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'Godzilla' marketing ex.ceed.s puny film that proves a bor4~
THE ANCHOR - ' Diocese of Fall Riv~r --Fri., May 29, 1998
NEW YORK (CNS) - The follow~ ing are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the U.S. Catholic Conference Office for Film and Broadcasting.
"Bulworth" (20th Century Fox)
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Biting satire in which a U.S. senator (Warren Beatty), having taken out a contract on his own life, feels free to publicly express, in rhyming rapper sing-song no less, that politics is aimed at keeping the rich in power at the expense of all others. While marred by a murky romantic subplot (with Halle Berry) and simplistic political ideas, co-writer-director Beatty's black comedy serves up boldly provocative entertainment. Some crude sexual references, fleeting violence, substance abuse, constant rough language and occasional profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV - adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R - restricted.
"The Last Days of Disco" (Gramercy) Wryly observed tale, set in early 1980s New York, explores the fluctuating social lives and fledgling careers of a half-dozen recent college grads who frequent a trendy disco over the course of a year. Writer-director Whit Stillman's talky comedy serves as a cautionary tale in exploring opinionated characters who discover there are consequences to sexual permissiveness. Momentary violence, a fleeting sexual encounter and nudity, implied affairs, a character's substance abuse and a few instances of profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III - adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R - restricted.
Video-based Catechism program noW available By CATHOLIC
tematically causes the teheading of the Chrysler Building, the fall of the Flatiron Building, the Statue of Liberty's knockdown and. a enormous hole punched through the Met Life Building. When one-on-one, eyeing blankfaced Nick, it is reduced to a blurry gaping jaw spewing saliva streams at him, an image surely calculated to grab 10-year-old boys. For the rest of us, it may be more of a bore. "Godzilla" is a distinct disappointment; the marketing campaign turned out to be better than the movie. "Godzilla" may be h'Jge, but its scariness, excitement and fun factor is pretty puny. Due to recurring fantasy violence with much m.ayhem and in~ermittent profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-llI - adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 - parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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NEWS SERVICE
CHICAGO - "A Review of the Catechism of the Catholic Church," a video-supported program featuring Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl as author and host, has b~en released nationally by Lpyola Press of Chi~ cago. "This is the first program of its kind, and is a marvelous resource for adult faith formation, campus ministry discussion groups, young adult meetings, sacramental preparation and renewal processes," said Father Kris Stubna, who heads the Pittsburgh diocesan Secretariat for Education, which produced the video and print segments of the program. The eight-tape, VHS-format set contains a total of 36 sessions, each about 20 minutes long. Also included are facilitators' guides and repro~ ducible participant worksheets. . Since its publication, the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" has been a best seller worldwide and has received significant attention in the United States, Father Stubna said. "Bishop Wuerl is the first bishop in the country to utilize modern means of technology to comrilUnicate and to teach the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' in a comprehensive way," he added. "This video set will be an invaluable resource to teachers, families, and whole parish communities in their efforts to teach the faith."
(For information, call Loyola Press at (800) 621-1008 or write to 3441 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60657.) Contin~ed from page nine
Audrey (Maria Pitillo), a TV news gal who reappears in his life to get an exCATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE clusive scoop, cameraman Victor NEW YORK - The roaring, fire- (Hank Azaria) - and a mysterious breathing "Godzilla" (TriStar) has a . Frenchman (Jean Reno) whose presgrand time stomping all over New ence adds virtually nothing to the plot. After the huge creature makes its York's landmarks and citizens - but the overhyped monster movie fearsome debut in the Fulton Fish Market and knocks aside pesky skyunderdelivers. Roland Emmerich ("Indepen- scrapers around Wall Street, it (quite dence Day") directs and is coy about unbelievably) vanishes despite all the showing the entire beast for 45 min- horrified onlookers. "Size does matter," proclaims the utes. It seems longer; in fact, the 90 minutes plods along with only mod- motto of the movie; evidently, charest readings on the Richter scale of acterization, plotting and pacing do not. thrills whenever Godzilla surfaces. . By the time Godzilla makes his Most of the murky-dark movie is set in rain-drenched Manhattan, third foray across the Big Apple, where the beast turns up uninvited viewers will be impatiently checking . after alarming incidents in the South their watches. . The script is in the dumb-andPacific, Panama and along the Eastdumber mode, the performances by ern Seaboard. The endangered humans we are the book and the attempts at humor supposed to care about include unas- lame. Everything is left to the comsuming biologist Nick (Matthew puter-generated imagery to engage Broderick), still heartsick over being audiences as this latest version of the dumped by his college ~weetie, original 1954 Japanese monster sys-
By GERR" PARE
Frederick Torphy; $300 _1I!!".'!'l"'Grenda, Charles Coye, Gilbert Amaral, Miss Women's Guild; $250 M-M Ri- "-Iii!i!!!!!!IlI Laura Vecchi, Carl &Joan Briggs, M-M Rob- . chard Brewer; $200 M-M Eugene Kennedy, Mrs. William J. ert ~nderson, Mrs. Theresa Williams. Porter; $150 Hon. &Mrs. James WELLFLEET Our Lady of Lourdes $400 M-M Emest M. Cronin; $125 M-M Brian Sullivan; $100 F. Rose; $100 M·M John P. Ferro, M-M Arthur M-M James Hudner, Mrs. Mary Silveira, M· A. Parker, Sr., M·M James D. Mahoney, M-M MBrian McDonald, M-M William Devine, MMJohn l. Mercer, M-M R. Christian Lafrance, Joseph M. Duarte, Robert J. McGlame. M·M Elliott Lamontagne, Dorothy Tongue. WEST HARWICH WOODS HOLE Holy Trinity $1,000 Harold W. Murray, St Joseph $1,000 George & Carolyn Ruth C. Sheehy; $500 M-M John J. Mahoney; $350 M-M Robert Geary; $300 Mrs. James Rooney. Charles, Catherine F. George, M-M Paul McKenna; $200 M-M Lemuel D. Allen; Mrs. Bemis Boies, M-M Russell E. Brennan, M-M K. Dean Grade, Jack Sullivan Painting & By CAROL CASSERLY Decorating; $150 M-M Robert E. Curtis, Sr., CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE D. Agnes Gorsuch, Deacon & Mrs. John D. PHOENIX - The largest capital Sullivan; $125 M-M G. Stephen Beals, Sr., Dr. & Mrs. Edward Brady, Mr. Joseph F. campaign in the history of the DioMurphy; $100 John R. Blackburn, Gertrude cese of Phoenix will seek to raise $25 M. Dean, Betty M. Gerry, M-M Joseph million for Catholic schools of the Harding, M-M William C. Hickey, M-M Peter diocese. . J. Hurtt, M-M Carl Johnson & Thomas, M-M Bishop Thomas ). O'Brien, who Louis LaFlamme, Mary F. MacDougall, M-M kicked off the campaign, said that of David Roderick, M-M John Shea, Mrs. Rich- the $25 million, $7.5 million will be ard I. Shea, M-M Wallace Somers, Dr. & Mrs.. used to build new interparish schools Thomas Szymkowicz;Mrs. Philip Waystack, in the northeast and southeast regions M-M Bernard T. White. of the Phoenix metropolitan area; WESTPORT $13.3 million will used to renovate Our Lady of Grace $100 Our Lady of and repair existing schools; and $4.2 Grace Council of Catholic Women. million will be used to open Catholic 51. George $125 M-M Francis X. Flynn; education to more children by estab$100 Theresa Plunkett. St. John the Baptist $700 M-M '" lishing a tuition assistance endow-
THE BIG BEAST stomps on Manhattan in a scene from the feature film "Godzilla." The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-Ill-adults. The Motion Picture Association os America rating is PG-13 - parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (CNS photo from ColumbiafTri-Star)
Sacred Heart Fathers acquire Sheed & W:ard By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE KANSAS CITY, Mo. - National Catholic Reporter Publishing Co. has sold its Sheed'& Ward books division to Theological Book Service, an apostolate of the Sacred 'Heart Fathers in Franklin, Wis. It announced the sale in a recent issue of the National Catholic Reporter, its weekly national newspaper.
It also announced the sale of its noted lay Catholic writers and apoloaudiotape division, Credence Cas- gists, founded Sheed & Wan1 in Lonsettes, to the newly formed Credence don in 1926, six months after they Communications in Kansas City. The married. They opened a New York company was created by Kathleen A. branch in 1933 and in 1940 thl:y moved Conwell, an NCR Publishing em- to the United States. Writers who published under the ployee for the past 11 years, and Kathleen M. Madden, formerly on the . Sheed & Ward imprint included Enstaff of the National Federation for glish literary figures G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, cultural historian . Catholic Youth Ministry. Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward, Christopher Dawson, French philosophers Jacques Maritain and Etienne Gilson, novelists Francois Manriac and Leon Bloy, Swiss theologian Father , . said the idea of conducting a capital Hans Kung and German Jesuit theocampaign for schools grew from a logian Father Karl Rahner. In 1973 the couple sold their pubnumber of letters and requests he received a few years ago from people lishing house to Universal Pn:ss Syndicate, which changed the name briefly who wanted more schools. "I think the time is right," Bishop but then revived the Sheed & Ward . O'Brien said. "I think there is a re- imprint for reissues ofclassics that had naissance of Catholic schools and a first appeared under that name:. The Sacred Heart Fathers founded resurgence of Catholic schools throughout the country.... There is a Theological Book Service at the close of the Second Vatican Counci I to adnew level of interest." The bishop said that interest in vance the distribution ofcontemporary Catholic education has been spurred religious literature. Sacred Heart Father Paul J. by poor quality in public education McGuire, chairman of the sl:rvice's and by the good track record, history and quality of education Catholic advisory board, called its acquisition schools are providing to young of Sheed & Ward "a perfect marriage." people.
Phoenix diocese campaign sets $25Mfor its schools ment. The campaign, "Today's Children - Tomorrow's' Leaders," already raised $7 million during a pilot phase last fall that included eight of the diocese's 87 p·arishes. The remaining parishes will raise funds over the next seven months. . "I'm asking everyone who is interested in the Catholic school education system to participate by contributing to this campaign. We need to make an investment in our children's educati'on and future.... We need an infusion of new money in our schools." In an interview with The Catholic Sun, Phoenix diocesan newspaper, he