S

Scroll down for movie reviews beginning with this letter.

MPAA Rating is the rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America. Please note this is a voluntary rating, so some films (many times older films or obscure foreign films) are not rated.

G - General Audiences

PG - Parental Guidance Suggested

PG13 - Parental Guidance Suggested for those under 13 years of age

R - Restricted (those under 18 not admitted without parent or guardian)

NC-17 (X) - No one under 18 admitted.

USCCB Rating is the rating given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Please note that some films are not rated simply because the Bishop’s Conference has not reviewed them.

A-I: General Patronage

A-II: Adults and Adolescents

A-III: Adults

L: Limited Adult Audience, problematic content

O: Morally Offensive

Fr. John’s Ratings

★★★★★ - Masterpiece. This film has to show aspects of cinematic excellence that are above and beyond the ordinary and even beyond the “excellent” classification. Because a true masterpiece can be determined only through its ability to endure through the passage of time, no film is even considered for this rating until at least ten years have passed from the date of its initial release.

★★★★ - Excellent

★★★ - Very Good

★★ - Fair

★ - Poor

Sound of Music, The (1965) ★★★★★

Length:  174 minutes.  MPAA Rating: G.  USCCB Rating:  A-I.  Director:  Robert Wise.

It has no scenes of violence, no cursing or swearing.  Above all, it is a family-friendly musical and has a happy ending.  These attributes of The Sound of Music are enough to send some film aficionados running to the nearest trash bin, eagerly ready to throw away this film in favor of darker, more violent, and more “serious” fare.  Those too quick to judge this family favorite often overlook the obvious – that this is an amazingly well-crafted film, with superb direction, beautiful cinematography, unforgettable music, and very high production values.

There is no getting around it (even though some “serious” film fans would desperately want to do so) – The Sound of Music is a great film and probably the greatest cinematic musical ever made.  Aware of the popular appeal of musicals as well as the concerns of both Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer that the film would not be too “saccharine,” director Robert Wise strikes a delicate balance between a light-hearted musical and a deeply-felt wartime drama.  The balance works.  If you think about it, the result is rather unique in the history of movie musicals – a film that is not easily categorized.  It is certainly not as dramatic as The Bridge on the River Kwai and is not nearly as light-hearted as Meet Me in St. Louis but falls somewhere in between.  Featuring very solid performances by the entire cast, but most especially by the two leads, and some of the most beautiful music ever written for stage or screen.  Well worth repeated viewings.

Spirited Away (2001) ★★★★★

Length:  125 minutes.  MPAA Rating:  PG.  USCCB Rating:  A-II.  Director:  Hayao Miyazaki.  In color (animated).  Comes in two language versions – one in Japanese and one in English. 

A true auteur, Miyazaki writes his own stories, writes his own screenplays, draws detailed storyboards for every scene in the film, does some of the detailed animation himself, directs his own films, and even writes song lyrics.  He usually begins with one or two images and formulates the story from there.  Miyazaki and film composer Joe Hisaishi have collaborated for years on a number of Studio Ghibli films, but this is probably their masterpiece.

Often called the greatest animated film ever made, Spirited Away tells the story of a ten-year old girl who is whisked away to a fantastic and often scary land where she must work hard in a spirit bath house and find emotional maturity in order to release her parents from a horrible spell.  The music is beautiful, the story is often emotionally overwhelming, and the animation is nothing short of astonishing (both in its scope and in its minute details).  When considering Miyazaki is responsible for so much of the filmmaking process, and when considering how unique this work is in comparison to other animated films, there is no question that Miyazaki’s work belongs on my personal top ten list, and Miyazaki himself belongs on any list of the world’s greatest filmmakers.