USCCB - (Film & Broadcasting) - DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of March 8, 2010

DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of March 8, 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.

Capitalism: A Love Story

Hard-hitting but at times overly simplistic documentary in which filmmaker Michael Moore highlights numerous dysfunctional aspects of the capitalist system in the U.S. and their negative effects on working people, who are thrown into unemployment or have their homes seized in foreclosure, ultimately calling for an economic revolution that would bring democracy to the workplace. Though Moore interviews two Catholic priests and retired Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton of Detroit, who are unanimous in condemning capitalism as inherently sinful, this is not the teaching of the full magisterium, which instead recognizes both the efficiencies of the free market system and its need to be prudently regulated, while upholding the human dignity of workers, particularly their right to unionize. At least three uses of the F-word and a couple of crude terms. Spanish titles option. A-III -- adults. (R) (Starz/Anchor Bay; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Old Dogs

Passable comedy in which a sports marketing executive (Robin Williams) learns, seven years after the fact, that his quickly annulled second marriage produced fraternal twins (Conner Rayburn and Ella Bleu Travolta) whose mother (Kelly Preston), on the eve of being imprisoned briefly for an environmental protest, entrusts the kids to his care, distracting him from work on a major business deal, much to the annoyance of his longtime partner and best friend (John Travolta). Its morally murky back story aside, director Walt Becker's dizzy dad escapade is mostly harmless, though a talented cast can do little with David Diamond and David Weissman's thin, derivative script. A drunken wedding, a few instances of vaguely sexual and mildly scatological humor, some rough slapstick. Spanish titles option. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Planet 51

Delightful animated comedy based in a galaxy far, far away where little green aliens live in a 1950s "Happy Days"-style suburbia, complete with white picket fences, backyard barbecues and monster movies playing at the drive in. When a real alien, in the shape of a human astronaut (voice of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), drops from the sky, all heck breaks loose as this E.T. tries to return home with the help of a gaggle of teens led by a shy would-be astronomer (voice of Justin Long). Some mildly suggestive humor aside, co-directors Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez's generally wholesome film, which features positive life lessons about friendship, loyalty, and acceptance of others, offers fun for all ages. A-I -- general patronage. (PG) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

The Stoning of Sorayah M.

Compelling and often moving, if necessarily violent, fact-based drama set in Iran, in which a philandering husband (Navid Negahban) falsely accuses his wife (Mozhan Marno) of adultery with her employer (Parviz Sayyad), eventually convincing her neighbors (David Diaan and Ali Pourtash, among others) to condemn her, despite the vigorous protests of her courageous aunt (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Director and co-writer Cyrus Nowrasteh's adaptation of the best-selling book, which also features Jim Caviezel as author-journalist Freidoune Sahebjam, takes an admirable stand against injustice, but depicts the climactic execution extremely graphically. A sequence of intense violence, torture, sexual references, one rough and a few crude and crass terms. In Farsi. Subtitles. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Up in the Air

Polished but morally ambivalent comic drama about an emotionally isolated, though contented, single businessman (George Clooney) who spends his life in chain hotels and airports as he travels from city to city firing employees on behalf of downsizing corporate clients, until his rootless lifestyle is threatened by a tech-savvy new colleague (Anna Kendrick), who wants their company to terminate workers via the Internet, and by his deepening feelings for a fellow executive wanderer (Vera Farmiga) with whom he initiated a casual romp. Director and co-writer Jason Reitman's screen version of Walter Kirn's novel is initially engaging and adroitly acted throughout, but the script winks at commitment-free encounters, while what appear at first to be the life-altering events of the plot turn out to be mere incidents with little spiritual impact. Off-screen adulterous and nonmarital sexual activity, brief rear nudity, much sexual talk including lesbianism and masturbation references, a few uses of profanity, much rough and crude language. Spanish language and titles options. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Paramount Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS 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;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.

Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.