Movie Reviews
The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.
Frankenweenie (Disney)
After his beloved pet dog is killed in an accident, a socially isolated but scientifically gifted boy (voice of Charlie Tahan) uses stock monster-movie methods to bring the pooch back to life. His subsequent efforts to conceal his breakthrough from his parents (voices of Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short) and from his peers (voiced, among others, by Atticus Shaffer and James Hiroyuki Liao) go awry, however. And when his schoolmates try to emulate his feat, the results are temporarily disastrous. Director Tim Burton's skillful 3-D animated spoof of horror conventions might scare small fry, but will delight their older siblings and amuse parents as well. Mild scatological humor and some science-fiction hokum. (A-I, PG)
Pitch Perfect (Universal)
Campus musical in which a college student (Anna Kendrick) joins an all-female a cappella group that's on track to compete in an annual competition. Along the way to the singing showdown, she clashes with the ensemble's traditionally minded leader (Anna Camp) and finds romance with a fellow music lover (Skylar Astin), despite his membership in a rival all-male band of warblers. Though director Jason Moore's multi-melody romp maintains a generally pleasing tone, some salty language and a lax outlook on premarital sexuality bar recommendation for youngsters. Implied nonmarital relationships, adult themes and references, including to aberrant sexuality, a few uses of profanity, occasional crude and crass language, an obscene gesture. (A-III, PG-13)
Taken 2 (Fox)
A retired CIA agent (Liam Neeson) returns to the rampage when the father (Rade Sherbedgia) of the villain he dispatched in the first installment of this violent franchise seeks revenge with a kidnapping plot targeting the operative, his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and their teen daughter (Maggie Grace). Though the perfunctory setup includes a nod or two in the direction of family togetherness and hints at a possible reconciliation for the divorced couple, mayhem for its own sake seems to be the driving principle behind director Olivier Megaton's otherwise largely pointless shoot-'em-up. Frequent, sometimes gory violence, including beatings and torture, brief premarital sensuality, at least one use of profanity, occasional crude language. (A-III, 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.
Frankenweenie (Disney)
After his beloved pet dog is killed in an accident, a socially isolated but scientifically gifted boy (voice of Charlie Tahan) uses stock monster-movie methods to bring the pooch back to life. His subsequent efforts to conceal his breakthrough from his parents (voices of Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short) and from his peers (voiced, among others, by Atticus Shaffer and James Hiroyuki Liao) go awry, however. And when his schoolmates try to emulate his feat, the results are temporarily disastrous. Director Tim Burton's skillful 3-D animated spoof of horror conventions might scare small fry, but will delight their older siblings and amuse parents as well. Mild scatological humor and some science-fiction hokum. (A-I, PG)
Pitch Perfect (Universal)
Campus musical in which a college student (Anna Kendrick) joins an all-female a cappella group that's on track to compete in an annual competition. Along the way to the singing showdown, she clashes with the ensemble's traditionally minded leader (Anna Camp) and finds romance with a fellow music lover (Skylar Astin), despite his membership in a rival all-male band of warblers. Though director Jason Moore's multi-melody romp maintains a generally pleasing tone, some salty language and a lax outlook on premarital sexuality bar recommendation for youngsters. Implied nonmarital relationships, adult themes and references, including to aberrant sexuality, a few uses of profanity, occasional crude and crass language, an obscene gesture. (A-III, PG-13)
Taken 2 (Fox)
A retired CIA agent (Liam Neeson) returns to the rampage when the father (Rade Sherbedgia) of the villain he dispatched in the first installment of this violent franchise seeks revenge with a kidnapping plot targeting the operative, his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and their teen daughter (Maggie Grace). Though the perfunctory setup includes a nod or two in the direction of family togetherness and hints at a possible reconciliation for the divorced couple, mayhem for its own sake seems to be the driving principle behind director Olivier Megaton's otherwise largely pointless shoot-'em-up. Frequent, sometimes gory violence, including beatings and torture, brief premarital sensuality, at least one use of profanity, occasional crude language. (A-III, 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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