With District 9 and Elysium, director Neill Blomkamp established himself as a purveyor of action-packed sci-fi allegories. But critics say Chappie is a much less successful mix of pulp thrills and deep thoughts; its ideas take a backseat to its overstuffed, occasionally illogical plot. It’s 2016, and Johannesburg is policed by fearsome robots called scouts. Deon (Dev Patel), an artificial intelligence expert gets his hands on a dilapidated scout and tries to give the machine a conscience, but others want to use the bot — now christened Chappie (Sharlto Copley) — as a weapon of rebellion. The pundits say Chappie is ambitious and visually striking, but its message is a little too heavy-handed and its characters aren’t developed enough. (Click through our gallery of the most dangerous robots from movies and TV shows, and watch our video interviews with Copley and co-stars Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver.)
Take a ragtag trio, send them to an unfamiliar land, and what have you got? Unfinished Busines, which critics say is a startlingly unfunny and undisciplined comedy that strands its sharp cast in a lackadaisical narrative. Vaughn stars as a small business owner who treks to Berlin with his two underlings (Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson) to close an important deal. But our heroes get sidetracked by a variety of distractions, and hilarity (allegedly) ensues. The pundits say Unfinished Business attempts to combine gross-out gags and farcical scenarios with heartfelt sentiment, and comes up empty on nearly all counts. (Check out Dave Franco’s Five Favorite Films here.)
Like The Avengers for the senior set, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel featured a murderer’s row of super-powered British acting talent. Most of the gang is back for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and critics say that’s the main reason to recommend this predictable trifle — though its gorgeous setting is a close second. This time out, hotel managers Muriel (Maggie Smith) and Kapoor (Dev Patel) are looking to expand the business, while an American novelist (Richard Gere) takes up residence and various other occupants fall in and out of love. The pundits say The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is cinematic comfort food — less substantial than its predecessor, but warm and appetizing nonetheless. (Watch our video interview with Dench here, and check out our countdown of her best-reviewed movies here.)
