23 Blast movie review: do they play football in Heaven?
The clunky script and amateurish performances are not unexpected in the faith-based genre, but its dubious “inspiration” gives even diehard-atheist me pause.
teen
The Maze Runner movie review: a terrible feeling of deja vu
Bland and generic beyond the small pleasures of its theme-park-ride-esque thrills and its half-intriguing, half-infuriating mystery.
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.
The Dead Lands movie review (London Film Festival)
A tediously clichéd, overblown, badly acted action flick full of bloody movie violence dressed up in Maori drag.
The Riot Club movie review: bad boys never lose
Hooray for a good old-fashioned rich-bastard bashing. But they get the last laugh: These guys are the future masters of the universe. Hooray.
The Giver movie review: give it back
A very simplistic Dystopia for Dummies — with a bit of Terrence Malick for Dummies — and inoffensive enough until it devolves into all kinds of stupid.
If I Stay movie review: you see me, you really see me
Honest, emotional teen melodrama with a great performance by Chloe Grace Moretz that serves as a beautiful metaphor for the choices that teen girls face.
Rich Hill documentary review: American dysfunction
A portrait of American poverty in which compassion for its subjects is matched only by a caustic rage at the utter collapse of the American dream.
Around the Block movie review: to teach, perchance to inspire
Appealing performances, a few tweaks to genre clichés, and a sincere desire to counter outrageous racism go a long way toward making this worth a look.
Very Good Girls movie review: sex negative
An almost complete waste of a talented cast, and all to, apparently, convince teenaged girls that sex isn’t worth the hassle. Say what?
