The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Hangover (Warner Bros.)
A 100-minute assault of crude behavior, violence, racial stereotypes and male nudity strung along a thin plot of three groomsmen (Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha) searching for their pal the bridegroom (Bradley Cooper) after a drunken and drugged Las Vegas debauch the night before the wedding. Producer-director Doug Phillips and screenwriters Jon Lucas and Doug Moore work on the assumptions that any loutish behavior is hilarious, and if it's funny when a grown man gets hit in the face by a car door, it's even funnier when it later happens to an infant. Intermittent violence; pervasive crass, crude and profane language; upper female and explicit male nudity; drug use; frequent urination; and crude sexual gags, one involving an infant. (O, R)
Imagine That (Paramount/Nickelodeon)
A work-obsessed investment adviser (Eddie Murphy) connects with his young daughter (Yara Shahidi) after accidentally discovering that the inhabitants of an imaginary kingdom she has created give accurate financial predictions, aiding him in his competition with a pretentious but popular rival (Thomas Haden Church). Director Karey Kirkpatrick's timely and charming comic fantasy, which also features Martin Sheen as a renowned tycoon, elevates family bonds over the paper kind and, a couple of slightly crass terms aside, makes appropriate viewing for all generations. (A-I, PG)
Land of the Lost (Universal)
The innocent, mildly cheesy Saturday morning TV show from the 1970s has morphed into an overblown, special-effects-laden, but plot-thin star vehicle for comedian Will Farrell, a washed-up scientist who claims that his invention, the "tachyon amplifier," is a time machine. With a beautiful academic (Anna Friel) and a sleazy sideshow operator (Danny McBride) at his side, he opens a "space time vortex" and lands in a prehistoric world filled with menacing creatures, reptilian aliens and furry Cro-Magnon natives. What ensues is a "Wizard of Oz" adventure as the trio seeks a way home. Unfortunately, what is being marketed as this summer's "family" film is far from one. Cartoonish violence and peril; rough language; sexual banter, innuendo and encounters; partial nudity; and drug use. (A-III, PG-13)
My Life in Ruins (Fox Searchlight)
Cotton-ball-soft romantic comedy about a travel guide in Greece (Nia Vardalos) who learns to absorb the spirit of the Greek islands in order to enjoy life and find romance with --- who else? --- a handsome Greek (Alexis Georgoulis). Director Donald Petrie and screenwriter Mike Reiss duplicate the slow, ambling formula of Vardalos' monster hit, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," to the letter, replacing her passel of eccentric but lovable relatives with a busload of eccentric but lovable tourists. So devoid of objectionable elements, it's acceptable for older adolescents who probably will be dragged to the theater by Vardalos-adoring grandmothers. A couple of implied premarital encounters, mild sexual banter and innuendo. (A-II, PG-13) 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. |