OPENING THIS WEEK
AND SO IT GOES
Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton star in this tear-jerker. She’s a lounge singer who sheds tears when she sings, and he plays a jerk. But we know he’ll find his heart of gold when his estranged son asks him to care for the nine-year-old granddaughter he’s never met. Director Rob Reiner should have known better than to take this on. (Chris Knight)
BIRD CO. MEDIA
In advertising, the sky’s the limit. So why not employ birds? That’s the premise of this cleverly designed 80-minute mockumentary, following the efforts of two university graduates (Bradley Miller, Kabir Ali) to set up a company in India that will use pigeons and other avian labour to pull tiny, aerodynamic banners. (Chris Knight)
HERCULES
Nobody sane was expecting art from Hercules, and director Brett Ratner delivers as expected a lowestcommon-denominator formula blockbuster, with Dwayne Johnson heaving his bulk around the screen in 3-D. (Has Johnson ever seemed like he’s NOT in 3-D?) Ratner may have started with a greater goal, but he’s wisely pruned it right back to deliver roustabout summer escapism, nothing more. (Tim Robey)
LUCY
Lucy stars Scarlett Johansson as a U.S. student in Taipei, Taiwan, who gets caught up with drug traffickers and overdoses on CPH4 — a drug that gives her total recall, complete control over her body, and the ability to read people’s minds. The problem with the plot is where to take things. Eventually, your character will be a lot smarter than even the best screenwriter, and the cracks in the story are going to show. (Chris Knight)
A MOST WANTED MAN
The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in this adaptation of John le Carré’s novel as a German anti-terrorist agent tracking the movements of a Chechen Muslim living under the radar in Hamburg. Hoping to enlist the support of the young lawyer representing his case for asylum (Rachel McAdams), our G-man puts himself on the line one more time. Hoffman’s performance is naked, human and memorable — even if the movie isn’t. (Katherine Monk)
WISH I WAS HERE
Zach Braff co-writes, directs and stars in this movie about an unemployed actor who hits hard times when his father falls ill and he’s forced to spend time as a house husband. Despite some workable coming-of-age clichés and great performances from the supporting cast that includes Mandy Patinkin, Kate Hudson and Josh Gad, Braff’s movie suffers from a palpable sense of self-consciousness. (Katherine Monk)
RECENT RELEASES
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)
BEGIN AGAIN
Mark Ruffalo plays a burnt-out music exec who hits the bottom of the bottle, but finds redemption when he hears the birdlike sounds of a singersongwriter played by Keira Knightley. The movie feels so canned, it grows irritating, but thanks to some decent scene work from Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, Ruffalo and co-star Catherine Keener, this corndog covered in cheese proves palatable as summer junk. (Katherine Monk)
BLENDED
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore play single parents who wind up at the same African resort with their children. If you love Sandler’s juvenile humour and shmaltz, it’s a delight. All others, beware. (Jay Stone)
CHEF
Jon Favreau 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)
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Probably the strongest of all the Apes movies, this prequel to the 1968 Charlton Heston classic pulls us into the transition period between the age of humans and the age of the genetically modified super chimp. Humans are living in ghettos while the apes build cities under their leader, Caesar. Some believe the two species can coexist, but the reactionary hardliners on both sides lead a call to war in this wellexecuted and intelligently written piece of summer escapism. (Katherine Monk)
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
Eric Bana stars as real-life NYPD detective Ralph Sarchie, a man who believes he encountered supernatural forces of evil while on duty in the Bronx. A standard exorcism story with a post-traumatic edge, the plot revolves around three soldiers who come back from the Middle East changed men. Director Scott Derrickson could have turned this into an interesting metaphor about war, but instead makes a rather dreary genre film that is saved by the presence of the empathetic Bana in the lead. (Katherine Monk)
EDGE OF TOMORROW
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’s no chemistry between the leads, Liman is a master of the genre, Blunt is always sharp, and Cruise knows how to sell action sizzle. (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 gets by on East Coast charisma. (Jay Stone)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 The story of human boy Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his trusted dragon Toothless resumes in this second instalment that offers just as many surprises as the first thanks to its molten heart, non-aggressive agenda and the cutest animated dragon ever. Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson and Cate Blanchett are also featured voices. (Katherine Monk)
JERSEY BOYS
Clint Eastwood’s steely-eyed direction brings a dry, oddly clinical edge to this screen adaptation of the Broadway musical based on Frankie Valli’s musical career with the Four Seasons. Though Eastwood makes the period film look perfect, it’s caked in cliché as it turns life in working-class Newark into a two-hour-plus jukebox session. (Katherine Monk)
PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE
It’s a diverting if uninspired sequel to an already uninspired propellerdriven Cars spinoff, 2013’s Planes. Fire & Rescue finds Dusty (Dane Cook) causing a fire at the airport that the lone fire engine (Hal Holbrook) can’t put out. So Dusty trains to be his helper. Director Roberts Gannaway can’t elevate a lacklustre script that plods its paces like a tired old horse. (Chris Knight)
THE PURGE: ANARCHY
The brainless sequel to 2013’s The Purge is about as subtle as the fox for prey. In 2023 America, all crime is legal for one night each year. Even overacting. A bickering couple, a waitress and her daughter are rescued by a mysterious stranger and spend the rest of the movie bickering. You may end up rooting for the bad guys. (Chris Knight)
SEX TAPE
Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel star as a married couple who hanker to spice up their life in the bedroom by making an amateur sex video. When the tape accidentally syncs to several devices, the husband-and-wife team crisscross Los Angeles to prevent it from going viral. Thanks to a good script that touches on accessible marital issues without rancour, and Segel and Diaz’s natural comic chemistry, Sex Tape delivers an above average roll in the rom-com hay. (Katherine Monk)
WORDS AND PICTURES
Fred Schepisi (Six Degrees of Separation) directs Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in this predictable romance that pits an alcoholic English teacher against a vulnerable art teacher in a bid to prove which form of expression has the most power. Because the two leads have so much talent and texture, even the formula bits feel genuine and prove surprisingly moving. (Katherine Monk)