(Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corp/ courtesy Everett Collection)
We’re ranking the movies and shows of Octavia Spencer! We start with her Certified Fresh works, including 2011’s career breakthrough The Help, sci-fi allegory Snowpiercer, and Best Picture nominee Hidden Figures and winner The Shape of Water. Her TV-starring work includes AppleTV+’s Truth Be Told and miniseries Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker. Some Rotten films with positive Audience Scores include Robert Downey Jr’s Dolittle (where Spencer voices a duck with a metal leg), Christian drama The Shack, and genre thriller Ma.
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They’ve been a long time coming, but Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are reaching the climax with Fifty Shades Freed, opening wide this Friday. And if history is any indication (Grey and Darker are 25% and 10% respectively on the Tomatometer), Freed won’t be hitting the spot with critics, prompting this week’s gallery of the most Rotten movie trilogies ever.
Not every movie in this gallery is Fresh…but their posters sure are! See the wildest, most imaginative, and highly eye-popping movie posters that 2016 had to offer!
This week, the Weekly Ketchup is departing from our regular Friday schedule because of San Diego Comic-Con, and all of the extra big news that it will bring throughout the weekend. So today, you get a “pre-SDCC” Weekly Ketchup! This edition brings you nine headlines from the world of film development news (those stories about what movies Hollywood is working on for you next). Included in the mix this time around are stories about such titles as Ghostbusters 2, Star Trek 4, a remake of Cooley High, and Edgar Wright’s Shadows.
When film historians tell the story of the first 15 or so years of the 21st century, at least one chapter is likely to be dedicated to the “YA” fad. The movie business is by nature cyclical, but this particular wave started and seemingly has ended all within the course of eight years. It was only in 2008 that the first Twilight movie was released (the last in 2012), and The Hunger Games spanned four movies, one a year from 2012 to 2015. Those two mega-successful franchises (both from Lionsgate or subsidiary Summit Entertainment) are the rare exceptions to a rule that was much more demonstrated by box office disappointments (The Host, Beautiful Creatures, I Am Number Four, The Giver, The Mortal Instruments, etc). Until this March, the Divergent series seemed like it would be another four-films-adapting-three-novels genre success for Lionsgate. The franchise starring Shailene Woodley kept dropping, both in box office and critical reception. Even so, it was presumed by most that Lionsgate would continue their sad march towards a Divergent series wrap up. The fourth movie, Divergent Series: Ascendant, even had a release date of June 9, 2017, up against both World War Z II and Universal’s next reboot of The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise. Well, according to Variety this week, Lionsgate is changing course at the last moment, negotiating for The Divergent Series: Ascendant to be made into a “TV movie” that would then lead to a Divergent spinoff TV series (probably using different characters). It sounds like there are still many unknown variables, such as which of the “movie stars” will also reprise their roles in the “TV movie.” Shailene Woodley, who got her start in TV (Secret Life of the American Teenager) might be likely to return, but Ansel Elgort and Theo James might not. As for what channel Divergent Series: Ascendant will be produced for, we still don’t know yet. However, Starz seems the most obvious candidate since that network was just acquired by Lionsgate three weeks ago for $4.4 billion (ie, Lionsgate might have known they were doing this at the time). So, what do the fans think? Is Divergent going direct-to-TV the final death knell in the “YA novel adaptation” fad?
When it comes to sequels, the math varies depending upon a few different factors, but the most obvious one is budget. The $46 million opening weekend of the Ghostbusters reboot, for example, would have been an obvious “franchise starter” for a movie on a $40 million budget. However, that movie was a special effects extravaganza, with a budget in the $144 million range. One of Sony Pictures’ executives confirmed soon after the box office numbers came out that, yes, they are still committed to making more Ghostbusters movies in the near future. Sony President of Worldwide Distribution Rory Brue specifically said, “I expect Ghostbusters to become an important brand and franchise… While nothing has been officially announced yet, there’s no doubt in my mind it will happen.” As for what the next Ghostbusters sequel might involve, the reboot has a scene after the credits that pretty much tells us. And we can almost certainly expect that the four female stars (Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Kristen Wiig) are probably already signed (or in negotiations) for the sequel as well (and probably director Paul Feig, too). One actor who might be tougher to confirm is Chris Hemsworth — along with his Marvel committments, it’s sounding like he will continue to be quite busy because…
Earlier this year, it was confirmed that the “official” designation for the new timeline that started in the 2009 Star Trek reboot is “Kelvin.” That name comes from the ship that was destroyed by the time travelling baddies in the beginning of that film (if that’s a spoiler to you after seven years, well, you probably shouldn’t be reading any of this). One of the crewmen on the Kelvin was George Kirk, played by Chris Hemsworth, who of course was the father of the future Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine). Kirk’s father dying so young was one of the more character-oriented changes in the Kelvin timeline (along with, you know, the entire planet Vulcan being destroyed), and this week’s news indicates we haven’t seen the last of him. Paramount Pictures, Skydance, and Bad Robot have announced the fourth/fourteenth Star Trek movie, and one of the stars will be… Chris Hemsworth as Kirk’s dad. The announcement doesn’t explain exactly how that happens, but calls him “a man he [James T. Kirk] never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born.” Time travel probably is the most obvious explanation for how this will all go down (whole books could be written about time travel in Star Trek), but there are other possibilities. One other detail was revealed about Star Trek 4 this week, namely a confirmation from J.J. Abrams that Pavel Chekov, played by the recently late Anton Yelchin, will not be recast, saying, “There’s no recasting. I can’t possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better.” There’s no release date for the 4th/14th Star Trek movie yet, but given the 3-4 years between the films recently, we can guess at a target window of either 2019 or 2020.
This week, we’re giving you two editions of The Weekly Ketchup, because of the anticipated deluge of news coming out of San Diego Comic-Con. If there’s going to be one story that sort of exemplifies the difference between this first column, and the second, it’s this one (in a few ways). In 2014, after taking 11 years off, author Donna Tartt came back with her third novel, The Goldfinch, and was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The Goldfinch is a sprawling, decades-long American epic with elements including terrorism, art theft, and alcholism (basically, it’s a lot like Great Expectations) — in other words, it’s a little different from the comic book movies we’ll hear about this week. Warner Bros has had the film rights to The Goldfinch since 2014, and this week, we learned that the studio is now in talks with director John Crowley for him to make The Goldfinch his next film after last year’s award-winning drama Brooklyn. If he signs on, Crowley will be working from a screenplay adaptation by screenwriter Peter Straughan (cowriter of Frank, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).
The traditional “trades” are still out there covering the film business, but every once in a while they do something that reminds us they’re still not fully caught up with the era of “social media.” For example, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter still sometimes “bury the lede,” nestling the most interesting tidbits in much longer, seemingly less important articles or profiles. One example happened this week when The Hollywood Reporter ran a story about Jeffrey Katzenberg’s future, following the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation by Universal earlier this year. Sort of halfway through, you’ll find one sentence about the year 2019, during which DreamWorks Animation will release Shrek 5 and the movie now known as Shadows. We’ve covered both of those movies in the Weekly Ketchup in recent weeks and months, but the news that they are now “only” three years away is still big. There’s not much to say about Shrek 5 (except maybe that it now sounds more like a sequel, and less like a reboot, as once suggested). The movie called Shadows definitely does require a bit more explanation, though. The film, first announced last November, will mark the animation debut of fan-favorite director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). DreamWorks has long been wanting to do an animated movie involving the concept of “shadows,” dating back to their ambitious Me and My Shadow from several years ago, and Edgar Wright’s Shadows is an extension of that.
Kirsten Dunst is now preparing to make her feature film debut as director after directing two short films in 2007 and 2010, and she’s sort of swinging for the fences with an independent remake of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, previously adapted as a film in 1979 starring Marilyn Hassett and Jameson Parker. Originally published under a pseudonym, The Bell Jar was the only novel written by poet Sylvia Plath– she committed suicide a few months after The Bell Jar was published in 1963 — and is now interpreted as a roman à clef (a work of fiction based mostly on real events), as both the main character and Plath herself struggled with similar psychological issues. Dakota Fanning (who will turn 23 next year) will star as the novel’s central character, Esther Greenwood, a young woman whose potential future as a promising writer is rocked by her own struggles with mental health. Independent production of Dunst’s adaptation is expected to start in early 2017, possibly aiming for a debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2018.
Few decades were as rife with nostalgia as the 1970s (mostly for the 1950s and early 1960s). Full discussion of the “why” would require much, much more discussion, but it was probably partially due to how quickly American life had changed in 10 or so years from, say, 1962 to 1972. A few examples of this nostalgia in the 1970s were Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and at the movies, American Graffiti and Animal House. Another such film (which is arguably not as popular today as its competition) was 1975’s Cooley High, about a group of African American best friends living in Chicago in 1964. Produced for under a million dollars, Cooley High was both a box office success ($13 million) and a hit with critics (82 percent on the Tomatometer). MGM is the studio most known for remakes than any other these days (such as Poltergeist, Hercules, RoboCop, and the upcoming Ben-Hur, The Magnificent Seven, and Going in Style), and now, it’s also planning a remake of Cooley High, working with rapper-turned-actor Common, who will produce the remake as well as costar (probably as one of the teachers). It’s also possible Common might contribute at least one song to the score. As for why Cooley High, and why now? Reportedly, the producers felt that a new Cooley High would be “a timely project in light of the racial unrest that has followed several high-profile shootings throughout the country.”
Although it was great that The LEGO Movie was over-the-top fun and creative in its adaptation of the titular toys, the bad news was that its success unsurprisingly inspired lots of other studios and producers to try to mine gold from traditionally non-narrative properties. One example is the “Emoji,” i.e. the little smiley faces and icons you can attach to texts and Facebook posts. To that end, Sony Pictures put an animated movie called EmojiMovie: Express Yourself into fast production, aiming for a release date next summer on August 11, 2017. And now, we know who will be providing that movie the voice for its lead character. T.J. Miller, who is probably best known for either costarring in Deadpool, or in HBO’s Silicon Valley, will provide the voice of a “meh” Emoji named Gene who finds himself conveying other emotions (because of a software glitch). EmojiMovie: Express Yourself will be directed by Anthony Leondis, whose previous films included Igor (Rotten at 36 percent) and the direct-to-video sequel Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (also Rotten at 40 percent).
Obviously, beloved celebrities and filmmakers die every year, but 2016 seems particularly rough so far. We lost another of Hollywood’s most popular filmmakers this week, with the news that Garry Marshall died at the age of 81 from complications from pneumonia following a recent stroke. Marshall was a triple threat, working as a film director/writer, one of the most successful TV producer/showrunners ever, and also as a frequent comedian and actor. This included the rare feat of becoming something of a center of a “Marshallverse,” an ever expanding circle of stars and creators who all had deep ties early in their careers to Marshall. We can arguably thank him for the careers of director Ron Howard (from Happy Days), Robin Williams (from Mork & Mindy), Penny Marshall (his sister, but also his Laverne & Shirley star), and even Julia Roberts (who had her first major hit movie with Pretty Woman). Critically, Marshall’s last 25 years have been a little rough, but many of his Rotten movies were, admittedly, “barely” Rotten, right in the 50-59 percent range. The “Garry Marshall problem” might simply have been that he made the sort of broad appeal, warm-and-fuzzy comedies that audiences tended to embrace more than critics did. In recent years, Marshall had turned most of his energy towards his own mini-genre of holiday comedies: Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and Mother’s Day. Sure, none of them earned above 18 percent on the Tomatometer, but we’re still going to miss reporting on what holiday he might have adapted next. R.I.P. Garry Marshall.
The new Ghostbusters is an all-out comedy, but if you’re thinking about taking the kids to see it, you should know whether or not some of the ghosts might still be a little too freaky for the littlest ones. Read on to see what Christy thought about it, as well as a couple of new DVD releases.
NEW IN THEATERS
Rating: PG-13, for supernatural action and some crude humor.
This remake of the 1984 comedy-action classic finds four women busting ghosts in New York City rather than men. Comedians Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones star as paranormal investigators who run around town with their makeshift, high-tech gear, wrestling and capturing an ever-increasing number of ghouls who’ve invaded. It’s mostly played for laughs, but younger viewers might be frightened at first by the appearance of the ghosts, which are more detailed than they were 30 years ago. An early scene in particular finds a long-dead woman floating over our heroes menacingly with her wild eyes and sharp teeth – only to shoot projectile green slime all over Wiig’s character. That’s the way a lot of the bits go: They initially may seem scary but they’re ultimately played for laughs. There’s a bit of language here and there in addition to the complicated scientific jargon, which may confuse younger viewers. But the underlying theme of strong, smart women who stick by each other no matter what is more than worthwhile for both girls and boys to see. I brought my son (who’s almost 7) with me to the new Ghostbusters, and while he felt briefly frightened during the opening sequence in a haunted mansion, he quickly laughed when things turned silly. This is probably fine for viewers around 8 or 9 and older.
NEW ON DVD
Rating: PG-13, for intense violence and action, thematic elements, and some partial nudity.
Viewers around 13 and older should be fine watching this second-to-last movie in the Divergent franchise – especially if they’ve seen the previous two. And yes, there’s still one more coming; as usual, the last book in Veronica Roth’s trilogy is being split into two movies. This time, Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James) and their rag-tag band of buddies dare to climb the wall surrounding Chicago to investigate the outside world. As in all of these movies (and post-apocalyptic Young Adult fare in general), there’s a ton of violence, much of it involving gunfire and hand-to-hand combat. But toward the end, there’s also the climactic threat that an orange gas being pumped through the ventilation system will cause massive memory loss. Adults are universally nefarious figures. Several young people are shot to death, children are hunted down and snatched from their parents for scientific experiments, and one little boy watches as his father is fatally shot in front of him. There’s also a bit of nudity during a shower scene.
Rating: PG, for thematic material, including accident and medical issues.
Kids around 7 and up will probably be fine watching this real-life drama. It’s based on the story of Texas mom Christy Beam (Jennifer Garner), whose 10-year-old daughter, Annabel (Kylie Rogers), suddenly suffered from a rare and potentially fatal intestinal disorder – and, just as suddenly, was cured. A 30-foot fall through the hollowed-out trunk of a cottonwood tree miraculously healed Annabel. But while she was trapped on the ground, she says she had an out-of-body experience in which she went to heaven and God told her she’d be fine. Hence the title. Miracles From Heaven contains many stressful moments as Christy and Annabel travel back and forth to Boston for treatment, which doesn’t seem to be working. Anna and a young girl in the hospital bed next to her, who’s battling cancer, discuss very frankly whether they’re afraid of dying. But there are also many moments of uplift, kindness and faith.
This week on home video, we’ve got a solid thriller starring the tragically lost Anton Yelchin, the latest film in the Divergent series, a zombie show with a twist, a couple of Certified Fresh indies, and more. Read on for details.
In this CW series loosely based on the DC comic, Rose McIver stars as Liv, a zombie who helps police solve murders by eating dead victims’ brains and absorbing their memories. The secons season, which earned a 100 percent Tomatoemter on 14 reviews, is hits retail this week, but no information on special features is currently available.
Cliff Curtis stars in this Certified Fresh drama as a mentally ill former chess champion who attempts to rescue his nephew from a life of crime. This release is only available on DVD this week, and there’s no information on special features for this one either.
This wild, gleefully nasty thriller about a punk band that runs afoul of a racist club owner after witnessing a murder stars Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, and, in one of his final screen roles, the late Anton Yelchin. Bonus features include a commentary track with director Jeremy Saulnier and a making-of featurette.
Richard Linklater‘s latest is a nearly plotless, freewheeling comedy about a party-hearty college baseball team in the early 1980s. Extras include deleted scenes, a look at 1980s style, and more.
Jennifer Garner stars in this based-on-true-events drama about a mother whose daughter, suffering from an untreatable disease, experiences a miracle after a freak accident. No information on special features is currently available.
Based on the popular Divergent novel series, this adaptation of the first half of the final book stars Shailene Woodley as Tris Prior, who escapes post-apocalyptic Chicago, only to discover a eugenics proponent leading a community on the outskirts. Bonus features include brief looks at the adaptation process, the characters, the production design, one of the action set pieces, and more.
Lastly, the Criterion Collection brings us a new release of Herk Harvey’s 1962 cult classic about a Kansas woman driving to Salt Lake City who is lured by an apparition to an abandoned carnival pavilion. Extras include new interviews and video essays, a documentary on the 1989 reunion of the cast and crew, an update on the film’s shooting locations, outtakes, and more.
This weekend, showing remarkable stamina, Disney’s runaway toon juggernaut Zootopia held the number one spot for a third time in a row grossing a sensational $38M, according to estimates. Off a mere 26% thanks to terrific buzz, the PG-rated hit hopped over the $200M mark in only 17 days to reach a new domestic cume of $201.8M.
Among third weekend grosses, Zootopia‘s tally ranks eighth best of all-time trailing behind mostly super hero films and sequels. In fact, the only original property to ever make more in its third weekend was Avatar. If the estimate holds, the bunny cop pic will also edge out the $37.9M of Shrek 2 for the best third frame ever among animated films. Third weekend grosses of recent mega-toons include $29.8M for Inside Out, $22.9M for Minions, and $22.6M for Frozen.
With Good Friday and Easter Sunday coming up next weekend, and many schools being on break this week, sales should continue to be solid. The massive $100M+ launch of Batman v Superman will certainly be a vacuum affecting all films in the marketplace and at the very least will provide competition for older kids and mainstream crowds. But Zootopia still has a great shot at reaching $300M domestic becoming only the ninth animated film of all-time to pass that mark.
The mammal metropolis film remained a giant force around the world with an international take of $64.8M for a global grab of $102.8M this weekend. Offshore grosses rose to $389.9M led by China which accounts for almost half of that with a stunning $173.4M surpassing the $146M of Kung Fu Panda 3 from earlier this year. Zootopia is showing strong holds everywhere and has no plans of going away anytime soon. The U.K. opens next weekend followed by Japan next month putting the Disney behemoth on course to shatter $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Only three other toons have ever done that – Frozen, Minions, and Toy Story 3.
Franchise fatigue swooped in to affect The Divergent Series: Allegiant which opened in second place with an estimated $29.1M. The first two films in the Divergent series debuted at number one over this same weekend during the past two years and each broke $50M in the process. Pummeled with poor reviews, Allegiant opened 44% below last year’s Insurgent and 47% below 2014’s Divergent. The new film averaged $7,767 from 3,740 locations this weekend and carried a budget estimated to be north of $100M.
The Hunger Games franchise was in a similar situation with its first two installments both opening close to each other ($150-160M in that case) while the third film (the first of two films based on the final book) saw a significant drop in opening weekend turnout. Mockingjay Part 1 bowed 23% below Catching Fire. The key difference for Divergent is that its grosses are at a much lower level, and the erosion suffered by the third film is much more pronounced.
Word of mouth on Allegiant is not so good as evidenced by the so-so B CinemaScore grade it earned from paying moviegoers. Given how past Divergent films have played out in the March-April corridor, it would be hard to imagine Allegiant reaching more than $75M by the end of its domestic run. That puts intense pressure on the shoulders of Lionsgate’s final film in this series, Ascendant, which is slated for a June 9 release next year becoming the first in the franchise to get a summer release date. The final book was not well-liked by readers so that was an obstacle that the movie series has always had to face.
One week before Easter, the faith-based true story Miracles from Heaven scored a hit with a good third place bow of an estimated $15M from 3,047 locations for a $4,923 average. Sony launched the inspirational pic on Wednesday with solid mid-weeks putting the five-day debut at $18.6M. The audience for the $13M production was 65% female and 75% over 25. Miracles earned a glowing A+ grade from CinemaScore audiences. Good word of mouth and upcoming religious holidays could bode well for the road ahead on this PG-rated pic.
Dropping 49% in its second weekend was Paramount’s 10 Cloverfield Lane with an estimated $12.5M pushing the cume to $45.2M. It was a fine hold for a sci-fi sequel and the under $20M production looks to reach about $70M. Fox’s Deadpool followed with an estimated $8M, off only 27%, for a new total of $340.9M. Overseas grosses climbed to $389.7M putting the global gross at an astounding $730.6M. A big test will come next weekend when the super hero tentpole Batman v Superman opens.
Gerard Butler’s action sequel London Has Fallen declined by 36% to an estimated $6.9M giving Focus $50.1M to date. Tina Fey saw a 40% dip for her comedy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot which collected an estimated $2.8M for $19.3M so far for Paramount.
A pair of sophomore titles with huge drops followed. Lionsgate’s relationship film The Perfect Match took in an estimated $1.9M, down 56%, while Sony’s spy flop The Brothers Grimsby tumbled 57% to an estimated $1.4M. New cumes are $7.3M and $5.9M, respectively.
Leonardo DiCaprio and his Oscar statue rounded out the top ten with The Revenant which dropped 40% to an estimated $1.2M. The Fox hit has spent ten weeks in the top ten this year and has amassed $181.2M from North America. Domestic may be winding down, but China just got started this weekend with a huge $33.4M opening pushing the international cume into triple century territory at $302M. Global is at $483.2M and will smash the half-billion mark by the end of this week.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $116.8M which was even with last year when Insurgent opened at number one with $52.3M; and down 10% from 2014 when Divergent debuted in the top spot with $54.6M.
Compared to projections, The Divergent Series: Allegiant debuted a couple of notches below my $31M forecast while Miracles from Heaven came in higher than my $11M prediction.
Get earlier box office updates and analysis by following BoxOfficeGuru.com on Twitter.
This week, Christy looks at Jennifer Garner’s new film, the third installment in the Divergent Series, and indie auteur Jeff Daniels’ father and son supernatural drama. Then, on home video, she revisits 2015’s critic’s darling Brooklyn and weighs in on The Chipmunks latest shenanigans. Read on for details.
NEW IN THEATERS
Rating: PG, for thematic material including accident and medical issues
This is based on the true story of Texas mom Christy Beam (Jennifer Garner), whose 10-year-old daughter, Annabel (Kylie Rogers) suddenly suffered from a rare and potentially fatal intestinal disorder – and, just as suddenly, was cured. A 30-foot fall through the hollowed-out trunk of a cottonwood tree miraculously healed Annabel. But while she was trapped on the ground, she says she had an out-of-body experience in which she went to heaven and God told her she’d be fine. Hence the title. “Miracles From Heaven” contains many stressful moments as Christy and Annabel travel back and forth to Boston for treatment, which doesn’t seem to be working. Anna and a young girl in the hospital bed next to her, who’s battling cancer, discuss very frankly whether they’re afraid of dying. But there are also many moments of uplift, kindness and faith. Fine for kids around 7 and older.
Rating: PG-13, for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some partial nudity.
The penultimate “Divergent” movie finds Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James) and their rag-tag band of buddies daring to climb the wall surrounding Chicago to investigate the outside world. As in all of these movies (and post-apocalyptic Young Adult fare in general), there’s a ton of violence. A lot of it involves gunfire and hand-to-hand combat. But toward the end, there’s also the climactic threat that an orange gas being pumped through the ventilation system will cause massive memory loss. Adults are universally nefarious figures. Several young people are shot to death, children are hunted down and snatched from their parents for scientific experiments and one little boy watches as his father is fatally shot in front of him. There’s also a tad bit of nudity during a shower scene. Fine for viewers around 13 and older.
Rating: PG-13, for some violence and action.
The fourth film from indie auteur Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter,” “Mud”) once again finds him reteaming with the great Michael Shannon for this sci-fi thriller. This time, Shannon plays the father of a young boy (Jaeden Liberher) whose mysterious powers make him a prophet for some and a target for others. Father and son go on the run with the help of an old friend (Joel Edgerton) as they try to elude both the religious cult to which they’d belonged and federal authorities. There’s great tension throughout as well as some startling special effects, including chunks of a satellite raining down on a gas station. The boy’s eyes beam a bright light at various points, which may be frightening for younger viewers to see, and he’s in constant peril. There’s also a bit of gunfire. But it’s a powerfully written and acted story about a father-son bond, sacrifice and love. Fine for mature tweens and older.
NEW ON DVD
Rating: PG, for or some mild rude humor and language.
If your kids want to watch a movie at home – and if you have laundry to fold or dinner to make or something, anything else to do – this is fine for all ages. This time, singing chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore suspect that Dave (Jason Lee) will propose to his girlfriend (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) while visiting Miami with her and abandon them for good. So they team up with her surly son (Josh Green) to travel across the country and stop Dave from popping the question. Madcap computer-generated hilarity and squeaky musical numbers ensue. (Although the effects are pretty darn seamless, I must say.) This movie is harmless. Many jokes are intended for grown-ups and will go over kids’ heads. Tony Hale co-stars as an air marshal who’s insistent on nabbing the chipmunks after they unleash all the animals from an airplane’s cargo hold, but he’s a pretty cartoonish villain. And “The Road Chip” features the most wholesome depiction of New Orleans ever committed to film, as the boys perform “Uptown Funk” with a brass band in the French Quarter. The entire song.
Rating: PG-13, for a scene of sexuality and brief strong language.
Saoirse Ronan duly earned an Academy Award nomination for best actress for her beautiful, blossoming performance as an Irish immigrant coming into her own in 1950s Brooklyn. Ronan is absolutely radiant as the determined Eilis, who starts out shy and homesick but evolves into a young woman of great poise and confidence as she finds her place in a new land. Eilis and her longtime boyfriend (a magnetic Emory Cohen) kiss quite a bit, and there’s the suggestion that they have sex. There’s also a bit of language. But this is a great film for tweens to see, especially the girls in your house. It’s all about figuring out who you are and being true to yourself under difficult and emotionally charged circumstances
In a world…where Jeff Daniels knows how everybody likes their eggs in the morning? After the last Divergent movie’s reveal of nonstop surveillance, we spoke with Allegiant‘s Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Zoe Kravitz, and Miles Teller on what embarrassing private behavior The Jeff’s fast-forwarding through. Also, Grae gets compared to Janet Reno.
This week at the movies, we’ve got teenage rebels (The Divergent Series: Allegiant, starring Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller) and a heartsick mother (Miracles from Heaven, starring Jennifer Garner and Martin Henderson). What do the critics have to say?
The critical knock on the Divergent franchise has tended to be that it’s little more than a second rate Hunger Games, and while that assessment might seem reductive to its legion of teenage fans, it essentially holds true for the latest chapter. Critics say Allegiant — in which a band of teenage revolutionaries, led by Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley), escapes post-apocalyptic Chicago, only to discover a eugenics proponent leading a community on the outskirts — is top-heavy with exposition and special effects, stranding its talented cast in a place-holding installment that’s unlikely to lure any newbies to the series.
Even though it’s based on a true story, Miracles from Heaven is the kind of thing you’ve seen before; it’s the story of a mother who refuses to give up hope, even after her daughter has been diagnosed with a rare, untreatable disease. What elevates this faith-based drama, critics say, is the committed, commanding performance of Jennifer Garner, who lends urgency to a film that could have otherwise been merely a collection of melodramatic clichés.
With its fourth season, The Americans continues to deliver top-tier spy drama while sending its characters in directions that threaten to destroy their freedoms – and their lives.
Bolstered by some impressive action, Daredevil keeps its footing in Season two, even if the additions of Punisher and Elektra can’t quite fill the void left by Wilson Fisk.
A talented cast is left with no room to flourish in Crowded, a misfire whose dated feel is compounded by a pronounced lack of laughs.
Also Opening This Week In Limited Release
Shailene Woodley is well on her way to becoming one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. However, critics say there’s only so much she can do to save Insurgent, a middling middle chapter with frenetic action sequences but little narrative cohesion or character development. This time out, Tris (Woodley) and her fellow Divergents are on the run from evil overlord Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), who wants to exterminate the rebels and take control of futuristic Chicago’s various factions. The pundits say Insurgent is a definite step back for the franchise, as its excessive violence and confusing story overwhelm a terrific cast. (Watch our video interview with Woodley and co-stars Theo James, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Octavia Spencer, and click through our gallery of young adult novels that have been adapted to film.)
The veteran actor-shooting-people action subgenre is all the rage these days, and The Gunman has two things to set it apart from the pack: geopolitics and Sean Penn. Unfortunately, critics say it’s pretty generic otherwise, with a predictable plot and a shortage of energy. Years after carrying out a hit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jim Terrier (Penn) is working for a humanitarian organization when he discovers he’s the target of a shadowy organization — and that his ex has fallen into its clutches. The pundits say The Gunman benefits greatly from its scenic locations, but otherwise, this is a so-so thriller that doesn’t live up to its lofty ambitions. (Check out Penn’s best-reviewed films here.)
Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Octavia Spencer all came out in support of their new film The Divergent Series: Insurgent. Miles Teller is kind enough to give a scoop on the upcoming Fantastic Four, Shai and Theo talk about hair prejudice in the world, Ansel wants to be clear about his running abilities, and the entire cast rolls up their sleeves and plays a feisty game of Name That Movie Box.
In Divergent, the post-apocalyptic world divides all of its inhabitants into one of five factions in order to promote a peaceful existence: Erudite (intelligent), Abnegation (selfless), Dauntless (brave), Candor (honesty), and Amity (peaceful).
Grae Drake administers a very scientific test to Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd, Mekhi Pfeiffer, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, and Christian Madsen.
Based on a series of popular young adult novels, Divergent is a sci-fi allegory about the dangers of conformity. Ironically, critics say the biggest problem with the film is that it borrows too heavily from the likes of The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, leaving its terrific cast stranded in a sea of exposition. In a dystopian future, teenagers are forced to chose one of five factions with which they’ll associate for life. However, Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) doesn’t fit neatly into any one group, and her independent streak makes her a target when two rival tribes prepare for war. The pundits say Woodley gives a star-making performance, and her supporting cast is top-notch, but Divergent is too grim and jumbled to fully resonate. (Check out our gallery of co-star Kate Winslet in some of her most memorable roles.)
“Everybody knows that the sequel’s never quite as good,” sing Kermit and Fozzie in the opening scene of Muppets Most Wanted. The operative word here is “quite,” for the critics say that while this caper comedy lacks the breezy charm of The Muppets, it’s got enough laughs and catchy tunes to entertain in its own right. Hot off their successful reunion show, the Muppets decide to take their act on the road, but things quickly go amiss when they sign up with a fast-talking booking agent (Ricky Gervais) who’s in league with a wanted criminal mastermind — and who looks exactly like Kermit the Frog. The pundits say the Certified Fresh Muppets Most Wanted maintains the anarchic spirit of the Muppets, and if the story isn’t as strong this time out, the rapid-fire gags are reliably witty and inventive. (Check out our video interviews with the cast, as well as our rundown of the best films from the Jim Henson Company.)
Finally, props to Vicente Torres and Nat Brautigam for coming the closest to guessing The Single Moms Club‘s 17 percent Tomatometer.
