USCCB - (Film & Broadcasting) - DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of December 21, 2009

DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of December 21, 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.

All About Steve

Tiresome romantic comedy about a motormouthed, trivia-spouting crossword-puzzle writer (Sandra Bullock) whose isolated life is transformed when she falls instantly for a TV news cameraman (Bradley Cooper) she meets on a blind date, her obsessive love prompting her first to throw herself at him in a bid for immediate intimacy, then to dog him from one news event to the next, egged on, as a practical joke, by a vain reporter (Thomas Haden Church) for his network. Director Phil Traill's feature debut is hobbled by a central character whose supposed quirkiness is grating rather than endearing and, a few digs at media excess aside, neither the humor nor the more serious moments affirming individuality and emotional sensitivity succeed. Nongraphic nonmarital sexual activity, some sexual humor and references, a half-dozen uses of profanity, frequent crude or crass language, an obscene gesture. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

District 9

Exceedingly violent yet powerful science fiction parable in which, two decades after the arrival in South Africa of an unwelcome race of human-size but insect-shaped aliens, a bureaucrat (Sharlto Copley) for a multinational corporation charged with relocating them from the titular ghetto to a concentration camp finds his condescending attitude transformed when a chemical accident turns him into a fugitive from the system he previously served. Propelled by Copley's intense performance, director and co-writer Neill Blomkamp's unflinchingly harsh feature debut employs a mock documentary format to create an incisive study of prejudice and societal indifference. Considerable gory violence, including brief torture, pervasive rough and some crude language, a few sexual references. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Flowers in the Attic
Failed suspense thriller about four youngsters locked in the upper story of a remote mansion where their lives are endangered by unknown hands. Writer-director Jeffrey Bloom's heavy-handed treatment of the situation becomes boringly repetitive long before the movie's grisly resolution. Mature themes and some violence. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) (Starz/Anchor Bay) 1987

The Philadelphia Experiment

Routine time-travel adventure with Michael Pare and Bobby Di Cicco playing World War II sailors projected into the present. Directed by Stewart Raffill, the result is innocuous and moderately entertaining. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Starz/Anchor Bay) 1984

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.