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Catholic News Service
In the end, Roger Ebert’s doubts about his Catholic faith may not have been what really mattered. Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral was, after all, the chosen venue for his April 8 funeral Mass, and it was packed to the rafters. Read more »
Catholic News Service
Wouldn’t classic love stories like Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” be all the better if zombies were thrown into the mix?
Agree or disagree, that’s the basic thrust of director and screenwriter Jonathan Levine’s “Warm Bodies” — an oddly touching picture based on Isaac Marion’s novel of the same name. Unusual for its genre, this monster mash goes light on the gore, and contains a surprising number of Christian-friendly themes.
Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult star in a scene from the movie “Warm Bodies.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.
The premise is as old as boy meets girl … well, nearly. A mysterious virus has turned vast hordes of humanity into flesh-eating monsters, and those who have remained human are camped out in hastily built fortresses.
One of the undead, known as R (Nicholas Hoult), finds he’s able to think semi-rationally, and even curb some, but not, at first, all — of his brain-munching instincts. He grapples with this realization as he comes across the very-much-alive Julie (Teresa Palmer). Somewhat inauspiciously, R initially spies Julie while he’s ingesting her boyfriend, Perry (Dave Franco).
Nonetheless, on a whim even he finds surprising, R rescues Julie from certain death at the hands of his hungry companions. He then keeps her safe and fed, and also entertains her with the collection of vinyl records he preserves in the grounded plane that serves as his base.
As his relationship with Julie blossoms, they both come to recognize that R is becoming more and more human with each passing day. And he might not be the only zombie to be affected by this phenomenon. It’s a process that begins with the emotional stirrings of the once-flatlined heart, and may end in a fully restored life.
The couple must use their newfound knowledge to try and reconcile the zombie gangs with the militaristic humans, the latter led by Julie’s father, Gen. Grigio (John Malkovich). This task is all the more urgent because a new enemy threatens both groups: So-called “Boneys” — zombies in the last stages of decay who roam the earth as evil skeletons.
Redemption, in Levine’s script, comes through love, whether it be R’s deepening feelings for Julie or other zombies’ recollections of their beloved families. Those who have no such reaction, by contrast, are consigned to torment as their need for flesh consumes them.
R initially believes he has no choice but to follow his base cannibalistic desire. But once he meets Julie, he discovers that, while the temptation to do so is still strong, he is able to resist it in order to become a better — more fully alive — person.
R’s restraint in the pursuit of virtue may represent an unusual version of asceticism. Yet, by analogy at least, it certainly stands in contrast to the prevailing message of contemporary society that happiness can be found by pursuing — and satisfying — every materialistic or bodily urge.
However remotely, given the context, R’s discovery that self-denial can result in our becoming more human — and better able to care for those we love — does echo Jesus’ exhortation to take up the cross and follow him.
The film contains some restrained gory violence, occasional profanity, at least one instance of rough language and about a half-dozen crude terms. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Catholic News Service
Scandal, intrigue and a surfeit of bad language combine to form “Broken City.” This thriller with political overtones is strictly for those who can withstand actors growling their lines, downing two shots of whiskey in one go and dropping a payload worth of F-bombs.
Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg star in a scene from the movie “Broken City.” The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience.
Seven years after being acquitted in the suspicious shooting of a rapist and murderer, ex-cop Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is approached by the mayor of New York, Nicolas Hostetler (a sensational Russell Crowe), who wants to make a deal: Hizzoner withheld evidence of Taggart’s wrongdoing; now, he wants Taggart to return the favor with some private-eye work.
With the mayoral election looming and feisty new rival Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper) posing a threat to his reign, Hostetler is determined to retain his office by any means necessary. But he fears that his wife, Cathleen (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is two-timing him. So, for $50,000, the former officer is dispatched to follow, find, and film the illicit couple.
Predictably, things are not what they seem in director Allen Hughes’ picture, and the grizzled Taggart quickly finds himself caught in a web of intrigue and blackmail. He has other troubles as well, namely, his struggle with alcoholism and his complicated, frequently strained relationship with girlfriend and wannabe actress Natalie (Natalie Martinez).
Moviegoers of faith will be pleased by Taggart’s commitment to justice, despite the sometimes murky means by which he seeks to achieve it. Laudably, Brian Tucker’s screenplay shows the true costs and consequences of corruption. While it encourages viewers to understand Taggart’s morally dubious choices, his script doesn’t prompt them to approve.
Yet the evident desire to turn out a gritty movie sends things off track, with scenes of heavy drinking interspersed with locker-room vulgarities.
Although at least one scene implies that Taggart and Natalie are living together, he is at least shown to be a believer in marital fidelity. In fact, when he reproaches the mayor’s wife with her breach of trust, she tauntingly responds, “Are you stupid or Catholic?”
The film contains occasional graphic violence, possible cohabitation, fleeting but strong sexual imagery, brief upper female nudity, mature themes, including adultery and homosexuality, about half-a-dozen uses of profanity, pervasive rough language, occasional crude and crass terms and a couple of anti-gay slurs. The Catholic News Service classification is L, limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R, restricted.
Catholic News Service
Extravagant musical TV shows and movies are all the rage, from the campy “Glee” to the stern-faced “Step Up Revolution.”
Some of these productions are calculated to appeal exclusively to aspiring entertainers. Others attempt to use song and dance to proclaim a message, whether it be the importance of self-confidence or of social justice.
Catholic News Service
We are used to fables of humans fleeing from spooky ghouls and ghosts, but what if they were as scared of us as we are of them?
That is the premise of animated comedy “Hotel Transylvania’ — an enjoyable, if slightly rude, pro-family romp in which the infamous Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) has established a “monsters only” resort to provide a safe haven for spooks to relax away from the torches and pitchforks of their antagonists.
Catholic News Service
The first story sounds as old as the Book of Exodus: A mother and father, fearing his annihilation by a sinister force, place their newborn son in a vessel they hope will transport him to safety. Adopted by a completely different family, he grows up to deliver many from the oppression of evildoers.
Another well-known narrative tells of divine favor shown to a lesser being, by which the recipient was endowed with great power. But the favorite gave way to the sin of arrogance, and fell from grace. Turning from the path of righteousness, he raised up an army of the fallen to rebel against the very force that had once exalted him.
Catholic News Service
A story with a Christian message is a rare and compelling gem for Catholic viewers in today’s Hollywood culture. At the same time, a film that leads first with a positive message, and merely tacks the story on as an afterthought, is one set to leave even the most devoted Christians cold.
Unfortunately, this is a problem with “Last Ounce of Courage” — a picture about religious freedom and standing up for what one believes against the tyranny of the vocal minority.
Catholic News Service
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” This famous line from the “Confessions” of St. Augustine (354-430) inspires both the title and the theme of “Restless Heart” — a biographical profile of the holy bishop that manages to inspire while steering clear of sentimentality.
The movie draws on aspects of Augustine’s life from youth to old age. Though this necessitates that the leading role be shared by two actors, Alessandro Preziosi as the younger Augustine and Franco Nero as the older man, the casting is well done, so that the difference between the two is not at all jarring to the audience.
The narrative opens in the last year of the life of this great father of the church, as he faces the Vandals’ invasion of his diocese of Hippo Regius in Roman Africa, then goes back in time to guide the viewer through Augustine’s moving conversion story.
Born in Thagaste, North Africa, to a pagan father and a Christian mother, the young Augustine moved to the ancient metropolis of Carthage to study rhetoric. There he rose to be a well-established lawyer, but one who believed that truth was unconnected to reality and belonged instead to the winning side in any given dispute.
Monica Guerritore portrays the mother of St. Augustine, played as a young man by Alessandro Preziosi, in a scene from the movie “Restless Heart.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The film is not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (CNS photo/’Maximus Group)
Around this time Augustine adopted the dualist Manichaean heresy, a development of Gnosticism that posited an ongoing cosmic battle between equally matched worlds of light and darkness. By his own later account, Augustine also gave way to debauched living.
The 127-minute long move is arduous at times, though it mostly remains focused on the task at hand.
As it covers Augustine’s search for the meaning of truth and his eventual embrace of a heresy-free Christianity, the picture gives plenty of breathing room to the philosophical arguments with which he wrestled. It also highlights the influence exerted on him by his holy mother St. Monica (Monica Guerritore) and by his philosophical adversary, but future friend, St. Ambrose (Andrea Giordana), the bishop of Milan.
Less satisfactory however, is the treatment of Augustine’s career as a priest and bishop, which is touched on only at the beginning and end of the movie.
This is, nonetheless, a well-produced, colorful piece of cinema that communicates uplifting messages about the power of God and the importance of truth. As such, viewers of faith will likely find it extremely nourishing.
The film contains some violence and a cohabitation theme. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Catholic News Service
The comic-book hero Batman and the classic Danish building-block toy Lego may not, initially, appear to have much in common. Although both have been staples of postwar entertainment, Bruce Wayne’s alter ego made his print debut in 1939, just as the European phase of World War II was about to begin, and Lego was first manufactured 10 years later, surely there can’t be much that connects them.
Nonetheless, the pair, who first joined forces in 2008’s “Lego Batman: The Videogame,” enjoys a successful reunion in the sequel “Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes” (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment). Read more »
Catholic News Service
Remakes are all the rage in the movie industry at the moment. While some retreads manage to introduce classic films to a new generation, others leave theatergoers scratching their heads, wondering why anyone involved bothered. The latter reaction, alas, is likely to be provoked by “Total Recall.”
Director Len Wiseman has sanitized Paul Verhoeven’s extremely violent 1990 action thriller, an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1966 short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yet although toned-down, the new version still contains more than its fair share of objectionable content.
