USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Air Bud: Golden Receiver Strikes Again

Air Bud: Golden Receiver Strikes Again

WASHINGTON (August 14, 1998) --The 1-800-311-4CCC movie line reviews Air Bud: Golden Receiver for the week of August 14-20. Also included on the toll-free line is a review of Big Red, this week's suggested home video for family viewing.

The 800 movie review line is a project of the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC).

The August 14-20 list includes the following theater releases and their classifications according to moral suitability. Movies are evaluated according to artistic merit and moral suitability by the U.S. Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting.

Air Bud: Golden Receiver -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. Air Bud: Golden Receiver brings back last summer's talented canine basketball star, dresses him up in football gear and sends him in to win the state championship for an inept junior high school team. Though the story is predictable and the pace pedestrian, the antics of its four-legged star will delight juveniles of all ages.
The Avengers -- Because of stylized violence, sexual innuendo and an instance of rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. The Avengers is a leaden updating of the 1960s TV series with unflappable British operatives Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman battling international villain Sean Connery. The agents are smug and charmless while the villain proves to be embarrassingly buffoonish.
Return to Paradise -- Because of brief violence, drug abuse, an implied affair, recurring profanity and much rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Return to Paradise offers the flawed tale of an American facing execution in Malaysia as a drug dealer unless lawyer Anne Heche can convince his buddies to return and admit their part in buying the drugs. Though the plot involves difficult moral choices, the picture gradually descends into overwrought melodramatics.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back -- Because of its uncritical treatment of pre-marital sex, fleeting nudity and some rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV -- adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a glossy comic valentine in which 40-year-old single mom Angela Bassett finds happiness with a man half her age whom she meets while vacationing in Jamaica. The result is an idealized romantic fantasy about a one-night stand maturing into a committed relationship.
Halloween: H20 -- Because of recurring shadowy violence, mild sexual innuendo, intermittent rough language and an instance of profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. In Halloween: H20 a presumed dead homicidal maniac tracks down the sister (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) that he tried and failed to kill 20 years earlier, this time intent on finishing the job. Since some attention is paid to the negative effects violence had on the Curtis character over the years, the slasher sequel seems less excessive and is occasionally suspenseful.
Snake Eyes -- Because of recurring violence, some sexual innuendo, minimal rough language and frequent profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. In Snake Eyes the lifelong friendship of corrupt cop Nicolas Cage and Naval Commander Gary Sinese is sorely tested when they investigate a Cabinet member's assassination at a championship boxing match they were attending. The movie is more sleek than suspenseful in finding its twisted route to the truth and one man's hardly credible redemption.

The family video of the week is Big Red -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. Big Red tells the warmhearted story of a French-Canadian orphan who devotes himself to raising a beautiful but troublesome Irish setter that later saves the boy from a mountain lion. The 1962 Disney production has plenty of picturesque scenery of the Quebec countryside and youngsters will take a fancy to the boy-dog story.

The classifications are A-I - general patronage; A-II - adults and adolescents; A-III - adults; A-IV - adults, with reservations (an A-IV classification designates problematic films that, while not morally offensive in themselves, require caution and some analysis and explanation as a safeguard against wrong interpretations and false conclusions); O - morally offensive.

The movie reviews are produced by the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC) Office for Film and Broadcasting, which each week provides full length movie reviews, brief capsules and film classifications of new theater releases.

Reviewers include Henry Herx, Director, and Gerri Pare, Associate Director, of the Film and Broadcasting Office, which is funded by the CCC.

The capsule reviews are available on the World Wide Web. They can be found on two sites: http://www.nccbuscc.org and http://www.CatholicDigest.org/stops/movies/movies1.html.

Full-length reviews of the above and other movies are available through America Online at the Catholic News Service site on AOL, and can be accessed by AOL members using the keyword, "CNS."