MOONLIGHT MILE
RATING: PG-13
STARRING: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Ellen Pompeo, Holly Hunter, and Dabney Coleman
DIRECTOR: Vrad Silberling
PRODUCERS: Mark Johnson and Brad Silberling
WRITER: Brad Silberling
DISTRIBUTOR: Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista
GENRE: Drama
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older teenagers & adults
SUMMARY: Set in 1973, Moonlight Mile is a drama about the grieving process where a young groom finds himself mourning the death of his fianc??© with her parents, as well as falling in love with a pretty, but quirky, young woman in a small New England town. Jake Gyllenhaal (pronounced "Jill-in-hall") stars as Joe Nast, a young man who finds himself mourning the tragic loss of his fianc??© with her parents, played smartly by Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon. As Ben, the father, tries to get Joe interested in starting a real estate business with him, Joe meets a pretty, quirky, female postal worker, Bertie, played by newcomer Ellen Pompeo.
The acting in Moonlight Mile is excellent. Although there are some poignant, compelling moments, however, the movie doesn’t really tell us much of anything about the poor murdered young girl, until the very end. Also, the movie follows both Joe’s relationship with Ben and JoJo, as well as his secret relationship with Bertie. Thus, it lacks a clear, linear plot. Finally, despite a theme about the moral need for truth in relationships, the movie has a humanist worldview, which dilutes the movie’s artistic power, as well as its moral, psychological and spiritual dimensions.
CONTENT: Humanist worldview with a moral defense of truth in a couple scenes as well as some anti-capitalist elements regarding Wal-Mart type stores versus small local businesses; 36 obscenities, 10 strong profanities.
RED DRAGON
RATING: Rated R for violence, grisly images, language, some nudity, and sexuality.
STARRING: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel and Mary-Louise Parker
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Andrew Z. Davis
WRITER: Ted Tally
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY: Thomas Harris
GENRE: Horror
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teenagers and adults
SUMMARY: The first in the Hannibal Lector trilogy, Red Dragon, has cannibalistic, forensic psychologist Hannibal Lector, played by Anthony Hopkins, trying to thwart while being cajoled into helping his nemesis, FBI agent Will Graham, played by Ed Norton, stop the gruesome Red Dragon murderer, played by Ralph Fiennes. Can Will stop him before the Red Dragon kills Will’s family?
Red Dragon is big budget. Anthony Hopkins is over-the-top. Ed Norton is too laconic. Philip Seymour Hoffman is superb as a sleazy tabloid reporter. The violence and references to cannibalism are intentionally grotesque and sensational. The Bible quoting is focused on the satanic. There is no hint of redemption. The ending is predictable. Red Dragon has so many plot holes and is so grotesque and sensational that it is neither good entertainment, nor good for one’s soul.
CONTENT: Demonic occult worldview with moral messages, New Testament references, and ironic hero; 31 obscenities and 14 profanities; intense and excessive violence including cannibalism, man bites other man’s tongue off, brains blown out, people sliced with mirrors and pieces of glass inserted into their eyes, man stabbed in chest, splattering blood, man stabbed with arrows, woman clubbed, point blank shootings, references to violence, and children threatened; suggested oral sex and fornication; male nudity, though private parts are not shown; alcohol use; smoking; and, devil painting tattooed on man’s back, deception and Freudian claptrap about good man turned evil by his grandmother.
