The Dialog

By John Mulderig

Catholic News Service

Early on in the stylish but excessively violent cops-and-robbers tale “Gangster Squad,” the villain of the piece, a reptilian gangster played by Sean Penn, has a rival chained to two cars which drive off in opposite directions, tearing the victim in half.

That’s a fair tipoff of the mayhem to come which, taken together with the film’s murky morality, makes this fact-based drama, directed by Ruben Fleischer, suitable only for the most stalwart adult viewers.

James Carpinello, Sean Penn and Evan Cohen star in a scene from the movie “Gangster Squad.” The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling.

Penn’s baddie, Mickey Cohen, is a Brooklyn-bred ex-boxer intent on making 1940s Los Angeles his own. Out to stop him, by any means necessary, is the metropolis’ police chief, William Parker (Nick Nolte).

Parker commissions idealistic World War II veteran Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) to form the team of the title. Made up, most prominently, of slickster and fellow Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), tough African-American officer Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie) and electronics expert Conwell Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi), the squad will operate outside the law to break Cohen’s power.

Along the way to a conclusive shootout that seems to reap as many casualties as a small-scale military operation, Wooters secretly romances and straightforwardly seduces  Cohen’s good-hearted moll Grace Faraday (Emma Stone).

O’’Mara and company occasionally express second thoughts about their methods. But screenwriter Will Beall’s script, adapted from Paul Lieberman’s eponymous book, presents their illegal actions as the only practical solution open to them.

Given Cohen’s ruthlessness, he eventually orders a machine-gun attack on O’Mara’s home, endangering the upright sergeant’s pregnant wife, Connie (Mireille Enos), the audience is invited to react as viscerally as the characters to his seemingly unstoppable reign of terror. Moviegoers will require maturity and prudence to work through the tangled ethics of the situation and a strong stomach to endure the wild gunplay and interludes of brutality.

The film contains a vigilantism theme, scenes of gruesome, bloody violence, a premarital situation, brief partial nudity, numerous uses of profanity and much rough and crude language. 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. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

By John P. McCarthy

Catholic News Service

In “Silver Linings Playbook,” filmmaker David O. Russell attempts to fashion a winsome romantic comedy that also addresses mental illness with perceptiveness and sensitivity.

It’s not an easy maneuver to pull off. But it works because the source material, a novel by Matthew Quick, is rooted in an actual place populated by relatable characters, the acting ensemble is terrific, and Russell, who writes and directs, doesn’t shy away from awkwardness or feel-good sentiment.

Jacki Weaver and Robert DeNiro star in a scene from the movie “Silver Linings Playbook.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.

By turns uncomfortable, funny and touching, “Silver Linings Playbook” is big-hearted, off-kilter entertainment. The volume of four-letter words is the only major drawback, although one is more inclined to excuse foul language when it’s symptomatic of clinically verifiable anxiety.

Neuroses, disorders and syndromes abound in the middle-class Philadelphia neighborhood where the Solitano family lives. Exhibit A is Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper), whose mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) checks him out of a Baltimore psychiatric hospital early in the movie. Ignoring professional advice, she’s willing to take legal responsibility for her son. “I don’t want him to get used to the routine here,” she tells a protesting doctor.

Turns out, Pat caught his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) cheating on him and beat up the interloper: a colleague of Nikki’s from the high school where they both taught. That incident, plus other unbalanced behavior only alluded to, resulted in a court-ordered stint in the mental institution and a restraining order barring him from coming within 500 feet of Nikki.

Pat moves into his parents’ house and, armed with an empowering motto (“Excelsior!”), pledges to remake himself by getting into better physical shape and reading all the books Nikki assigns to her students. His sole aim is to get back together with her and salvage their marriage.

During Pat’s eight-month absence, his father Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) lost his pension and became a bookmaker. A Philadelphia Eagles fanatic, the elder Solitano is fervent about football in general. While profiting from taking people’s bets, he superstitiously follows a set of rituals that point to an obsessive-compulsive personality. The fact he’s been banned for life from Eagles home games for fighting indicates he too is prone to violent outbursts.

Shortly after coming home, Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a young widow in the neighborhood who reacted to her husband’s sudden death by acting out sexually. The two have much in common, most noticeably a lack of verbal inhibition that makes social interaction difficult. In due course, Tiffany volunteers to deliver a letter to Nikki, thereby circumventing the restraining order. In return, she asks Pat to help her train for an upcoming dance competition.

Ornamented with colorful secondary figures, the plot trajectory is familiar, but the character-driven screenplay manages to avoid cliche. Russell gets superbly naturalistic performances from the cast. Cooper, best known for raunchy comedies, proves he’s got real acting chops and Lawrence continues to demonstrate she’s a major talent. Doing his best work in years, De Niro gives an empathetic performance.

Like Pat and Tiffany, “Silver Linings Playbook” is volatile and moody. Yet beneath the genuine anguish there’s an abundance of sincere emotion.

The message about silver linings, about our ability to overcome unfortunate circumstances feels less like a Hollywood contrivance than the truth. And the notion that the line between normal and crazy isn’t as clear as we often assume suggests that being judgmental short-circuits both hope and understanding.

The film contains brief glimpses of a violent assault, fleeting rear and partial female nudity, some profane language, frequent crude and crass terms and sexual innuendo. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III , adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R, restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

By Joseph McAleer

Catholic News Service

If your Christmas wish list includes a lavish, big-budget musical crafted in the classic Hollywood manner, then “Les Miserables” is just the ticket.

This rousing entertainment offers something for everyone: soaring anthems, tear-jerking romance, thrilling drama — and a positive portrayal of the Catholic faith.

In fact, this faithful adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, which was transformed into a worldwide stage sensation by impresario Cameron Mackintosh, is a deeply moral story. Characters rise and fall calling on God for grace and mercy, seeking personal redemption while trying to better the lives of others.

As the central character, ex-convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), comes to realize, “To love another person is to see the face of God.”

Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway star in a scene from “Les Miserables,” the big-screen adaptation of the long-running stage show. 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. (CNS photo/Universal Studios)

Director Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”) paints with an enormous brush and “Les Miserables” is staged on an epic scale, overstuffed with grand set pieces and hundreds of extras. Hooper’s fondness for extreme close-ups heightens the emotional wallop, and will likely send some viewers scrambling for tissues.

The labyrinthine story spans two decades in post-revolutionary France and revolves around three characters: Valjean, who breaks his probation and seeks a fresh start; Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), obsessed with finding Valjean and bringing him to justice; and the doomed Fantine (Anne Hathaway), who sacrifices everything for the care of her out-of-wedlock daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen).

The kindness of a Catholic bishop (Colm Wilkinson) convinces Valjean to amend his life. Over time, he changes his identity, becoming the benevolent mayor of a village and a factory owner. When Fantine is unjustly fired from his factory and forced into a life of prostitution, Valjean steps in, promising the now-dying woman that he will raise Cosette as his own.

Cosette has been living with the Thenardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter), wicked tavern owners and professional pickpockets. Their collusion with Javert makes for a narrow escape for Valjean.

Years pass, and Cosette has blossomed into a refined young woman (Amanda Seyfried). On a Paris street she meets a young revolutionary, Marius (Eddie Redmayne). It’s love at first sight, much to the chagrin of fellow rebel Eponine (Samantha Barks), who happens to be the Thenardiers’ daughter.

Can Cosette and Marius’ love survive the rising tensions of the mob, as streets are barricaded and weapons drawn? Is Javert closing in on Valjean at long last? “Les Miserables” barrels along to a satisfying climax that is profound in its endorsement of the power of faith.

With little spoken dialogue and 50 songs from composer Claude-Michel Shonberg, and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, “Les Miserables” is more opera than musical. Fortunately the actors’ pipes are up to the challenge, especially Hathaway, whose heartbreaking rendition of the signature tune, “I Dreamed a Dream,” is sensational.

The film contains scenes of bloody violence, a prostitution theme, and nongraphic nonmarital sexual activity. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III, adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13.

By Kurt Jensen

Catholic News Service

“Jack Reacher” begins with a sniper killing five people, including a woman holding a 7-year-old girl, and ends in a fusillade of semiautomatic rifle fire. Between those disturbing visuals, it’s a reasonably compelling detective story.

Tom Cruise stars in a scene from the movie “Jack Reacher.” 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 PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (CNS/Paramount Pictures)

The hero of the title (Tom Cruise), a man seemingly without a past, discerns the innocence of the falsely accused shooter, uncovers the evil corporate plot behind the crime, and dispenses his own brand of rough justice in a dystopian Pittsburgh.

That’s right, Pittsburgh. The man knows how to take the crosstown Squirrel Hill bus and navigate a high-speed chase in a muscle car across the Fort Duquesne Bridge without hitting a single pothole.

Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has adapted Lee Child’s novel “One Shot,” ninth in the Reacher series. Reacher is a former military police officer who emerges from the shadows like a contemporary Shane, only by mass transit, not on horseback. He wisecracks in staccato bursts, and mostly defends himself with his fists, although he’s an expert rifleman.

The troublesome aspect of the character is that he’s an amoral avenger who prefers simply to kill rather than bring anyone before the justice system. This doesn’t become clear until the end of the story.

The conspiracy’s designated patsy is former military sniper James Barr (Joseph Sikora), who, conveniently for those working against him, spends most of the picture in a coma because he was viciously beaten on his way to jail. Before that, he knows just enough of his circumstances to ask for Reacher.

Reacher knows Barr’s troubled history from Iraq, where the sniper had killed American soldiers who were returning from a “rape rally.” He also figures out, with the help of Barr’s lawyer Helen (Rosamund Pike) that, of the five victims in Pittsburgh, only one was the intended target; the other four were for distraction.

Helen is the daughter of district attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins), who may have a connection to the murder scheme.

Robert Duvall as Ohio gun store owner Cash fills in the rest of the plot points and is Reacher’s backup in a nighttime quarry shootout.

“Who are you, mister, really?” asks Sandy (Alexia Fast), a young girl used by the bad guys to try to lure Reacher to his death. The audience never learns much more about the answer to that question than she does.

The film contains pervasive violence including gunplay, implied drug use and frequent profanity.

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 PG-13.

By John Mulderig

Catholic News Service

What better way to spend a few hours over the holidays than in the company, not only of Santa Claus himself, but of the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman?

Courtesy of the delightful 3-D animated adventure “Rise of the Guardians,” moviegoers of almost all ages can do just that.

North (Alec Baldwin) welcomes Jack Frost (Chris Pine) in this scene from the animated movie “Rise of the Guardians.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (CNS/DreamWorks Animation)

Based on books by William Joyce, the film focuses on the destiny of the legendary bringer of winter, Jack Frost (voice of Chris Pine). Free-spirited and mischievous, youthful Jack is also lonely and uncertain of his purpose in life. Until, that is, he’s invited to join the Guardians, a force made up of the mythical characters listed above.

The Guardians’ mission is to protect children against the machinations of the Bogeyman, aka Pitch Black (voice of Jude Law).

As the initially reluctant Jack is introduced to his newfound comrades, we discover a new slant on each traditional persona. Thus Santa, alias North (voice of Alec Baldwin), is a hardy Cossack type with a heavy Russian accent, while everyone’s favorite seasonal rabbit (voice of Hugh Jackman) turns out to be a boomerang wielder from Down Under. (Parents of a certain age will recognize a play on a famous line from 1986’s “Crocodile Dundee.”)

The elusive distributor of quarters under children’s pillows (voice of Isla Fisher) is portrayed as half-human, half-hummingbird. She’s at least human, and feminine, enough that Jack’s shining teeth (and, by implication, his appearance in general) set her a bit aquiver, though only in the vaguest, most innocent way. As for the chap who makes all our eyelids heavy, he’s presented as a mute but cheerful and endearing sprite.

In his feature debut, director Peter Ramsey, working from a script by David Lindsay-Abaire, pits the hope and wonder championed by the Guardians against the fear and self-doubt that arm Pitch with his most effective wiles. The result is a tenderhearted and touching family movie — one, moreover, that’s entirely free of objectionable content.

This is, though, a struggle between the battling archetypes of good and evil over the fate of the world’s children. So there are portions of the action that might be too dark and scary for the smallest members of the clan.

The film contains perilous situations. The Catholic News Service classification is A-I, general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is.

Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

By John Mulderig

Catholic News Service

With the unsurprising exception of Jesus Christ, more books are said to have been written about President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) than about any other person in history.

As for the screen, our most fascinating, and arguably greatest, chief executive has been portrayed by such Hollywood luminaries as Walter Huston (“Abraham Lincoln,” 1930), Henry Fonda (1939′s “Young Mr. Lincoln”) and Raymond Massey (“Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” 1940).

Actor Daniel Day-Lewis portrays U.S. president Abraham Lincoln in a scene from the movie “Lincoln.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.

Those estimable names notwithstanding, it’s hard to imagine that any actor has ever inhabited the persona of the legendary rail-splitter quite as convincingly as Daniel Day-Lewis does in director Steven Spielberg’s splendid historical drama “Lincoln.” Day-Lewis’ bravura performance is undeniably the highlight, though by no means the only asset, of this engrossing profile.

The plot focuses on the Civil War president’s passionate yet wily struggle, during the closing days of that conflict, to steer a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery through Congress. Aided by his secretary of state, William Seward (David Strathairn), but distracted by his troubled personal life, Sally Field plays his wife, Mary, Lincoln uses rhetoric to win over his hesitant Cabinet and patronage to woo his congressional opponents.

As for the Great Emancipator’s ostensible allies on Capitol Hill, irascible Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania (a marvelous Tommy Lee Jones) hurls withering sarcasm at all and sundry and openly avows his mistrust of Lincoln.

Whether in line with history or not, a scene showing Stevens sharing his bed with his mixed-race housekeeper presents a curious moral quandary: Assuming that they could not marry by law, but would have tied the knot if permitted to, the guilt, if any, attaching to their relationship must have been considerably mitigated by the force of unjust circumstances.

Along with the tension created by Mary’s neurotic behavior, Lincoln is also burdened by grief over the untimely death of his son Willie two years before the events of the movie. Though not especially close to his oldest son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — whose intense desire to join the Army poses a threat to Mary’s sanity, and thus presents his father with a terrible dilemma — Lincoln dotes on his youngest child, Tad (Gulliver McGrath). Like the Lincoln marriage, however, their touching bond is tinged by the tragedy of Willie’s absence.

The trajectory of Spielberg’s tale is, by its nature, uplifting, while Lincoln’s multifaceted personality, which encompassed idealism, political shrewdness, melancholy, humor and even a few endearing foibles, is vividly illuminated in Tony Kushner’s screenplay. As his script reveals, however, Lincoln was not above telling an earthy anecdote if it advanced a point he wished to make, nor were those around him too refined to employ vulgarity for the sake of emphasis from time to time.

Still, some parents may consider the educational value and moral import of the film, which is based, in part, on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 2006 book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” sufficient to overcome the elements listed below, thus allowing for patronage by older adolescents.

The film contains intense but mostly bloodless battlefield violence, a scene involving severed limbs, cohabitation, about a dozen uses of profanity, racial slurs, a couple of rough terms and occasional crude and crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III, adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13.

By Joseph McAleer

Catholic News Service

Don’t be misled by the Chicken-Little title, “Skyfall” is high-flying entertainment, a rousing return for James Bond and a much-needed injection of vitality into the 50-year-old film franchise built around him.

Director Sam helms British Secret Agent 007’s 23rd adventure, a smart mix of reverence, nostalgia, and humor. Purists will be delighted by the spectacular set pieces and characteristically exotic locations.

Read more »

By TheDialog

Catholic News Service

Tyler Perry makes a considerable dramatic leap from portraying the unruly grandma Madea to personifying the iconic detective “Alex Cross,” hero of the best-selling series of crime novels by James Patterson.

In this action-packed thriller, Perry is up to the challenge, putting his own stamp on a role played by Morgan Freeman in two previous Patterson-based films: 1997’s “Kiss the Girls” and 2001′s “Along Came a Spider.”

Read more »

By John Mulderig

Catholic News Service

A tense, clandestine and quirky chapter in recent history is turned into an engrossing fact-based thriller in “Argo.”

Though serious themes and a surfeit of swearing make this drama suitable only for adults, mature viewers will find their fortitude in the face of exploding F-bombs rewarded by a positive treatment of marriage and a brief but telling salute to faith-based values.

Read more »

By Adam Shaw

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.

Read more »