DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of March 15, 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.
Armored
Negligible heist flick about six guards employed by a Los Angeles armored car company who attempt to pull an inside job, during which only an Iraq War hero (Columbus Short) exhibits scruples and smarts; his greedy colleagues, led by his godfather (Matt Dillon), instead demonstrate the old adage about the paucity of honor among thieves. Working from a flimsy script, director Nimrod Antal keeps the nondescript action moving along without undue complications. Considerable, though not excessive, action violence, including gunplay and knife use, some profanity, much crude language. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009
Astro Boy
Set in a futuristic world where an underclass of mechanical servants wait on disdainful human masters, this charming animated adventure concerns a scientist (voice of Nicolas Cage) who, after losing his son (voice of Freddie Highmore) in a lab accident, uses the lad's DNA to program the titular robot replica (also voiced by Highmore) but swiftly rejects his creation, leaving the superpowered but innocent boy 'bot vulnerable to widespread prejudice and the designs of a militaristic politician (voice of Donald Sutherland) intent on using the youth's life-giving energy source for weaponry. Director and co-writer David Bowers' adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's globally popular comic book series, begun in 1951 and previously the basis for three TV series, is by turns amusing, exciting and poignant as it chronicles its altruistic hero's struggle to discover his place in the world. Considerable stylized violence, some menace, and brief instances of vaguely irreverent and mildly scatological humor. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Summit Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009
Bandslam
Genial comedy with music in which a newcomer (Gaelan Connell) at a New Jersey high school overcomes his socially disastrous past when befriended by a popular fellow student (Alyson Michalka) who makes him the manager of her rock group as they prepare for the titular battle-of-the-bands competition, his confidence getting a further boost from his blossoming romance with a bookish goth (Vanessa Hudgens). Though it deals with a few mature topics, and is unlikely to interest very young viewers, director and co-writer Todd Graff's exuberant salute to clique-defying friendship is free of anything unsuitable for the tween-and-up audience at whom it's aimed. A-I -- general patronage. (PG)
(Summit Entertainment) 2009
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Pleasant, if largely predictable, romantic comedy in which a recently separated New York couple (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) accidentally witness the contract killing of an arms dealer and, as part of the government's protection program, are abruptly relocated to rural Wyoming where, sheltered and shielded by a no-nonsense federal marshal (Sam Elliott) and his gun-toting wife (Mary Steenburgen), they gradually discover the joys of down-home living as they reassess their relationship. Writer-director Marc Lawrence's fish-out-of-water tale is an unabashed celebration of marriage and family life and, though it features extensive discussion of the negative effects of infidelity, is mostly free of objectionable material, making it probably acceptable for older teens. Adultery and infertility themes, off-screen marital lovemaking, a few mildly sexual jokes, at least one crude and one crass term. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009
The Fourth Kind
Supposedly fact-based thriller about a recently widowed Alaska psychologist (Milla Jovovich) who becomes convinced that several patients she has been treating for a sleep disorder are in fact victims of alien abduction, and that the malevolent interplanetary visitors also killed her husband, though the local sheriff (Will Patton) and a colleague (Elias Koteas) she consults remain skeptical. The occasional jolt aside, writer-director Olatunde Osunsanmi's pseudo-dramatization, which intersperses "actual" video and audio of the case with alleged re-enactments, is slow-moving and largely ineffective, though the script's fleeting, potentially troublesome foray into theology is at least partially set right by the main character's explicitly Christian faith. Some violence, including a short scene of gory murder, brief nongraphic marital lovemaking, a half-dozen uses of profanity, a few crude terms. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Universal Studios Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 2009
The Princess and the Frog
Enchanting animated musical, set in 1920s New Orleans, in which a voodoo sorcerer (voice of Keith David) casts a spell that complicates the lives of a visiting prince (voice of Bruno Campos), the headstrong heiress he hopes to marry (voice of Jennifer Cody) and her industrious working-class best friend (voice of Anika Noni Rose). As directed and co-written by John Musker and Ron Clements, the lavish hand-drawn romance, which also features delightful voice work by Michael-Leon Wooley as a jazz-loving alligator and Jim Cummings as a Cajun firefly, emphasizes the value of love over material wealth and provides quality entertainment for all ages, though images of fire-breathing masks and evil sprites may scare some tots. Spanish titles option. A-I -- general patronage. (G) (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Lovelorn gothic romance sequel in which a well-mannered vampire (Robert Pattinson), anxious to protect the mortal high school student (Kristen Stewart) who has captured his heart from the less controlled members (especially Jackson Rathbone) of the undead clan with which he lives, breaks off their relationship and disappears, but the American Indian friend (Taylor Lautner) to whom she turns for solace not only wants to be more than mere pals, he has a supernatural secret of his own. With temptations of the flesh kept at bay for fear of temptations of the blood in director Chris Weitz's adaptation of the second book in Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series of young-adult novels, the chaste but intermittently violent proceedings play out against a picturesque background ranging from the misty Northwest to the sunny hills of Tuscany. Considerable action violence, a vague sexual reference, at least one mildly crass term. Spanish language and titles options. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG-13) (Summit Entertainment) 2009
The Wizard of Oz (Anniversary Edition)
Dorothy rides her tornado to the magic land over the rainbow in director Victor Fleming's classic that skyrocketed Judy Garland's career and has given generations of families prime entertainment again and again. The 50th anniversary edition has 17 minutes of material not included in the original release. A-I -- general patronage. (G) (Warner Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 1939
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.