DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of November 16, 2009
This week's DVD and Blu-ray releases
The following are capsule reviews of new and recent DVD and Blu-ray releases from the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Theatrical movies have a USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account the discs' extra content.
Downhill Racer
Robert Redford plays a surly American skier with enough recklessness and skill to challenge the best Europeans but unwilling to listen to his team's tough, long-suffering coach (admirably played by Gene Hackman) in preparing for the big skiing competition. Though the personal drama follows the formula of such sports movies, director Michael Ritchie concentrates on providing a vivid overview of a dangerous and photogenic sport and the fallible people who compete in it for the psychological rewards that some find worth all its rigors and traumatic nervous strain. A-III -- adults. (PG) (Criterion) 1969
Galaxy Quest
Goofy comedy in which naive aliens, mistaking the cast of a defunct sci-fi TV series (including Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman) for true intergalactic warriors, lure them into outer space to save their planet from a marauding monster. Director Dean Parisot spoofs sci-fi conventions and cliches in a deliberately silly plot that garners scattershot laughs. Mild sexual innuendo, stylized shootouts and an instance of profanity. Spanish language and titles options. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Dreamworks Video; also available on Blu-ray) 1999
Gone With the Wind (Ultimate Collector's Edition; Anniversary Edition)
Epic romance spanning 20 years in the troubled lives of its ambitious southern heroine (Vivian Leigh), the man she loves (Leslie Howard) and the man she finally marries (Clark Gable). Produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming, the movie re-creates not the history but the myth of the Old South and its destruction in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Though blacks are treated in the stereotyped fashion of its time, the picture is sympathetic toward its main black characters -- particularly Hattie McDaniel, who received an Academy Award for her performance. Wartime violence, romantic complications and black stereotyping. Spanish language and titles options on Blu-ray edition. A-II -- adults and adolescents. G -- general audiences. (Warner Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 1939
My Sister's Keeper
Generally well-acted if sometimes soggy family drama about a strong-willed mother (Cameron Diaz, excellent in a not-always-likable part), in denial about her teenage daughter's (Sofia Vassilieva) losing battle with cancer; the loving but conflicted father (Jason Patric); and sister (Abigail Breslin), who hires a lawyer (Alec Baldwin) for "medical emancipation" so she won't be forced to donate her kidney to her sister. Affecting, despite basic plot contrivances and a couple of morally questionable elements, co-writer and director Nick Cassavetes' tear-jerker ultimately presents a positive view of marriage and family. A nongraphic nonmarital sexual encounter, in vitro conception, disturbing hospital imagery, brief rough and crude language and a couple of profanities, domestic discord, some mild sexual talk and brief teenage drinking. The DVD includes both widescreen and full-screen versions and features eight deleted scenes. Spanish language and titles options. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (PG-13) (New Line Home Video; also available on Blu-ray.) 2009
Posada: A Night to Cross All Borders
Thought-provoking hour-long documentary linking the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas -- a ritual reenactment of Mary and Joseph's search for shelter in Bethlehem that takes place between Dec. 16 and Christmas Eve each year -- and the plight of underage undocumented immigrants to the United States. By recounting the perilous journeys and taxing detentions experienced by three such newcomers, all teenage young men from Central America, and through interviews with officials from the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and other organizations, filmmaker Jesuit Father Mark McGregor compellingly spotlights the suffering, both of the estimated 80,000-110,000 unaccompanied minors that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency arrest and turn back each year, and of their peers who manage to cross the border, only to find themselves forced to live on the margins of American life. The DVD provides an excellent basis for parish or family discussion, either during Advent or during National Migration Week -- established by the nation's Catholic bishops over 25 years ago -- which will be observed Jan. 3-9, 2010. Spanish titles option. For related resources, visit: www.posadas-project.com. (Loyola Productions) (www.loyolaproductions.com) 2009
Star Trek
Exhilarating prequel to the "Star Trek" franchise as the youthful rabble-rousing James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) forgoes his delinquent ways to join the crew of the Starship Enterprise -- including Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (James Cho) and Chekhov (Anton Yelchin) -- where he soon clashes with rival Spock (Zachary Quinto) until they unite against the vengeful Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), intent on destruction. Director J.J. Abrams breathes new life into the series by skillfully balancing the well-executed action sequences with an absorbing human story, leavened with humor and optimism, and likable characters you care about, though some brief gratuitous sexuality and the use of several expletives restrict this to mature teens and up. Intense but not graphic action violence, a short but frisky bedroom scene with skimpy attire, some crude language and a single profanity. Spanish language and titles options.
A-III -- adults. (PG-13) (Paramount Home Entertainment)
2009
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.