This week at the movies, we’ve got heroes in a half shell (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett), deadly twisters (Into The Storm, starring Richard Armitage and Sarah Wayne Callies), dueling restaurateurs (The Hundred-Foot Journey, starring Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal), and dancers in Vegas (Step Up All In, starring Ryan Guzman and Briana Evigan). What do the critics have to say?
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have proven to be enduring big-screen stars, despite the fact that none of the films starring the pizza-loving reptiles have earned much critical respect. And critics say the fifth time isn’t the charm — the Michael Bay-produced franchise reboot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles offers up a few decent action scenes but lacks the giddy mischievousness that accounts for the Turtles’ continuing popularity. The evil Foot Clan has taken control of New York City’s politicians and police force, so it’s up to our sewer-dwelling heroes — along with intrepid TV journalist April O’Neil (Megan Fox) — to save the day. The pundits say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is pretty generic stuff, with little to differentiate its heroes from the protagonists of other summer blockbusters.
Plenty of movies prioritize special effects over human behavior. However, critics say Into The Storm is a particularly dispiriting example; this found footage nature thriller features amazing CGI cyclones that completely overwhelm the actors’ attempts to create believable, relatable characters. When a series of tornadoes ravage a small town, disparate bands of storm chasers rush to the scene to document the devastation. It turns out, however, that the storms were just the prelude to something more ominous. The pundits say Into the Storm suffers from a thin script that borrows shamelessly from Twister without approaching that movie’s goofy charm. (Nevertheless, check out our interviews with the stars.)
Today’s special: a lightly-cooked feel-good culture-clash comedy. Critics say The Hundred-Foot Journey is a reasonably tasty cinematic dish, even if it’s not particularly nourishing; its fine cast and scenic locales add spice to otherwise bland ingredients. Escaping political turmoil in India, the Kadam family moves to a small town in France and starts a restaurant. However, they immediately run afoul of Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), a local practitioner of French cuisine. Will she eventually discover that she has more in common with her new neighbors than she initially suspected? The pundits say The Hundred-Foot Journey looks terrific, and its heart is in the right place, but there’s almost nothing here that you haven’t tasted before. (Check out this week’s Total Recall, in which count down Mirren’s best-reviewed films, and watch our video interviews with Mirren and co-stars Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Daya.)
At this point, know what you’re getting from a Step Up movie: dazzling dance sequences occasionally interrupted by ham-fisted plotting. That said, critics say Step Up All In is more successful than most, thanks to stunning choreography that almost makes up for an inherently silly story. This time out, the stars from previous installments convene in Las Vegas to compete in an epic dance-off. The pundits say Step Up All In is predictable fluff as usual, but if you’re in the market for hot people and hot grooves, you could do far worse than this. (Check out this week’s 24 Frames for a list of noteworthy dance movies, and watch our interviews with Boseman and co-stars Octavia Spencer, Nelsan Ellis, and Jill Scott.)
Fifi Howls From Happiness, a documentary about the life and work of Iranian artist Bahman Mohassess, is at 100 percent.
The Dog, a documentary about the real-life crime that inspired Dog Day Afternoon, is at 94 percent.
What If, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan in a dramedy about two friends tiptoeing around romance, is at 72 percent (check out Kazan’s Five Favorite Films here).
Web Junkie, a documentary about Chinese teenagers undergoing treatment for Internet addiction, is at 67 percent.
About Alex, starring Maggie Grace and Aubrey Plaza in a dramedy about a group of freinds who reunite after one has an emotional breakdown, is at 48 percent.
Deepsea Challenge 3D, a documentary about James Cameron‘s submarine journey to the depths of the Mariana Trench, is at 42 percent.
After, starring Kathleen Quinlan in a drama about a dysfunctional family with a dark secret, is at 20 percent.
The Maid’s Room, a thriller about a domestic servant who witnesses a brutal crime, is at 14 percent.
