-girlfriend (Rachel McAdams) resides and where his billionaire boss (Bill Murray) is funding a mysterious space project for the U.S. government.
When he falls in love with an Air Force captain (Emma Stone) his assignment, which entails negotiating with the leader of Hawaii’s independence movement, is jeopardized.
With his trademark use of rock ‘n’ roll music and a talent for penning witty dialogue, writer-director Cameron Crowe aims for a loose, improvisational feel that can feel manufactured; yet he understands the appeal of his terrific cast and that movie magic occurs when palpable, primarily nonverbal connections are established in which to ground loving human relationships. An instance of off-camera non-marital relations between a man and a woman, one use of rough language, several crude phrases, some sexual innuendo.

—–

“Poltergeist” (Fox)

The 1982 horror film that gave new meaning to the term “haunted house” is reimagined in 3-D, directed by Gil Kenan.
An ordinary family moves into a new home on the edge of town, unaware that it was built over an old cemetery. The parents (Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt) and children (Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, Kennedi Clements) try to adjust to their new surroundings, but before long, things go bump in the night and really angry spirits make a really big mess. It’s up to a paranormal expert (Jared Harris) and his ex-wife (Jane Adams) to save the day.
This sometimes scary but mostly silly tale of suburbia under siege is suitable for mature viewers only. Scenes of supernatural horror and child peril, and fleeting crude and profane language.

—–

“San Andreas” (Warner Bros.)

An eye-popping, ear-splitting 3-D chronicle directed by Brad Peyton of a California earthquake when the eponymous tectonic fault line splits open.
A seismology professor (Paul Giamatti) invents a system to predict earthquakes before they happen. It works, and with the help of a television reporter (Archie Panjabi), he sounds the alarm from Los Angeles to San Francisco for everyone to “drop, cover and hold on.” Amid the mayhem, a helicopter rescue pilot (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and his estranged wife (Carla Gugino) unite to rescue their daughter (Alexandra Daddario) and her friends (Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Art Parkinson).
Meticulously rendered in CGI, this film is often thrilling, sometimes silly, and frequently preposterous — in other words, a typical summer popcorn movie, although not for the young or faint of heart. Relentless, intense but mostly bloodless disaster-related violence and mayhem, and occasional crude language.

—–

“Tomorrowland” (Disney)

Borrowing the name but little else from the futuristic-themed section of Disneyland and other Disney parks, this delightful science-fiction film is great fun for the entire family, directed and co-written by Brad Bird.
A young woman (Britt Robertson) is recruited by a mysterious robot (Raffey Cassidy) for a mission to save both Earth and the eponymous utopia that exists in another dimension. They join forces with a former inventor (George Clooney) to wrest control of the future from a coldhearted bureaucrat (Hugh Laurie). Cartoonish but bloodless action sequences and a few mild oaths.

—–

“The Water Diviner” (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.

An Australian father (Russell Crowe) copes with the loss of his three sons (Ryan Corr, Edward James Fraser, Ben O’Toole) at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I in this fictional drama inspired by true events.
He journeys to Turkey, where a former enemy official (Yilmaz Erdogan), in a gesture of reconciliation, decides to help him locate the remains of his sons. Along the way he befriends a hotel owner (Olga Kurylenko) and her son (Dylan Georgiades) with grief issues of their own.
Directed by Crowe with stunning cinematography, the film offers a timely reminder of the ghastly personal cost of war and its lingering impact upon future generations. Bloody war violence and disturbing images of death, and an unflattering portrayal of a Catholic priest.

—–

“Pitch Perfect 2” (Universal)

The trials and tribulations of a college a cappella group continue in this sequel to the 2012 film, directed and co-produced by Elizabeth Banks, who also reprises her role of a snarky pageant official.
When the group is banned from national competition by virtue of a scandal by one of its singers (Rebel Wilson), its leaders (Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow) seek redemption by going after the world title with the help of a new recruit (Hailee Steinfeld). That means facing off against a German ensemble led by a menacing dominatrix (Birgitte Hjort Sorensen).
The film works best when showcasing the catchy tunes and not the dialogue, which is shockingly tone deaf. The attempt at humor by belittling women, foreigners and even religion is out of tune with what should be as wholesome anthem for self-improvement and achievement. Implied nonmarital relationships, adult themes and innuendo, occasional crude language, and an obscene gesture.

—–

“Mad Max: Fury Road” (Warner Bros)

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.

A brutal assault on all the senses is the best way to describe this fourth film in a series, directed, co-produced, and co-written by George Miller.
In a bleak, post-apocalyptic future, a road warrior (Tom Hardy) joins forces with a hijacker (Charlize Theron) as they seek revenge on a tyrannical leader (Hugh Keays-Byrne) who controls two precious commodities, water and gasoline. Along for the ride are the leader’s concubines, one of whom (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) is carrying his child. The chase is on, with a crazed soldier (Nicholas Hoult) leading an armada in pursuit.
Impressive cinematography and choreographed action are small consolations for two hours of gratuitous combat in which men have no qualms about beating women to a pulp — and vice versa. Relentless bloody violence, several disturbing images, and brief nudity.

—–

“Hot Pursuit” (Warner Bros.)

Brittle comedy in which a high-strung police officer (Reese Witherspoon) is assigned to protect the volatile wife (Sofia Vergara) of a drug runner-turned-government-witness. But the gangster is gunned down in a plot involving corrupt cops (most prominently Michael Mosley and Matthew Del Negro), forcing the ill-suited pair to go on the run together.
Director Anne Fletcher puts the duo through their predictable road-movie paces with mediocre results. Fleeting violence and gore, brief partial nudity, a drug theme, a mildly irreverent joke, some earthy humor including a scene of feigned homosexuality, at least one use each of profanity and rough language, occasional crude and crass terms.

—–

“The D Train” (IFC)

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.

Presumably intended as a droll comedy about the pursuit of fame and the vagaries of sexual experimentation, writers and co-directors Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul’s film amounts instead to a consistently cynical, intermittently depraved exercise in strained humor.
They use the occasion of a high school reunion to draw a hackneyed contrast between the seemingly dull lot of one of their main characters (Jack Black), the event’s organizer, and the indulgent lifestyle of the other (James Marsden), an actor whose quasi-celebrity makes him the evening’s main draw. Among those suffering the consequences of the amoral performer’s influence over his former classmate are the Everyman’s supportive wife (Kathryn Hahn) and 14-year-old son (Russell Posner).
Strong sexual content — including a semigraphic scene of marital lovemaking, off screen homosexual adultery, fleeting rear nudity and explicit references to aberrant acts — drug use, pervasive rough language.

—–

“Far from the Madding Crowd” (Fox)

Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel about romantic entanglements in the English countryside returns to the big screen in this fourth film adaptation, directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
After unexpectedly inheriting a farm and a fortune, an independent-minded woman (Carey Mulligan) is determined to achieve success in a world run by men. She’s pursued by three suitors: a kindly shepherd (Matthias Schoenaerts), a lonely bachelor (Michael Sheen), and a caddish army sergeant (Tom Sturridge). A top-rank cast, lush cinematography, and high drama combine into a treat that’s suitable for teens as well as grownups, with a lesson in true love and commitment thrown in for good measure.
Brief violence, some sensuality, a single disturbing image.

—–

“Ex Machina” (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.

Crass misogyny overwhelms any thoughtful considerations on the rapid development of artificial intelligence that this sometimes witty tale of a mad scientist (Oscar Isaac), his assistant (Domhnall Gleeson) and his buxom, skimpily clad creation (Alicia Vikander) might have to offer. Writer-director Alex Garland apparently presumes that a big naked finale doesn’t count as gratuitous if all the women on display are robots.
Strong sexual content, including numerous images of full nudity, some knife violence, a few uses of profanity, much rough language.

—-

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (Disney)

Occasional flashes of wit relieve the endless succession of explosive special effects in this so-so sequel.
When a supposedly peaceable tech project uber-engineer, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), has been working on goes awry, the other members of the Avengers team — Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) — must battle to save humanity from the artificial-intelligence villain (voice of James Spader) their colleague has inadvertently created. This evil self-replicating robot is aided by superpower-wielding twins (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen) who nurse a long-standing grudge against the film’s ensemble of good guys.
In following up on his 2012 Marvel Comics-based adventure “The Avengers,” writer-director Joss Whedon keeps the mayhem stylized. But his script’s approach to its under-realized theme weighing human freedom against the blessings of tranquility is muddled. The proceedings are further dinged — and rendered inappropriate for youngsters — by a number of less-than-heroic exclamations and a couple of ill-considered jokes.
Pervasive but bloodless violence, brief irreverent and anti-Catholic humor, fleeting sexual banter, some crude and crass language.

—–

“Child 44” (Summit)

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.

Author Tom Rob Smith’s novel about a serial killer stalking boys in the Stalinist-era Soviet Union — where, for ideological reasons, such crimes could not be officially acknowledged to exist — has the makings of an intriguing film. Unfortunately, director Daniel Espinosa and screenwriter Richard Price get bogged down in details, subplots and stereotyped apparatchiks as their protagonist (Tom Hardy), a state security officer attempting to investigate the murders, faces exile for his efforts.
He perseveres nonetheless, helped by a sympathetic general (Gary Oldman), but constantly harassed by a bureaucrat (Joel Kinnaman), who wants to keep the killings concealed.
Gun and physical violence, a fleeting scene of semi-graphic sexual activity, occasional profanity, rough language.

—–

“Marie’s Story” (Film Movement)

The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The life of Marie Heurtin (1885-1921), often called the “French Helen Keller,” is dramatized in this joyous film, directed by Jean-Pierre Ameris.
Born deaf and blind and wholly unable to connect to the world around her, by the age of 14, Marie (portrayed by deaf actress Ariana Rivoire) is a feral creature, prone to wild outbursts. With nowhere else to turn, her exasperated parents (Gilles Treton and Laure Duthilleul) bring Marie to a special-needs school run by an order of sisters where the girl makes a big impression on one idealistic nun (Isabelle Carre).
What ensues is a master class in unconditional love, patience and perseverance. Ameris brings a rare sensitivity and poignancy to his inspirational story; the profoundly life-affirming results are not to be missed. In French. Subtitles. Some potentially disturbing scenes of a frightened child. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

—–

“The Age of Adaline” (Lionsgate)

Serviceable romantic drama in which, due to the unique circumstances of an auto accident that caused her temporary death, a 29-year-old widow (Blake Lively) in 1930s San Francisco emerges from the trauma immune to aging.
She spends the next eight decades on the run from prying authorities and from the kind of relationships her perpetual youth would make awkwardly unbalanced before reluctantly letting herself fall for a wealthy Silicon Valley tech whiz (Michiel Huisman). Though this turn of events delights her now-elderly daughter (Ellen Burstyn), complications from her long past (involving Harrison Ford) threaten her contemporary chance for commitment-based happiness.
Glossy proceedings follow on a silly premise in director Lee Toland Krieger’s film, though Lively’s skillful portrayal of the heroine’s not-quite-resigned state of isolation quells some skepticism. While her character’s wildly improbable plight makes the script’s tacit acceptance of out-of-wedlock sexual behavior somewhat difficult to evaluate, the unpleasant undertones of a late plot development connecting Huisman’s character to Ford’s are unmistakable.
Bedroom scenes implying benignly viewed nonmarital and premarital relationships, graphic but bloodless crash sequences, at least one instance each of profanity and crude language.

CNS reviews of recent films on the basis of moral suitability

Related