Movies Reviews: 4-14
4/14/2011Summaries are condensed from Blade reviews and reflect the theater schedule starting tomorrow. Films are rated on a scale of 5 stars (best) to Bomb (worst). The reviewer's name, movie running time, and abbreviations of the theaters where the movie is playing are at the end of each summary.
Rio
Jessie Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jane Lynch, and Wanda Sykes provide the voices for this animated tale about a domesticated macaw that travels around the world to chase down the love of his life. G 96 minutes. (Fox, FP, FT, LC, SDI)
Atlas Shrugged, Part 1
A powerful railroad executive struggles to keep her business alive while society is crumbling around her. Based on the 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. PG-13 102 minutes. (LC)
The Conspirator
Director Robert Redford's historical drama recounts the events by a novice lawyer (James McAvoy) to defend a woman (Robin Wright Penn) accused of playing a part in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln PG-13 122 minutes. (LC)
Scream 4
Eleven years after the events of the last film, surviving cast members Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette reunite, along with a few new faces (Hayden Panettiere, Anna Paquin, and Kristen Bell). R 103 minutes (Fox, FP, FT, LC, SDI)
Arthur
British comic Russell Brand takes over for the late Dudley Moore in this remake of the 1981 smash hit about a fun-loving and wealthy alcoholic who falls for an unsuitable woman (Greta Gerwig). His no-nonsense mother gives him an ultimatum: marry the woman (Jennifer Garner) she's chosen for him or be cut off from his family's fortune. Helping him through this crisis of the heart and wallet is Arthur's loyal nanny, Hobson (Helen Mirren). This update is pointless and sorely missing the charm and wit of the original. PG-13 ** 110 minutes. (Baird) (FP, FT, LC)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
In this sequel to 2010's surprise hit, Greg Heffley, the kid who made "wimpy" cool, begins seventh grade and tries to deal with his parents' misguided attempts to make him bond with his older brother, who is his chief tormentor. Though harmless enough, the film is less broad and far less funny than the original. PG ** 96 minutes. (Wire review) (FP, FT, SDI)
Gulliver's Travels
Jack Black is Jonathan Swift's wandering hero in a modern take on Gulliver's visit to the tiny people of Lilliput. The film plays to a few of Black's strengths: his physicality, his musicality, his eyebrows. But even at 83 minutes (plus a three-minute cartoon) it's a drag, another 3-D movie for kids in which the 3-D adds nothing. PG-13 *½ 83 minutes. (Wire review) (MIT)
Hall Pass
Another strikeout from Bobby and Peter Farrelly, the writing-directing brothers who have stalled out their careers after Something About Mary and Kingpin. They take a promising premise — two husbands with roving eyes who are given week-long reprieves from their marriages by their wives — and waste it on stale gross-out gags and moderately amusing comedy scenes. R **½ 98 minutes. (Baird) (SDI)
Hanna
A teenager (Saoirse Ronan) reared by her father (Eric Bana) to be the perfect assassin is sent on her first mission. Cate Blanchett is the intelligence agent hot on her trail. At its core, this is actually a coming-of-age drama, and the fact that it features such great performances from such a strong cast makes you care whether these people live or die. PG-13 ***½ 111 minutes. (Wire review) (FP,FT, LC)
Hop
Live-action and animation blend in this comedy about a man (James Marsden) who accidentally hits the son of the Easter bunny (voiced by Russell Brand) with his car and ends up with the world's worst houseguest. The premise is promising, but the end result is about as bland as carrot-flavored jelly beans. PG **½ 90 minutes. (Wire review) (Fox, FP, FT, LC)
Insidious
A married couple (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) try to protect their comatose son (Ty Simpkins) from evil spirits. The finale is too literal and too long, but that doesn't spoil what is the spookiest and most entertaining horror flick since Paranormal Activity. PG-13 *** 102 minutes. (Wire review) (FP, FT)
Limitless
Bradley Cooper plays a slacker whose life is slowly falling apart — until he starts popping illegal pills that turn him into a supergenius. But the drug, of course, has unforeseen side effects. Directed with nimble efficiency and a sense of visual humor by Neil Burger, the film is a nifty, stylish little exercise in drug-fueled paranoia. PG-13 ***½ 105 minutes (Wire review) (FP, FT)
The Lincoln Lawyer
Matthew McConaughey is perfect as Mick, a slick, smarmy, hustling lawyer who generally defends hookers, pushers, and bikers. When he's hired to represent a very rich, perhaps dangerous young man (Ryan Phillippe), Mick finds he's in way over his head. The supporting cast in this adaptation of Michael Connelly's novel is also superb, and the plot has twists and turns aplenty. R **** 119 minutes. (Wire review) (FP, FT, LC)
Soul Surfer
AnnaSophia Robb stars in this fact-based drama about a teenaged girl who musters up the courage to climb back on her surfboard after losing an arm in a shark attack. A barrage of clumsy pro-Christian messages, an unnecessary fictitious rival, and a distinct lack of subtlety make this biopic a frustrating venture. PG ** 105 minutes. (Wire review) (FP, FT, LC)
Source Code
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a man who wakes up on a passenger train eight minutes before a terrorist bomb goes off, killing everyone aboard. Through the use of new anti-terrorist technology, he must relive those eight minutes again and again, until he can stop the attack. This bullet train of a thriller keeps audiences consistently confused and off-guard from the start. PG-13 **** 94 minutes. (Wire review) (FP, FT, LC)
True Grit
The pioneering Coen brothers don't blaze new territory with this remake of a John Wayne classic, but what they do offer is a whip-smart screenplay, colorful characters, and sequences that are stunningly acted and shot. Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld are marvelous as an unlikely set of Three Musketeers, out to a capture a murderer in the Old West. PG-13 ****½ 110 minutes (Wire review) (MIT)
Your Highness
A medieval comedy about a prince (James Franco) who enlists the help of his useless younger brother (Danny McBride) to help rescue his fiancee (Zooey Deschanel) from the clutches of an evil wizard. The ugly mess of a script mistakes vulgarity for wit and minotaur genitalia for a brilliant sight gag. R * 102 minutes (Wire review) (FP, FT, LC)
THEATER CODES
Fox: Fox Theater, 3725 Williston Rd., Northwood,; 419-690-0187
FP: Rave Franklin Park 16, 5001 Monroe St.; 419-472-1816.
FT: Rave Fallen Timbers, 2300 Village Drive West, Maumee; 419-878-0005.
LC: Rave Levis Commons, State Rt. 25 and I-475, Perrysburg; 419- 874-5693.
MIT: Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant, Maumee; 419-897-8901.
SDI: Sundance Kid Drive-In, 4500 Navarre Ave., Oregon; 419-691-9668.
KEY TO RATINGS
G: GENERAL AUDIENCES: All ages.
PG: PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED. Some material may not be suitable for children.
PG-13: PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
R: RESTRICTED. Under 17 requires youth to be accompanied by parent or adult guardian.