Hammer of the Gods review
This is what happens when your Lord of the Rings cosplay gets overrun by Method stuntmen.
adventure
The Dyatlov Pass Incident (aka Devil’s Pass) review: mountain high
A deliciously ooky, X-Files-esque chiller that’s a scary-fun hoot and a half; a lean, smart example of the found-footage flick.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec review: gloriously goofy
This is what comic-book movies look like when they’re not blown up into $200 million monstrosities: friendly and eldritch and kinda cosy even in the middle of outrageous escapades. (new DVD US)
The Lone Ranger review: weak whiskey
Limp and lifeless, this overlong and undercooked would-be blockbuster cannot focus on either the hard-edged realities or the magical mysteries it toys with.
Planes review: crash commercialism
“Good” for nothing but the electronic babysitting of toddlers and fomenting consumer desire in impressionable children for the new line of made-in-China Dusty Crophopper extruded plastic. (new DVD/VOD US/Can)
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters review: clash-of-the-titan babies
Spectacularly mediocre fantasy junk food, perfectly inoffensive for youngsters but too featherweight for adult genre fans.
The Smurfs 2 review: a smurfeit of Smurfs
I am haunted by the crazed desperation in Jayma Mays’s eyes. She may have been blinking out a Morse-code SOS, but I can’t be sure…
Blancanieves review: silent style
A valentine to early filmmaking, this silent-movie pastiche is gorgeous, lush, and bursting with passion. It presents a familiar fairy tale with a wondrous air of freshness and newfound intimacy.
Now You See Me review: popcorn with glitter on top
Most of it makes no sense at all, but who cares? This is cheerful ridiculousness pulled off with panache.
World War Z review: mutated Hollywood ebola
Has no guts of any kind: it has absolutely nothing to say, and it takes a long, dull, circuitous route to get to that nothing.
