MOVIE CLOSE-UPS
OPENING THIS WEEK
22 JUMP STREET ★★★ 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 is steeped in self-awareness and Hollywood genre as it pokes fun at buddy bonding. It works because the two leads not only have chemistry, they have great timing and absolutely no shame. (Katherine Monk)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
★★★★ The story of the human boy Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his trusted dragon Toothless resumes in this second instalment that offers just as many wonderful surprises as the first thanks to its molten heart, nonaggressive agenda and the cutest animated dragon ever. Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson and Cate Blanchett are also featured voices. (Katherine Monk)
LOCKE ★★★★ The incredible Tom Hardy (Bronson) takes the wheel for this solo journey into mental fragmentation as he plays Ivan Locke, a concrete foreman whose life starts to crumble before his eyes. Despite the lack of visible co-stars, a changing landscape or even much of a plot, Hardy is magnetic because his character is brave enough to face the truth. (Katherine Monk)
RECENT RELEASES
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
★★★ Marc Webb returns to direct, Stan Lee makes another cameo and Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man in what feels like an exercise in stock superhero moviemaking. (Chris Knight)
BLENDED ★★ Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore play single parents who wind up at the same African resort with their children. For those who love Sandler’s combination of juvenile humour and shmaltz, it’s a delight. All others, beware. (Jay Stone)
CHEF ★★★ It’s a combination of food porn and family drama from Jon Favreau, who plays a gourmet chef who gets tired of the corporate safety of restaurant cuisine and pursues his own muse in a food truck. It’s an overstuffed meal, but who can resist fried food? (Jay Stone)
EDGE OF TOMORROW ★★★ 1/2 Doug Liman directs Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in this big-budget action spectacle that explores the idea of going back in time to fight the same battle several times over in a bid to finally win an alien war. Though there are holes in the logic and there’s no chemistry between the leads, the movie still works because Liman is a master of the genre, Blunt is always sharp, and Cruise knows how to sell action sizzle. (Katherine Monk)
FADING GIGOLO ★★★ John Turturro directed and stars in this oddball romantic comedy about a florist who becomes a gigolo with the help of his friend (Woody Allen, the least likely pimp in cinematic history). It’s preposterous, but it gets by on tender charm. (Jay Stone) THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
★★★ 1/2 Shailene Woodley serves up a simple but memorable last supper in the role of Hazel Grace, the heroine from John Green’s novel about two teenage cancer patients who fall in love. Despite the ample doses of tearjerker cliché, the movie still works a tender magic thanks to Woodley’s ability to make every moment real, as well as Laura Dern’s presence as the mother who has to be strong for her kid. (Katherine Monk)
GODZILLA ★★★ Gareth Edwards reboots the radioactive mutant from Japan. But the script fails to develop the human characters. (Katherine Monk)
THE GRAND SEDUCTION ★★★ In this charming, if unlikely, remake of a Quebec film, a Newfoundland town, headed by grizzled Brendan Gleeson, remakes itself to attract a handsome doctor (Taylor Kitsch). It’s a ridiculous idea that gets by on sheer East Coast charisma. (Jay Stone)
HEAVEN IS FOR REAL ★★ 1/2 A non-confrontational tale of a little boy who sees Jesus during an emergency appendectomy. Greg Kinnear plays the lad’s dad, a pastor whose own faith is rattled by his son’s revelation. (Chris Knight)
MALEFICENT ★★★ Though the script is a little thin and the direction a little limp, Angelina Jolie has more than enough screen presence to keep us spellbound as Maleficent, the villainess from Sleeping Beauty. (Katherine Monk)
MILLION DOLLAR ARM ★★★ Jon Hamm stars as real-life sports agent J.B. Bernstein, a man who looked to India for the next baseball star. Some entertaining scenes and solid work from the cast. (Katherine Monk) A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST ★★ 1/2 Seth MacFarlane’s spoof of westerns is filled with gross-out gags and ironic commentary: it’s Blazing Saddles with a potty mouth. The gags don’t amount to much, but there are one or two laughs. (Jay Stone)
NEIGHBORS ★ 1/2 Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are a young suburban couple who go to war with the next-door fraternity president (Zac Efron) and his posse of party animals. (Jay Stone) ROCK PAPER DICE ENTER NOT RATED In this homegrown suspense thriller, the fate of North America is in jeopardy when a mysterious caller connects with a city’s top security team. It’s from filmmaking duo Shreela Chakrabartty and Kash Gauni — the latter also stars as the modernday terrorist who idealizes Edward Snowden. (Melissa Hank)
UNDER THE SKIN ★★★★ Scarlett Johansson offers her bravest performance to date in this perfectly creepy movie from director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth). Steeped in a minimalist style and featuring truly frigid frames of the Scottish landscape, Glazer’s movie forces us to feel the cold of a hostile environment, and in return, appreciate the miracle of human warmth. (Katherine Monk)
WOLFCOP ★★ A low-budget horror comedy about an alcoholic policeman who grows fangs by the light of the moon. The exposition is clunky and the effects are minimal, but at least it doesn’t take itself too seriously. (Jay Stone)
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
★★★★ Professor X (Patrick Stewart) realizes the only way to save humanity and mutants from destruction is to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) into the past. (Katherine Monk)