Movie reviews
The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Fox)
The 16th president of the United States uses his trusty ax to split a lot more than rails in this goofy mash-up of American history, directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith (based on his 2010 novel). Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) vows revenge after his mother is killed by a vampire's bite. Trained in the killing arts by a mysterious mentor (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln sets out to vanquish evil and prevent the undead-aided Confederacy from winning the Civil War. Relentless bloody violence, fleeting upper female nudity, occasional use of profanity and rough language. (L, R)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Focus)
With an asteroid on course to obliterate all life on Earth within a few weeks, a soft-spoken conformist (Steve Carell) and his free-spirited, British-born neighbor (Keira Knightley) set off on a road trip. He wants to reconnect with his high-school sweetheart, while she hopes to find transport back to England (all airline flights have been discontinued) so she can repair frayed ties with her semi-estranged family. The first part of writer-director Lorene Scafaria's drama registers as a deeply cynical examination of how a secularized society would react to the certainty of mass extinction. The tone of her script warms as its focus shifts to the deepening bond between the opposites-attract main pair. But the welcome affirmation of their increasing connectedness is offset by the heroine's insistence that the physical expression of love be treated casually, and by the film's implicit message that, in a world without God, romance is the only source of salvation. Fleeting blasphemous humor, brief but intense violence with gore, drug use, underage drinking, cohabitation, off-screen premarital sexual activity, a couple of uses of profanity and much rough and crude language. (L, R)
Stella Days (Tribeca)
Change is in the air in 1950s Catholic Ireland, and a discontented parish priest (Martin Sheen) struggles to keep his flock — and himself — from spiritual exhaustion in director Thaddeus O'Sullivan's adaptation of Michael Doorley's memoir. Ordered by his bishop (Tom Hickey) to build a new church, the pastor lights on a novel scheme to raise funds and, at the same time, engage his wandering flock: build a cinema, to be called "The Stella." His project gains the support of a newly arrived young teacher (Trystan Gravelle), but ignites opposition both from the bishop and from a local politician (Stephen Rea) who predicts filth and immorality will result. Antoine O. Flatharta's script does not condemn the church and its role in Irish society outright. But he marginalizes it, casting it as a relic of a rose-colored time in recent history. An unflattering portrayal of the Catholic Church, an adulterous relationship and some rough language. (L, no MPAA rating)
That's My Boy (Columbia)
Repellant Adam Sandler comedy in which his obsession with body functions and bodily fluids is given full rein under Sean Anders' direction. But potty humor constitutes no more than the tip of a noisome iceberg here. Fundamentally immoral values, a vile representation of the priesthood, strong sexual content — including the sexual abuse of a child, an incest theme, masturbation, and upper female and rear nudity — drug use, frequent scatological humor, pervasive rough, crude and crass language. (O, R)
—CNS
Catholic News Service 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. Full-length reviews: www.catholicnews.com/movies.htm.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Fox)
The 16th president of the United States uses his trusty ax to split a lot more than rails in this goofy mash-up of American history, directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith (based on his 2010 novel). Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) vows revenge after his mother is killed by a vampire's bite. Trained in the killing arts by a mysterious mentor (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln sets out to vanquish evil and prevent the undead-aided Confederacy from winning the Civil War. Relentless bloody violence, fleeting upper female nudity, occasional use of profanity and rough language. (L, R)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Focus)
With an asteroid on course to obliterate all life on Earth within a few weeks, a soft-spoken conformist (Steve Carell) and his free-spirited, British-born neighbor (Keira Knightley) set off on a road trip. He wants to reconnect with his high-school sweetheart, while she hopes to find transport back to England (all airline flights have been discontinued) so she can repair frayed ties with her semi-estranged family. The first part of writer-director Lorene Scafaria's drama registers as a deeply cynical examination of how a secularized society would react to the certainty of mass extinction. The tone of her script warms as its focus shifts to the deepening bond between the opposites-attract main pair. But the welcome affirmation of their increasing connectedness is offset by the heroine's insistence that the physical expression of love be treated casually, and by the film's implicit message that, in a world without God, romance is the only source of salvation. Fleeting blasphemous humor, brief but intense violence with gore, drug use, underage drinking, cohabitation, off-screen premarital sexual activity, a couple of uses of profanity and much rough and crude language. (L, R)
Stella Days (Tribeca)
Change is in the air in 1950s Catholic Ireland, and a discontented parish priest (Martin Sheen) struggles to keep his flock — and himself — from spiritual exhaustion in director Thaddeus O'Sullivan's adaptation of Michael Doorley's memoir. Ordered by his bishop (Tom Hickey) to build a new church, the pastor lights on a novel scheme to raise funds and, at the same time, engage his wandering flock: build a cinema, to be called "The Stella." His project gains the support of a newly arrived young teacher (Trystan Gravelle), but ignites opposition both from the bishop and from a local politician (Stephen Rea) who predicts filth and immorality will result. Antoine O. Flatharta's script does not condemn the church and its role in Irish society outright. But he marginalizes it, casting it as a relic of a rose-colored time in recent history. An unflattering portrayal of the Catholic Church, an adulterous relationship and some rough language. (L, no MPAA rating)
That's My Boy (Columbia)
Repellant Adam Sandler comedy in which his obsession with body functions and bodily fluids is given full rein under Sean Anders' direction. But potty humor constitutes no more than the tip of a noisome iceberg here. Fundamentally immoral values, a vile representation of the priesthood, strong sexual content — including the sexual abuse of a child, an incest theme, masturbation, and upper female and rear nudity — drug use, frequent scatological humor, pervasive rough, crude and crass language. (O, R)
—CNS
Catholic News Service 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. Full-length reviews: www.catholicnews.com/movies.htm.
Directories
Vida Nueva
Past issues
PayPal Donation
Archdiocese
Member Login
Latest Events
May
- Healing Mass
General
May 22, 2013 (6:30 PM)
- St. John Eudes Carnival
General
May 24, 2013 (8:00 AM)
- The New Evangelization
General
May 25, 2013 (9:00 AM - 3:30 PM)