DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of January 25, 2010
This week's DVD and Blu-ray releases
The following are capsule reviews of new and recent DVD and Blu-ray releases from the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Theatrical movies have a USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account the discs' extra content.
Atonement
Moving World War II romance of a well-to-do young Englishwoman (Keira Knightley) serving as a nurse and the working-class soldier (James McAvoy) she has loved for years, but from whom she had been separated years before when her kid sister (Saoirse Ronan) wrongly accused him of a crime, an injustice that will haunt the accuser (now played by Romola Garai) ever after. Director Joe Wright, working from Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel, persuasively limns an unusual story of betrayal, steadfast love, forgiveness and redemption with some surprising twists, and with further pluses in the sensitive performances and period detail. A fully clothed nonmarital sexual encounter, an implied encounter between an adult and an underage girl, use of the f-word among soldiers, brief profanity, wartime dead and wounded imagery, and a crude written sexual remark. Spanish language and titles options. A-III --adults. (R) (Universal Studios Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 2007
Doctor Death
John Considine plays the dastardly doctor who specializes in giving a new lease on life to the ailing by finding a body into which his client's soul can be liberated. Directed by Eddie Saeta, it is so witless in plot and execution that its bloody excesses become equally meaningless and boring. A-III --adults. (R) (Scorpion Releasing) 1973
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
Posthumous documentary capturing the planning and rehearsals for the titular series of comeback concerts by the controversial "king of pop," scheduled to begin in London in July, 2009 but forestalled by Jackson's untimely death at age 50 the previous month. Using footage originally intended for other purposes, director Kenny Ortega, who was one of the singer's principal collaborators in crafting the ill-fated live show, creates an energetic, largely unobjectionable tribute that, while casting little light on the eccentric -- if not inscrutable -- personality of an iconic entertainer, does provide insight into the talent, vision and discipline that lay behind his global professional success. Some skimpy costuming and suggestive dancing, at least one vaguely crass term. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray.) 2009
Paris, Texas
Father and son are reunited and then son and mother are reunited as dad rides off into the sunset. Directed by Wim Wenders, it is a pretentious and boring effort with a hero (Harry Dean Stanton) who at first won't talk and then won't stop talking. Some rough language. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (R) (Criterion; also available on Blu-ray.) 1984
Surrogates
Generally intriguing futuristic thriller, set in an America where people live their lives through ideal-looking robotic surrogates that they remote-control by their thoughts, follows an FBI agent (Bruce Willis) and his partner's (Radha Mitchell) investigation of a high-profile murder as well as his struggle to reconnect with his wife (Rosamund Pike) who refuses to interact with him except via her mechanical alter ego. Director Jonathan Mostow's adaptation of Robert Venditti's graphic novel is a cautionary tale about the perils of technology, especially its potential to cut us off from human contact and the world of nature, and an exploration of the values undergirding a successful marriage. Considerable action violence, drug use, brief sexual situations, a couple of uses of profanity, a few crude and crass terms. Spanish language and titles options. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Touchstone/Disney; also available on Blu-ray.) 2009
Whip It
Rough-and-tumble coming-of-age tale about a small-town Texas high school student (Ellen Page) who, with the help of her best friend (Alia Shawkat), defies her socially ambitious mother (Marcia Gay Harden) by secretly joining a hard-edged roller derby team (led by Kristen Wiig), eventually falling for a local rock singer (Landon Pigg) she meets at one of their matches. First-time director Drew Barrymore's adaptation of Shauna Cross' novel is buoyed by heartfelt performances from the principals, but the skimpy outfits and bruising smackdowns of the showcased competition come across as more exploitative than empowering, while Cross' script at least partially glamorizes irresponsible sexuality. Nongraphic nonmarital underage sexual activity, brief partial nudity, underage drinking, occasional irreverence, a few uses of profanity, some sexual humor and references, about a dozen crude terms and much crass language. Spanish language and titles options. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (PG-13) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray.) 2009
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.