Rio 2 review: jungle feeble
This is what passes for a children’s movie these days: a 1950s sitcom drawn in pretty tropical CGI colors with a few mostly forgettable songs tossed in.
action
47 Ronin review: they’re not having much fun storming the castle
A handsome movie in many ways, but it feels like an unpolished first draft, one that can’t quite decide how fantastical it wants to be.
Noah review: The Bible Episode IV: A New Hope
A Biblical action disaster fantasy epic that is completely bonkers, endlessly entertaining, and actually religious in that inspiring-and-instructional way.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier review: politics in our peanut butter
Stuns me with its scathing commentary on the real world today, wrapped up in what is some of the most delicious, most comic-booky fantasy ever.
Need for Speed review: might as well be based on a breakfast cereal
Thinks it’s poetical and epic, and the more dramatic it thinks it’s being, the more hilariously histrionic it all is.
The Art of the Steal review: steal from the best
One of the most fun heist movies ever, bursting with snappy humor and a twisty cleverness that knows that you know that you are getting conned, too…
300: Rise of an Empire review: Artemisia rocks
Eva Green stalks this movie with pride and honor, and is almost the only thing worth watching amidst frenetic CGI battles and endless ancient carnage.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman review: timey-wimey doggy-waggy
Wonderfully, sweetly geeky, and full of the sort of goofy yet intriguing adventures that inspire kiddie curiosity in history and art and science.
Non-Stop review: your popcorn bucket doubles as a floatation device
There’s a delicious cleverness to this very silly but very entertaining flick.
Stalingrad review: life among the ruins
Russia’s first 3D IMAX spectacle is visually intense, but I never warmed to a story meant to be about human resilience.
