From the ArcaMax Publishing, Family Film Reviews Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/familyfilms/s-463787-743823
"The Tale of Despereaux" (G, 1 hr., 33 min.)
What luck, this holiday season, to have a richly imagined animated
film to charm kids 6 and older without any jokey sops to pop culture.
"The Tale of Despereaux," adapted from Kate DiCamillo's 2003 book, is
set in a storybook Middle Ages. It is painterly and gorgeous, its
dialogue voiced by gifted actors with wise narration by Sigourney
Weaver. The writing is sprightly yet literary, the situations
emotionally involving. There are scary bits throughout that could give
under-6s the frights -- swarming rats threatening to eat the little
mouse hero Despereaux (Matthew Broderick) and later a human princess;
Despereaux falling into a dungeon, running a gantlet of mousetraps,
being forced into an arena with a hungry cat to entertain the rat
masses. All these end happily, but they are harrowing.
The movie is not without flaws. The plot occasionally veers afield as
it condenses the book, with too many characters in different locales.
Some of them turn bad quite suddenly and then redeem themselves later.
It can be dizzying. But the ultimate message about the power of
forgiveness nearly makes you forget -- and forgive -- that mid-movie
confusion.
Set in the medieval kingdom of Dor, where delicious soup is a national
obsession, the story begins as a rat named Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman)
gets off a ship and visits. Drawn by the aroma of soup, he gets too
nosy and falls kerplunk into the queen's bowl. The queen dies of
fright. To escape palace guards, Roscuro dives down a sewer and lands
in the dungeon, also known as Rat World. Not a typical rat, he hates
eating garbage and not seeing the sun. The grieving king outlaws soup
and the land of Dor slips into a sunless funk. Meanwhile, behind a
wall in Chef Andre's (Kevin Kline) kitchen, a little fellow named
Despereaux is born in Mouse World. Much to his parents' chagrin, the
cute undersized fellow with the huge ears grows up fearless. He
refuses to cower or scurry. He likes to read tales of heroism, rather
than eat the pages. He visits Princess Pea (Emma Watson, of "Harry
Potter" fame), still sad for her mother, and befriends her. When Mouse
World leaders hear Despereaux is consorting with humans, he's banished
to the dungeon. There he and the lonely rat, Roscuro, bond over the
idea of honor and heroism. Their courage is tested when an unhappy
palace maid, Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman), causes trouble. Complicated,
yes, but well worth following to the finale.
"Yes Man" (PG-13, 1 hr., 45 min.)
There are moments of minor transcendence in this darkly comic parable,
but too much of it smacks of a TV sitcom trying to be edgy, and on the
big screen the wit feels strained and unfunny. Jim Carrey plays Carl,
a divorced man so despondent over his lost relationship that three
years after the fact he still says "no" to any social life and to life
in general. His job as a loan officer at a bank gives him the chance
to say "no" even more. His best friend Peter (Bradley Cooper) is
losing patience, especially after Carl misses his engagement party.
Then Carl runs into an old work acquaintance (John Michael Higgins)
who urges him to attend a motivational seminar all about saying "yes."
The hypnotic speaker (Terence Stamp) homes in on Carl and gets him to
commit to saying "yes" to everything. The moment looks like a secular
revival meeting and Carrey exhibits a fine mix of tears and joy. Carl
gives a homeless man cash and a lift, and right away his life starts
to change. Out of gas and with a dead cell phone, Carl hikes to a gas
station and immediately encounters a free-spirited woman named Allison
(Zooey Deschanel) who sings in an alternative punk band and leads
jogging/photography classes. Romance slowly blossoms. Carl says "yes"
to Korean lessons, flying lessons, guitar lessons, and even signs up
online to meet a potential Persian wife (Anna Khaja). All his "yeses"
get him into trouble, of course.
"Yes Man" includes much drinking, some profanity and crude
language, a strongly implied comic sexual situation involving Carl and
an elderly woman -- which makes the film iffy for middle-schoolers --
other milder sexual innuendo, a bar fight, a suicide theme, and a car
crash.
Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various
ages
-- OK FOR KIDS 6 AND OLDER:
"The Tale of Despereaux" G (NEW) -- What luck, this holiday
season, to have a richly imagined animated film to charm kids 6 and
older. "The Tale of Despereaux," adapted from Kate DiCamillo's 2003
book, is set in a storybook Middle Ages. It is painterly and gorgeous
and voiced by gifted actors. The writing is sprightly yet literary,
the situations emotionally involving. There are scary bits that could
give under-6s the frights -- swarming rats cheering for a cat to eat
the little mouse hero Despereaux (Matthew Broderick) and later a human
princess; Despereaux falling into a dungeon, running a gantlet of
mousetraps. All these are harrowing, but end well. As the film
condenses the book, it feels we're keeping track of too many
characters, some of whom turn suddenly bad, which is dizzying. But the
ultimate message about the power of forgiveness nearly makes you
forget -- and forgive -- the confusion. A rat named Roscuro (Dustin
Hoffman) gets off a ship in the medieval kingdom of Dor, where soup is
a national obsession. Drawn by the aroma in the palace, he falls
kerplunk into the queen's bowl and the queen dies of fright. Roscuro
dives into a dungeon to escape palace guards and lands in depressing
Rat World. Above, the grieving king outlaws soup. Behind a wall in his
sad soup chef's (Kevin Kline) kitchen, a fellow named Despereaux is
born in Mouse World. The undersized cutie with extra-large ears grows
up fearless. He likes to read tales of heroism and visits Princess Pea
(Emma Watson, of "Harry Potter" fame), who misses her mother. When
mouse leaders hear Despereaux is consorting with humans, he's banished
to the dungeon. There he and the rat, Roscuro, bond over the idea of
valor and their courage is soon tested.
"Bolt" PG -- If it weren't for a very funny hamster, "Bolt"
wouldn't be much of a star in the universe of animated film. It's full
of jokes that kids won't get and packs little emotional punch. Bolt
(voice of John Travolta) is the canine star of a TV series who
believes he's got real superpowers. When he's mistakenly shipped to
New York in a crate, Bolt escapes and meets a smart-aleck street kitty
named Mittens (Susie Essman) who treks back to Hollywood with him. But
it's not much fun until they meet a hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton),
who's a nerdy fan of Bolt's show. When Rhino is on-screen, "Bolt" is
funny and kids stop fidgeting. Younger kids may worry when Bolt and
his little-girl co-star Penny (voice of Miley Cyrus) are caught in a
fire.
-- OK FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER:
"Delgo" PG -- This animated tale can be quite visually stunning
-- the fantasy creatures and color palette are a feast for the eye --
but the story's a jumble, the battles are dull and the jokes fall
flat. The film is too violent for under-10s and too storybook for
over-13s. Set in a distant time, "Delgo" is about two races of beings,
the winged Nohrin who fly and the earthbound Lockni who have kinetic
powers. The Nohrin and Lockni used to live in peace, but the Nohrin
King's (voice of Louis Gossett Jr.) evil sister (the late Anne
Bancroft) fomented a war. Now she plots to take her brother's throne
and attack the Lockni again. Unaware of this, a Lockni teen named
Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and a Nohrin princess, Kyla (Jennifer Love
Hewitt), meet and try to overcome old grudges. Then a war begins and
Kyla is abducted. Delgo must learn to trust a Nohrin general (Val
Kilmer) in order to save Kyla and stop the war. There are implied
sword impalements, a poisoning, someone falling to their death, and in
a flashback little Delgo sees his parents murdered in war -- none of
it graphic.
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"Yes Man" (NEW) -- There are moments of minor transcendence in
this darkly comic parable, but too much of it smacks of a TV sitcom
trying to be edgy, and on the big screen the wit feels strained and
unfunny. Jim Carrey plays Carl, a divorced man so despondent that he
says "no" to any social life and to life in general. His job as a loan
officer at a bank lets him say "no" even more. His best friend
(Bradley Cooper) is fed up. Then Carl runs into an old acquaintance
(John Michael Higgins) who urges him to attend a motivational seminar.
The hypnotic speaker (Terence Stamp) gets Carl to commit to saying
"yes" to everything and Carrey shows a fine mix of tears and joy at
his "redemption." He gives a homeless man cash and a lift, and right
away his life changes. He meets lovely Allison (Zooey Deschanel), who
sings in an alternative band and leads jogging/photography classes. He
says "yes" to Korean lessons, flying lessons, guitar lessons and more.
All his "yeses" lead to some trouble, of course. "Yes Man" includes
drinking, midrange profanity, a strongly implied sexual situation
involving Carl and an elderly woman that makes the film iffy for
middle-schoolers, other milder sexual innuendo, a bar fight, a suicide
theme, and a car crash.
"Seven Pounds" (NEW) -- Teens who are moved by altruism may be
drawn into "Seven Pounds," but they'll have to overlook the film's
baldfaced manipulation and the syrupy glaze director Gabriele Muccino
("The Pursuit of Happyness," PG-13, 2006) adds to everything. Will
Smith, looking desolate (all the characters represent emotions rather
than people), plays tax man Ben Thomas. It becomes clear that Ben has
a tragedy in his past and an agenda for the future. He seeks out
people who have problems in their lives and who owe the government
money. There's the blind, kindhearted salesman (Woody Harrelson), the
abused wife (Elpidia Carrillo), the young cancer patient (Quintin
Kelley) and, most especially, Emily (Rosario Dawson), who needs a
heart transplant. The movie couldn't be more predictable. There is
rare profanity, a gently implied sexual situation, a strong suicide
theme and nongraphic flashbacks to a fatal car accident. Mature teens.
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" -- If teens want a chilling
sci-fi experience, they should skip this poorly conceived,
special-effects-laden remake and get ahold of the simple, scary 1951
version. In the original film, a spaceship landed on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C., and the humanoid Klaatu emerged to warn
earthlings that unless they stopped making war, they would be
obliterated to protect the universe. In 1951, with the Cold War and
nuclear weapons testing, it really hit home. In the remake, the
"spaceship" is an enormous glowing sphere that lands in New York's
Central Park, and Klaatu sheds a weird outer layer before taking on
the form of star Keanu Reeves. Yet with all the bells and whistles,
this new version brings no sense that anything's really at stake, even
as biologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson (Jaden
Smith) try to talk Klaatu into sparing humankind. One good thing:
Klaatu's robot looks like the one in the first film, but is way cooler
in its zapping powers. The film has scenes in which people are hurt or
killed and there is some blood, as well as a graphic surgical
incision. There are many nongraphic images of destruction. The idea of
wiping out humanity could scare preteens.
"Nothing Like the Holidays" -- In the tired genre of films
about bickering families at Christmas, this is a
much-better-than-average example featuring a hugely talented cast of
Latino actors and a script full of cultural -- particularly Puerto
Rican -- touch points. The acting rises above cliches. We meet the
Rodriguez clan of Chicago, led by patriarch Edy (Alfred Molina) and
matriarch Anna (Elizabeth Pena). Their soldier son Jesse (Freddy
Rodriguez) is just back from Iraq and their lawyer son Mauricio (John
Leguizamo) tries to make his parents reconcile after Anna announces
she's divorcing Edy. Mauricio's wife (Debra Messing), the only
outsider, tries to bond with her prickly mother-in-law. The film
contains midrange profanity, sexual innuendo, a threat of gang
violence, a fistfight, drinking and implied marijuana use. OK for
teens.
"Doubt" (LIMITED RELEASE) -- High-schoolers who like stories
rich in moral complexity to discuss on the way home ought to be pulled
right into this atmospheric film. John Patrick Shanley has adapted and
directed his prize-winning play for the screen. There's only one
barnyard curse word and no sex scenes, but the theme is mature. Meryl
Streep plays Sister Aloysius, a cantankerous, opinionated principal of
a Catholic grammar school in the Bronx, circa 1964. She suspects a new
priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of molesting (though the word is never
used) an altar boy (Joseph Foster), the only African-American child in
the school, under the guise of befriending him. With a naive young nun
(Amy Adams) in her corner, Sister Aloysius confronts the priest, who
denies it utterly. A riveting battle of wills ensues. There is mention
of the boy's father beating him. Priests smoke and drink, and a boy
briefly smokes.
"Australia" -- Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman give big, starry
performances to match director Baz Luhrmann's grandly entertaining
film. Woven somberly into the tale is the historic mistreatment of
Australian aboriginal people and mixed-race children. Set at the start
of World War II, "Australia" is narrated by a
half-indigenous/half-white boy named Nullah (excellent Brandon
Walters), who recounts how Lady Sarah (Kidman) came to Australia from
England to find her absent husband on the cattle ranch he had rashly
purchased. She learns he's been murdered, so she sacks the corrupt
ranch manager (David Wenham) and hires a free-spirited cowboy named
Drover (Jackman). The film shows a man trampled to death, a bombing
raid, rifle and spear killings, children in danger, and a boy's mother
drowning, all nongraphic. There is drinking, smoking, an implied
affair, hints that aboriginal women are sexually abused by white men,
racial slurs and rare profanity. OK for teens.
"Four Christmases" -- It's hard to imagine teen audiences
liking this sour holiday comedy about an insufferable couple forced to
visit families they can't stand. Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese
Witherspoon), both children of divorce, take luxury trips at Christmas
to avoid their families. When their flight is canceled and their
parents see them on a news story about travel delays, they're trapped.
Their four compulsory visits include Brad's cynical dad (Robert
Duvall) and macho siblings (Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw), and Kate's
ultra-pious mom (Mary Steenburgen). Toss in the baby spit-up jokes and
"Four Christmases" feels like eight. There is sexual innuendo,
profanity, smoking, drinking, homophobic humor and a marijuana joke.
Not so much for middle-schoolers.
"Twilight" -- Teens who love Stephanie Meyer's vampire books
will find much to swoon over in this moody adaptation of the first
novel. The Goth-inspired bloodsuckers strike too many fashion-model
poses and the story verges on silliness at times, but more often
"Twilight" is a poignant, occasionally thrilling meditation on the
struggle between desire and restraint, love and sacrifice. Bella
(Kristen Stewart) is attracted to her pale, sullen high-school
classmate, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and learns he is a
vampire. His "family" never drinks human blood -- they kill wildlife
-- for moral reasons. Edward fears his passion for Bella will weaken
his willpower. There is understated sexual innuendo and one ordinary
kiss. A final battle against rogue vampires involves blood, but is
more about gravity-defying martial arts. Other vampire attacks are
very understated.
-- R's:
"Cadillac Records" (NEW; LIMITED RELEASE) -- The birth of rock
'n' roll plays out against charged relationships and tough city life
in this terrific historically based film. "Cadillac Records" bristles
with mood and music. It ought to enthrall high-schoolers interested in
the people on whose shoulders today's music stars stand. Leonard Chess
(Adrien Brody) opens a club in Chicago in the late 1940s. Muddy Waters
(wonderful Jeffrey Wright), a Mississippi field hand who sings and
plays blues guitar, migrates north. Chess makes a hit record with
Waters and starts Chess Records. Harmonica virtuoso Little Walter
(Columbus Short) signs on, then songwriter Willie Dixon (Cedric the
Entertainer), then blues man Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), then rock
'n' roller Chuck Berry (Mos Def), then Etta James (Beyonce Knowles who
sings and acts at a new level). The landscape of American pop music
shifts. The film includes profanity, racial slurs, fairly explicit
sexual situations, partial nudity, occasional violence, drug use,
drinking and smoking.
"Frost/Nixon" (LIMITED RELEASE) -- High-schoolers who don't
love history and politics may yawn through "Frost/Nixon," though it's
pretty fascinating stuff. Adapted from a hit play, the film delves
into the making of a series of 1977 TV interviews in which David Frost
questioned the disgraced former president, Richard Nixon. Director Ron
Howard has turned the play into an upscale docudrama. Frost (Michael
Sheen), a slick TV host and playboy, was deemed too much of a
lightweight to get the wily Nixon (Frank Langella, jowly, deep-voiced,
but not mimicking) to admit guilt in the Watergate scandal. That's
where the film's tension lies. It has strong profanity, brief graphic
footage of Cambodian victims of American bombing, smoking, drinking
and sexual innuendo.