USCCB - (Film & Broadcasting) - DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of December 28, 2009

DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of December 28, 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.

Matilda/The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking

Matilda
Dark children's fantasy from the Roald Dahl story in which a book-loving six-year-old (Mara Wilson) develops magical powers to cope with neglectful, self-centered parents (Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman) and a vicious school principal, encouraged along the way by a shy but caring teacher (Embeth Davidtz). Directed by DeVito, the picture busily mixes some mean-spirited humor with a gentle affirmation of the joys of reading. Frequent scenes of children in physical danger and a few crude expressions. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) 1996

The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
Cheesy, cloying English-language adaptation of the Astrid Lindgren children's books sees high-spirited Pippi (Tami Erin) housed briefly in an orphanage after being washed overboard from her father's (John Schuck) ship. Peppy music, bad acting and unimaginative direction by Ken Annakin. Spanish titles option. A-I -- general patronage. (G) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) 1988

The Missing/ The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

The Missing
In this film set in New Mexico Territory in 1885, a prairie healer (Cate Blanchett) must enlist the help of her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones), who abandoned his family to live among Apaches, in order to rescue her daughter from a band of desperadoes led by a vicious Indian witch doctor. Despite full stunning big-sky vistas, director Ron Howard crafts a bleak tale weighed down by unnecessary brutality which, while imparting a message of forgiveness and redemption through self-sacrifice, blurs religious distinctions resulting in a hodgepodge of Christianity and Native American shamanism. Recurring graphic violence, an implied sexual encounter, a suicide, as well as sporadic crude language. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) 2003

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Ruminative Western drama set in rural Texas about a grizzled ranch foreman (Tommy Lee Jones) who makes good on his promise to bury an undocumented migrant (Julio Cedillo) -- with whom he had developed a deep friendship -- back in his native Mexico, forcing the dead man's murderer (Barry Pepper) to help in transporting the body over treacherous terrain and across the border. Set against a rugged Southwestern backdrop, the film's textured performances, contemplative, unhurried rhythm and confident direction by Jones result in an affecting, if at times macabre, study of loneliness and the human need for connection that ends on a quietly moral note. Some violence, including a pistol-whipping and gunshot gore, the surgical lancing of a venom-swollen foot, a crass but fully clothed sexual encounter between husband and wife, adultery, brief pornographic images, suggested masturbation, images of a corpse in various stages of decay, pervasive rough and crude language, and profanity. The L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) 2006

Muppets from Space/ Muppets Take Manhattan

Muppets From Space
Merry tale of how muppet Gonzo discovers he is an alien and invites his extraterrestrial relatives to visit him even though a government operative (Jeffrey Tambor) wants them attacked on sight as enemy invaders. Director Tim Hill orchestrates frolicsome foolishness with goofy sight gags, gentle humor and upbeat musical numbers that translate into family-friendly, enjoyable entertainment. A-I -- general patronage. (G) 1999

Muppets Take Manhattan
Kermit and Miss Piggy emulate Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in this spoof of old-time Hollywood musicals. Under Frank Oz's direction, the third screen outing of Jim Henson's Muppets offers some highly entertaining musical numbers, much witty comedy and a lot of fun. Highly recommended for family viewing. A-I -- general patronage. (G) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) 1984

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9
Artistically accomplished but intellectually problematic animated fantasy in which the doll-like titular creature (voice of Elijah Wood) leads a band of similar beings (voiced by, among others, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly and Jennifer Connelly) -- each also identified by a number -- as they battle giant mechanical monsters amid the ruins of a post-apocalyptic world. Director Shane Acker's feature debut, an expansion of his 2004 short of the same title, implicitly contrasts a naysaying version of religious faith with enlightening science, a false dichotomy that, despite some eventual modifications, requires mature deliberation by spiritually well-grounded viewers. Complex religious themes, moderate action violence and frequent menace. Spanish language and titles options. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (PG-13) (Universal Studios Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Paranormal Activity

Cohabiting San Diego yuppies (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) use a video camera to record disturbing phenomena they fear are being caused by a demonic spirit that has pursued the young woman since childhood. Writer-director Oren Peli's ostensibly fact-based feature debut is mostly gore-free, playing instead -- subtly and quite effectively -- on viewers' primal fears of the unseen, but his script fails to show the same restraint with regard to language and sexual topics. Some sexual content, including a premarital situation, an off-screen encounter and a few jokes and references, a half-dozen uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude terms, and at least two obscene gestures. Spanish titles option. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Paramount Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

A Perfect Getaway

Newlyweds (Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich) on a hiking honeymoon in a remote area of Hawaii fear that an unwed couple they've befriended (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) may be serial killers on the lam. After a reasonably intriguing central twist, though one that fails to jibe entirely with what has gone before, director David Twohy's thriller becomes overwrought and excessively violent. Considerable action violence, some of it gory, cohabitation, drug use, rear and partial nudity, a half-dozen uses of profanity, and much rough and crude language. Spanish language and titles options. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Universal Studios Home Video; 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.