Movie reviews
The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (Fox 2000)
This second sequel to 2010's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" — based, like its predecessors, on author Jeff Kinney's series of "novels in cartoons" — provides a warm, kid-friendly comic outing that emphasizes the virtue of honesty and the importance of familial ties. Zachary Gordon once again plays the awkward preteen protagonist who, in this installment, is out to thwart his dad's (Steve Zahn) plans to transform his housebound, video-game-playing summer vacation into a father-son bonding experience via a long sequence of outdoor activities. His initially honest schemes to evade this dread prospect gain the aid of his loyal best friend (Robert Capron). But when the two pals have a falling-out, and he turns to subterfuge, his deceit leads to all manner of trouble, thanks in part to his knuckleheaded older brother (Devon Bostick). Director David Bowers delivers a moving message amid the laughs, so that touches of vaguely crass humor are easily overlooked in favor of the generally amiable proceedings. Some mild scatological humor. (A-I, PG)
Hope Springs (Columbia)
Flawed, but fundamentally moral, mix of comedy and drama in which Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones play a long-married couple who have gradually grown physically and emotionally distant. At her insistence, they set off from their home in suburban Omaha, Neb., to Maine for a week of intensive therapy with a marriage counselor and self-help author (Steve Carell). Even discussing their intimate problems, much less solving them, proves a challenge for the buttoned-up duo. A resounding pro-marriage message undergirds director David Frankel's film, which sees its leads in top form. Yet the proportion of Vanessa Taylor's script devoted to talk about, or activity in, the marital bedroom narrows the appropriate audience for this keenly observed study. Only mature moviegoers well formed in faith and morals will be up to the task of gleaning its virtues from its failings. Considerable sexual content, including semigraphic scenes of marital lovemaking and masturbation; pervasive references to sexuality; a benign view of aberrant sex acts; about a half-dozen uses of profanity; and at least one crude and a few crass terms. (L, PG-13)
Total Recall (Columbia)
In a post-apocalyptic world divided between a rich region where people live in luxury and an oppressed colony where the working classes dwell, an Everyman factory drudge (Colin Farrell) discovers his past identity as a secret agent. Stunned by the revelation — which instantly makes him a wanted man — and thrown further off balance when his seemingly loyal wife (Kate Beckinsale) turns against him, he goes on the lam, eventually joining forces with the envoy (Jessica Biel) of a guerrilla resistance group. Director Len Wiseman has sanitized Paul Verhoeven's extremely violent 1990 action thriller, itself an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." Yet although toned-down, the new version still contains more than its fair share of objectionable content. Frequent action violence, including gunplay; upper female and brief rear nudity; references to prostitution; occasional uses of profanity; at least one rough term; and pervasive crude language. (L, PG-13)
—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.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (Fox 2000)
This second sequel to 2010's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" — based, like its predecessors, on author Jeff Kinney's series of "novels in cartoons" — provides a warm, kid-friendly comic outing that emphasizes the virtue of honesty and the importance of familial ties. Zachary Gordon once again plays the awkward preteen protagonist who, in this installment, is out to thwart his dad's (Steve Zahn) plans to transform his housebound, video-game-playing summer vacation into a father-son bonding experience via a long sequence of outdoor activities. His initially honest schemes to evade this dread prospect gain the aid of his loyal best friend (Robert Capron). But when the two pals have a falling-out, and he turns to subterfuge, his deceit leads to all manner of trouble, thanks in part to his knuckleheaded older brother (Devon Bostick). Director David Bowers delivers a moving message amid the laughs, so that touches of vaguely crass humor are easily overlooked in favor of the generally amiable proceedings. Some mild scatological humor. (A-I, PG)
Hope Springs (Columbia)
Flawed, but fundamentally moral, mix of comedy and drama in which Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones play a long-married couple who have gradually grown physically and emotionally distant. At her insistence, they set off from their home in suburban Omaha, Neb., to Maine for a week of intensive therapy with a marriage counselor and self-help author (Steve Carell). Even discussing their intimate problems, much less solving them, proves a challenge for the buttoned-up duo. A resounding pro-marriage message undergirds director David Frankel's film, which sees its leads in top form. Yet the proportion of Vanessa Taylor's script devoted to talk about, or activity in, the marital bedroom narrows the appropriate audience for this keenly observed study. Only mature moviegoers well formed in faith and morals will be up to the task of gleaning its virtues from its failings. Considerable sexual content, including semigraphic scenes of marital lovemaking and masturbation; pervasive references to sexuality; a benign view of aberrant sex acts; about a half-dozen uses of profanity; and at least one crude and a few crass terms. (L, PG-13)
Total Recall (Columbia)
In a post-apocalyptic world divided between a rich region where people live in luxury and an oppressed colony where the working classes dwell, an Everyman factory drudge (Colin Farrell) discovers his past identity as a secret agent. Stunned by the revelation — which instantly makes him a wanted man — and thrown further off balance when his seemingly loyal wife (Kate Beckinsale) turns against him, he goes on the lam, eventually joining forces with the envoy (Jessica Biel) of a guerrilla resistance group. Director Len Wiseman has sanitized Paul Verhoeven's extremely violent 1990 action thriller, itself an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." Yet although toned-down, the new version still contains more than its fair share of objectionable content. Frequent action violence, including gunplay; upper female and brief rear nudity; references to prostitution; occasional uses of profanity; at least one rough term; and pervasive crude language. (L, PG-13)
—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.
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