Now Showing
Some reviews originate at newspapers that do not award star ratings; some movies are not screened in advance for critics. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
OPENING THIS WEEK
“Total Recall”
* *
Reviewed on Page 1C
“Trishna” * * *
Reviewed on Page 5C
“Queen of Versailles”
Reviewed on Page 5C
“Ruby Sparks” * * *
Reviewed at
“Oslo, August 31st” * * *
Reviewed at
“Dark Horse”
Reviewed at
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days”
* *
Reviewed at
“Klown”
Not reviewed
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
American folktale. * * * * PG-13. Director Benh Zeitlin’s auspicious debut captures with magical grit the tale of a wild child named Hushpuppy, her father Wink and their friends in a fictional — and endangered — bayou called “the Bathtub.” This beauty already has its detractors: too artsy, too condescending, etc. But “Beasts” is an ecstatic work full of heart, rife with fantastical images and buoyed by a lush, emotional score. Best, it’s anchored by the mesmerizing performance of wee newcomer Quvenzhane Wallis At the Mayan. (Kennedy) 91 minutes “Brave”
Princess adventure. * * * PG. Pixar’s latest adventure is gorgeous to be sure: all Scottish vale and inlet and forest. But the whiz-bang company’s first feature spotlighting a female protagonist feels like a throwback gussied up as reinvention. Kelly Macdonald provides the feisty brogue of princess Merida, whose father encourages her wildness while her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), loses points for reining in her crimson-haired daughter. (Kennedy) 95 minutes
“The Dark Knight Rises”
Action franchise finale. * * * ½ PG-13. Events in Aurora have cast a grim shadow over the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Yet, arguably the best big-screen franchise of a comic book (all right, graphic novel) offers glimmers of hope, heroism and human connection in the midst of its nearly unrelenting darkness. Tom Hardy — his lovely mug covered with a mask that looks like the sort of muzzle used for aggressive dogs — portrays Bane, Batman’s nemesis. Anne Hathaway enjoys some purr-fectly turned lines as Catwoman. Fine new additions Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt join vets Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine. And then there’s Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. Nolan gives the actor a character arc both epic and deeply human, and he has delivered something soulful. At area theaters and IMAX. (Kennedy) 164 minutes
“Ice Age: Continental Drift”
Animated sequel. PG. The fourth “Ice Age” freshens up the 10-year-old franchise by shunning easy pop-culture jokes and embracing its weird side. Previous installments drew inspiration from our planet’s climate changes, and this film is no different. Here, fissures caused by volcanic fault lines separate regulars Sid, Diego (Denis Leary) and Manny (Ray Romano) from the latter’s family — wife, Ellie (Queen Latifah), and teenage daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer). Efforts to reunite at a sinking land bridge force Manny and crew to battle Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage), a menacing ape who rules the Seven Seas from his pirate-ship-shaped iceberg. Jennifer Lopez brings romantic chemistry as Shira, an albino tiger in Gutt’s crew who ends up being a feisty love interest for Diego. And Wanda Sykes creates the funniest character in “Ice Age” history as Sid’s Granny, a seemingly confused sloth who’s far more intelligent than she lets on. (Sean O’Connell, Special to The Washington Post) 87 minutes
“Magic Mike”
Comedy. * * * R. This film has the fascination of most backstage movies: It shows a naive kid being drawn into the world of show business. He is Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a good-looking 19-year-old, who meets Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) while they’re working on a roofing job. Mike dances three nights a week at Xquisite, a marginally successful Tampa strip club. Mike brings Adam along to the club, where he’s fast-talked by the boss, Dallas (Matthew McConaughey). The kid has no desire to strip, but is pushed onstage wearing his street clothes and told to take them off down to his jockey shorts. He is awkward and embarrassed — and not surprisingly an enormous hit because the ladies think his shyness is an act, and they love it. (Ebert) 110 minutes
“Step Up Revolution”
Dance drama. * * ½ PG-13. This film taps into the dance “flash mob” phenomenon and moves to Miami to give us the sunniest and most entertaining of these kids-gotta-dance musicals. The flash mobs — in traffic, dancing on the roofs, hoods and trunks of low-rider vintage cars in Miami traffic, disrupting museum openings and a developer’s planning meetings – are a brilliantly choreographed, well-shot and sharply edited treat. Sean (Ryan Guzman) is the heart and soul of “The Mob,” a Miami dance crew that has its own DJ (Cleopatra Coleman), hacker-planner (Misha Hamilton), dancer/special effects guy (Stephen Boss) and street artist who “tags” each of their events with “The Mob” (Michael Langebeck). That’s not to mention their parkour specialists and the videographer who hides his camera in the darnedest places whenever they go out on “a mission.” (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) 97 minutes
“Ted”
Comedy. * * * R. John, Lori and a stuffed bear make three in this potty-mouthed, amusing guy fairy-tale from Seth MacFarlane, creator of TV’s envelope-pushing animated series “Family Guy.” Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis have frisky chemistry as the couple whose romantic future is in doubt thanks to John’s best friend Ted, a walking, talking, trouble-stirring stuffed bear. MarFarlane provides Ted’s gruff voice and crass observations. It’s your typical Peter Pan crisis comedy pushed to some very weird places. Giovanni Ribisi arrives as a creepy fan of the bear. (Kennedy) 106 minutes
“To Rome with Love”
Comedic travelogue. * * * * R. Woody Allen continues his love affair with Europe’s great metropolises via his latest, “To Rome With Love.” And like his last film, 2011’s successful “Midnight in Paris,” this playful, seductive exercise in head-over-heels romance, overnight fame and unexplained time travel is a rewarding, entertaining confection. (Baca) 112 minutes
“The Watch”
Comedy. * * ½ R. It’s good to see Vince Vaughn back riding that Red Bull. He’s lost the “fat and self-satisfied” look of recent films. The caffeine is back, and so is the breathless manic patter. In “The Watch,” the neighborhood-watch-discovers-an-alien-invasion comedy, he’s second banana to Ben Stiller, trying like heck to keep from being third-billed to Jonah Hill. So he’s back to his old self, riffing like a fiend, improvising nicknames for the other characters – “Franklin” (Hill) becomes “Frank-n-Beans,” “Frank-n-Furter” and Evan (Stiller) is “Evan-rude,” “Evander,” “Ever-ready.” Vaughn’s brought his A-game to a sometimes ponderous, sometimes explosively funny comedy that benefits from a top-this one-liner ethos from the cast. (Moore) 102 minutes
