DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of May 18, 2009
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.
A Bug’s Life (Collector’s Edition)
Vividly animated tale of a spunky ant (voice of Dave Foley) who rounds up several performing circus bugs, mistaking them for warriors needed to defend his endangered ant colony against marauding grasshoppers. Directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, the animation and pacing are outstanding but young children may find the intensity of the menace quite upsetting. Some scenes of physical abuse and verbal intimidation. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (G) (Buena Vista Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 1998
El Dorado (Centennial Collection)
When a band of cutthroats terrorize the town, an aging sheriff (Robert Mitchum) who drinks too much fights them off with the help of his old partner (John Wayne), who suffers occasional spinal spasms. Producer-director Howard Hawks mixes the action formula with farcical situations and unconventional characters in this tribute to the old cowboy heroes of screen legend. Stylized violence. A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Paramount Home Entertainment) 1967
HIT Favorites: Playtime Pals
An hourlong collection of individual episodes from six animated and live-action TV series aimed at preschoolers: "Thomas & Friends," "Barney," "Fifi and the Flowertots," "Bob the Builder," "Fireman Sam" and "Kipper." While the tone ranges from the British restraint of "Thomas" to the extroverted cheerfulness of "Barney," the lighthearted stories promote responsibility, outdoor exercise, water conservation and even the use of sunscreen lotion. Diverting children's fare. The full-screen DVD includes an episode of "Roary the Racing Car."(Lionsgate/HIT) 2009
Lions for Lambs
Well-intentioned but static plea for noncomplacency as a slick senator (Tom Cruise) plants an exclusive story about a new U.S. initiative in Afghanistan with a critical TV reporter (Meryl Streep); the idealistic students (Derek Luke and Michael Pena) of a university political science professor (Robert Redford) decide to join the struggle in that country; and the professor tries to convince a disillusioned student (Andrew Garfield) to abandon his cynicism and try to make a difference in the world. Redford's usually solid directorial gifts fail to give life to an exceedingly talky, heavy-handed and artificial script, while even the action scenes in Afghanistan are murky and bland. Pervasive conversational expletives, crude expressions, some profanity and wartime battle violence. Spanish titles option. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2007
Love Takes Wing
Wholesome pioneer romance about a widowed doctor (Sarah Jones) who, together with her colleague and best friend (Haylie Duff), battles an outbreak of cholera, befriending the supervisor (Cloris Leachman) and one of the wards (Annalise Basso) of an orphanage and falling for the village blacksmith (Kevin Scott Richardson), while struggling with her loss of faith. Lou Diamond Phillips, who also plays the local villain, directs an unhurried adaptation of the seventh installment of best-selling novelist Janette Oke's series "Love Comes Softly" with painless lessons about the history of 19th-century medical advances and the feminism of the era, as well as an honorable -- if lightweight -- treatment of nondenominational Christian belief. Spanish titles option. A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) 2009
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Centennial Collection)
Provocative Western in which a lawyer (James Stewart) from the East becomes the territory's leading politician after confronting a notorious badman (Lee Marvin), though the legend of the shootout omits the role of a local cowboy (John Wayne). Director John Ford shows the power of myth in shaping the past's meaning as the narrative recounts how the frontier's law of the gun gave way to more civilized notions of justice. Stylized violence, some of it quite brutal. A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Paramount Home Entertainment) 1962
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Largely good-natured slapstick comedy relies on the physicality of Kevin James, who, in addition to co-writing the script, portrays the titular plus-size security guard defending a New Jersey mall from a pack of acrobatic thieves on the busiest shopping day of the year. Because the lovably hapless hero embodies numerous qualities infrequently championed on-screen nowadays -- including chivalry, diligence and honesty -- any moderately untoward moments in director Steve Carr's effort are eclipsed by a positive message concerning respect for those not usually deemed successful or attractive, particularly those who don't fit the ideal body mold in our looks-conscious society. Frequent violence of a slapstick nature, some suggestive humor, several instances of crude and crass language, and one sequence involving alcohol use. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG). (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009
The Priests: In Concert at Armagh Cathedral
Delightful concert featuring the Northern Ireland clerical trio -- brothers Eugene and Martin O'Hagan and their closest friend, David Delargy -- all priests from Northern Ireland. They offer a varied repertoire, ranging from Catholic classics such as "Ave Maria" and "Panis Angelicus" and the meditative Episcopal hymn "Abide With Me" to the lively 19th-century Neapolitan song, "Funiculi, Funicula," backed by the New Dublin Voices Choir, St. Patrick's Cathedral Choir and the Irish Philharmonic Orchestra. With guest vocalist Moya Brennan of the group Clannad, and instrumentalist Liam O'Flynn. The richness and clarity of the performance the Priests, as the trio is known, come to the fore in a stirring delivery of the Christmas favorite "O Holy Night." (Sony Music Video) 2008
Valkyrie
Generally well-made and engrossing World War II thriller about the true-life final plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and take over the government by a group of disenchanted army officers (Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard, Tom Wilkinson and Terence Stamp). Director Bryan Singer maintains a taut, suspenseful pace, performances are fine (including Cruise, though he seems a bit miscast in the European milieu), and objectionable elements are minimal. Some wartime violence, suicide, executions and a single use of the F-word.
A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG-13) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray)
2008
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.