“No Escape” (Weinstein)
Shortly after their arrival in the Thailand-like country to which they’re relocating, a U.S. businessman (Owen Wilson), his wife (Lake Bell) and their two young daughters (Sterling Jerins and Claire Geare) find themselves caught up in a military coup fueled by murderous anti-Americanism.
As they flee the barbaric rebels, they find an ally in an acquaintance (Pierce Brosnan) who not only knows the lay of the land, but also has well-honed combat abilities. Though the ordeal to which director and co-writer John Erick Dowdle subjects his characters strengthens their familial bonds, it’s likely to garner winces from moviegoers uncomfortable at seeing the innocent and vulnerable suffer.
Frequent harsh and sometimes gory violence, emotionally wrenching situations, including a rape scene with partial nudity, a couple of uses of profanity, about a dozen instances each of rough and crude language.
The Catholic News Service classification is L – limited adult audience. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
“We Are Your Friends” (Warner Bros.)
The relationship between an aspiring DJ (Zac Efron) and his musical mentor (Wes Bentley) is threatened when the protege falls for his patron’s live-in girlfriend (Emily Ratajkowski).
Alongside this love triangle, director and co-writer Max Joseph sets up a hackneyed conflict between the youth’s artistic ambitions and the pressure to settle for a mundane but practical lifestyle by joining his trio of closest friends (Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez and Alex Shaffer) in working for a shady real estate operator (Jon Bernthal).
Genuine moral values occasionally surface in this tepid, noncommittal drama.
Benignly viewed drug use, cohabitation and premarital relations, brief semi-graphic bedroom scenes, upper female nudity, a couple of profanities, pervasive rough and crude language.
The Catholic News Service classification is L – limited adult audience. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.