![[home]](/movies/images/usccb_logo.gif){kind=logo}
Web site TV for Aug. 15 – Aug 21, 2010
TV film fare -- week of Aug. 15
The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Aug. 15. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence, and sexual situations.
Sunday, Aug. 15, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) "The Secret Garden" (1949). Durable version of the Frances Hodgson Burnett children's classic about an orphaned girl (Margaret O'Brien), given a home in the remote Yorkshire mansion of her sour uncle (Herbert Marshall), then discovers a hidden garden whose secret transforms her 10-year-old cousin (Dean Stockwell) and others. Directed by Fred M. Wilcox, the eerie mansion and past family tragedies are balanced by the girl's spunk and the healing powers of nature. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Monday, Aug. 16, 8-10:15 p.m. EDT (AMC) "Nanny McPhee" (2006). Enjoyable tale of magical nanny (Emma Thompson) who comes to the aid of (seven) out-of-control children and their befuddled widower father (Colin Firth), a mortician, and the servant (Kelly Macdonald) who loves him from afar. Director Kirk Jones, working from a screenplay by Thompson based on the "Nurse Matilda" books, has derivative overtones of "Mary Poppins" and other children's fare, but the sweet story is touching, well acted by a solid British cast, including Angela Lansbury, Derek Jacobi and Imelda Staunton, and the almost fairy-tale ambience successfully sustained, with solid moral messages about the primacy of family and the inherent goodness of people. Some innuendo, mild bad language, rude humor, innocuous shots of cadavers and macabre childish pranks perhaps preclude viewing by the very youngest children. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
Thursday, Aug. 19, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) "Man Hunt" (1941). Dandy adaptation of Geoffrey Household's cat-and-mouse suspense story, "Rogue Male," pits an English sportsman (Walter Pidgeon) against a fanatical Nazi (George Sanders) as a "stalking hunt" of Hitler turns into the real thing. Director Fritz Lang packs a lot of anti-Nazi fervor in a fast-paced narrative featuring Joan Bennett as a cockney waif, John Carradine as a relentless villain and Roddy McDowall as a brave little cabin boy. Much menace and stylized violence. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Friday, Aug. 20, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) "Woman of the Year" (1942). Robust romantic comedy in which a good-natured sportswriter (Spencer Tracy) romances a high-powered political commentator (Katharine Hepburn), then has his hands full trying to get her to fit into his schedule after they wed. Director George Stevens paces the opposites-attract premise with some hilarious funny business, but what succeeds best are the performances of the two principals who prove entirely likeable in this wry battle-of-the-sexes comedy. Veiled sexual references and innuendo. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Saturday, Aug. 21, 1:30-3:30 p.m. EDT (A&E) "For Love or Money" (1993). To gain financial backing for his dream hotel in New York City, an ambitious concierge (Michael J. Fox) agrees to look after the young mistress (Gabrielle Anwar) of a busy, older tycoon (Anthony Higgins) -- with predictable results. Director Barry Sonnenfeld turns in a tired formula romantic comedy in which integrity belatedly conquers materialism and wedding bells peal. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
Saturday, Aug. 21, 8-10 p.m. EDT (HBO) "The Informant!" (2009). Diverting fact-based comedy about an up-and-coming agribusiness executive (Matt Damon) who suddenly turns whistleblower, revealing his company's role in an international price-fixing scheme to the FBI, but his undercover collaboration with two special agents (Scott Bakula and Joel McHale) is continually complicated by his eccentric delusions and by his reluctance to tell the whole truth. Director Steven Soderbergh's offbeat adaptation of journalist Kurt Eichenwald's book recounting the case, which also features Melanie Lynskey as the mole's long-suffering wife, benefits from Damon's intense performance as a curiously sympathetic egomaniac, though its treatment of both corporate and individual misdeeds may strike some as frivolous. A few uses of profanity and some rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Saturday, Aug. 21, 10-11:50 p.m. EDT (Cinemax) "Whip It!" (2009). Rough-and-tumble coming-of-age tale about a small-town Texas high school student (Ellen Page) who, with the help of her best friend (Alia Shawkat), defies her socially ambitious mother (Marcia Gay Harden) by secretly joining a hard-edged roller derby team (led by Kristen Wiig), eventually falling for a local rock singer (Landon Pigg) she meets at one of their matches. First-time director Drew Barrymore's adaptation of Shauna Cross' novel is buoyed by heartfelt performances from the principals, but the skimpy outfits and bruising smack-downs of the showcased competition come across as more exploitative than empowering, while Cross' script at least partially glamorizes irresponsible sexuality. Nongraphic nonmarital underage sexual activity, brief partial nudity, underage drinking, occasional irreverence, a few uses of profanity, some sexual humor and references, about a dozen crude terms and much crass language. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
TV program notes -- week of Aug. 15
Here are some television program notes for the week of Aug. 15 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by Catholic News Service.
Sunday, Aug. 15, noon-2 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Solemn Mass of the Assumption." U.S. Cardinal John Foley, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, will be the celebrant and homilist at this liturgy celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, broadcast live from Washington's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Monday, Aug. 16, 6:30-7 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Life and Spirit of the Passionist Nuns." An overview of the community life of this order of women religious based in Whitesville, Ky.
Tuesday, Aug. 17, 8-10 p.m. EDT (History) "Gates of Hell." This special looks at six places on earth some have imagined to be the actual entrances into hell. They include a volcano in Iceland, a cave in the jungles of Central America and a lake of fire in Africa.
Tuesday, Aug. 17, 10-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) "Salt." Filmmaker Michael Angus' documentary focuses on photographer Murray Fredericks' work in capturing the boundless, desolate yet beautiful environment of South Australia's remote Lake Eyre and its surrounding salt flats. This feature is accompanied by three shorts: "A Healing Art," "Danny and Annie, Part I" and "Danny and Annie, Part II." A "P.O.V." presentation (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 8-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) "South Pacific." A live broadcast of Lincoln Center Theater's Tony Award-winning production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical theater classic. Based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Tales of the South Pacific," the show tells the romantic story of two couples. Navy nurse Nellie Forbush (Kelli O'Hara) and French plantation owner Emile de Becque (Paulo Szot), and Navy Airman Joe Cable and a young native girl, Liat, and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of World War II and their own prejudices. The score includes such classic songs as "Some Enchanted Evening," "Younger Than Springtime," "Bali Ha'i," and "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame." This performance of the revival, directed by Bartlett Sher, is presented as part of the series "Live From Lincoln Center" (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).
TV REVIEW
Interrupted Lives," various dates, EWTN
Between the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the fall of the Romanian dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, the regimes of the Soviet bloc pursued a policy of official atheism that entailed some degree of persecution for believers of every stripe throughout Eastern Europe.
The hourlong documentary "Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism" provides a poignant look at the devastating effects of this campaign on the region's women religious.
Written and directed by Franciscan Sister Judith Ann Zielinski, the special which originally aired on ABC affiliates as part of the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission's "Vision & Values" series, will be rerun three times on EWTN: Sunday, Aug. 15, 2-3 a.m. EDT; Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1-2 p.m. EDT; and Saturday, Aug. 21, 2-3 p.m. EDT.
Using interviews with survivors, archival photographs and re-enactments, the program chronicles the various forms of affliction to which the sisters were subjected.
Milder governments, such as those of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, nationalized Catholic schools and hospitals, and forcibly transported the religious who had staffed them to "concentration convents." The authorities calculated that the mixing together of various orders would create friction, while crowded, primitive living conditions would induce many to abandon their vocations.
Sometimes far harsher methods were employed in individual cases, as shown by the example of Slovak Holy Cross Sister Zdenka Schellingova, whose trial, martyrdom and eventual beatification are movingly related.
Under the harder-line rulers of Romania, Lithuania and Ukraine, the religious orders were dissolved outright, and all visible signs of consecrated life, such as the wearing of a habit, were proscribed.
Participants recall the particularly ferocious hatred directed against Byzantine Catholics, whose liturgy and customs closely resemble those of the Orthodox Church. When intense efforts to convert the religious of these Eastern Catholic churches to the Orthodox faith failed, some were exiled to Siberia and others were executed.
In addition to the courage that so many of the sisters displayed, the documentary also details the ingenious methods they used to preserve their communities and to train novices in secret. The upbeat conclusion outlines the revival of religious life since the collapse of the Soviet system.