The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
August Rush (Warner Bros.)
Unabashedly romantic fable in which an 11-year-old musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore) embarks on a search for the cellist mother (Keri Russell) and rock-singer father (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) from whom he was separated at birth through the machinations of his grandfather (William Sadler), encountering along the way a Fagin-like ex-musician (Robin Williams) who seeks to exploit him and a social worker (Terrence Howard) who tries to help him. Director Kristen Sheridan's warm-hearted tribute to the power of music blithely eschews all connection to reality, and will likely strike some as charmingly poetic and others as merely naive. An implied premarital sexual encounter, one use of profanity, one use of the s-word and one crass expression. (A-II, PG)
Enchanted (Disney)
Delightful musical romance follows a maiden (the sparkling Amy Adams) from the world of animated fairy tales into contemporary, live-action Manhattan where she falls in love with a lawyer (Patrick Dempsey), despite the entreaties of her princely suitor (James Marsden) and the meddling of an evil queen (Susan Sarandon). With affection and wit, director Kevin Lima and his team gently spoof the cartoon fairy-tale genre on which Disney built its reputation, never losing sight of its traditional values and perennial charms. A few scary images, some sexual innuendo and a brief instance of scatological humor. (A-I, PG)
Hitman (20th Century Fox)
Slick but exceedingly violent action film in which an assassin, trained to kill from childhood, is hired to gun down the president of Russia, inexplicably fails, kidnaps the president's girlfriend and goes on the lam, pursued at cross purposes by an Interpol agent and the head of the Russian secret service. Director Xavier Gens' adaptation of the titular video game is a blood-spilling, bone-crunching rampage with stops along the way for pompous dialogue and misogynistic humor. Pervasive graphic violence, rear and sustained upper-female nudity, nongraphic sexual activity, much rough and some crude language, and two uses of profanity. (O, R)
I'm Not There (Weinstein)
Artsy, impressionistic portrait of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with several top actors playing different aspects of his multifaceted character over the decades: Woody Guthrie acolyte (Marcus Carl Franklin), folksinger (Christian Bale), Arthur Rimbaud admirer (Ben Whishaw), plugged-in electric singer (Cate Blanchett), actor-husband (Heath Ledger), born-again Christian (Bale), and loner and "outlaw" (Richard Gere). Since co-writer and director Todd Haynes eschews conventional biography, the film requires some knowledge of Dylan's history for full appreciation, but ultimately, despite a fine earful of Dylan songs and some interesting performances (especially from Blanchett), this emerges as an arty, cinematic curiosity. Rough language and profanity, crass expressions, brief partial male and upper-female nudity, a nongraphic sexual encounter and drug use. (L, R)
This Christmas (Screen Gems)
Spirited family drama in which a well heeled African-American clan gathers for the holidays at the Los Angeles home of their mother (Loretta Devine) and her companion (Delroy Lindo) who then try to help the oldest daughter (Regina King) cope with her domineering husband (Laz Alonso) -- as well as with the tension between him and her younger sister (Sharon Leal) -- ignore the amorous antics of a third sister (Lauren London) and her visiting boyfriend (Keith Robinson), and attempt to convince the eldest son (Idris Elba) to quit his wandering ways, while two younger sons (Columbus Short and Chris Brown) struggle to find the courage to reveal their closely held secrets. Writer-director-producer Preston A. Whitmore II deftly interweaves the various elements of the plot while adding welcome strands of humor and music to produce, overall, a very pleasant tapestry. A scene of domestic violence, some sexual references and humor, some crude and crass language, implied non-marital sex and cohabitation, themes of divorce and skimpy costuming. (A-III, PG-13) Office for Film & Broadcasting classifications: 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; O -- morally offensive.
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