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Movie Reviews From A Family Perspective
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titles released after July 2005.
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Daddy Day Camp
Dark Knight, The
Dan In Real Life
Deck The Halls
Deliver Us From Evil
Dreamer
Drillbit Taylor
Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae, Richard Gant, Lochlyn Munro, Tamala Jones. Sony Pictures. Comedy. Directed by Fred Savage (The Princess Bride, and TV’s The Wonder Years). Opens 8/8/07.
FILM SYNOPSIS: The sequel to Daddy Day Care finds dads Charlie Hinton and Phil Ryerson in another kid-harried adventure as they take over running a summer day camp. Armed with no knowledge of the great outdoors, a dilapidated facility, and a motley group of campers, it doesn’t take long before things get out of control. Up against threats of foreclosure and declining enrollment Charlie is forced to call on his estranged father, Col Buck Hinton (Richard Gant) to help bring the camp together and teach everyone about teamwork, perseverance and the power of forgiveness.
REVIEW: A reviewer has to keep kids in mind when critiquing movies aimed at that age group…I tried, I swear. But this film is truly witless and I can only assume that parents will send their offspring to this monstrosity because it’s near the end of summer and the little darlings are driving the grownups nuts. Well, it’s harmless. It’ll keep them out of the heat and adults will about 85 minutes of peace and quiet. I guess it’s worth the money.
I think highly of the film’s director, Fred Savage, but for someone who grew up in The Wonder Years, you’d think he’d bring some inventiveness to the table. He doesn’t. But then how can you expect a comedy to be funny when you don’t cast comedians. Cuba Gooding Jr. proved in Jerry Maguire that he has acting chops, but never has a post-Oscar-winning actor been so hampered by mediocre scripts (Norbit, Boat Trip, Rat Race, etc). One after another, he just keeps getting cast in movies that should have gone directly to a video store in Transylvania. And his performance here makes one wonder if the Best Supporting Oscar of 1996 should have gone to William H. Macy (Fargo).
You know I’m careful about saying anything too brutal about an actor, but who is Paul Rae? He plays Cuba’s buddy, Phil. Trouble is, Mr. Rae simply has no comic timing or whimsy. I’ve had to delete several lines in reference to his performance. It just sounded too mean. I don’t want to be mean. I just hope Mr. Rae has invested well. Let’s leave it at that.
I can’t really think of a summer camp movie that is truly funny (without crudity). Bad News Bears is not about camp life. And although it had Walter Matthau and several talented kids, it also had such profane language that I dare not use it as an alternative suggestion. The first act of The Parent Trap took place in a summer camp. It’s really not all that funny, either, but at least it had a clever concept, the Disney touch and Haley Mills. Daddy Day Came has a backed-up sewer that blows up, flatulence jokes and, of course, food fights. What it doesn’t have is laughs.
PG (Though one kid is disrespectful and several people use butthead to express their distain for one another, generally the filmmakers avoid offensive language; slapstick situations such as an outhouse blowing up, the occupant walking out with a toilet seat around his neck; one kid has a crush on a girl camper; his little brother gives him dating advice; but, again, the filmmakers use discretion; there are pee jokes, flatulence jokes, belching jokes, back-up sewer jokes, food fight jokes, vomit jokes – several of them, and a hit to the groin visual joke – ha, ha, ha). Running Time: Around 85 min. Intended Audience: Family
Video Alternative: Daddy Day Care. While there are a few crudities and some off-color language that garner it a PG rating, the warm-hearted Daddy Day Care has an expert cast and, though I hesitate to call it smart, compared to the sequel, it’s downright brilliant.
THE DARK KNIGHT
Christian
Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman,
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman. Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary
Pictures. Action Drama. Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher
Nolan. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Opens 7/18/08
FILM SYNOPSIS: With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman has been making headway against local crime…until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City.
REVIEW: Batman is a part of my childhood (oh, how I wish I had those comics from when I was eight), and I have appreciated how each filmmaker over the past twenty years has given the Dark Knight a cool cowl and all those toys. What’s more, writer/director Christopher Nolan breathed new life into a stale franchise with his Batman Begins back in 2005. And to top all that, this new episode is incredibly well photographed, the lighting and cinematography being some of the best I’ve seen in this genre. Alas, my main complaint is a familiar one, having to do with the film’s violence. I’m not sure how they managed a PG-13, with its overwhelming amounts of intense, brutal, and sadistic savagery. As I’ve said several times, it just seems to take more and more desensitizing screen tumult to make audiences feel something.
What’s that say about us? And why is Hollywood so concerned about us going green or voting their conscious, yet they refuse to address the amounts of brutality used by the medium to entertain?
Heath Ledger’s last performance is outstanding as the sadomasochistic Joker. And this episode raises an interesting ethical question (is it right to snoop on the public in order to find criminals?), and a moral question (would you put others first, or let them die so you could live?). But please read the content before deciding to support this one.
PG-13 (several minor expletives; I caught three misuse of Jesus’ name; intense and excessive violence throughout, including children in peril, a nutcase threatening to cut up peoples’ faces, loud explosions and gun shots as if you were in the middle of a real war, an endless number of people being killed with casualness; sadism, masochism and several jolting scenes involving car crashes and other mayhem; it is one of the most brutal action/adventure films I’ve seen; we see a man injured in an explosion, causing the skin to be burned off, leaving a disturbing skeletal image; some brief social drinking).
Running Time: Around 150 minutes
Intended Audience: Older teens and adults
Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Emily Blunt. Buena Vista
Pictures. Comedy/romance. Written by Pierce Gardner, Peter Hedges. Directed
by Peter Hedges. Opens 10/26/07
FILM SYNOPSIS: An advice columnist/widower takes his three daughters to Rhode Island for a family reunion. There, at a bookstore, he meets and falls for a lady. She also likes him, but there’s a problem. When he gets back to the family, sheshows up – with his brother. Soon, Dan realizes he isn’t taking his own advice.
REVIEW: Remember when comedies were charming, funny and clean? Wow, you must be old! Well, this is one of those kickbacks to the good old days. Dan In Real Life is sublimely charming, lightheartedly funny and explicitly clean. I don’t want to overbuild this thing, but I left the theater feeling good. When’s the last time moviegoers got to do that? Too often this year, I’ve left a screening feeling depressed, guilty, horrified or grungy. The comedies of this year, for the most part, have relied on the I-can’t-believe-I-just-saw-that factor. You know, gross-out humor. I suspect a generation has come to believe that’s where all humor stems from. Satire and wit, for many moviegoers, are unexplored regions.
Not that this is the next His Girl Friday (a comedy classic), but it’s a sweet, relaxing, entertaining movie. There’s depth, not a cavern of depth, but just enough profundity to give the humor dimension. There’s grownup romance, just enough to give us singles hope. And despite the teen angst of the lead’s two girls, they emerge as fully dimensional, real people. I got a kick out of the 13-year-old daughter – she’s so dramatic. Full of passion, she thinks she’s discovered the greatest love since Romeo pursued Juliet. This, as you can imagine, unnerves her father. Romeo has hitchhiked all the way to the family reunion in order to see his Juliet. But the lead will have none of that. The boy is soon on his way home. As the anguished daughter runs after the car with all the unbridled drama only a adolescent experiencing first love can muster, she yells back at her dad, “You murderer of love!” I nearly fell out of my chair.
There are several positive messages in the film. But father and daughters grow closer by film’s end, Dan’s parents and siblings are both supportive and loving, and there’s an underlining morality to the film. When the brother brings his new love home to meet the folks, for instance, the parents make sure they have separate rooms, indicating there will be no hanky panky going on under this roof. It’s a thoughtful message in an era when sex between unweds is the norm in movies.
As good as the writing and the supporting cast are, the film belongs to Mr. Carell. The star of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Evan Almighty is developing into a strong screen presence. He proved in Bruce Almighty that he could steal a scene (remember his reaction as the newscaster is put under a spell while on the air?), and in subsequent films we’ve seen that he can handle touching moments, as well as slapstick. Here he proves he can hold an entire film.
PG-13 (there are a few sexual innuendos; there are a couple of “oh my Gods” but no other misuse of God’s name; a man punches his brother; the father discovers that his very young teen owns some revealing underwear; his siblings offer comic euphemisms suggesting the need for sexual satisfaction as a release to tension and frustration in the lead’s life; wine with dinner, some social drinking; teen attitude leads to smart-mouthing a parent, but eventually love of parent wins out over teen angst; In one scene, the lead refers to Gandhi as a “cool dude;” I can think of a cooler one).
Running Time: 98 min.
Intended Audience: Family
Danny
DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis, Kristin Chenoweth. 20th Century
Fox Holiday comedy. Written by Matt Corman & Chris Ord and Don Rhymer.
Directed by John Whitesell. 11/22/06
Steve (Matthew Broderick), a suburban dad and Christmas enthusiast, leads a well-ordered, well-planned, and well-organized life. His new neighbor, Danny (Danny DeVito), is Steve’s polar opposite: a big personality with big dreams, which have yet to materialize. But Danny’s latest dream — to create the biggest holiday light display in the world, visible from outer space – is turning Steve’s disciplined world into a chaotic nightmare. As Danny’s home explodes with festive lights of incredible design, increasing complexity, and exponentially growing wattage, Steve becomes a man on a mission. At any cost, he will thwart Danny – or top him.
First off, those involved in this film are talented people and I love the opening shot as the camera passes over a snowcapped mountainside to suddenly reveal a peaceful, Christmas-decorated hamlet. It’s like a Hallmark Card. Of course, from the theater trailer that’s played for months, we know things are not going to remain cozy and warm for much longer. At this point, I’m still as excited as a kid on Christmas morn. Then comes the first joke. The mayor of our quaint little hamlet tells Steve a secret about the police chief being a cross-dresser. Hmmm, that seems like a strange first joke for a film aimed at the family. Suddenly, I’m visualizing parents throughout America’s dimmed movie theaters having to respond to, “Daddy, what’s a cross-dresser?”.
A few minutes later, Danny and his wife (played by Danny DiVito and Kristin Chenoweth) are introduced. They are stealing Steve’s paper while introducing themselves. That’s kind of funny. However, Kristin is, shall we say, bursting forth. In most subsequent scenes Ms. Chenoweth is decked out with equally low cleavage apparel that offers up her breasts like two baked squabs. Understand, I have nothing against squabs, I just thought their presentation here was another unusual choice for a family film.
Then sprinkled throughout this yuletide nonsense is the inclusion of several sexual innuendoes topped off by three 15-year-old girls gyrating in abbreviated Santa suits on a public stage as if performing a holiday-themed pole dance. Of course, this is played for laughs, as Steve and Danny view it while hurling sexual entandres, unaware that the three mini-skirted Santa’s helpers are their daughters. Next scene, the men are standing in a Catholic church, washing out their eyes with holy water. For what they’ve just seen, Steve proclaims, “I’m going to hell.” Well, maybe not hell, but those involved in this production deserve a little time in purgatory.
Besides the sexual humor, which includes jokes about the teenaged girls being promiscuous and seeing the cross-dressing sheriff in bra and thong, there’s the rest of the film’s humor, which occasionally hits the right note, but too often falls flat. And though there is the inclusion of two Christmas carols proclaiming Christ as savior, this positive is lost due to the falseness of every other emotion displayed. But even worse is the fact that this is an unfunny comedy.
The humor of seeing a guy bested at every turn by the frustrating nutcase that has recently moved to town is tricky business. Directed with a heavy hand, which they are here, the vengeance visuals can come across as mean-spirited, more unnerving than funny. The delivery of these sight gags by writer, director and cast tends toward the sadistic (it’s hard to laugh at a guy’s Christmas tree catching fire and nearly burning down the house). This revenge-that-backfires humor has worked for Broderick before (The Cable Guy, Election) and DeVito (well, DeVito is usually the frustrating nutcase), but here every single gag has been done before and with far more sparkle.
I’ve said it a hundred times: no one sets out to make a bad movie. But every time I generously offer up that statement, a film like Deck the Halls comes along to challenge the theory. DeVito does DeVito, which is fine, but he seems to be drifting through each scene with all the profundity of a snowfall that won’t stick. And poor Matthew Broderick summons up the same stodgy characterization he’s used in every film post Ferris Bueller, this one more unfunny and unlikable than any previous incarnation.
As for the ladies, Kristin Davis (The Shaggy Dog) and Kristin Chenoweth (RV) play what amounts to Alice and Trixie. Indeed, Ms. Davis seems to be making a career out of playing the wise but put-upon housewife. And the kids are as memorable as Rudolph’s fellow reindeer.
Like I said at the top, these are talented people, so we do get a few laughs. But in a comedy every aspect of the filmmaking process must commingle like spices in a freshly baked pumpkin pie. Sadly, the end result of Deck the Halls is half-baked. That’s what we have here – a half-baked Christmas pie. And two squabs.
PG (several crude sexual comments that stick out like a sore thumb in a family promoted film; two minor expletives; exasperated the Matthew Broderick character says “Jesus;” those standing by him at a Christmas outing are shocked, so he pretends to be singing about Jesus; it was unfunny and offensive; several uses of the expression, “Oh my God;” slapstick buffoonery such as falling through ice and nearly freezing and nearly being electrocuted; contains a great deal of sexual innuendo. Teen girls dressed provocatively). Running Time: 90-something. Intended Audience: Family.
For more information visit: www.deckthehallsmovie.com
Back to topSynopsis: DELIVER US FROM EVIL centers on the story of Father Oliver O’Grady, the most notorious pedophile in the history of the modern Catholic church. Devoid of any sense of shame or remorse, O’Grady used his charm and authority to befriend and violate dozens of faithful Catholic families across northern California for more than two decades. His victims ranged from a 9-month-old infant to the middle-aged mother of another adolescent victim.
Despite early warning signs and complaints from several parishes, the church, in an elaborate shell game designed to avoid liability and deflect criticism, lied to parishioners and local law enforcement, while continuing to move O’Grady from parish to parish.
Remarkably, DELIVER US FROM EVIL filmmaker Amy Berg tracked down Father O’Grady and persuaded him to participate in the making of her film. O’Grady’s dispassionate account of the hundreds of children he molested is deeply chilling.
Review: Such evil deeds need to be exposed. Not just the crime, but the cover-up, as well. It is an engrossing film, but a difficult one to view, for it doesn’t just expose the evil of one man put in a position of trust, but of a leadership so bent on protecting their power that they ignore crimes toward their own congregations. Make no mistake; this isn’t just about the corrupting power of the Catholic hierarchy. The higher ups of every denomination of the Christian faith tend to circle the wagons in order to protect their own. It is a sad lesson, but it is a reality sincere followers of Christ must follow.
On the other hand, when’s the last time you saw Hollywood spotlight a clergyman known for righteous deeds? Too often such exposures are presented not merely to correct an injustice, but to arm unbelievers with fuel against organized religion. Preferring to show evil deeds rather than righteousness may not totally be the media’s fault, alone. Good news never seems to attract the ratings that wrongdoers do. And the more prurient the action, the more interest it seems to draw.
I burst into tears more than once, hearing the pain in the victims’ voices and seeing the sadness in their eyes. But what really got to me was the confession of an Asian parent who had told his little girl that if a man ever hurt her, he’d kill him. After the girl was abused by the priest, she was afraid to tell her father, for fear he would go to prison. Therefore, she kept this crime buried in her heart, unable to tell others. When the father found this out, it nearly destroyed him. He now blames himself.
This same man says in the film that he no longer believes in God. When this is said on screen, you see his grown daughter burst into tears. Another critic, attempting to relieve the anger and tension we all felt, said, “Maybe it’s time to check out Buddhism.” The screening was just for critics and that statement brought some titters from others. I leaned over and said, “No, this is when you need to keep your eyes on Christ, not man.” (Lest you think I’m seeking a pat on the back, I only mention this because I like that man, a self-proclaimed agnostic. Please lift him up in prayer. And me too, so that I will be open to the Holy Spirit when around my colleagues.)
While it is important to expose the callous behavior of some religious leaders, it is important to be reminded of the sincere desire of the many who follow Christ’s commands to love God and one another.
I’m not Catholic, but it has been my privilege to know many of that faith who were devoted to Christ and devout in their caring for mankind. There was a priest named Father Damien who gave his life in order to better the existence of people suffering from leprosy. He literally gave his life, having contacted the disease and suffering painfully until his death. Then there was Father Flanagan who formed Boys Town, believing “There’s no such thing as a bad boy.” There are men of God who turn their backs on the conveniences and comforts and materialism of this world in order to love and care for their fellow man. Sadly, we are living in an era where the exposure of man’s crimes is glorified, while his spiritual victories are relegated to obscure websites.
Unrated at time of screening: (there are frank discussions of pedophilia; four obscenities mostly from a young man who was allegedly sexually abused by the priest as a child; according to the film, the priest engaged in sexual activity with both boys and girls; the discussions are both troubling and moving; they are hurting people who need our prayers). Running Time: 101 min. Intended Audience: Adults
Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, Luis Guzmán, David Morse. DreamWorks. W&D- John Gatins. Opens 10/21/05
A
dysfunctional family is brought together by the determination to restore
an injured racehorse.
Whenever a movie about a girl and her horse comes to theaters, there is
the inevitable comparison between it and “National Velvet.” Or should
be. “Velvet” was elegant family entertainment, with an outstanding
cast that included the dynamic Mickey Rooney, the genial father figure Donald
Crisp and the exquisite violet-eyed Elizabeth Taylor. Plus, it possessed
the kind of enchanting script, direction and cinematography that rivets filmgoers.
On top of that, the mood, story and theme of following your dream despite
dismal odds never seemed forced, but flowed together, giving us a genuine
slice of life. There have been other great films about race horses, including “Black
Beauty,” “The Black Stallion” and of course, “Seabiscuit.” But “National
Velvet” is the Triple Crown winner of movies concerning a daring girl
and the love of a horse.
Is “Dreamer” in the same race? Well, maybe not, but she’s deserving of being in the same stable. It is an involving story highlighted by another outstanding performance from Kurt Russell (overlooked by Oscar for his superb work in “Miracle”).
Though some of the story seems forced, with its swells of musical strings that telegraph every uplifting moment, still, it is a satisfactory film. And it is a great film for fathers to take their little girls to see. And dare I say it, “Dreamer” is a clean film. Often family-friendly films tend to revel in their cleanliness as if that were the main reason for seeing it. “Dreamer” is clean because there is no reason for it to be otherwise. These are characters who wouldn’t talk dirty, so the screenwriter doesn’t let them. And while it is a family struggling with finances and a growing distance that needs overcoming, the storytellers see no reason to inject needless lapses in character. They are family. A dream, and their united appreciation for an animal, reminds them that they are family and that they must pull together to resolve their differences.
“Dreamer” is involving storytelling, well acted and a salute to family.
PG (a couple of minor expletives, but I caught no harsh, crude or profane language; a horse is injured on the race track; the family struggles with finances and relationships; it is a film about racing thoroughbreds, so there is some betting; the film has many positive statements, but as we see betting occurring, indeed the family is depending on financial gain through gambling; parents should discuss the ills of gambling with their children after seeing the film).
Owen Wilson.
FILM SYNOPSIS: Three high school nerds hire a homeless
soldier of fortune to be their bodyguard against a brutal bully.
REVIEW: There are moments of amusement, but it lacks any punch either as a comedy or a life lesson. The audience laughs while the overweight kid stuffs an entire Twinkie into his mouth, the skinny kid tries to find a muscle as he stands in front of a full-length mirror, and the writers vomit out every teen theme we’ve already been forced to digest from the past twenty years. While these caricatures could have represented adolescent angst, here they are the only comic fodder the filmmakers employ. Trying to find humor in any other aspect of this charmless scrapyard of a comedy is more of a chore than doing high school homework.
I think everyone involved has talent, it’s just not well represented here. Everything is forced, from the portrayal of the demonic bully who has all the adults fooled, to the quirky charm of the film’s star. It’s not the worst movie of the year. But by the time we critics begin making such lists, this film will be completely forgotten.
PG-13 (some adolescent humor concerning sexual relations and the human body; the humor is not above including crotch grabbing an other coarse visuals; just about everybody gets to use the s-word, over and over; four profanities; a bully punches people and humiliates them; it becomes sadistic as he mistreats and embarrasses the leads as they begin the school year; about the third day of that kind of mistreatment, I’d have brought a ball bat and shown that ass the error of his ways; bloodied noses and blackened eyes; the homeless guy masquerades as a substitute teacher; he becomes attracted to another teacher who freely demonstrates her sexual passion; it is implied that they have sex several times; bare male backside is seen twice as the homeless guy showers on a beach).
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