Critics Consensus

Deadpool is Certified Fresh

Plus, Zoolander 2 doesn't watch so good, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee brings a wickedly funny new perspective to late night.

by , and | February 11, 2016 | Comments

TAGGED AS: , ,

This week at the movies, we’ve got a smart-aleck superhero (Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin), marvelous male models (Zoolander 2, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson), and lovelorn ladies (How To Be Single, starring Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson). What do the critics have to say?


Deadpool (2016) 85%

After the epic misfire that was Fantastic Four last year, Fox keeps its superhero dream alive with Deadpool — the first R-rated Marvel movie since 2008’s Punisher: War Zone. Ryan Reynolds stars in the role he was born to play: a profane, fourth wall-breaking antihero who’s on a revenge quest to save his fiancé (Morena Baccarin), while exploiting several characters borrowed from the X-Men universe. For those who aren’t immediately inured to the film’s blend of mega-violence and immature, pop culture-riddled jokes, critics say it’s worth sticking around to see how far Reynolds will go in a gleefully unhinged performance.


Zoolander No. 2 (2016) 22%

In 2001, a dimwitted male model named Derek Zoolander embarked on a mission to expose an international conspiracy, delivering a slew of quotable one-liners and inspiring a cult following along the way. Almost 15 years later, Ben Stiller (who also writes and directs) returns to the role for Zoolander 2, and critics say it’s unfortunately as vapid and scatterbrained as its hero. This time out, Derek and his former rival Hansel (Owen Wilson) are tapped by Interpol to investigate when a string of murders leaves the world’s most beautiful people dead. The pundits say Zoolander 2 offers a few laughs, but it largely plays like a collection of lazy, rehashed sketches peppered with countless celebrity cameos.


How to Be Single (2016) 46%

How to make a solid romantic comedy: assemble a likeable cast, craft a script with a few lines of sharp dialogue, and voila! Easy, right? Well, critics say How to Be Single is best when it lets its leads let loose with the girl talk, but it too often veers into overly predictable territory. After breaking up with her college boyfriend, Alice (Dakota Johnson) moves to New York, where she befriends Robin (Rebel Wilson), who instructs her in the ways of the single life. The pundits say Johnson and Wilson are terrific, and there are enough insightful, witty moments to make one wish the rest was better.


What’s Hot on TV

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee: Season 1 (2016) 100%

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee adds a female perspective to late-night TV – and one that’s fresh and funny enough to deserve more than just one show a week.


Vinyl: Season 1 (2016) 74%

Vinyl doesn’t always keep the beat, dramatically speaking, but overall, it capably honors the rock pioneers of the 1970s with absorbing stories, a spot-on soundtrack, and rich period detail.


Also Opening This Week In Limited Release

  • Nina Forever (2015) , a horror comedy about a new couple who are regularly visited in bed by the man’s deceased former girlfriend, is at 100 percent.
  • Bad Hurt (2015) , a drama about a PTSD-afflicted veteran and the dysfunctional family that surrounds him, is at 100 percent.
  • Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee A War (2015) , a drama about a Danish soldier in Afghanistan whose decision while under fire has serious consequences, is at 92 percent.
  • It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong (2015) , a romantic comedy about two Americans who meet  and share a nighttime stroll through the titular metropolis, is at 91 percent.
  • Glassland (2014) , starring Toni Collette and Jack Reynor in a drama about a Dublin taxi driver who turns to crime to help his sick mother, is at 79 percent.
  • Where to Invade Next (2015) , in which Michael Moore visits other nations in search of solutions to America’s most pressing problems, is Certified Fresh at 76 percent.
  • Mountains May Depart (2015) , a generation-spanning drama about China’s cultural transformation through the eyes of one everywoman, is at 76 percent.
  • Standoff (2016) , starring Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane in a thriller about a veteran attempting to protect a 12-year-old from a ruthless assassin, is at 50 percent.
  • Touched With Fire (2015) , starring Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby in a drama about two poets who meet in a psychiatric hospital and share a tumultuous bond, is at 38 percent.