Mother's Day Is a Star-Studded Dud

Plus, season five of Veep and season six of Game of Thrones are Certified Fresh.

by Tim Ryan and Ryan Fujitani | April 28, 2016 | Comments

This week at the movies, we’ve got a whole bunch of moms (Mother’s Day, starring Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts), a stolen cat (Keanu, starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele), unlikely space heroes (the animated video game adaptation Ratchet & Clank), and an imperiled punk band (Green Room, starring Patrick Stewart and Anton Yelchin). What do the critics have to say?

Pick a holiday, sign up a bunch of stars, and voila: you’ve got the formula for Garry Marshall’s last three directorial efforts. Critics say the latest, Mother’s Day, is about as middling as Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve, and for the same reasons: it’s a series of loosely connected, thinly plotted vignettes that leave its likeable cast (which includes Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, and Jason Sudeikis) without much to do.

Keanu (2016) 78%

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele anchored a wildly popular sketch comedy TV series, and now they’re setting their sights on the big screen. Fortunately, critics say that Keanu, in which the duo play regular guys who adopt gangster identities to retrieve a stolen kitten, is an entertaining showcase for their winning chemistry and knack for incisive satire.

Ratchet & Clank (2016) 22%

Video games can be a source of rich storytelling, but that rarely translates to the medium’s various film adaptations. Based on a popular PlayStation franchise about a cat-like alien and a sentient robot teaming up to save the galaxy, this week’s Ratchet & Clank seems unlikely to buck the trend, as critics say its bright visuals and silly gags may entertain the youngsters, but there’s far too little to keep anyone older engaged.

Green Room (2015) 90%

Blue Ruin, director Jeremy Saulnier’s breakout film, was a shocking revenge thriller with an impeccable sense of artistry. Now he’s back with Green Room, and critics say this wild, gleefully nasty thriller about a punk band that runs afoul of a racist club owner after witnessing a murder is profoundly suspenseful and boasts outstanding performances from Patrick Stewart, Anton Yelchin, and Imogen Poots.

What’s Hot on TV

Silicon Valley: Season 3 (2016) 100%

Silicon Valley‘s satirical take on the follies of the tech industry is sharper than ever in this very funny third season.

Veep: Season 5 (2016) 94%

Thanks to the spot-on comedic prowess of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and company Veep is back with as many laughs and expletive-filled absurdities as ever.

Game of Thrones: Season 6 (2016) 94%

Bloody and captivating as always, Game of Thrones plunges back into the midst of a world touched by grief, dread, and precarious sexuality.

Also Opening This Week In Limited Release

Older Than Ireland (2015) , a documentary about centenarians on the Emerald Isle, is at 100 percent.
Viva (2015) , a drama about a Cuban drag performer who clashes with his estranged boxer father when he returns from a 15-year absence, is at 83 percent.
Gayby Baby (2015) , a documentary that follows four children of same-sex parents, is at 83 percent.
Viktoria (2014) , a drama about an unwanted child born without a bellybutton who becomes the face of Communist Bulgaria, is at 82 percent.
The Family Fang (2015) , starring Nicole Kidman and Jason Bateman in a drama about adult siblings dealing with the sudden (and possibly staged) dissappearance of their parents at a family reunion, is at 76 percent.
Kiki (2016) , a documentary about people of color involved in an underground LGBT subculture, is at 75 percent.
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) , starring Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons in a biopic of mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, is at 68 percent.
Eva Hesse (2016) , a documentary portrait of the celebrated sculptor, is at 67 percent.
Dough (2015) , starring Jonathan Pryce and Pauline Collins in a dramedy about a London baker whose challah becomes wildly popular after one of his employees accidentally drops a stash of weed into the mix, is at 67 percent.
Sacrifice (2016) , starring Radha Mitchell and Rupert Graves in a thriller about a woman who investigates a ritual murder, is at 43 percent.
The Wait (2015) , starring Juliette Binoche in a drama about two womeen awaiting the arrival of a man at a rural Sacillian estate, is at 42 percent.
Papa: Hemingway in Cuba (2015) , starring Giovanni Ribisi and Minka Kelly in a drama about the legendary author’s time in pre-revolutionary Cuba, is at 10 percent.