Spelling problems aside, ‘Mortal Kombat’ is brutal, ponderous, silly
This is the movie poster for Mortal Combat. The Catholic News Service classification is O morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. (CNS photo/Warner Bros.)
By John Mulderig • Catholic News Service • Posted April 30, 2021
NEW YORK (CNS) The problems with “Mortal Kombat” (Warner Bros.) go well beyond off-kilter spelling.
In fact, director Simon McQuoid’s feature debut a reboot adaptation of a series of video games previously brought to the big screen via a couple of movies dating from the mid-1990s is, by turns, brutal, ponderous and silly.
By John Mulderig • Catholic News Service • Posted April 30, 2021
NEW YORK (CNS) Back when telegrams were the emails of their day, playwright Moss Hart may have been the first to observe, “If you’ve got a message, call Western Union.”
Whether Hollywood mogul Samuel Goldwyn ever echoed that sentiment, the advice continues to hold true for screenwriters today. Stories designed to win an argument rarely make for effective entertainment.
A case in point: the historical dramatization “Roe v. Wade” (Quiver). Good intentions can only partially sustain this re-creation of events surrounding the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion across the United States. So even those movie fans most committed to the cause of life will be unable to overlook its aesthetic shortcomings.
Colin Farrell stars in a scene from the movie Voyagers. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (CNS photo/Vlad Cioplea, Lionsgate)
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NEW YORK (CNS) The tedious sci-fi parable Voyagers (Lionsgate) seems designed to prove that in space, no one can hear you yawn.
While acceptable for grown-ups, writer-director Neil Burger s flat thriller, an exploration of the positive and negative aspects of human nature, has little to say on that topic that hasn t been better expressed before.
This is a scene from the movie Godzilla vs. Kong. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (CNS photo/Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures)
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NEW YORK (CNS) The goal of a film bearing the title Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros.) would seem to be simple enough. Set the iconic beasts raging at each other until at least one Asian city has been devastated, then roll the credits.
Alas, not content with such a straightforward aim, screenwriters Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein entangle their showdown in the varied strands of interaction among an ensemble cast. The unintended upshot is that the outsized brutes prove a good deal more interesting than the puny humans.
RZA, Bob Odenkirk and Christopher Lloyd star in a scene from the movie Nobody. The Catholic News Service classification is O morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. (CNS photo/Allen Fraser, Universal Pictures)
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NEW YORK (CNS) Clever but morally misguided, Nobody (Universal) is a bloody action flick that s suitable for no one.
When thieves break into his suburban home, mild-mannered accountant Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) gets the drop on the intruders but fails to follow through on the advantage he s gained. As a result, his already distant wife, Becca, (Connie Nielsen) seems more disappointed in him than ever and his teen son Blake (Gage Munroe) disdains him as a coward.