Hanna (PG-13)

Hanna is a violent stalk-and-slay film which at first does not seem to have much of an underlying storyline. Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is an extremely strong, alert teenage girl who has been raised by her ex-CIA father, Erik (Eric Bana), in a northern country far away from civilization. Although she seems to know everything about fighting and hunting, and has had immense physical training to increase her stamina, she has never heard music or experienced any of the fine arts or modern culture. She is basically a hand-to-hand combat soldier who is not part of an army; she has only been taught skills which would keep her alive should she be under attack. The audience is forced to wait until the end of the film to discover her father’s reasoning.

When Hanna decides to leave the snows of her northern home, her father leaves it to her to find her way—alone—to Germany where they are to rendezvous. Along the way to their meeting place she makes her way through many countries, where she has her first experiences with electricity, television and other teenagers. The film almost gets side-tracked during this part of her story since the focus of the film changes from “fight and flight” to a coming-of-age tale. She is captured, escapes and is continually pursued by soldiers and secret agents, including Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), who are ruthless in their attacks on this beautiful young girl.

“Run, run, fight, fight, kill and run again” continue throughout the film. If you enjoyed the Kill Bill or the Bourne movie series, this may be the film for you. However this extreme graphic action, which usually ends in someone’s death or maiming, and Hanna’s seeming abandonment by her father may be unsettling to early teens since these visuals are so realistically presented.

Unknown (PG-13)

This fast-action thriller, based on the novel by Didier Van Cauwelaert, is full of mystery and violence. Although there appear to be some rather large holes in the plot during the first part of the film, by the end of the story the audience will be surprised that those “holes” were not really there. Thing are not always as they first seem, and this complex mystery has to be unwound carefully.

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth (January Jones), arrive in Germany for a scientific conference. All seems calm and loving, but not for long. After a horrific car accident, Martin lapses into a coma. When he awakens, he finds that another man has assumed his identity, job and wife. Without his passport or any witnesses to testify he is the “real” Dr. Harris, he is left wondering what is happening to him. “Do you know what it is like to feel crazy? It is a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are. Who wins?”

The rest of the film is full of murders, amazing car chases, and explosions as Martin is chased by several assassins who are out to eliminate him. The steely portrayal of Rodney Cole (Frank Langella) as one of these operatives is outstanding. Martin’s quest for the truth is dependent upon unlikely sources: Gina, the cab driver who pulled him from the car after the accident (Diane Kruger), and private investigator Ernst Jurgen (Bruno Ganz) who happens to be a retired security officer from the old East German Army. As Martin’s memory slowly returns he is faced with a totally different decision to make. This film will keep you guessing right up until the very end.

African Cats (G)

Disneynature has produced a beautiful, informative documentary about the daily life of lions and cheetahs within Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. In Disney style, director/producer Keith Scholey and John Truby have built a story around the animals’ actions, and Samuel Jackson smoothly narrates their tale as the audience is presented with amazingly up-close scenes of the family life of wild animals on the savanna—occasionally with humor.

The stories tell of the different lifestyles of lions and cheetahs. On the north side of the river Sita, a cheetah mother, cares for her five cubs alone. When she hunts, her cubs must take care of themselves. This presents great danger, and two of her young are taken by hyenas (narrated—not seen). On the southern side of the river Layla, the matriarch of a pride of lions, leads the lionesses as they care for their cubs within the safety of a group. Both mothers are fierce in protecting their young from danger, but are playful with them as well.
The role of the male lion as protector is demonstrated by Fang, the lion pride’s male. But the aggressiveness of male lions is also shown several times as Kali and his four sons cross into Fang’s Riverside territory and challenge his position.

The photography (Owen Newman and Sophie Darlington) is a mixture of spectacular sweeping aerial views of the plains, complete with thousands of migrating animals, to amazingly intimate close-ups of the family groups as they tenderly care for their cubs. There is a wonderful mix of regular and slow motion speeds to aid viewers’ appreciation of the animal movements. A large screen is the best way to fully enjoy this film’s presentation of the vastness of the land, surging of the flooded river, and swiftness of both predator and prey as they play out the circle of life.

This film, unlike some others, shows few kills (dirt mounds or darkness hides the event), and there is hardly any blood shown. The need to eat is mentioned several times and explained to the audience as a necessary part of life in the wild. Although a little long for very young audience members, all ages will enjoy viewing the wild animals of this wonderful Earth.

Jane Eyre (PG-13)

Charlotte Brontë’s moving story about the strength of love is beautifully retold through Moira Buffini’s screenplay; but with this film, it may be helpful to be familiar with the plot before viewing. The audience enters the story at the mid-point of the tale; flashbacks show how the characters arrived at the crisis seen at the film’s beginning.

Amelia Clarkson’s portrayal of the young orphaned Jane is excellent. The audience witnesses her loveless childhood and her loneliness at school. As a young governess at Thornfield Hall, Jane (Mia Wasikowska) beautifully demonstrates the restraints required of women of the period and the class separations which were so strict during that time. Mr. Rochester’s (Michael Fassbender) dark brooding and concealment of his “terrible secret” is convincingly portrayed. And Judi Dench’s appearance as the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax, is a joy to watch.

This gothic love story’s drama is a well-rounded presentation which is greatly enhanced by director Cary Fukunaga’s interesting camera angles, the set and costumes’ textures and colors, and the complementing countryside.

Source Code (PG-13)

This action thriller will keep viewers on their toes as they follow the many twists and turns set in place by screenwriter Ben Ripley and director Duncan Jones. The film opens with a train moving quickly toward Chicago through sunny countryside. Inside the train commuters are happily chatting, including our lead character, Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal). But he does not recognize anyone or anything on this train. In fact he feels as if he has just awoken; his last memory is of fighting in Afghanistan, but now Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) is seated across from him and speaking to him as though they are old friends. Suddenly there is a terrible explosion and the train and everyone aboard are destroyed.

The next scene has Colter alone inside a strange, dark capsule far from the destruction of the train he was just in. Confused and bewildered he is brought into focus by Army officer Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) via computer monitor. She explains that he is part of a top secret military intelligence program that allows the military to place an operative “into” another person’s body for the last eight minutes of that person’s life. She explains that his mission is to revisit the final minutes of this train again and again until he identifies the bomber and learns if there are any other bombs in the city. He has to do this job within the same eight minutes each trip. He is told it is not “time traveling.” He is “time revisiting” – or is he?

This film’s attention to detail deserves a large screen. Due to the need to recognize details and the complexity of the story, this film will be better enjoyed by older teens and adults.

Rio (G)

This is a wonderful family film. Director/writer Carlos Saldanha and screenplay creator Dan Rhymer have reworked the old boy-meets-girl story into a joyful, musical animated romp. Having most of the action happen in Rio de Janeiro just makes it more fun for everyone as the audience experiences the beautiful flowers, Carnival, and even hang-gliding around the “Cristo Redentor” statue (excellent in 3-D!) down to the beach. Location details are so accurate that viewers may feel as though they have had a short vacation without having to bring their passports.

Blu (voiced by Mark Zuckerberg), a male macaw pet who does not fly, and his owner, Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann), are life-long friends living in snowy Minnesota. They are sought out by an ornithologist from Brazil, Tulio (voiced by Rodrigo Santoro), who is interested using Linda’s pet to help save Blu’s soon-to-be extinct species. Once in Rio Blu meets and falls for the lovely blue female macaw, Julie (voiced by Anne Hathaway). It is in South America that this story quickly gets an energy charge and becomes complicated with bird-nappings, chase scenes, and another man-meets-lady love story.

This exciting and funny story is easy to follow so very young children will be able to understand the plot, feel the energized musical beat, and enjoy the beautiful art of this charming film.

Judy Russell teaches music and performing arts at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School.