USCCB - (Film & Broadcasting) - DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of February 1, 2010

DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of February 1, 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.

Almost Famous (Gold Collection)

Poignant drama set in the 1970s about an aspiring rock journalist (Patrick Fugit) who lands a freelance assignment at age 15 with Rolling Stone magazine to interview a hot new rock band (led by Billy Crudup) as they tour the United States. Director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age story skillfully reflects the era, yet remains on a largely superficial level. Implied sexual encounters, fleeting nudity, an extramarital affair, some drug use including an overdose and intermittent rough language. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (DreamWorks) 2000

Amelia

Hilary Swank portrays aviatrix Amelia Earhart in a handsome, mellifluous biography suitable for viewing by multiple generations yet which nevertheless fails to soar as an adventure or romance. No one could expect director Mira Nair, using two literary biographies as source material, to offer the definitive take on Earhart's personality, let alone solve the mystery of her disappearance over the Pacific in 1937, but the vague insights into her character and relationships, both with husband George Putnam (Richard Gere) and intimate friend Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), though ultimately affirming the bonds of marriage, prove frustrating, particularly coupled with the film's lack of sustenance for aviation buffs. Discreetly handled adulterous and premarital sexual situations, one instance of crass language, one use of profanity. Spanish titles option. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Driving Miss Daisy (Widescreen Edition)

Exquisite adaptation of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the growing friendship between a wealthy Jewish widow (Jessica Tandy) and her black driver (Morgan Freeman) that begins in 1948 and spans 25 years of turbulent change in the South. Without stooping to sentiment or racial and ethnic stereotypes, director Bruce Beresford sensitively tackles the issues raised by this whimsical friendship, including bigotry, the difficulties of change, the death of the old and birth of the new. The prejudices characterizing the period may be misunderstood by young children. Spanish language and titles options. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Warner Home Video1989)

Lean on Me (Widescreen Edition)

Formula feel-good bio of controversial Paterson, N.J., high school principal Joe Clark (Morgan Freeman) focuses on his mission to clean up the crime and graffiti-infested school, restore students’ self-pride and raise their abysmal reading scores. Fearless, funny and nasty, Freeman is a stand-out as he rejuvenates the school. Director John G. Avildsen's cartoon movie heroics may be simplistic and the screenplay may play fast and loose with the facts, but the film should speak to older urban adolescents faced with similar school blight. Much rough language, some violence and menace, a flash of nudity. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Warner Home Video) 1989

Love Happens

Serious but overly slick romantic drama about a widowed self-help guru (Aaron Eckhart) who guides others through the grieving process but who, after returning to his wife's hometown to host a seminar and falling for a local florist (Jennifer Aniston), gradually realizes he has unfinished emotional business of his own. Despite Eckhart's complex performance, and an admirably mature central relationship, director and co-writer Brandon Camp's feature debut, a study of personal loss and recovery in a strictly secular context, is too timid to sound the spiritual depths that would make it truly memorable. A half-dozen uses of profanity, occasional crude and crass language, a few sexual jokes, an obscene gesture. Spanish language and titles options. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Universal Studios Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

The Wolf Man (Special Edition)

Creaky screen-monster classic in which the son (Lon Chaney, Jr.) of an English lord (Claude Rains) is bitten by a werewolf (Bela Lugosi) but only realizes his fate when transformed into a human beast at the next full moon. Director George Waggner excels in creating a fearful atmosphere out of nighttime shadows and misty moors, with Chaney winning sympathy as the man who loathes what he becomes and the venerable Maria Ouspenskaya adding some dignity to the proceedings as the wise Gypsy matriarch who tries to help the tormented victim. Menacing situation and stylized violence. Spanish titles option. A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Universal Studios Home Video) 1941

Zombieland

Wryly amusing but at times wildly gruesome comedy, set in a ruined world where hordes of cannibal zombies prey on the few remaining humans, tracks the odd-couple adventures of a phobia-plagued slacker (Jesse Eisenberg) and a fearless gunslinger (Woody Harrelson) as they team up and hit the road, eventually crossing paths with two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) whose unpredictable antics repeatedly put a strain on their partnership. Adults with a high tolerance for graphic nastiness may discern, behind the uproarious, corpse-ridden proceedings of director Ruben Fleischer's feature debut, a touching nostalgia for more innocent times as well as a beleaguered yearning for solidarity, whether expressed through friendship or romance. Much gory violence, including cannibalism, partial upper female nudity, drug use, a few profanities, frequent crude and crass language, and an obscene gesture. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Sony Pictures 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.