Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day movie review: not terrible
It’s strictly for kids, this very silly, mostly sweet tale of middle-school angst, with a few nonconformist hand grenades tossed in for good measure.
family/kids
The Boxtrolls movie review: avert your eyes
There’s a fine line between baroque and grotesque… and The Boxtrolls crosses it. Here is a film that actively makes you want to look away.
Earth to Echo movie review: not good enough for me
An inoffensive time-passer for youngsters, but adult genre fans who recall the 80s classics it draws on — E.T. and The Goonies — will be bored.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 movie review: flying higher
An absolute delight, even better than the first film; a gorgeously animated ode to sticking to your principles in the face of ultimate adversity.
Maleficent movie review: fatal enchantment… you know, for kids!
Please leave your desire for a well-rounded story in the lockers provided, and keep your arms and legs inside the ride while it is in motion.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 review: black and white and web all over
Suffers badly by comparison with the cogent, witty Avengers flicks. This feels like a campy Saturday-morning cartoon left over from the 1970s.
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.
Muppets Most Wanted review: that’ll do, frog
Kermit the Frog takes on his biggest challenge yet: dual roles. And truly puts the villain in vaudevillian.
The Muppets review: are we not men? we are weirdoes
What is a Muppet? Is it something one is born? Is it something one chooses? Is it a state of mind? Is it a lifestyle?
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.
