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"3:10 To Yuma" (R, 1 hr., 57 min.)
Crackerjack Westerns are rare in today's Hollywood and "3:10 to Yuma" is terrific -- and terrifically bloody. It lays before us a feast of charismatic acting by stars Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and the whole cast, as well as incisive, un-cliched dialogue, gorgeous vistas and, alas, incredibly intense violence. These ingredients are expertly lassoed by director James Mangold ("Walk the Line," PG-13, 2005). However, the mayhem -- gunfights with much blood and many gaping wounds, shooting of innocent townsfolk, stabbings, endangerment of children, explosions, dead cattle, much of it at breakneck speed and deafening decibels -- makes the film a problematic choice for teens under 17. Some parents will deem it so strong artistically and the violence so central to the saga and so exciting (which it is, though at times unwatchable for the fainthearted), they'll OK it for high-schoolers they think can handle it. The movie also includes strong profanity, racial slurs, an implied overnight stay with a saloon lady, drinking and snuff use. A nighttime ambush by Apache fighters barely reveals the Indians and focuses only on the men trying to fend them off. A bit of dialogue tells the Apaches' side of the argument.
Remaking a 1957 film (which starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin) based on an Elmore Leonard story, "3:10 to Yuma" unfolds as a morality tale, pitting solid values against Wild West lawlessness and greed. Bale plays rancher Dan Evans, a Civil War vet with a wrecked leg. Deep in debt and hounded to get off his land, Evans must find a way to keep his wife (Gretchen Mol), ailing younger son (Benjamin Petry) and rebellious teen (Logan Lerman) from starving. Desperate for cash and to show his older boy that his dad is no coward, Evans signs on to help escort notorious criminal Ben Wade (Crowe) to the train for transport to federal court. As the posse (with Peter Fonda as a dogged Pinkerton man; Dallas Roberts as a decent railroad exec, Alan Tudyk as a brave veterinarian) shrinks, Evans becomes the primary guard. Wade is cunning, charming and dangerous. On the trail, he and Evans spar edgily over right and wrong as Wade's vicious righthand man (Ben Foster) and gang of killer thieves track them.
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BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME
-- MORE ACCESSIBLE TO KIDS 10 AND OLDER:
"Mr. Bean's Holiday" G (Youngsters may grin at the antics of actor Rowan Atkinson's barely verbal, largely clueless, truly odd Mr. Bean (first introduced on British TV), with his rubbery face and limbs, always leaving chaos in his wake; he earns laughs lip-syncing to an aria, eating shellfish, shells and all; but the film is uneven and problematic; in this second feature (after "Bean," PG-13, 1997) Mr. B wins a trip to Cannes (the famous film fest is nicely spoofed); Bean accidentally causes a boy (Max Baldry) and his filmmaker dad (Karel Roden) to be separated on their way to Cannes; two-thirds of the film consists of his efforts to get the stranded kid back to his dad, which feels weird; today's kids learn never to talk to strangers, let alone travel with them; it warrants a PG.)
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"Balls of Fury" (Fatally unfunny pingpong/kung-fu farce feels improvised -- and not in a good way; Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler), a former table tennis prodigy, languishes in Reno doing pingpong stunts at clubs; an FBI guy (George Lopez) gets him back into competition as a way of flushing out the table tennis-fancying gangster (Christopher Walken, in flamboyant robes and wigs) who killed Randy's dad (Robert Patrick) long ago (shown in a prologue). Awful ethnic stereotypes; bad gay jokes (mostly nonexplicit), including a subplot about male sex slaves; comedic martial-arts violence; chopsticks-up-the-nose-or-in-the-crotch gags; midrange profanity; toilet humor; smoking; drinking. Too lewd for middle-schoolers.)
"Duck" (LIMITED RELEASE) (Touching parable -- though raggedly made and quite cliched -- reminds us that homeless people are indeed people; Arthur (Philip Baker Hall), a broke widower in 2009 Los Angeles, is about to take an overdose in the park when an orphaned duckling waddles up; he adopts it and takes it home; the two are soon evicted and go live in the park; pushed out of there, they trek to the beach. Two intended suicides don't go through with it; sanitation workers nastily harass Arthur and his duck; sores on homeless men's feet; glimpse of the duckling's squashed siblings; a live duck's neck caught in a plastic six-pack holder; rare profanity; smoking; drinking. Sensitive teens.)
"The Nanny Diaries" (Witty, watchable, if lightweight tale (based on the novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus) stars Scarlett Johansson as a bright but directionless college grad who hires on as nanny with a rich, dysfunctional Park Avenue couple, Mr. and Mrs. X (Paul Giamatti and the great Laura Linney), to care for their preschooler (Nicholas Reese Art); film is a diverting mix of anthropological observation, arch satire, real emotion, and visual panache; Chris Evans as the "Harvard Hottie" upstairs; singer Alicia Keys as the nanny's pal. A steamy kiss; implied overnight tryst; hints of Mr. X's adultery -- he canoodles with a colleague; drinking; smoking; rare strong profanity. Not for 'tweens.)
"Resurrecting the Champ" (A callow sports reporter (Josh Hartnett) tries to jump-start his career by profiling a homeless ex-boxer (Samuel L. Jackson) who claims to have been a one-time contender; Jackson's terrific turn keeps the film (based in part on a 1997 Los Angeles Times article) in the ring for a while, but Hartnett's weak character and other narrative mush finally knock it out. Nongraphic boxing scenes with bloody noses, swollen eyes; upsetting scenes show drunken bullies beating up the old Champ; one use of the F-word; mild sexual innuendo; drinking, smoking; verbal references to an abusive childhood, with a scar to show for it.)
"Rush Hour 3" (Hong Kong police inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and L.A.P.D. detective Carter (Chris Tucker) reunite (after "Rush Hour," 1998, and "Rush Hour 2," 2001, PG-13s) to fight Asian triad crime syndicates in Paris; plot makes no sense, but formula still makes laughs. Martial-arts face-offs with fists, blades, sticks, including a cool Eiffel Tower fight; high-speed chases; gunplay; leering but nonthreatening sexual innuendo (and a bit of sexism); ethnic, racial stereotypes spoofed; racial slurs implied by first letters only; implied toplessness among dancers; briefly lewd but nonexplicit sexual situation; rare profanity.)
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Hyperkinetic thriller -- gloriously dizzying, cleverly paranoid -- makes a stunning finale to the Bourne trilogy ("The Bourne Identity," 2002; "The Bourne Supremacy," 2004, PG-13s), updating Robert Ludlum's Cold War novels to a terror-tainted present; Matt Damon as amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne, gets to the source of his identity, and why most (but not all) CIA suits want him dead. Violence approaches bloody R levels in bone-crushing fights, lethal gunplay; foot chases, car chases are breathlessly shot and could induce motion sickness in some; mild profanity. Best for high-school thriller buffs.)
-- R's:
"3:10 to Yuma" (NEW) (Russell Crowe and Christian Bale spar charismatically in this terrific -- and terrifically bloody -- Western (based on an Elmore Leonard short story and a 1957 film), with razor-sharp acting, fresh dialogue and gorgeous vistas expertly corralled by director James Mangold; in the Arizona Territory after the Civil War, rancher Dan Evans (Bale), a veteran with a wrecked leg, needs cash; to save his ranch and prove to his older boy (Logan Lerman) his dad's a hero, he signs on to escort notorious criminal Ben Wade (Crowe) to the train for transport to court; Wade is cunning, murderous and charming; on the trail, the evildoer and the rancher spar; Wade's vicious right-hand man (Ben Foster) and gang of killer thieves track the posse. Bloody gunplay; gaping wounds; profanity; drinking; smoking; implied sexual tryst; racial slurs. 17 and older.)
"Shoot 'Em Up" (NEW) (Intentionally outrageous, over-the-top action thriller, with stunts so impossible they're cartoonish -- a highly entertaining, but very adult blend of hardboiled film noir and ultra-hip satire of the genre; Clive Owen as mysterious, carrot-eating Mr. Smith, a laconic gunman and fighter who can take on multitudes and win; he reluctantly finds himself defending a pregnant woman from hit men; when she dies in a hail of bullets, he takes her new baby to a prostitute/wet nurse (Italian star Monica Bellucci), then tries to protect them from a henpecked killer (Paul Giamatti) and to discern why the baby is a target. Ultraviolent shootouts; torture; infant in mortal danger; steaming profanity; graphic sexual slang; explicit sexual situations; seminudity. Not for under-17s.)
"Halloween" (NEW) (Remake by director/musician/writer Rob Zombie of 1978 John Carpenter slasher classic (also R, followed by many sequels, all Rs; this is #9 in the "Halloween" lexicon); well acted and shot, but in keeping with the times grossly violent, highly profane and sexually explicit (with nudity), thus rather ordinary; the original used dread instead of gore; new film focuses on serial killer Michael Myers' (Daeg Faerch as the boy; Tyler Mane as the adult) sour childhood with a club dancer mom (Sheri Moon) and a drunken, abusive stepdad (William Forsythe); he commits several horrific murders, then is sent to a hospital for the criminally insane, treated by Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell); grown into a hulking adult who hides behind masks, he escapes and heads home on a killing rampage. Also smoking and drinking. Truly not for under-17s or squeamish older teens.)
"War" (Ultraviolent, annoyingly convoluted thriller about FBI agent (Jason Statham) tracking down a phantom Asian hit man, Rogue (Jet Li), who he believes killed his partner (Terry Chen) and his partner's wife and child three years earlier (shown in a prologue); Rogue reappears, his "hits" triggering a gang war between Chinese triads and Japanese yakuza. Gun battles with bloody injuries at point-blank range, sword and dagger fights with throat-slittings, ear-slashings, impalements; grisly crime scene photos; children in mortal danger; dog with explosive collar; strong profanity; graphic sexual situation; topless dancers and other female near-nudity; toilet humor; smoking; drinking. Not for under-17s.)
"Superbad" (Lewd, riotous teen comedy about high-school buds Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera); smart but dorky, they're heading to different colleges and desperate to lose their virginity first; an even geekier kid (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) uses a fake ID to get booze for them to bring to a party, but he's delayed by two idiot cops (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen; Rogen, star of R-rated "Knocked Up," co-wrote this script). Highly explicit sexual language; drugs, drunkenness; squirm-inducing comic scene about menstrual blood; graphic drawings of male sex organs; semiexplicit sexual situations -- mild compared to the language; the boys' desperate naivete saves film from seeming obscene. 17 and older.)
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