From the ArcaMax Publishing, Family Film Reviews Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/familyfilms/s-530340-969797
"17 Again" (PG-13, 1 hr., 45 min.)
Teen idol Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year," G, 2008,
"Hairspray," PG, 2007) will charm his fans with that angelic face and
sweet persona, but acting-wise, he lacks the skills to play a
37-year-old man zapped back into his 17-year-old body and into high
school again. While Efron isn't up to the subtleties of
characterization this overplotted comedy needs, the supporting cast
gives him great help -- and provides much amusement.
In a prologue set in 1989, we see Mike (Efron) at 17, walking away
from a basketball scholarship because his girlfriend Scarlett (Allison
Miller) is pregnant. Twenty years later, we find 37-year-old Mike (a
shlumpy Matthew Perry) living with his eccentric friend Ned (Thomas
Lennon), a rich software designer obsessed with sci-fi mythology.
Scarlett (now played by Leslie Mann) is divorcing him, he loses his
job, and his teenage kids Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex
(Sterling Knight) won't talk to him. A visit to his old high school
makes Mike wish aloud he were 17 again. A magical old janitor (Brian
Doyle-Murray) makes it happen. Suddenly Mike has the face and physique
of his 17-year-old self (Efron). After the initial shock (in which he
tries to kill Mike with a light saber), Ned pretends to be his father
and enrolls him at the school. Still thinking like a dad, Mike
lectures giggling teens about abstinence, tries to help his own
struggling kids, and even flirts with his estranged wife. The whole
premise is more squirmy than funny. The best thing in the film is the
love story between Ned and the prim school principal (Melora Hardin),
which deserves its own movie.
Not really for preteens, the film has considerable sexual innuendo,
some of it semiexplicit, crude language, mild profanity, kissing and
make-out scenes, condoms passed out in a human sexuality class, though
they're never actually shown. It's implied that some teen characters
drink and engage in sexual activity.
"State of Play" (PG-13, 1 hr., 57 min.)
Two-thirds of this political thriller, adapted and Americanized from a
hit 2003 British miniseries, is smart, taut and terrific. It's final
act, however, staggers beneath an avalanche of red herrings. But
two-thirds of a good movie is better than nothing. The rat-a-tat
dialogue and well-captured atmosphere of political Washington and the
fast-shrinking world of old-style newspaper reporting will likely
appeal to adults, but could also capture the imaginations of
news-savvy high-schoolers. In fact, repartee and ambience pay much
bigger dividends in this movie than the actual plot. (The final
credits roll over a montage showing how a big-city newspaper hits the
streets each night and it may bring a tear to the eye of many a print
reporter and news junkie of a certain age.)
Russell Crowe plays ink-stained wretch Cal McAffrey, a gifted
reporter/slob who works for the struggling Washington Globe, where his
editor (Helen Mirren at her tart-tongued best) is desperate for a big
story to show new owners that the Globe is worth saving. When a
prominent congressman's (a nuanceless Ben Affleck) pretty young
staffer dies mysteriously, a scandal erupts. Cal, an old buddy of the
congressman, tries both to cover the story and protect his friend --
a tricky ethical balancing act. He butts heads with Della (Rachel
McAdams), a blogger from the paper's online side, neatly encapsulating
the tensions between old and new media. As the evidence seems to point
away from suicide to murder, a big private security company looms as a
possible culprit. People keep dying and the cops suspect that Cal and
Della are withholding evidence.
The movie contains several bursts of gun violence, but shows little
blood and no graphic wounds. We do see dead bodies, and even a liver
resting on a scale in the morgue. There is midrange profanity and some
crude sexual slang, as well as innuendo about promiscuity and marital
infidelity. There are drug references, drinking and smoking.
Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various
ages
-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER
"Dragonball: Evolution" (NEW) PG-- The characters are likable
and the action sequences bloodless and colorful in this bland,
convoluted special-effects-laden coming-of-age fantasy. It is adapted
from a popular series of Japanese manga comics and video games.
Battles feature martial-arts fights, hurled fireballs, falling rocks
and zapper gunplay. Kids under 8 may be briefly scared by horned
beasts, slime monsters and molten lava in a cave. There is a flying
dragon, but it's not evil. The film also contains mild sexual innuendo
and teen bullying. Set in a sci-fi near-future, the movie finds
high-schooler Goku (Justin Chatwin), nearing his 18th birthday.
Grandpa (Randall Duk Kim), who raised Goku and taught him martial
arts, gives him a beautiful Dragonball, which looks like a glass
paperweight, but has powers. There are only seven in the world.
Grandpa says Goku's true identity will be revealed on his birthday.
But Goku skips his birthday dinner for a teen party and returns to
find Grandpa buried under their collapsed house. As he dies, Grandpa
warns that the alien Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) has returned in
search of the Dragonballs. Goku joins eccentric martial arts Master
Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat), a feisty inventor (Emmy Rossum) and a desert
highwayman (Joon Park) to defeat Piccolo.
"Hannah Montana The Movie" G -- Teen pop star Hannah Montana's
off-stage self, Miley Stewart, gets too big for her high-heeled
sneakers in "Hannah Montana The Movie," so her dad, Robby Ray Stewart,
decides it's time to take her down a peg with some "Hannah detox" time
at the family's Tennessee farm. Hannah's off-stage self, Miley
Stewart, is played by Miley Cyrus, and Miley Stewart's dad, Robby Ray,
is played by her real-life dad, country-and-western star Billy Ray
Cyrus, so it's hard to see them as "just folks" in this saccharine
confection. Equally unconvincing is the premise that Miley Stewart's
school friends never realize she's Hannah. Outside the family, only
her BFF Lilly (Emily Osment) knows. But for little girls, none of this
matters. They'll get to see Hannah/Miley sing, shop, take pratfalls,
ride a horse, do a benefit to save her hometown from a developer, and
flirt with an aw-shucks local boy (Lucas Till). There is mild sexual
innuendo. The brashest phrase is "sweet cheeks," the strongest brew
iced tea. OK for under-8s, but they won't understand everything.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" PG -- Kids 8 and older ought to have a
fine time at this silly, pretty ingenious animated 3-D spoof of 1950s
"creature features." The movie fizzes along funnily, apart from a
couple of slow bits midway. Even the "scary" scenes are amusing, which
helps calm younger kids. There is toilet humor, but nothing too gross.
Some under-8s may be spooked when the human heroine Susan (voice of
Reese Witherspoon) mutates into a nearly 50-foot-tall version of
herself, or when the multi-eyed outer space villain Gallaxhar (Rainn
Wilson) clones himself into an army, or when his killer robot (which
looks like a huge pickle) attacks. Susan walks too near a just-crashed
meteorite and soon morphs into a giant. Government forces abduct her,
name her Ginormica and imprison her with other mutant "monsters":
B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), a blob with an eyeball; Dr. Cockroach (Hugh
Laurie), a mad scientist; an ape-fish called The Missing Link (Will
Arnett), and a huge grub worm, Insectosaurus. They all must defeat
Gallaxhar. There is a remark about "boobies" and a hint of bare
behind. One monster seems to die but is OK.
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"17 Again" (NEW) -- Teen idol Zac Efron ("High School Musical
3: Senior Year," G, 2008) will charm his fans with that angelic face
and sweet persona, but acting-wise, he lacks the skills to play a
37-year-old man zapped back into his 17-year-old body. Luckily, the
supporting cast gives him great help and provides much amusement. In a
prologue set in 1989, 17-year-old Mike O'Donnell (Efron) walks away
from a basketball scholarship because his girlfriend Scarlett (Allison
Miller) is pregnant. Twenty years later, we find 37-year-old Mike (a
shlumpy Matthew Perry) living with his best friend Ned (Thomas
Lennon), a rich software designer obsessed with sci-fi mythology. Mike
has lost his job and Scarlett (now played by Leslie Mann) is divorcing
him. A visit to his old high school makes him wish he were 17 again
and a magical janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) makes it happen. Suddenly
Mike has the face and physique of his 17-year-old self. He gets the
stunned Ned to pose as his father and enroll Mike in their old high
school. Once there, Mike lectures giggling girls about abstinence,
tries to help his own troubled teens (Michelle Trachtenberg and
Sterling Knight), and to reconcile with his estranged wife. Because
Efron can't quite carry it off, the whole premise seems more weird
than funny. There is considerable sexual innuendo, some of it
semiexplicit, other mild profanity, and condoms passed out in a human
sexuality class, though they're never shown. It's implied that some
teen characters drink and engage in sexual activity. OK for teens.
"State of Play" (NEW) -- Two-thirds of this political thriller,
adapted and Americanized from a hit British miniseries, is smart, taut
and terrific, but its final act falls beneath an avalanche of red
herrings. The rat-a-tat dialogue and well-captured atmospherics of
political Washington and the shrinking world of old-style newspaper
reporting pay bigger dividends than the actual plot. This will appeal
more to adults, but could also capture the fancy of news-savvy
high-schoolers. Russell Crowe plays ink-stained wretch Cal McAffrey,
who works for the struggling Washington Globe, where his hard-bitten
editor (Helen Mirren) is desperate for a big story. When a prominent
congressman's (Ben Affleck) pretty staffer dies mysteriously, a
scandal erupts. Cal, a buddy of the congressman's, tries to both
report the story and protect his pal. He butts heads with Della
(Rachel McAdams), a 20-something blogger from the paper's online side.
As the evidence points to murder and other people die, the reporters
suspect a private security company. The movie has bursts of gun
violence but shows little blood or graphic wounds. We do see dead
bodies, and even a liver resting on a scale in the morgue. There is
midrange profanity, sexual slang, innuendo about marital infidelity
and promiscuity, drug references, drinking and smoking.
High-schoolers.
"Fast & Furious" -- Teens will likely enjoy the ride in
this third sequel, which reunites the moody cast of the original film
("The Fast and the Furious," PG-13, 2001). The acting and dialogue are
often dumb, but the racing stunts are heart-stoppingly staged. Parents
may worry that kids will imitate the driving. At least one pedestrian
(albeit a bad guy) gets smashed. The movie has gun violence,
explosions and head-banging fights, but no graphic injuries and
contains midrange profanity, a couple of steamy kisses, briefly
implied sexual situations, young women in skimpy outfits, drinking and
drug references. It also uses tired racial and ethnic stereotypes.
Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), the muscled antihero, remains a fugitive
from justice. After his girlfriend is murdered, he reconnects with his
sister (Jordana Brewster) and FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
to avenge the murder and bring down a Mexican drug lord.
"Knowing" -- This parable about the end of humankind blurs the
line between science fiction and theology in a way high-schoolers may
find interesting -- the ghostly men in black coats who speak
telepathically to children could be aliens or angels. It's heady,
sometimes chilling stuff, but "Knowing" gets overwrought and silly. In
the prologue, a little girl fills a page with numbers and it goes into
her school's time capsule. Fifty years later, professor John Koestler
(Nicolas Cage), a hard-drinking widower, attends the capsule's
reopening. His little boy (Chandler Canterbury) gets the page with the
numbers. John realizes they are dates of disasters past and future.
There are quick, intense depictions of the Asian tsunami, hurricane
Katrina, 9/11, a plane crash, a derailed subway train mowing people
down. We see no graphic injuries. There is a suicide theme and rare
mild profanity.
-- R's:
"Observe and Report" -- Though it has arresting moments, this
dark, nihilistic comedy lurches about, never settling on a tone. The
film contains drug abuse and drinking, steaming profanity, a couple of
explicit sexual situations, and prolonged scenes of male frontal
nudity in the form of a flasher tearing through a shopping mall. The
mayhem includes fights, a police beating and gun violence. Comic actor
Seth Rogen plays Ronnie, the mall's chief security guard. Stupid,
racist, profane, and a bully, he longs to impress the drunk,
promiscuous cosmetics salesperson, Brandi (Anna Faris). He also
irritates a police detective (Ray Liotta), who rightly views Ronnie as
an idiot. When we see Ronnie care for his alcoholic mom (Celia Weston)
he earns a bit of sympathy. Not for under-17s.
"Adventureland" -- Strikingly unsentimental, witty and humane,
"Adventureland" is a coming-of-age saga geared to adults looking back.
It features much pot-smoking and drinking, driving under the
influence, steaming profanity, crude sexual slang and innuendo, subtly
implied sexual situations, and brief comic mayhem. It is 1987. James
Brennan, a smart but naive brainiac, has just graduated college and
his family is financially strapped. A comparative lit major, James has
no skills and winds up working at the tacky local amusement park where
he finds kindred spirits, including Em (Kristen Stewart of "Twilight,"
PG-13, 2008), who drinks too much and dallies with a married man (Ryan
Reynolds). James learns he can't intellectualize life -- he has to
live it. For thoughtful high-schoolers 16 and older.