MOVIE REVIEWS YOUR GUIDE TO THE BIG SCREEN
THE AWAKENING. — (R).A stately chiller that owes a lot to ‘60s British flicks like “The Innocents,” but which tilts towards the cliché with every creaky step. Rebecca Hall is the lovely ghost hunter skeptic called to a boys boarding school in 1921 to find a ghost. Certain things find her, but not before everything goes bump in the script. —Joe Neumaier
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. — (PG-13). This indie drama won awards and raves at Cannes and Sundance, but feels like subpar Terrence Malick. In a remote part of the Louisiana bayou, a 6-year-old girl and her father struggle to survive. Community, resilience and imagination get them through, but director Benh Zeitlin’s film often substitutes magical realism to fill up the well where story should go. —J.N.
BELOVED. — (NR). Initially charming, but ultimately disappointing French musical, starring Catherine Deneuve as a Parisian woman who, over the course of thirty years, tries to get her romantic life in order. —Elizabeth Weitzman
THE BOURNE LEGACY. — (PG13). Jeremy Renner does a credible job replacing former franchise star Matt Damon, as another CIA operative targeted for “termination.” The big problem is the needlessly complicated plot, which threatens to overshadow the strong action scenes. Rachel Weisz costars. —E.W.
BRAVE. — (PG). Pixar’s feisty, pristine family adventure about a warrior princess and a curse, suffers from too much reliance on old-fashioned conceits. Still, the new heroine Princess Merida, and her fight to bring together her family and the tribes of her ancient land is solid and sweet, if not extra-special. —J.N.
THE CAMPAIGN. — (R). Will Farrell and Zach Galifianakis are wild - and very funny - caricatures of the U.S political process, in this over-the-top, but juicy comedy. Set in a North Carolina congressional race, director Jay Roach’s satire dares to skewer a lot of sacred American cows, but the targets are so big and idiotic, they deserve every laughinducing dig. —J.N.
CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER. — (R). this Aside indie romance from a final is disappointingly act of courage, similar to mock. to Co-writer the slick rom-coms Rashida Jones it pretends plays shocked a hard-driven when her ex executive husband who’s (a nicely understated Andy Samberg) settles down with someone else. —E.W.
Oscar CHICKEN nominees WITH PLUMS. Vincent Paronnaud (NR). and
Marjane Satrapi (“Persepolis”) return with an uneven, but generally appealing romance, about a violinist (Mathieu Amalric) whose heart is broken when his instrument is destroyed. —E.W.
COMPLIANCE. — (R).A twisted, moral parable about how easily people can be tricked into turning on each other. Director Craig Zobel’s indie - based on real incidents - has a sharp psychological point and a can’t-look-away quality, even as it turns horrifically darkhearted. —J.N.
COSMOPOLIS. — (R). David Cronenberg’s dystopian vision of an anticapitalist New York is fatally miscast: Robert Pattinson is utterly leaden as the lead, a soulless billionaire financier. —E.W.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. — (PG13). Christopher Nolan ends his dark, action-packed Batman trilogy with guts and glory. This time its Bane (Tom Hardy) facing the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale), with a nuke that could destroy all of Gotham City. Anne Hathaway is Catwoman. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman lend strong support again; and this “Godfather” of superhero flicks delivers, despite some flaws that make it even more human. —J.N.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS. —
(PG). The second sequel to the kids’ book-turned-movie series finds middle schooler Greg (Zachary Gordon) pining for a pretty classmate and dealing with his dad’s (Steve Zahn) anti-video game demands. Innocent and inoffensive, but with less spark than before. —J.N.
THE EXPENDABLES 2. — (R). it’s exactly as you’d expect, if less exciting than you’d want, in this action sequel about aging soldiers of fortune on a mission of vengeance. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and others are joined by Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger for a mini-platoon of action stars. If only their target weren’t so low. —J.N.
FAREWELL MY QUEEN. — (NR). Benoit Jacquot’s visually extravagant and lightly entertaining drama imagines Marie Antoinette’s final days at Versailles. The film is stronger on frivolity than substance, but that does seem an appropriate reflection of the court of Louis XVI. —E.W.
HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI. —
(NR). Takashi Miike’s powerful remake of a 1962 epic is — given his taste for gothic grotesqueries — stunning in its austere elegance. In 17th-century Japan, poor but honorable samurai face off against feudal lords cushioned by self--
serving traditions and pride. —E.W.
HOPE SPRINGS. — (PG-13). Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones shine in this genuinely brave, kindhearted dramedy about an over-60 married couple struggling to recapture intimacy. Director David Frankel keeps their scenes with a therapist (a sedate Steve Carell) real and humane, and the film ought to make audiences who enjoy grown-up Hollywood titles swoon. —J.N.
THE INTOUCHABLES. — (R) François Cluzet and Omar Sy star in this French dramedy about a wealthy quadriplegic whose friendship with his new aide reawakens his spirit. Though there’s a lineage here to such Hollywood flicks as “Scent of a Woman,” you don’t see the buddy-flick clichés coming, and the cast makes you feel like you’re in good hands. —J.N.
MAGIC MIKE. — (R). If you come for the show, you’ll get your money’s worth: Steven Soderbergh makes sure his movie about men stripping has plenty of both. But it’s also got unexpected gravity, thanks to a committed lead performance from Channing Tatum. —E.W.
MOONRISE KINGDOM. — (PG-13). Wes Anderson brings his characteristic whimsical precision to this charming, if somewhat remote, romance. On an isolated island, two lonely preteens fall in love and run away. The cynical adults
in their lives (Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand) will either be their downfall or salvation. —E.W.
THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN. —
(PG). Unabashedly sentimental heart-tugger, about an infertile couple (Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton) whose wishes for a child become real: their son miraculously appears out of nowhere, and changes the lives of everyone he meets. —E.W.
PARANORMAN. — (PG). A strange boy who sees dead people must stop them from overrunning his Massachusetts town, in this stop-motion animated film that’s eye-catching, but paced like a zombie. 12-year-old boys - who might be the only ones to enjoy it - should refrain from sugar before they hit the theater. —J.N.
THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES. — (PG). In other hands, this compelling documentary might feel like a big-screen alternative to the “Real Housewives” franchise. But director Lauren Greenfield finds the pathos in an ultra-wealthy couple who — much like many other Americans — mortgaged their own future. —E.W.
RED HOOK SUMMER. — (R). Spike Lee sends a pampered Atlanta preteen to a Brooklyn housing project, where he’s forced to spend a summer with his stern grandfather. There are moments of bittersweet beauty, but uneven performances and a gravely mishandled revelation mean that little coheres. E.W.
ROBOT & FRANK. — (PG-13). Frank Langella gives a somber, bittersweet performance as an aging man in the near future whose family gives him a robot companion. The mechanical buddy can handle errands, but can’t stop his owner’s dreams of returning to his days as a thief. Odd, but ingratiating.— J.N.
RUBY SPARKS. — (R). Though it never achieves the depth it seeks, the second feature from “Little Miss Sunshine” directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris has a winsome appeal. Paul Dano plays a lonely novelist who discovers he can will his dream woman (Zoe Kazan) into existence just by writing about her. —E.W.
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN. —
(NR). A beautifully made, frequently surprising documentary about ‘70s musician Sixto Rodriguez, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. —E.W.
SPARKLE. (PG-13). Whitney Houston delivers a touching final performance in this mostly successful remake, as the single mother of three singing sisters hoping to make it in 1960s Detroit. “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks is a sweet presence as the naive Sparkle, but it’s Carmen Ejogo who really shines, as the rebellious beauty ready to become the next Diana Ross. —E.W.
STEP UP REVOLUTION. — (PG-13). The dance scenes are undeniably great. But everything else about this is filler, including the inane plot line about a mogul’s daughter (Kathryn McCormick) whose working-class boyfriend organizes flash mobs in Miami. —E.W.
TED. — (R). “Family Guy” fans will love Seth MacFarlane’s hilariously twisted big-screen directorial debut. A straight-faced Mark Wahlberg is excellent as a Boston slacker whose girlfriend (Mila Kunis) thinks it’s time he gave up his stuffed teddy bear. The problem: the bear is alive (and voiced by MacFarlane). —E.W.
TO ROME WITH LOVE. — (R). After the victory that was “Midnight in Paris,” the latest Woody Allen film is a stumble, a forced roundelay of comedy and romance in the Eternal City. Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page are among the neurotic hoping to grasp something lasting. —J.N.
TOTAL RECALL. — (PG-13). A clunky industrial-grade remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle, starring Colin Farrell as a futuristic worker who discovers he had a previous identity as a rebel fighter. Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel pout through their bad girl/good girl roles, and director Len Wiseman makes the muddled story more perplexing by not keeping any order to his sci-fi universe. —J.N.
2 DAYS IN NEW YORK. — (R). Julie Delpy revisits her character from “2 Days in Paris,” only now she’s living with a Manhattan writer (Chris Rock). Much of the cultureclash comedy feels overly frenetic, but Rock and Delpy have great chemistry. —E.W.
WHY STOP NOW. — (NR). Jesse Eisenberg is frantic and funny as the son of a junkie (Melissa Leo) who has to take time out from being a piano prodigy to hang with mom’s dealers. It’s part of a convoluted dramedy that tries way too hard, but Eisenberg, Tracy Morgan and Isiah Whitlock Jr., provide moments of spark. —J.N.