WEB LINKS » Critics.com » Official Site » IMDb Listing

A man possesses the ability of bringing literary characters to life while reading from different books. Before understanding how to control his skill, his wife is taken into a book when a fictional character comes out. He now has to travel the world searching for a copy of the same book, hoping he can restore her to the real world. With Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Rafi Gavron, Sienna Guillory, Eliza Bennett and Jamie Foreman. Directed by Iain Softley. [1:45]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A husband and a wife hug in a couple of scenes.
► We see "water nymphs" swimming in water and standing out of the water wearing skintight outfits that reveal their form. We see a close-up of a woman's cleavage when a small animal walks across her chest and retrieves a key from between her breasts. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage in a couple of scenes. A man is bare-chested while performing in a street.

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A huge dark gray cloud swirls and takes the shape of a monster with glowing red eyes and has a mouth with pointed teeth; it roars and lunges toward people, and they run and scream.
► A man's skin begins to shrivel and turn gray, it crackles and his eyes turn bloodshot and then all white, his skin becomes paper, he writhes and falls to his knees, turns to dust and blows away. Several people turn to dust and blow away.
► A man cuts another man's arm using a knife (we see blood). A man has a bloody nose. A man holds a knife to another man's throat, and threatens to cut out his tongue. A man pulls a sword on another man.
► A man tackles another man, and they fight with punches. A man is struck hard on the back of the head and falls to the floor unconscious. A girl swinging a human leg bone strikes a man hard on the back of the head. A woman punches a man in the face. A man knocks another man unconscious, and a young man knocks another man unconscious. A man carrying a case strikes another man with it.
► A man throws a book in a fire and it begins to burn, and a man grabs it out of the flames and burns his hands (we see the charred flesh). A man puts his hands on another man's shoulders and his hands ignite (the other man is frightened).
► Several creatures run through a village and frighten people, and a flying monkey attacks a man and carries him away. A minotaur lunges toward people, and it is pulled back by a heavy chain. A small animal jumps on a man, and he throws it to the ground.
► Several men hold a man at gunpoint. A man tells another man that he is going to be executed and he is held at gunpoint. We see men holding guns in several scenes. Several men forcibly take a girl and a woman and we see them riding in a truck. A man steps on another man's hand (we hear a crunch). A man and a girl run through streets while being chased by another man (they get away). A woman is held in a rope sling that hangs high off the ground. A woman falls through a hole in the floor and is trapped in a room with bars on its windows. We see people held in a dungeon cell and later two people held in a cage.
► A man orders that a dog be executed (the dog is picked up and carried off-screen, but we do see it alive later). A man with a knife threatens another man, who opens a coffin and reveals dusty bones and remains that seem to frighten the first man.
► A huge cyclone blows through a small village, buildings are blown to rubble, a car is lifted off the ground and the people inside are thrown through he air; the car crashes back to the ground nearly crushing a man, trees fall and trap people running through streets, a house crashes to the ground near a man and a man crashes to the ground (he seems unharmed but afraid). Two people spill gasoline inside a building and set it on fire (we see the building burning but it is not clear if anyone is inside).
► A girl hears voices coming from a book, she opens the book and we hear a loud cackling. A girl hears voices coming from books in a darkened room and she is frightened. A man hears voices coming from books as he looks through shelves. Men lurking outside a house startle a girl.
► Two men nearly fall off a roof, but jump across to another roof safely. A man juggles flaming items and blows flames from his hand for a crowd. A man's hands glow red when he blows into them (he is not burned).
► We see many snakes slithering across a book in a large box and a woman reaches in to get he book (she is not harmed). We see many fictional and mythical creatures (a unicorn, flying monkeys, a crocodile with a clock in its stomach, a minotaur, etc.) alive and held in stalls. We see paintings of people having been speared through the abdomen (we see blood on the clothing). A man has three scars on his face that run across one eye. A man has three scars on his arm from another man cutting him with a knife. We are told that a woman is unable to speak. Many people are shown with words and letters on their faces and bodies. Several men tear pages out of books, build a pile and burn them.
► A man shoves another man and threatens him. A man threatens to kill a woman and lock up a girl for "all eternity." A man threatens to "burn the skin" off another man. People yell at each other in a few scenes. A woman inside a house yells at people ringing her doorbell. A man tells other men to feed a young man to the "ticking crocodile." A woman tells a girl "I'm gonna stick you with a pin."
► A man says, "the shadow will be feeding on you later" to several people. A man tells another man that he dies in a story. A young man tells a girl "you are as sour as God's urine." A man talks about a woman "going into" a book and needing to "read her back out." People talk about books and that they contain murder and mayhem.

PROFANITY 3 - 1 unclear scatological term, 1 anatomical term, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (stupid, thugs, old, liar, pathetic, cowardly, weak, deceitful, hooligan, villains, selfish), 2 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]

SUBSTANCE USE - None.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Story tellers, family, selfishness, fate, growing up without a mother, abandonment, adventure, loneliness, murder, mayhem.

MESSAGE - The written word is a powerful thing.

Special Keywords: S2 - V4 - P3 - MPAAPG