Summer at the movies: recommendations & warnings

They sent out their warnings and recommendations about the summer crop of movies for people looking for family friendly content at local movie theaters.

The Pixar film “Up” has received glowing reviews from Ted Baehr, founder of MovieGuide.

I thought I’d share their round-up of “the good, the bad and the ugly of summer season film fare”:

May 1, 2009
“X-Men Origins:  Wolverine”
***  -2
“X-Men Origins:  Wolverine” tells how Logan, aka Wolverine of the “X-Men,” lost his memory battling General Stryker, the villain in the second X-Men movie. Wolverine is a rousing, passionate action flick with a tragic romance that may appeal to a few women, but its moral worldview is spoiled by some very strong fight scenes and plenty of foul language.

May 8, 2009
“Star Trek”
****  -1
The long awaited “Star Trek” re-imagines the world of the original series by changing its timeline to enter an alternate universe where the characters can literally start over.  “Star Trek” is an exciting, entertaining, popcorn movie with a strong moral worldview ultimately, but it takes place in a darker, amoral universe.

May 15, 2009
“Angels & Demons”
***  -3
The movie version of the “Angels & Demons” book stars Tom Hanks as an agnostic professor who stops a dastardly plot to blow up the Vatican and destroy the Catholic Church from inside. The plot in “Angels & Demons” is too convoluted and retains the book’s revisionist history and slanderous tone of smearing Christianity through false information.

May 22, 2009
“Night at the Museum”
***  +1
“Night at the Museum:  Battle of the Smithsonian” finds the hero of the first movie and his museum friends trying to stop an evil Egyptian king’s plot to rule the world. “Battle of The Smithsonian” is a charming, creative family adventure sprinkled with humor, romance, excitement and history, including two brief positive references to God and an implied reference to Jesus Christ and His positive impact on history.

May 22, 2009
“Terminator Salvation”
***  -1
“Terminator Salvation,” based on the previous “Terminator” movies, stars Christian Bale as John Conner, the prophesied Resistance leader against a group of evil, world dominating machines. John goes on a quest to find his father, who holds the key to stopping humanity’s complete annihilation. “Terminator Salvation” is a thrilling action movie with intense, non-stop action violence and a strong moral, somewhat redemptive theme of fighting evil and sacrificing for others.

May 29, 2009
“Up”
****  +3
“Up,” the new animated feature from Pixar and Disney, is about a 78-year-old widower and a young boy scout who find the adventure of a lifetime on a jungle plateau in Venezuela full of unknown dangers. “Up” is another heartfelt, family-friendly, utterly delightful animated classic from the wonderful team at Pixar and Disney.  It is the real winner of the summer season!