Evan Almighty

Posted on June 18, 2007 at 3:18 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for mild rude humor and some peril.
Profanity:	Brief crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril and violence, no one hurt
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters but some stereotyping
Date Released to Theaters:	2007
Date Released to DVD:	2007
Amazon.com ASIN:	B000UNYK4E

There isn’t one single surprise in this movie, at least not for anyone who has seen the trailer, except perhaps for its sweetness. Yes, this is another movie about a family that is brought together by an unusual adventure and a dream. What separates it from the interchangeable RV and Deck the Halls multiplex fodder is that somewhere amid all the poop jokes and Davey and Goliath-level piety there is a little glimmer of sincerity.

It us less of a sequel than a spin-off from Bruce Almighty. In that film, God (Morgan Freeman) loaned his powers to a television news correspondent (Jim Carrey), who celebrated by using them to find a great parking space, see a woman’s panties, part the red…soup, and give his girlfriend a bigger chest. He also inflicted a fury of tics and grimaces on his biggest competitor, Evan, a breakout performance by then-newcomer Steve Carell.

Now Evan takes center stage. He has just been elected to Congress, so he packs up his family in his shiny SUV and drives to Washington, all ready to deliver on his campaign promise to “change the world.”

But as they say, when people make plans, God laughs. This time, God (Freeman again) shows up and tells Evan it is time to build an ark. He presents him with a copy of Ark Building for Dummies and a pile of planks from Go-4-wood (gopher wood, get it?). And everywhere he goes he sees Gen 6:14, the Biblical reference to God’s direction to Noah to build an ark.

This is not what Evan had in mind. He is a very meticulous guy who does not like anything messy, uncontrolled, or out of place. He merrily opts for the old growth Brazilian cherry wood for his kitchen and won’t even think of allowing anything so unsanitary as a dog into the house. Evan cares very much what others think of him And he commits Hollywood’s favorite shorthand sin requiring redemption — he lets down his kids by canceling a planned outing.

He uses that time to read through some legislation he has been asked to co-sponsor by big-time power broker and neighbor in the McMansion community, Congressman Long. We know Long is a bad guy because he has the same last name as Huey Long, because he moves Evan into a fancy new office he does not deserve, and because he is played by John Goodman, whose very eye twinkles glitter with corruption.

Evan tries to get along, but it is increasingly more difficult as two of every species begin following him around and his beard becomes first unshaveable and then snowy white. Is he crazy or is that that ark going to come in mighty handy?

The warm likeability and atomic-clock comic timing of Carell, Lauren Graham (television’s Gilmore Girls) as his wife, and Wanda Sykes as his Congressional aide keep it mildly entertaining and its brief running time ensures that it ends before wearing out its welcome. But it is theologically shaky and logically even shakier. Is Evan building the ark out of respect for God’s direction or because God forecloses every other option? Who is feeding and who is cleaning up after all those animals? The ending tries to have it not just both ways, but about four or five different ways. And, speaking of miracles, how did that house go from being under construction to being complete and fully furnished in a matter of hours without a single moving van?

Parents should know that this movie has some crude potty humor, implied comic nudity, and an in-joke reference to Carell’s recent film The 40 Year Old Virgin. There is brief mild language. There is also some peril and mild fanciful violence — no one hurt. Some of the themes (political corruption, family stress, portrayal of God) may be disturbing to some audience members.

Families who see this movie should talk about what Evan meant when he said he wanted to change the world and what God meant when he said “Whatever I do, I do because I love you.” They should read one or more of the Biblical versions of the Noah story. And of course they should all try a little dance.

Families who enjoy this movie will enjoy Bill Cosby’s classic routine about Noah and the George Burns film Oh, God!.

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Comedy Movies -- format

Ocean’s 13

Posted on June 6, 2007 at 3:31 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for brief sensuality.
Profanity:	A few strong words
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril and violence, no one hurt
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	2007
Date Released to DVD:	2007
Amazon.com ASIN:	B000W1V5VU

The first one was fun for them to make and us to watch. For the second one, clearly the Oceanists were having more fun than the audience. George Clooney has joked that the third “Oceans” film should be called “The One We Should Have Made Last Time.” Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and the rest of the group are still having fun making them, but this time, thank goodness, it’s fun for us, too.

In Ocean’s Eleven, Danny (Clooney) and Rusty (Pitt) assembled a team of specialists to rob three Las Vegas casinos run by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) and not coincidentally get back Danny’s wife from Benedict, too. Ocean’s Twelve was the uneven sequel about Benedict’s revenge, a romance for Rusty with an Interpol agent, and a complicated European heist.

The third episode might as well have a “No Girls Allowed” sign. The characters played by Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones in the last two episodes are briskly dismissed in the first couple of minutes with a quick “It’s not their fight.” And we’re off on a new adventure in which our anti-heroes will have to come up with a new fiendishly clever way to separate some nasty character from his money in a manner that allows for some choice wisecracks, some silly disguises, and enough “That’s impossible” and “It can’t be done” warnings to merit a drinking game.

Hotelier Reuben (Elliot Gould), who financed the first heist, has had a bad case of movie-disease-itis, meaning that it is one of those cases where the central casting doctor gravely stands by the bedside and tells the assembled loved ones that “it all depends on his will to live.” In other words, we have to have a reason to set up another Mission Impossible-style heist, and this time, it’s personal. Okay, it was personal the last two times, too, but this time it’s even more personal. We have to take care of Reuben.

Reuben has been snookered (In Las Vegas! Imagine!) by Willy Bank (Al Pacino), who has built an ostentatious new casino (In Las Vegas! Imagine!). So the gang gets back together to put on a show in Grandma’s barn, I mean to steal from Bank everything that really matters to him.

This means several cons and heists at once. It has to be more than money. Bank wants a five-diamond rating for the hotel. This results in a plot line somewhere between a sit-com episode and a summer camp prank. Next on the list is fixing the games at the casino, each category (slots, blackjack, roulette, craps) with its special challenges that send our guys off as far as Mexico (where the dice are made) and France (it has to do with digging the chunnel; you really don’t need to know about it).

They also have to go to Terry Benedict for some upfront money, and while they are in it for honor and loyalty, he, of course, wants the diamonds that Bank has stored in an “it’s impossible” burgle-proof room at the top of the hotel. And of course Saul (Carl Reiner) has to show us a new accent, Frank (Bernie Mac) has to show off some smooth talk, Basher (Don Cheadle) has to speak inscrutable rhyming slang and blow stuff up, Linus (Matt Damon) has to prove he can grift with the best of them, and Yen (Shaobo Qin) has to say things in Chinese that somehow everyone in our perfectly attuned group can understand.

It’s all glossily entertaining, but there are too many distractions that are not as cute as they think they are. Did we really need to see one of the Ocean-ites turn into Norma Rae? We come back to the five-diamond checker too many times for too little pay-off. Repeats of the gags and plot twists from the first two are not in-jokes; they’re just unimaginative. Once again, Yen’s only English vocabulary words are bleep-worthy. Once again, the Ocean-eers have colorful code words for their various scams and dodges: the Billy Martin, the Susan B. Anthony, the Gilroy, the reverse Big Store. It is not an homage, it’s just a lack of imagination to repeat the exact same major plot twist from one of the earlier movies. It is even at the same point in the script. Worse, the film wastes the wonderful Ellen Barkin on an underwritten role.

But the movie’s biggest mistake is making the guys into a bunch of softies. When they’re not rallying the troops because “Reuben would do it for any one of us,” they’re weeping through Oprah or giving money to needy children. The cast is so watchable that we cannot help but enjoy seeing them enjoying themselves. And Bank is such a rat that we can’t help rooting for them. But it was more fun when they were a little bit hungry and more than a little bit greedy. Let’s hope they remember that before the next one.

This time around, the characters are motivated by loyalty rather than money, but parents should know that this is a movie about a group of rogues, con artists, and thieves — and they are the good guys. Characters use a few strong words and there are brief mild sexual references and a comic (non-explicit) sexual situation.

Families who see this movie should talk about why audiences enjoy movies about robberies.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the first two and other heist classics like the original Thomas Crown Affair, Topkapi, and How to Steal a Million.

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Severance

Posted on May 29, 2007 at 4:00 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, drug content and some sexuality/nudity.
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Hallucinogenic mushrooms, characters smoking cigarettes
Violence/ Scariness:	Extensive and explicit violence, including peril, gore, torture, and bodily harm
Diversity Issues:	Bad guys all Eastern European, good guys all British and American
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

Severance is a quirky yet compellingly gory tale of
a few great characters begrudgingly forced to spend a weekend
together. And then they are hunted down, suffer grizzly deaths, and
are, for the most part, never heard from again. Writer/director
Christopher Smith (Creep) has never, apparently, had much sympathy for
those who get sentimental and teary-eyed when lamenting the question
of why bad things happen to good people.

Filmed with a great appreciation for atmosphere and undeniable skill
in sound editing, Severance introduces us to the sales division of
weapons company Palisade Defense as they embark upon a company retreat
to Eastern Europe. On the retreat is Jill (Claudie Blakley): odd,
endearing and intelligent; Gordon (Andy Nyman): bestowed with
indefatigable good spirits; Steve (Danny Dyer): immature and harmless;
and a few others whose characters are difficult to watch be snuffed
out in the name of the ever-more-popular “quirky horror” genre.

Smith takes his characters and floods their retreat with
some of the most gag-inducing horror scenes, resulting in a
dreadfulness that makes one wonder why these great characters couldn’t
live long enough to star in a funny, original, imaginative and
enjoyable film. Severance might be funny (at times), original and
imaginative, but until watching likeable people suffer unspeakable
fates is enjoyable, it can hardly be labeled as such. The most
redeeming element, aside from the technical skills displayed in
filming, is the nagging suspicion that it’s better to have really
liked and lost than never to have liked at all.

And while watching the endearing troupe perform team-building
exercises would have been infinitely more fun, the horror is still
unquestionably effective. Whereas some comparable films tend to begin
in horrorland, that place where things are so ominous from the start
that being burned alive or suffering decapitation and loss of limb is
simply the “next step,” Severance starts in utter normality. The
anxiety stems from the loss of control felt in the smooth and speedy
progression from normal life (riding a rented bus with coworkers) to
horror-movie life (running from crazed killers, losing limbs, nursing
stab wounds, etc). It helps (if that’s the right word) that the
characters are highly believable; more importantly, however, is the
fact that the horror doesn’t grow from one or two hugely bad decisions
— instead it grows organically and almost imperceptibly from the
characters’ realistic ordinariness as they make decisions that don’t
seem so different from what the average person would do. The result is
a horror that could happen to even the best people, no matter how
clever, how rational, how likeable. And that, perhaps, is scarier than
anything else.

Parents should know that this film presents perverse and sickening
scenes, including but not limited to decapitation, explosion, torture,
and implied cannibalism. The killings are not censored, and a live
burning includes a sympathetic character splashed copiously with
gasoline while gagged and tied to a tree. There is also a scene where
a character’s leg is caught in a bear trap, and is severed in the
resulting struggle to free it. A character is shown chewing and
discussing hallucinogenic mushrooms in the very beginning, and the
language is mostly mild but gets heavy in isolated instances.

Families who see this film should discuss the ethical considerations
behind plot elements. The premise is that Palisades employees are
being hunted because their weapons were used to destroy a mental
hospital, and the escapees vowed to exact revenge. Parents might
discuss with teenaged children the ethical considerations of working
for a company that provides weapons. In the film, Jill speaks with
another character about her desire to build “human” land mines — ones
that do not cause such indiscriminate destruction. Parents might
discuss how creativity and ingenuity can be used to improve present
conditions. Because the images can be disturbing and terrible, parents
might also wish to have their children express common fears and
approach them logically, deciding which ones are reasonable and which
ones can only be reasonably expected in horror films.

Families who enjoy this film might also appreciate Eli Roth’s Cabin
Fever, in which five young friends meet blood-soaked tragedy in a
wooded cabin. For a film with more comedy and stylized gore, families
might enjoy Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead.

Thanks to guest critic AB.

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Surf’s Up

Posted on May 23, 2007 at 4:05 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for mild language and some rude humor.
Profanity:	Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Brief mention of medication
Violence/ Scariness:	Cartoon violence, reference to deaths, no one hurt onscreen
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters, all competitors male
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

Every so often an unpretentious little charmer like “Surf’s Up” darts ahead of the pack of big, over-hyped, over-long, resistance-is-futile summer blockbusters lumbering into multiplexes. This one is as refreshing as an ice cream cone after a hot day.

The concept does not sound promising — it is yet another penguin story about yet another underdog. But the movie is beguiling, thanks to vibrant visuals, superb voice talent, wit without ironic air quotes or snark, a sweet storyline, and a brisk running time. Like the sport it salutes and the island where it takes place, the movie has a laid-back vibe, taking its story, its humor, and itself lightly.

Cody (voice of Shia LeBeouf of Holes and the upcoming Transformers) is a penguin from Shiverpool, Antarctica who loves to surf and dreams of someday competing like his idol, surf legend Z. Cody gets a chance to go to Hawaii to compete in the Big Z Memorial Surf Off on Pen Gu Island. But it turns out he has a lot to learn about surfing. And he has even more to learn about competition, friendship, and winning.

With the help of fellow surfer Chicken Joe (voice of Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jon Heder), a dry-witted but warm-hearted lifeguard named Lani (voice of Zooey Deschanel), and a reclusive coach with a big secret (voice of Jeff Bridges), Cody takes on the current champ, the trophy-loving Tank (voice of “The Drew Carey Show’s” Diedrich Bader).

It is structured as a documentary, with scratchy black and white “footage” of Z’s early years, characters explaining what is going on to the camera, and understated “mistakes” like protruding boom microphones and drops of ocean water on the lens. This format lends itself to an appealingly non-linear story-telling style, making room for commentary from a colorful range of characters, including the harried Surf Off organizer (voice of James Woods) and three adorable penguin babies who look like fluffballs with beaks.

It has the meticulously hyper-real textures and breathtaking vistas we have come to expect from CGI but clever use of focus and angles and interaction with the “documentary” cameramen make it seem more intimate, less like a bunch of pixels. And voice talent of great warmth and spirit will make audiences feel ready to catch the wave and hang ten.

Parents should know that this movie has some crude schoolyard humor, including potty jokes, a comment about “showering together,” and some implied nudity (nothing shown). Characters use some schoolyard language. There are references to (off-screen) deaths and there is some cartoon-style peril and violence (no one hurt). There are diverse characters, but all of the competitors are male.

Families who see the movie should talk about what was most important to Cody, Z, Tank, Chicken Joe, and Lani and why. What feels best about winning a prize? What are some feelings that are even better? What does it mean to “let the wave do the work?” Families can also talk about some of the coaches or other teachers who taught them the most.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy surfing classics Step into Liquid (with a real-life surfer from Chicken Joe’s home town of Sheboygan, Wisconsin) and The Endless Summer. They will also enjoy comparing the beautiful computer-generated Hawaiian scenes in this film with the gorgeous hand-painted locations in Lilo & Stitch. They might enjoy the classic Gidgetfilms that helped make surfing popular with teen-agers. They will also enjoy other CGI animated films like Over the Hedge and Robots. And they will enjoy Napoleon Dynamite, featuring two of the voice talents from this movie, Jon Heder and Diedrich Bader.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Posted on May 21, 2007 at 4:14 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.
Profanity:	Pirate-talk
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Constant action-style violence, some grisly (with macabre comedy), characters injured, killed, impaled, some very graphic images
Diversity Issues:	Strong female and minority characters
Date Released to Theaters:	2007
Date Released to DVD:	December 4, 2007
Amazon.com ASIN:	B004DTLK80

Even in a summer blockbuster, sometimes less is more.

Especially when it comes to the story. They throw in so many plots, so many battles, so many tonal shifts, so many characters, and ultimately so many Captain Jack Sparrows that it is clear they are hoping we won’t notice that it really is something of a mess.

It’s a very entertaining mess, though. Like the first two in the series, this ostensible last chapter is filled with visual sumptuousness and splendor, inspired by the classic illustrations of Howard Pyle. Every splintering floorboard, every barnacle, every piece of eight, every skittering crab, every cannon, is brilliantly imaginative. The action sequences are a marvel as well. Though nothing reaches the level of the sensational swordfight on a rolling mill wheel in #2, there are plenty of swashbuckling set-pieces to keep pulses pounding.

That sneery Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander) is after the pirates again, and the only way for Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightly) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to stay alive is to get something that Beckett wants very badly from pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who was last seen being consumed by a monster and must now be rescued from an existential crisis in a sort of metaphysical desert at the end of the world.

Lovebirds Will and Elizabeth are each hiding secrets that will test their love and their trust. Sparrow and the formerly dead Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), brought back to life by Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), are on hand to help retrieve Sparrow and bring together all of the pirate kings to battle Beckett, now working with squid-faced Davy Jones (Bill Nighy).

Or something like that. It’s very hard to keep track of who is on which side at any given moment, not to mention which ship we’re on or which body of water we’re in at any given moment. Or who knows which secrets or even who is dead, formerly dead, un-dead, or ferrying the dead.

The problem is not the incomprehensibility of the plot; it has been conclusively proven that coherence is not necessary in a summer explosion movie and may even be a distraction. The problem is the tonal shifts; at the same time the movie asks us to care enough about its characters to accept some bittersweet, even tragic outcomes, it throws in some references to suspension of civil rights in wartime (hmmm), and then it also pushes the limits of po-mo ironic self-consciousness with over-the-top in-jokes, silliness about whose, um, telescope is bigger, and a mid-battle wedding ceremony with “I dos” in between ripostes (both literal and metaphoric). This movie’s tongue is pushed so far into its cheek that it could reach Davy Jones’ locker. In the midst of all the visual treats, the movie both takes itself too seriously and not seriously enough. The combination feels sour and overheated, purloining some of the fun that kept the first two so dazzlingly buoyant.

Parents should know that like the other two in the series, this one is filled with non-stop action-style violence, including many fights with swords, guns, hangings, cannons and explosives. Characters are injured and killed, including two who are impaled and some executions. There are macabre and gross-out images. Characters use some salty pirate language and drink rum. There are some mildly ribald comments and some kisses. A strength of the movie is the portrayal of strong female and minority characters. It is also worth noting that this film’s language is slightly less salty than its predecessors and that it is subtly but clearly shown that the main characters wait until they are married to do anything more than kiss.

Families who see this movie should talk about the issues of trust and betrayal. They might also want to talk about how the film-makers made the pirates the good guys by making the people on the other side even worse.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the earlier episodes, Dead Man’s Chest and The Curse of the Black Pearl. They will also enjoy some other pirate movies, including the sly satire The Pirate, with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and the classic swashbucklers The Crimson Pirate with Burt Lancaster, and Captain Blood with Errol Flynn. Families might also like to see the books and illustrations from Howard Pyle, whose paintings inspired the look of these films.