The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Bedtime Stories (Disney)
The fanciful yarns a hotel handyman (Adam Sandler) spins about his own life while baby-sitting his niece and nephew start to come true, affecting his competition with the hostelry's toadying manager (Guy Pearce) for their boss' favor, and shifting his romantic interest from his employer's glamorous daughter (Teresa Palmer) to his sister's (Courteney Cox) down-to-earth friend (Keri Russell). Aside from some mildly crude gags, director Adam Shankman's adventure comedy --- which affirms perseverance and family unity --- is unobjectionable, and the fantasy sequences are entertaining, though the humor is clearly geared to the grade-school set. (A-I, PG)
Defiance (Paramount Vantage)
A well-acted and too lengthy but ultimately worthy history lesson about the Bielski brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell), Jewish farmers who chose not to be victimized by the Nazis, who sheltered hundreds of Jews, taking them to safety in the forests of Eastern Europe during World War II, and who violently fought off the Germans. Director and co-writer Edward Zwick keeps the episodic story moving reasonably well considering the three-year time span, and the script gives a different perspective than the typical Holocaust movie, but the brothers' heroism here is shown to be marred by several morally unacceptable instances of senseless slaughter. Strong sporadic violence, vigilante killing, rough language, mild sexuality and a rape reference. (L, R)
Last Chance Harvey (Overture)
Delicate romantic comedy about an isolated New York jingle composer (Dustin Hoffman) who travels to London for his estranged daughter's wedding and falls for a lonely airport employee (Emma Thompson). While somewhat predictable, writer-director Joel Hopkins' skillfully wrought valentine to midlife romance draws masterful performances to touching effect and shows the lingering negative consequences of both divorce and abortion as it portrays a mutually generous relationship untainted by irresponsible sexuality. Some sexual references and humor, occasional crude words, the acceptability of divorce and an abortion reference. (A-III, PG-13)
Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage)
Impeccably filmed and acted adaptation of Richard Yates' greatly lauded 1961 novel about an unhappy suburban Connecticut couple (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) torn between middle-class inertia and fulfilling their youthful aspirations by uprooting to Paris. Director Sam Mendes takes a strikingly stylized approach to the repressed 1950s milieu, and the story speaks powerfully to the restrictive conformity of that era, but the thematic material --- including adultery and abortion --- and sporadically strong language may not be to every taste. Extreme domestic discord, rough language and profanity, adultery, brief upper female nudity, abortion references, two nongraphic sexual encounters and heavy smoking. (L, R)
The Spirit (Lionsgate)
Artistically crafted but ultimately insubstantial adventure in which a slain policeman (Gabriel Macht) mysteriously returns as the invulnerable titular hero, working with the local police commissioner (Dan Lauria) and a physician (Sarah Paulson) to fight the schemes of a maniacal drug dealer (Samuel L. Jackson) and a seductive jewel thief (Eva Mendes). Despite considerable retro-noir flair and mostly stylized violence, writer-director Frank Miller's screen version of Will Eisner's classic comic-book series --- his solo debut --- fails to gain a grip on the viewer's emotions, since its villain is more flamboyant than hateful, and its womanizing protagonist has little going for him besides a tough hide. Generally stylized but briefly graphic violence, fleeting rear nudity, suicides, occasional sexual references and innuendo, much crass language and at least a dozen uses of profanity. (A-III, PG-13)
Where God Left His Shoes (IFC)
Somber but touching inner-city drama in which a down-on-his-luck professional boxer (John Leguizamo) and his 9-year-old stepson (David Castro) spend Christmas Eve crisscrossing New York in search of a job that will qualify him to move his family --- including his wife (Leonor Varela) and daughter (Samantha Rose) --- out of a homeless shelter and into a housing project. A brief but inappropriate sexual discussion aside, writer-director Salvatore Stabile's deeply felt but unsentimental portrait of life on the economic margins, with its social humiliations and bureaucratic stonewalling, quietly asserts the power of human dignity, marital fidelity and family solidarity in the face of challenging circumstances. Some instances of petty crime, one use of the F-word, some crude language, brief sexual references and a physical abuse theme. (A-III, no MPAA rating) ---CNS
USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classifications: A-I --- general patronage; A-II --- adults and adolescents; A-III --- adults; L --- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling; O --- morally offensive. |