From the ArcaMax Publishing, Family Film Reviews Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/familyfilms/s-546518-321702
"Angels & Demons" (PG-13, 2 hrs., 10 min.)
Harvard "symbologist" Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is back uncovering
secrets that make the Vatican queasy, only this time they've asked him
to help. The pope has died and several cardinals favored to succeed
him have been abducted. The kidnapper has also planted clues and
threats, implying that Vatican City may be blown up. We know how,
because in the prologue, scientists at a supercollider in Switzerland
create antimatter A priest-scientist there is killed, and the
antimatter stolen. In the wrong hands (and what other hands would it
be in?) it could initiate a blast big enough to level Vatican City.
So beginneth another ponderous -- dare we say leaden and lugubrious?
-- thriller based on a best-seller by Dan Brown. Many high-schoolers
will enjoy following the clues with Langdon and seeing all the
(re-created) church interiors filled with art by Raphael,
Michelangelo, Bernini and Leonardo da Vinci. However, "Angels &
Demons" contains more violence and disturbing images than "The Da
Vinci Code" (PG-13, 2006) and may be too intense for middle-schoolers.
We see the abductees with painful-looking brands on their chests and
two characters burned alive, though not graphically. There are
corpses, one being eaten by rats (phobic alert), and a bloodied
eyeball on a floor. There are point-blank shootings, though with
little gore and mild profanity. Devout Catholics may object to
Langdon's sarcastic view of church doctrine.
As with "The Da Vinci Code," Ron Howard directs with a heavy hand and
a whole lot of pedantic exposition. (You can almost feel a pop quiz
coming.) This time the lectures are about an underground 18th-century
group called the Illuminati -- dissident Catholic thinkers who
objected to the church's often brutal censorship of science. Langdon
believes an exponent of the Illuminati is behind the modern mischief.
He teams with the gruff commander (Stellan Skarsgard) of the Vatican
Swiss Guard, and a friendlier inspector from the police (Pierfrancesco
Favino), along with the priest (Ewan McGregor) who runs Vatican City,
while the college of cardinals chooses the new pope. With a scientist
(Ayelet Zurer) from the antimatter experiment, Langdon follows clues
from one ancient church and crypt to the next.
----
Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various
ages
-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER:
"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 this saccharine confection, so her dad, Robby Ray Stewart,
decides she needs some "Hannah detox" time at their Tennessee farm.
Miley Stewart is played by real-life pop star Miley Cyrus and 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" who got lucky in
showbiz. But little girls will thrill to see Hannah/Miley sing, shop,
take pratfalls, ride a horse, sing to save her town from a developer,
and flirt with an aw-shucks local boy (Lucas Till). The brashest
phrase is "sweet cheeks," the strongest brew is iced tea, and there is
mild sexual innuendo. OK for under-8s, too, but they won't get
everything.
----
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"Angels & Demons" (NEW) -- Harvard "symbologist" Robert
Langdon (Tom Hanks) again uncovers secrets that make the Vatican
queasy, only this time they've invited him inside. In "Angels &
Demons," the pope has died and several cardinals have been abducted.
The kidnapper has left clues and threats. In the prologue, we see
scientists at a supercollider creating antimatter. A priest-scientist
is killed, and the antimatter stolen. In the wrong hands it could
explode and level Vatican City. Thus beginneth another leaden thriller
based on a best-seller by Dan Brown. Still, many high-schoolers will
enjoy following the clues and seeing all the (re-created) church
interiors and Renaissance art. As he did with Brown's "The Da Vinci
Code" (PG-13, 2006), Ron Howard directs with a heavy hand and a whole
lot of pedantic exposition -- this time about a secret 18th-century
dissident group, Illuminati, who objected to the church's censorship
of science. Langdon must work with the commander (Stellan Skarsgard)
of the Vatican's Swiss Guard, a police inspector (Pierfrancesco
Favino), the priest (Ewan McGregor) who runs the Vatican, and a
scientist (Ayelet Zurer) from the antimatter experiment, chasing clues
from one ancient church to next in search of cardinals and a bomb.
"Angels & Demons" contains more violence and disturbing images
than "The Da Vinci Code," and may be too intense for middle-schoolers.
We see victims with painful brands on their chests, two characters
burned alive (though not graphically), a corpse being eaten by a rat
(phobic alert), and a bloodied eyeball. There are shootings, though
with little gore, and mild profanity. Some will object to Langdon's
sarcastic view of church doctrine.
"Star Trek" -- Teens not familiar with the 1960s TV show or the
feature films ought still to have a fine time at this "Star Trek"
prequel. It works just fine as a popcorn flick and a myth-origin tale
for purists. It recounts in boisterous and occasionally jumbled detail
how the young and frisky James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary
Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldana),
Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) met as junior officers on
the maiden voyage of the starship USS Enterprise and wound up boldly
going from galaxy to galaxy at warp speed. Fine for teens, the film
will also work for many kids 10 to 12, but some may be unsettled by
the space battles with the vengeful Romulan leader Nero (Eric Bana),
his ominous-looking ship and its planet-killing drill. There is
implied torture, intense fighting, an implied impalement and a
lobsterish monster, as well as mild sexual humor and innuendo, a brief
nongraphic sexual situation, and rare mild profanity. Kirk and Spock
clash over how to handle the battle with the Romulans once Capt. Pike
(Bruce Greenwood) is taken hostage. Spock struggles with emotions
when his Vulcan father (Ben Cross) and human mother (Winona Ryder) are
in peril. And thanks to a "disrupted time continuum," young Kirk
encounters an old Spock (Leonard Nimoy, who else?), who offers crucial
advice.
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" -- Though a PG-13, this brooding
film about the back story of X-Man Wolverine is darker than its
predecessors -- more violent than enlightening, and an iffy
proposition for middle-schoolers or preteens. Innocents die and there
are implied impalements and a beheading, though little graphic gore in
the vicious fights. Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine and Liev Schreiber
as his amoral half-brother Victor/Sabretooth get us over narrative
bumps (a puzzling prologue and a muddled ending) by force of
personality. We meet James Logan and Victor as boy mutants and follow
the seeming immortals as soldiers in the Civil War, both World Wars
and Vietnam. They sign on with a special ops team of mutants recruited
by Stryker (Danny Huston). The unit commits war crimes, so Logan
quits. Years later, Victor commits a murder just to hurt Logan. Logan
goes to Stryker and submits to an experiment in which his knuckle
blades and skeleton are turned into unbreakable metal. Calling himself
Wolverine, Logan goes after Victor. There is occasional profanity,
sexual innuendo, and brief nongraphic long-distance nudity.
"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" -- Owing its plot to Charles
Dickens and its sensibility to "Sex and the City," this crass, yet
semi-clever fable lets Matthew McConaughey spoof his own image as
Connor, a smarmy fashion photographer who beds all his models. The
spirit of his late uncle (Michael Douglas), a now-repentant womanizer,
appears to Connor, warning that three ghosts will visit to help save
his soul. This unfolds during his younger brother's (Breckin Meyer)
wedding weekend, where Connor has been trash-talking marriage and
trying to fluster the lovely Jenny (Jennifer Garner), who broke his
heart back in middle school. The movie dodges an R with witty
euphemisms for sex and promiscuity. There is much sexual innuendo and
a few briefly steamy nongraphic sexual situations. There are verbal
references to drugs, midrange profanity and toilet humor. Connor shows
signs of alcoholism and others also drink. There is a theme about
losing one's parents very young. Too bawdy for middle-schoolers.
"Obsessed" -- Beyonce Knowles pouts, gets angry and yells a lot
as Sharon, a wife and mother threatened by a woman who is literally
crazy for her husband in this cheesy, predictable thriller. Idris Elba
gives the only nuanced performance as Derek, Sharon's stockbroker
spouse. Lisa (Ali Larter), a flirty/snarky temp at Derek's office,
makes a play for him and won't accept his rebuff. Her psychopathic
behavior -- jumping into his car wearing lingerie, drugging him at a
company retreat so she can sneak into his bed, attempting suicide by
overdose -- grows threatening. The film has considerable sexual
innuendo and brief nonexplicit marital sexual situations. Lisa's
attempted seductions are steamy, but stylized and nongraphic. Sharon
and Derek's baby is briefly endangered. There is smoking, drinking and
midrange profanity. Not for middle-schoolers.
"The Soloist" -- High art, edginess and entertainment mix in
near-perfect proportions in "The Soloist." With some fictionalization,
it is based on columns by Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez (played
by Robert Downey Jr.) and his discovery of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie
Foxx), a homeless musician of great gifts, but hobbled by mental
illness. Flashbacks show the young Ayers beginning to hear voices and
disassociate from reality while at Juilliard. When Ayers plays a cello
donated by one of Lopez's readers, director Joe Wright cuts from his
look of ecstasy to pigeons gliding over the city. The moment could be
corny, but it isn't. Lopez and Ayers slowly build a friendship.
L.A.'s roiling Skid Row becomes another character. There are briefly
violent scuffles, a bloody crime scene, people using drugs or
unconscious from overdoses, occasional profanity, drinking, smoking,
and toilet humor. For thoughtful teens.
"17 Again" -- Teen idol Zac Efron may thrill his fans, but he
lacks the screen nuance to play a 37-year-old man zapped back into his
17-year-old body. Seventeen-year-old Mike (Efron) walks away from a
college basketball scholarship to marry his pregnant girlfriend
Scarlett (Allison Miller). Twenty years later, 37-year-old Mike
(Matthew Perry) is out of work, living with his oddball pal Ned (funny
Thomas Lennon) and being divorced by Scarlett (now played by Leslie
Mann). Visiting his old high school, he wishes he could be 17 again
and a magical janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) makes it happen. When young
Mike tries to romance his wife, it is creepy/awkward. There is much
sexual innuendo, some of it quite strong, mild profanity, and condoms
passed out in a human sexuality class, though they're not shown. It's
implied that some teen characters drink and engage in sexual activity.
Not for preteens.
----
-- R's:
"Rudo y Cursi" (NEW) -- Half brothers from rural Mexico get a
chance at the brass ring in this raw, wry look at how professional
sports can alter the lives of people who see no other opportunities.
The film's sexual content and language make it inappropriate for those
under 17, but it could fascinate college-age teens looking to enlarge
their world view. An unscrupulous scout (Guillermo Francella) for
Mexico City's professional soccer teams, discovers Tato (Gael Garcia
Bernal) and Beto (Diego Luna), playing with their amateur local
league. Beto is a goalie, married with kids, who's addicted to
gambling. Tato is a kicker and dreamer who wants to be a pop star.
"Rudo" and "Cursi," meaning "tough" and "corny," are the fans'
nickames for them. The brothers' naivete about money, women and sports
sinks their big-city sojourn. The film has an explicit sexual
situation with seminudity and locker-room initiation rituals that are
crudely sexual, but more implied than explicit. There is strong
profanity, drinking, smoking, drug use and nongraphic violence. In
Spanish with subtitles. 17 and older.
"Next Day Air" -- Violent, profane, lewd, full of drug
references (and some drug use) and characters on the wrong side of the
law, "Next Day Air" is not for under-17s. That noted, the movie is
funny and likely to attract some teens. It takes an edgy, satirical
jab at inner cities where choices seem so limited, drug dealing looks
like an answer. Leo (Donald Faison of TV's "Scrubs"), a delivery guy
for the parcel service Next Day Air, is always high on pot. He
mistakenly drops a package at the apartment of petty crooks, Brody
(Mike Epps) and Guch (Wood Harris of TV's "The Wire"), who find it's
full of cocaine. They plan to sell it, but the drug runner down the
hall (Cisco Reyes) and his wife (Yasmin Deliz) were supposed to get
that package and the mix-up puts everyone on a collision course. The
film also has sexualized comedy and brief seminudity.