USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Audiences are Failed by Forces of Nature

Audiences are Failed by Forces of Nature

WASHINGTON ( March 19, 1999) -- The 1-800-311-4CCC movie line reviews Forces of Nature for the week of March 19-25. Also included on the toll-free line is a review of Oliver & Company, this week's suggested home video for family viewing.

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

The March 19-25 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.

Analyze This -- Because of intermittent stylized violence, a brief sexual encounter and sexual references, occasional profanity and much rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV -- adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Analyze This is a sporadically funny comedy in which mob boss Robert De Niro, suffering from anxiety attacks, enlists exasperated shrink Billy Crystal to cure him before an imminent meeting of crime kingpins from around the country. The crude, underworld setting is tempered by adult humor, a sprinkling of sentimentality and the gangster's gradual reformation.
The King and I -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. The King and I is a tuneful animated version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical in which the stubborn king of 19th-century Siam hires a prim English schoolmarm to teach his many children Western ways but discovers he has much to learn himself. Contrived adventures enliven the pretty animation, but it's the splendid music and well-known lyrics that are more likely to entertain viewers young and old.
True Crime -- Because of its sympathetic treatment of adultery, brief violence, much rough language and recurring profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV -- adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. In True Crime Clint Eastwood's disgraced and womanizing reporter races against time to prevent the execution at midnight of a black family man (played by Isaiah Washington) whom he believes is innocent of homicide. The character studies of the two contrasting men prove absorbing, however the climax is flawed by trite plot contrivances.
Forces of Nature -- Because of fleeting violence, sexual situations and references, occasional profanity 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. Forces of Nature is a romantic comedy in which wedding-bound bridgroom Ben Affleck finds himself reluctantly attracted to free-spirited travelling companion Sandra Bullock after they survive a plane crash and continue together by train, bus and car. An appealing cast gives the loopy proceedings some bounce but it fails to achieve its intended screwball-comedy status.
Ravenous -- Because of excessive violence and gore, desecration of corpses, fleeting nudity and occasional profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Ravenous is a grisly thriller set in the wintry wilderness of the 1847 Sierra Nevadas where some unwary soldiers are set upon by a cunning stranger who turns out to be a cannibalistic killer who has already devoured numerous pioneers. The repulsive tale is made all the more stomach-churning by its graphic visuals, giddy music and comic tone completely at odds with the continual slaughters.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels -- Because of its jokey treatment of multiple murders, a benign view of crime, brief nudity, intermittent profanity and much shrill rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a smug, convoluted caper in which four young Brits in heavy debt to a loan shark snatch a fortune from murderous thugs who have just ripped off a drug dealer intent on killing everyone involved in the theft. The movie presents the constant bloody violence as a lark and just all in a day's work of making a fast buck.

The family video of the week is Oliver & Company -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. Oliver & Company is an animated musical updating Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" to New York City where an orphaned kitten named Oliver (voice of Joey Lawrence) gets caught up in the shenanigans of a human con artist (voice of Dom DeLuise) and his thieving band of rogue dogs, including the terrier Dodger (voice of Billy Joel). Despite some cartoon menace, it's a children's movie that parents can enjoy, with just the right balance between pathos, action, comedy and music.

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/movies and http://www.catholicdigest.org/stops/movies/index.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."