Critics Consensus: The Pyramid Is Cursed By A Silly Plot

Plus, Wild and Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce are Certified Fresh.

by Tim Ryan | December 4, 2014

This week at the movies, we’ve got just one national release: the Egypt-set horror film The Pyramid, starring Ashley Hinshaw and Denis O’Hare). What do the critics have to say?

Plenty of sci-fi/horror films borrow freely from older genre classics. However, critics say The Pyramid is a particularly artless mash-up of Indiana Jones-style swashbuckling and old-school creature features, one that’s good for a couple jolts but not much else. It’s the story of a group of explorers who stumble upon a strange, three-sided pyramid in the middle of the desert. What they find inside is even more shocking — and certainly not of this world. The pundits say The Pyramid has the elements in place for a solid B-movie, but it’s ultimately undone by its utterly silly script.

Certified Fresh on TV:

The pundits say Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce (Certified Fresh at 81 percent) has a familiar Housewives feel, but transcends genre conventions with Lisa Edelstein’s witty, hurt-filled performance — and a premise perfect for its network’s target demographic.

Alternating between electrifying tension and a meandering plot, critics found “Coda” (71 percent) to be an okay capper to a strong half-season of The Walking Dead.

Also opening this week in limited release:

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, a documentary about the early days of the feminist movement, is at 100 percent.
Concerning Violence, a cinematic essay about the independence of a number of African nations during the 1960s and 1970s, is at 95 percent.
Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon in a drama about a grief-stricken woman who decides to walk the entire Pacific Crest Trail by herself, is Certified Fresh at 91 percent.
Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart in a drama about a linguistics professor who is diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, is at 83 percent.
Zero Motivation, a dramedy about a group of female Israeli soldiers and their monotonous professional responsibilities, is at 82 percent.
The Foxy Merkins, a comedy about the misadventures of a mismatched pair of streetwalkers, is at 71 percent.
Life Partners, starring Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs in a comedy about two close friends whose relationship changes when one gets a boyfriend, is at 59 percent.
Miss Julie, starring Jessica Chastain and Colin Farrell in a period drama about a flirtatious dialogue between heiress and her father’s valet, is at 47 percent.
Pioneer, starring Wes Bentley in a thriller about an ill-fated oil pipeline construction job, is at 47 percent.
Comet, starring Justin Long and Emmy Rossum in a romantic drama about two star-crossed lovers and their six-year relationship, is at 44 percent.
Dying of the Light, starring Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin in a thriller about a CIA agent who works off the books to track down a terrorist, is at nine percent.