By Catholic News Service At no point is it clear whether the filmmakers are sympathetic to the plight of disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) or just want to make fun of the skater and the peculiar, fleeting nature of fame. Instead, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Steven Rogers present a coarsening, numbing […]
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Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps star in a scene from the movie"Phantom Thread." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Focus Features)
By Catholic News Service All silk, organza, lace and tulle in the first half and a bizarre portrayal of marriage in the second half. In this bumpy, bizarre trip through high fashion and passive-aggressive sniping in 1950s London, a high-society dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) inflicts emotional torture on his latest muse (Vicky Krieps) until she finds […]
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Maurice Compte and Gerard Butler star in a scene from the movie "Den of Thieves." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS/STX Entertainment)
By Catholic News Service A morass of crass. Gerald Butler is a rogue and troubled Los Angeles police officer chasing after a hyper-violent crew of bank robbers who have, as their ultimate goal, the heretofore-unassailable Los Angeles Federal Reserve Bank from which they hope to “withdraw” $30 million in untraceable cash. Director Christian Gudegast, who […]
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Michael Shannon and Chris Hemsworth, facing camera, star in a scene from the movie "12 Strong." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Warner Bros.)
By Catholic News Service True military adventures don’t come any more rousing than this. Chris Hemsworth plays a Green Beret captain leading a small Special Forces unit on horseback in rugged terrain in the early weeks of fighting in Afghanistan after 9/11. Director Nicolai Fuglsig, working from a script by Ted Tally and Peter Craig, […]
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Abby Ryder Fortson, Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe star in a scene from the movie "Forever My Girl." The Catholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. (CNS/Roadside Attractions)
By Catholic News Service Gentle adaptation of Heidi McLaughlin’s romance novel has an aspiring country music star (Alex Roe) returning to his small Louisiana hometown when a high school classmate dies, only to learn that he has a 7-year-old daughter with his ex-fiancee. This forces him into finally making adult decisions. Writer-director Bethany Ashton Wolf […]
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Rosamund Pike and Christian Bale star in a scene from the movie "Hostiles." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures)
By Catholic News Service Western, set in 1892, which works from the premise that not only were white soldiers at the time fully aware of their complicity in the decades-long genocide of Native Americans, they also could feel immense, paralyzing guilt about their actions. Director-writer Scott Cooper wishes to make a strong moral case as […]
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Taraji P. Henson and Danny Glover star in a scene from the movie "Proud Mary." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Sony)
By Catholic News Service Tall tale of a hit woman (Taraji P. Henson) with a heart of gold who takes in the orphaned son (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) of one of her victims and dispatches the Fagin-like leader (Xander Berkeley) of the gang into whose service the lad was ensnared in the wake of his dad’s […]
Continue readingBy Catholic News Service Poorly conceived and produced as well as morally obtuse straight-to-video animated film from DC Comics. Tired of humans despoiling the environment, villains Poison Ivy (voice of Paget Brewster) and the Floronic Man (voice of Kevin Michael Richardson) team up to transform all animal life on Earth into plant hybrids. After Batman […]
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Vera Farmiga and Liam Neeson star in a scene from the movie "The Commuter." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Lionsgate)
By Catholic News Service Lively action sequences help mask the muddled premise of this Liam Neeson vehicle. He plays a police officer-turned-insurance-salesman who, on the very day he is let go from the latter job, finds his train trip home to the suburbs transformed into a test of character when a stranger (Vera Farmiga) offers […]
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Animated characters Aunt Lucy, voiced by Imelda Statunton and Paddington, voiced by Ben Whishaw, appear in the movie "Paddington 2. The Catholic News Service classification is A-I -- general patronage. (CNS/Warner Bros.)
By Catholic News Service This endearing blend of animation and live action finds the much-loved talking bear of the title (voice of Ben Whishaw) far from his roots in the Peruvian jungle, having settled into a cozy domestic life with the very British human family (led by Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins) that adopted him […]
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