CAPSULE REVIEWS OF FIRST-RUN MOVIES NOW PLAYING IN CALGARY THEATRES
22 Jump Street
Miraculously better than the first attempt to turn a 1980s teen-themed cop show into a comedy, this sequel to the spoof of TV’s 21 Jump Street starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill pokes fun at buddy bonding.
A Most Wanted Man
Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in this adaptation of John le Carre’s novel as a German anti-terrorist agent tracking the movements of a Chechen Muslim living in Hamburg.
A Walk Among the Tombstones
Liam Neeson stars as a cop who gives up his badge after a gunfight goes wrong. Now working as a private detective, he takes a job working for a mobster whose wife was kidnapped by two sadists asking for ransom money.
As Above, So Below
The horror flick never passes the credibility test from the getgo.
Begin Again
Mark Ruffalo plays a burnt-out music executive who finds redemption when he hears the birdlike sounds of a singer-songwriter played by Keira Knightley.
The Boxtrolls
When a young orphan raised by trolls discovers his best friends and family are considered monsters by the human world above, he endeavours to bridge the gap by proving the boxtrolls are caring and kind.
Boyhood
Richard Linklater directs this coming-of-age movie that follows one actor over a span of 12 years, from boyhood to college.
The Congress
Not all of The Congress will make sense, but that’s part of its appeal.
David Bowie Is
More than just a filmed tour through London’s Victoria and Albert Museum with curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh, this documentary take on the gallery’s David Bowie exhibition puts the pop legend in historical and cultural context
Dolphin Tale 2
It’s a film of torpid amiability, family entertainment in the vein of a carousel.
Dr. Cabbie
Directed by Jean-Francois Pouliot (La grande seduction), Deepak Veer Chopra (Vinay Virmani) comes to Toronto from India to become a doctor, but is devastated to learn the medical establishment there won’t recognize his credentials.
The Drop
The story of a Brooklyn bar taken over by Chechen hoods, The Drop is an atmospheric mystery underpinned with a creeping sense of dread.
Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in this action spectacle that explores the idea of going back in time to fight the same battle several times over.
The Equalizer
Denzel Washington stars as a retired secret agent who helps a young prostitute escape evil Russian mobsters in this stylistically rich and somewhat irresistible movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy
A new franchise is born — messy and a bit too much in love with the memory of Star Wars, but still brainless fun.
Hector and the Search for Happiness
There’s little happiness for the viewer as an unhappy psychiatrist (Simon Pegg) leaves his great job, home and girlfriend to travel around the world seeking the meaning of happiness.
Hercules
No one sane was expecting art from Hercules, and director Brett Ratner delivers as expected a lowest-common-denominator formula blockbuster.
The Hundred-Foot Journey
Helen Mirren stars as the chef of a Michelin-starred, classical French restaurant who rules her domain with an iron fist. But, when an Indian family opens an innovative eatery nearby, a culinary and cultural war ensues.
If I Stay
Chloe Grace Moretz plays a young woman on the verge of musical greatness when tragedy strikes, leaving her in a coma.
Into the Storm
Despite incredible special effects that simulate a monster tornado, this modern take on Twister is laden with irritating, self-conscious devices.
Let’s Be Cops
This witless comedy features Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson (New Girl) as two stumblebums who decide to impersonate policemen for kicks.
Lucy
Scarlett Johansson stars as a U.S. student in Taipei, Taiwan, who gets caught up with drug traffickers and overdoses on a drug that gives her total recall, control over her body, and the ability to read people’s minds.
Magic in the Moonlight
Woody Allen directs this romantic comedy starring Colin Firth as a pompous Englishman who’s a noted debunker of spiritualists.
Maleficent
Though the script is a little thin and the direction a little limp, Angelina Jolie has the screen presence to keep us spellbound as Maleficent, the villainess from Sleeping Beauty.
The Maze Runner
A group of young men are stuck in a giant maze surrounded by towering walls, and filled with danger.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
An update of the 1960s animated shorts about a time-travelling dog and his adopted human son, Sherman.
Night Moves
Kelly Reichardt creates a stunning landscape painting of a movie that explores the nature of moral responsibility in the face of youthful idealism.
No Good Deed (not reviewed)
Idris Elba stars as a deadly escaped convict who appears on the doorstep of a mother of two (Taraji P. Henson) in suburban Atlanta.
Rich Hill (not reviewed)
Directed by Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos, Rich Hill intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in an impoverished Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.
Sex Tape
Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel star as a married couple who make an amateur sex video. When the tape accidentally syncs to several devices, they crisscross Los Angeles to prevent it from going viral.
Snowpiercer
Chris Evans stars in this futuristic dud from Korean director Joon-ho Bong that tells another post-apocalyptic story and imagines a future where the entire planet is covered in ice as a result of a flawed bid to stop global warming.
Tammy
Melissa McCarthy co-wrote, produced and stars in this comedy directed by her husband, Ben Falcone.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Adolescent, deformed, martial artist reptilians fight crime in this mess of a movie. In the end, it stands for nothing.
This Is Where I Leave You
Jane Fonda heads up an all-star cast that includes Jason Bateman and Tina Fey in this formulaic family comedy with dramatic undertones.
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Michael Bay directs this fourth instalment that features a fugitive Optimus Prime and an evil black ops chief who wants to kill all robots, even the nice ones.
The Trip to Italy
Tuck in for this followup to 2010’s The Trip, in which Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon played faux versions of themselves and motored around England, eating fine food and doing duelling Michael Caine impressions. The premise of this film is unapologetically identical, except this time the setting is Italy.
When the Game Stands Tall
This is, if nothing else, the rare “based on a true story” that doesn’t need to juice its narrative one little bit. In pure fiction, it would be piling on, but this football redemption story doesn’t need any embellishment.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Professor X realizes the only way to save humanity and mutants from sure destruction is to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) into the past to stop a weapon from being invented. Thanks to the cast, the film finds enough emotional mass to hold all the moving parts together.