JONAH - A VEGGIETALES MOVIE
RATING: G
STARRING THE VOICES OF: Kristin Blegen, Tim Hodge, Mike Nawrocki, Lisa Vischer, and Phil Vischer
DIRECTOR: Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer
PRODUCER: Ameake Owens
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Phil Vischer, Terry Botwick and Dan Philips
WRITER: Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki
BASED ON THE BIBLE BOOK: "Jonah"
DISTRIBUTOR: Artisan Entertainment
GENRE: Animated/Musical Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: All ages
SUMMARY: Jonah - A Veggietales Movie tells the time-honored Bible story of Jonah and the Whale in a fun, silly, delightful, and entertaining story starring Bob the Tomato, Archibald Asparagus and the Pirates Who Do Nothing. The veggies meet the do nothing Pirates, who tell them the story of Jonah to teach the veggies mercy and compassion. Clearly plotted turning points, wonderful songs and terrific animation all build to tell this meaningful tale of mercy and compassion.
The interesting thing about Jonah is that its humor and entertainment value come from very careful construction. Right at the beginning, the audience knows where Jonah is going AND what Jonah is supposed to learn: mercy and compassion. The jeopardy is clear and intense from the first moment. Selfishness, pride and sibling rivalry conspire against the premise. Obstacles confront the heroes in the present day, as well as Jonah in the past, as they try to fulfill the premise. Clearly plotted turning points, wonderful songs and terrific animation all build to tell the story.
CONTENT: Very strong Christian worldview with many very strong moral, spiritual, biblical lessons; no foul language; slapstick violence, such as character hit each other with fish, car careens down hillside toward lake, car hits dock, and several other moments; no sex; no nudity; and, they drink root beer.
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
RATING: R for strong language (including a scene of sexual dialogue)
STARRING: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Luis Guzman
DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson
PRODUCERS: Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi and Joanne Sellar
WRITER: Paul Thomas Anderson
DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures/Sony
GENRE: Romantic Comedy/Black Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Adults
SUMMARY: Adam Sandler stars in Punch-Drunk Love as an uptight business owner who tries to find love and frequent-flyer miles, if only he can escape the soul-crunching criticism of his seven sisters. Adam Sandler jettisons his moronic attitudes and gives a convincing, compelling performance in this very entertaining morality tale, but the foul language is R-rated, and there’s a sadistic tone in the story.
An important part of the success of the movie is the powerful sound track and brilliant music by Jon Brion, which transforms the story into a mythic tale. The camerawork is also exceptional, as is the direction by Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed Magnolia. The foul language, however, is R-rated, and there’s a dark, sadistic tone in the story, which is set in a weird humanistic world of self-hate, anger, violence, and loneliness. Punch-Drunk Love also contains a brief glimpse of nudity.
CONTENT: Cautionary morality tale (which is evidently unintentional) set in a weird humanistic world of self-hate, anger, violence, and loneliness, with some very mild redemptive references; consistent violence including truck crashing, man beats up bathroom, man pounds wall, man beats up thugs, man discusses inflicting violence on woman during foreplay and woman responds with more sadistic and cannibalistic discussions ("I want to chew your face"), knife cut, woman cuts forehead with copious blood in car crash; one clothed scene of foreplay; blackmail, extortion, and extensive lying by the hero who starts to confess his lies as he finds someone he loves.
