This week at the movies, we’ve got a rock ‘n’ roll romance (Rock of Ages, starring Julianne Hough and Tom Cruise) and some father-son bonding (That’s My Boy, starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg). What do the critics have to say?
Given the runaway success of Glee, it’s no surprise that the hit jukebox musical Rock of Ages — featuring songs by Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison, and the like — made the transition from the stage to the screen. Unfortunately, critics say this headbanger’s ball is unlikely to rock you like a hurricane; though it provides some campy thrills, the film is overstuffed with underdeveloped characters and plot strands. Rock of Ages stars Julianne Hough as Sherrie, a small town girl with dreams of rock stardom. She works at a struggling club on the Sunset Strip, where high-maintenance rock god Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) rules the scene. The pundits say Rock of Ages‘ talented cast (especially Cruise) is clearly having a lot of fun, but the plot is wafer thin and the antics surprisingly tame, given the excess of the period it’s supposedly celebrating. (Check out this week’s Total Recall, in which we count down Cruise’s best-reviewed movies.)
Adam Sandler has never exactly been a critical darling, but his most recent starring vehicles (Jack and Jill, Just Go with It, Grown Ups) have been rated lower than usual. The trend continues with That’s My Boy, which critics say is more juvenile than most Happy Madison Productions. The Sandman stars as Donny, who fathered a son named Todd (played by Andy Samberg as a grownup) while in middle school; when Todd turned 18, Donny disappeared from his son’s life. Now strapped for cash, Donny attempts to end their estrangement in order to persuade Todd to take part in a reality TV show; hilarity, in the form of familial discord, ensues. The pundits say That’s My Boy has a few decent lowbrow yuks, but it’s relentlessly sophomoric and tasteless. (Check out 24 Frames for a pictorial rundown of Sandler’s most memorable roles.)
Tahrir: Liberation Square, a documentary about last year’s Egyptian democracy protests, is at 100 percent.
Your Sister’s Sister, starring Emily Blunt and Mark Duplass in a dramedy about a liaison between a pair of grieving friends, is at 93 percent (check out Duplass’ Five Favorite Films here).
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, a documentary about the boundary-pushing performance artist, is at 88 percent.
Extraterrestrial, a sci-fi comedy about a group of young people holed up in an apartment as a UFO lurks overhead, is at 69 percent.
The Woman in the Fifth, starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in a psychological thriller about an expat American writer in Paris who is drawn to an enigmatic woman, is at 69 percent.
Americano, starring Salma Hayek in a drama about a French real estate agent who must travel to America to settle his deceased mother’s estate, is at 55 percent.
Patang, a drama set in the midst of India’s biggest kite festival, is at 33 percent.
The Tortured, a horror film about a pair of suburban parents who take justice into their own hands after their son is murdered, is at eight percent.
