The Smurfs 2

By Joseph McAleer, Catholic News Service

If summer’s speedy passing has you feeling blue, then head to “The Smurfs 2” (Columbia) for a jolly pick-me-up. The lighthearted tone of this 3-D sequel – which, like its 2011 predecessor, mixes animation with live action – comes courtesy of the familiar azure-hued elves of the title.

Young children will be enchanted and laugh themselves silly, while their parents will appreciate the script’s positive messages about friendship and family – potty jokes notwithstanding.

Raja Gosnell returns to direct the proceedings, which once again showcase the widely beloved comic-book characters created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo (Pierre Culliford, 1928-1992). Besides the earlier film, Peyo’s diminutive figures – said to be only three apples tall – also populated a 1980s Hanna-Barbera televised cartoon series.

Picking up from the events of the first big-screen outing, evil human wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) remains obsessed with the squishy, sky-coloured creatures. He wants the formula for “Smurf-essence,” which promises eternal beauty and unlimited power.

Gargamel fashions his own elves to infiltrate Smurf Village. The first mole he created, the blond-tressed Smurfette (voice of Katy Perry), failed him. She was turned – as they say in the world of espionage — and is now one of the family.

So Gargamel tries again with two new beings whom he dubs the Naughties: Vexy (voice of Christina Ricci) and Hackus (voice of J.B. Smoove).

Vexy kidnaps Smurfette and returns her to Gargamel, who has set up shop in Paris as a celebrity sorcerer, playing the city’s famed Opera House nightly.

Papa Smurf (voice of Jonathan Winters, in his last film role) must rally the troops to rescue Smurfette before she is forced to reveal the formula – an eventuality which would, we are told, unleash “total Smurf-ageddon.” Joining him are Clumsy (voice of Anton Yelchin), Grouchy (voice of George Lopez) and Vanity (voice of John Oliver).

Much like the dwarves in “Snow White,” a Smurf’s name is a good indication of his character and temperament.

There’s human assistance, too, in the form of still-loyal friends: couple Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and Grace (Jayma Mays) now have a son named, naturally, Blue (Jacob Tremblay). Victor (Brendan Gleeson), Patrick’s estranged stepfather and owner of a chain of corn dog restaurants (don’t ask), tags along for the ride.

As the search for Smurfette barrels along, the City of Light has never looked lovelier – or bluer. Amid the slapstick action sequences, there’s a lot of talk about family, especially parentage. Does Smurfette owe allegiance to her real “father,” Gargamel, or to Papa Smurf, who welcomed her to Smurfdom?

“It doesn’t matter where you come from,” Papa Smurf instructs. “What matters is who you choose to be.”

There’s more, as “The Smurfs 2” concludes with a surprisingly pro-life message: “Life is the most precious thing,” Papa Smurf intones. “We must protect it.”

May young and old alike absorb that bit of Smurf-essence.

The film contains moderately intense action sequences, some slapstick violence and mild scatological humour.  Some material may not be suitable for children.

RED 2

By Joseph McAleer, Catholic News Service

Those “retired and extremely dangerous” (RED) secret agents are back on the case in “RED 2” (Summit), a lively sequel to the 2010 film based on the graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.

In a summer multiplex filled with superheroes and cartoon characters, “RED 2” is a refreshing change of pace for the more mature moviegoer, as a gaggle of (very human) senior citizens shows off before their younger and fitter colleagues, battling to save the world from nuclear annihilation.

Having cheated death in the first film, ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is adjusting to a quiet life with his kooky girlfriend, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). Whether these two were ever destined for an Ozzie-and-Harriet existence is up for grabs.

Before long, Frank is contacted by his former partner, Marvin (John Malkovich). There’s trouble afoot, and it involves a nuclear bomb.

Ah, not just any bomb. Codenamed “Nightshade,” it is the ultimate weapon, designed by mad scientist Bailey (Anthony Hopkins). It’s made of “red mercury,” which renders the portable device undetectable. Word is, it’s buried under the Kremlin, and set to detonate.

The Americans want it found, as do the Russians and the British. The chase is on, with Sarah along for the ride, anxious to share the experience with her beau.

“Let’s face it, Colombo,” she tells Frank. “Things were getting a little stale.”

Joining the pursuit across three continents are some of the world’s best assassins: Victoria (Helen Mirren), an elegant British spy; Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a super-sexy Russian agent and Frank’s former flame; and Han (Byung Hun Lee), a killer from Hong Kong who can make a deadly weapon out of origami.

While each is initially contracted to kill Frank and Marvin, who are falsely accused of a cover-up, allegiances switch as double-crosses are exposed.

Director Dean Parisot (“Galaxy Quest”) keeps it all light and silly amid the mayhem with lots of witty repartee and innuendo.

“I’m the queen of England!” screeches Victoria, bewigged and crowned, as she tries to gain entry to a mental institution, playing on Mirren’s many impersonations of British monarchs.

Still, “RED 2” must expend more bullets than any film in recent memory. While the violence is mostly gore-free and highly stylised, it nonetheless places this film firmly in the adult camp.

The film contains frequent but largely bloodless violence, brief drug use, and some profane and crude language.  Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

The Conjuring

By Kurt Jensen, Catholic News Service

Movies involving demonic possession and Catholic faith practices always are an uncomfortable mix, as in “The Conjuring”.

The demons get a presumption of truth and the run of the plot, while the solemn rite of exorcism is reduced to a kind of voodoo practiced by entrepreneurial ghostbusters with dubious credentials in cobwebbed New England basements.

Then again, the value of horror films is measured by authentic scares, not theology, no matter how bent out of shape. “The Conjuring” has many intelligent, stylishly rendered frights, usually involving apparitions popping out of the dark in tight confines. It’s satisfyingly high on the jolt meter and other genre conventions, but sub-par on Catholicism – not in a derogatory manner, mind you, but unburdened by pesky things like, oh say, facts.

It’s the story of real-life paranormal investigators and “demonologists” Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), the couple responsible for uncovering, among other famous ghosts, the Amityville Horror. Like all Warren exploits, it’s based on a “true story,” and the screen informs us that Ed (who died in 2006) was the only American layman permitted by the Catholic Church to perform exorcisms.

That claim is redolent of the hinky-dink aroma of a carnival midway, but the Warrens always used their Catholicism to give themselves credibility with the public, if not exactly a firm seal of approval from church authorities. This story is set in 1971. In 1985, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), then head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, banned laypeople from performing the exorcism rite.

Anyway, exorcisms require the approval of a bishop. In this film, a parish priest just says he’ll call the Vatican. The approval doesn’t come in time, so the Warrens, like John Wayne at the Alamo, cast out the demon themselves, scattering crucifixes about. Otherwise, there’d be no big finish.

Director James Wan and screenwriters Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes limn the story of the Perron family. Parents Roger and Carolyn (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor) move their five young daughters into a rundown Rhode Island house with creaking floorboards, peeling wallpaper, doors with hinges that have never known oil, a walled-off basement – in short, perfection.

The property has long been cursed with a demon that infiltrates first the household, then the mother, forcing her to kill her children. That’s what happened in the 19th century to a quite immense woman named Bathsheba, who occasionally pops up along with ghosts of her daughter, whom she hanged, and her son, slain with a big knife. For good measure, a demon-possessed doll skitters around and leaves notes.

Carolyn gets the worst of it, of course, since the demon squeezes her hard enough to leave bruises before taking her over entirely. Adding to the spookiness, it turns out that the Perrons never had their daughters baptized, since they’re not at all religious. An actual departure to the gates of hell must have been too much for the film’s budget, however, since that’s not shown.

The film contains a skewed view of Catholic faith practices, intense action sequences, mild gore, fleeting profanity, and intense but nonviolent scenes involving children.  Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.