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DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of July 5, 2010
This week's DVD and Blu-ray releases
The following are capsule reviews of new and recent DVD and Blu-ray releases from Catholic News Service. Theatrical movies have a Catholic News Service classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account the discs' extra content.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Glossy romance from Terry McMillan's novel about a 40-year-old, career-driven single mom (Angela Bassett) who ultimately finds happiness with a man (Taye Diggs) half her age while vacationing in Jamaica. Director Kevin Rodney Sullivan delivers an idealized, comic romantic fantasy in which a one-night stand matures into a committed relationship. Benign treatment of premarital sex, fleeting nudity, some rough language. Spanish titles option. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) 1998
Jason and the Argonauts
Plodding fantasy from classical mythology follows Jason (Todd Armstrong) and his heroic crew as they sail the Argo from Thessaly to the ends of the earth in quest of the Golden Fleece. Director Don Chaffey does little more than string together Jason's adventures in confronting the Olympian gods (Niall MacGinnis as Zeus and Honor Blackman as Hera), a bronze giant, winged harpies, mountain slides, a seven-headed hydra, skeleton warriors and other special effects created by Ray Harryhausen. Exciting but rather empty spectacle. A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray.) 1963
Jimmy Hollywood
Angered by the constant crime committed on the once glamorous, now seedy streets of Hollywood, a cocky would-be actor (Joe Pesci), aided by a dense sidekick (Christian Slater), finds fame as a masked vigilante, a role he is unwilling to give up even if it means losing his girlfriend (Victoria Abril) or his life. Director Barry Levinson's fuzzy, seriocomic look at two losers who round up criminals with incredible ease is simplistic at best and increasingly unamusing as the narrative bogs down in the title character's dangerous obsession with playacting. Ambiguous treatment of vigilante methods, brief violence, a live-in relationship and recurring rough language. Spanish titles option. The A-III -- adults. (R) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray.) 1994
Ladybugs
A salesman (Rodney Dangerfield) whose promotion depends on successfully coaching his company-sponsored all-girls soccer team gets his fiancee's son (Jonathan Brandis) to play disguised as a girl in order to ensure a winning season. Sidney J. Furie directs a genial sports comedy peppered with Dangerfield's snappy one-liners. Mild sexual innuendo and double entendres. Spanish titles option. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG-13) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 1992
These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.
Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.