CAPSULES
By Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The following
are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.
The Karate Kid
(Columbia)
Stirring, satisfying update of the 1984 hit shifts the action to modern
China, where an unassuming kung fu master (Jackie Chan) teaches an undersized
American boy (Jaden Smith) how to confront a bully while imparting other
life lessons. Director Harald Zwart balances fealty for the crowd-pleasing
original with embellishments that, aside from a manipulative musical score,
enhance the appeal of the timeless underdog story. Hard-hitting and occasionally
cruel but not graphic martial arts violence, including a boy being struck
across the face by an adult, the use of a crass term for the human posterior,
some mild toilet humor, one instance of sexual innuendo, an unnecessary
kiss between pre-teens. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II
-- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating
is The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental
guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
Killers
(Lionsgate)
Very much the definition of mindless fun, only if you enjoy anything Ashton
Kutcher says or does. Director Robert Luketic and screenwriters Bob DeRosa
and Ted Griffin play explosions, gunfire and car crashes by rote in this
combination of marital comedy and espionage thriller, very much derivative
of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and others of the genre, but the comic
bickering between Kutcher and co-star Kathleen Heigl is usually stale
and insipid. Fleeting crass language, mild sexual banter, and all violence
is played for comic effect, making this acceptable for older adolescents.
The Catholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents.
The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly
cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
The A-Team (Fox)
Explosively noisy, stunt-laden, cheesy and somehow engrossing film based
on the 1980s TV series without that program's self-mocking humor. Director
Joe Carnahan, who also scripted along with Brian Bloom and Skip Woods,
reinvents the story line as sort of a video game, with Liam Neeson, Quinton
Jackson, Bradley Cooper, and Sharlto Copley playing four Army Rangers,
all specialists in covert missions, framed in Iraq for a crime they didn't
commit, then escaping from prison to clear their names and seize the CIA
operative who set them up. Some fleeting crass and crude language, most
of it before the opening credits are over, a fleeting reference to premarital
sex, and abundant explosions and gunfire. The Catholic News Service classification
is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America
rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate
for children under 13.
Copyright (c) 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops
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