The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. See Film Ratings for USCCB and MPAA ratings.
Baby Mama (Universal/Relativity)
Frequently funny but morally problematic romantic comedy about a hard-driving grocery chain executive (Tina Fey) who, incapable of bearing a child, hires an unpolished woman (Amy Poehler) to be a surrogate mother, subsequently becoming her roommate when the latter splits from her deadbeat common-law husband (Dax Shepard) while herself becoming attached to an ex-lawyer turned juice-bar owner (Greg Kinnear). Writer-director Michael McCullers' partially improvised feature debut, with a cast that also includes Sigourney Weaver and Steve Martin, abounds in comic energy but implicitly accepts current mores regarding fertility that are contrary to Catholic values. Acceptability of surrogate parenting and artificial insemination, implied premarital sex, some crude and crass language, sexual and scatological humor, and a drug reference. (O, PG-13)
Constantine's Sword (First Run)
Earnest but unbalanced documentary, adapted from ex-priest James Carroll's "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews --- A History," surveys the fraught history of Christian anti-Semitism, particularly as it plays out among American evangelicals today, and its roots dating back to the early days of the Roman Catholic Church, incorporating seminal episodes from his life story, including his sometimes conflicted relationship with his father, and his ultimate disillusionment with the institutional church. Director Oren Jacoby's film ignores some significant nuances in the historical record, as it broadly outlines the tragic conflict. Mature religious themes, one use of the f-word and occasional crude and crass language. (L, no MPAA rating)
Deception (20th Century Fox)
Dull, sometimes obvious thriller about a lonely accountant (Ewan McGregor) who's befriended by a charismatic corporate lawyer (Hugh Jackman), who introduces him to a sex club offering "intimacy without intricacy" where he falls for one of the other members (Michelle Williams) and soon becomes a blackmail victim. Director Marcel Langenegger's feature debut -- nocturnal and claustrophobic -- glamorizes its main character's anonymous encounters before endorsing his more substantial relationship. Graphic nonmarital sexual activity, rear and upper-female nudity, scanty costuming, much rough and crude and some crass and profane language, sexual discussion, and drug use. (L, R)
88 Minutes (TriStar)
Shoddy, B-level thriller about a forensic psychiatrist (Al Pacino) whose testimony leads to a serial killer's death sentence, but on the eve of the execution, copycat murders raise doubts, and the professional profiler gets a mysterious call informing him he will die in 88 minutes. Pacino does his best with the obvious and laughable script, with more red herrings than in a Scandinavian deli, but the result --- frenetically but dully directed by Jon Avnet --- is inferior to even run-of-the-mill television police procedurals. Torture and murder with blood, profanity, crude language, briefly glimpsed lesbian seduction, implied nonmarital encounter, some sexual talk and partial nudity. (L, R)
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Premise/Rampant)
Provocative documentary intended to show that academics and research scientists are penalized for merely suggesting that there might be flaws in the prevailing theory of Neo-Darwinian evolution and that purported scientific evidence for the alternate theory of intelligent design is being systematically ignored. Director Nathan Frankowski's unabashedly partisan film --- using old movie clips to humorously underscore the film's themes of suppression and duplicity, and with at least some of the interviewees seemingly caught off guard by the line of questioning --- is impishly hosted and co-written by former presidential speechwriter, economist and sometime actor Ben Stein. Holocaust imagery and mature philosophical issues. (A-II, PG)
The Forbidden Kingdom (Silver/Relativity/Huayi Brothers/Weinstein/Lionsgate)
Glossy kung fu fantasy in which a teenage martial-arts film fan (Michael Angarano) is transported to ancient China where he embarks on a quest to return a magical staff to the Monkey King (Jet Li) so that he can continue his age-old struggle against the evil Jade War Lord (Collin Chou), assisted along the way by a tippling poet (Jackie Chan), a reticent monk (also Li) and a girl (Liu Yifei) out to avenge the tyrant's murder of her parents. Director Rob Minkoff's saga features impressive action sequences and special effects, but only passable humor and virtually no emotional depth. Crass scene of urination, two uses of the s-word, occasional crass language and vulgar expressions, one profanity, and fantasy violence. (A-III, PG-13)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal)
Romantic comedy --- by turns touching and funny but also frequently vulgar --- about a TV composer (very appealing Jason Segel who also wrote the often perceptive script) who, dumped by his actress girlfriend (Kristen Bell), travels to Hawaii to nurse his wounds, only to find his ex there with her new boyfriend, a British rock star (Russell Brand), while he falls for the hotel's empathetic receptionist (Mila Kunis). Take out the raunchy elements from first-time director Nicholas Stoller's film, and there's a surprisingly sensitive story that makes intelligent points about relationships, and even in some respects a moral underpinning, but the objectionable elements (characteristic of the Judd Apatow brand of R-rated comedy) are too pervasive to ignore. Sexual encounters, some aberrant, with partial nudity, full-frontal male-nudity sight gag, frank sexual talk, nonmarital situations, much rough language including irreverent remarks, and comic violence. (O, R)
Fugitive Pieces (Samuel Goldwyn)
Quietly reflective and affecting story about a small Jewish boy (Robbie Kay) in Poland, separated from his family during the Holocaust, who is adopted by a gentle Greek archaeologist (Rade Sherbedgia), and how the events of those years mold his adulthood as a writer in Canada (where he's played by Stephen Dillane) and his relationships (with Rosamund Pike and Ayelet Zurer). Directed with a measured pace by Jeremy Podeswa, who also wrote the adaptation of Anne Michaels' 1996 novel, the film is especially touching in the tender scenes with Sherbedgia and young Kay who morphs seamlessly into the excellent Dillane, who beautifully conveys how his character comes to terms with the ghosts and guilt of the past. Some nonmarital sexuality with partial and rear nudity, a shooting death, and other brief nongraphic violence, a suicide reference and a couple of mild expletives. (A-III, R)
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (New Line/Mandate)
Potentially acute satirical adventure, overwhelmed by sophomoric excess. Co-writers and directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg's buddy sequel revels in the salacious and the scatological while glorifying drug use. Graphic and frequent rear, upper-female and full-frontal nudity; sexual activity; some aberrant, pervasive rough, crude and crass language, including at least 100 uses of the f-word, seven uses of profanity, sexual and graphically scatological humor; drug use and references; a prostitution theme; and a pornography reference. (O, R)
A Plumm Summer (Home Team/Fairplay)
Gentle and winning fact-based coming-of-age tale, set in 1968, in which a 13-year-old aspiring detective (Chris J. Kelly) and his girlfriend (Morgan Flynn) search their small Montana hometown for the TV puppet with whom his kid brother (Owen Pearce) is obsessed and who has made the show's host (Henry Winkler) a local star, while he also supports his mother's (Lisa Guerrero) struggles with his father's (William Baldwin) alcoholism. Director Caroline Zelder's nostalgic first feature, narrated by Jeff Daniels, gleams with innocence and affection, and takes full advantage of its magnificent rural setting. (A-II, PG)
Prom Night (Screen Gems)
Leaden, formulaic slasher film in which an obsessed former teacher (Johnathon Schaech) escapes from a mental hospital and returns to stalk a high school student (Brittany Snow) whose family he killed three years earlier, pursuing her through the swanky hotel where she and her boyfriend (Scott Porter) are attending the titular event and staying a step ahead of the police detective (Idris Elba) who is trying to protect her. Director Nelson McCormick's homage to the 1980 movie of the same name displays more restraint than many examples of the genre, but the final corpse count is still high. Some graphic violence with gore, underage drinking, two uses of the s-word, occasional crass language, some profanity, brief sexual talk and innuendo. (L, PG-13)
Then She Found Me (THINKFilm)
Fitfully engaging but mostly humdrum tale of a glum Jewish schoolteacher (Helen Hunt) who reconnects with the gregarious birth mother (Bette Midler) she never knew, and falls in love with a single father (Colin Firth) after her adopted mother dies and her husband (Matthew Broderick) walks out on her. Co-writer Hunt competently directs this adaptation of Elinor Lipman's novel. Billed as a "dramedy," the performances are solid, but her character is frequently irksome and several plot points are problematic from a Catholic perspective. Nongraphic sexual encounters; some nonmarital, frank sexual talk; partial female nudity; profanity and some rough language; and artificial insemination. (L, R)
Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? (Weinstein)
Genial but not particularly insightful documentary in which average citizen Morgan Spurlock's ostensible search for the titular terrorist takes him to North Africa and the Middle East, where he mingles with the mostly friendly locals and ponders the origins of Islamic extremism. Spurlock, who also directed, rehashes the familiar shortcomings of American policy in the area, and makes a vague plea for a more humane world, but suggests no specific reforms. Two gory scenes, three uses of the f-word, and occasional crude and crass language. (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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