Moms are frazzled control freaks and dads are blithering incompetents in this dismally tame, faith-based comedy. Basically the message is: Don’t go out. Because if you do, all hell will break loose — or rather, all heck. My RogerEbert.com review. Read the review here...
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Reviews
RogerEbert.com — Walk of Shame
“Walk of Shame” was not screened for critics before opening day. When I went to a matinee of it Friday morning, this made sense to me. Elizabeth Banks’ immense likability and comedic talent go to waste in this misogynistic, flat farce. My one-star RogerEbert.com review. Read the review here...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Watching “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” made me long for a low-budget, indie version of the same movie — one that took out all the numbing action sequences and focused instead on the character’s inner struggle. I also realize this is a ridiculous proposal in my two-star review for RogerEbert.com. Read...
Read moreLocke
A24 Films Rated R for language throughout. Running time: 85 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four. Movies that take place in real time and/or confined spaces may sound like flimsy gimmicks — see: “Phone Booth,” “Buried” — but when they work, they can be supremely gripping. Take...
Read moreRevisiting Rango
Damn, I love “Rango” so much. It is absolutely gorgeous: vividly detailed, wildly colorful and thrillingly inventive from start to finish, even as it pays homage to such classic and eclectic films as “Chinatown,” “Apocalypse Now” and Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti Westerns. I had the pleasure of revisiting the 2011 animated...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Other Woman
From revenge comedy to cautionary tale to scatological raunchfest to female empowerment drama, director Nick Cassavetes’ veers wildly all over the place. For a while, though, Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann share an enjoyable chemistry as two of the three woman who discover the same serial philanderer has wronged them....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Brick Mansions
The last film Paul Walker completed before his death in a November 2013 car crash is an English-language remake of the French action thriller “District B13.” It’s ridiculous, but at least it has the decency to acknowledge that it’s ridiculous. And it’s a solid showcase of Walker’s charisma, agility and...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The German Doctor
Nazis and puberty and a creepy doll factory, all wrapped up in one story: The prospect of such anxiety sounds like it would be almost be too much to bear. But “The German Doctor” treats its depiction of “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele’s years of hiding in Patagonia with artful...
Read moreTranscendence
Warner Bros. Pictures Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality. Running time: 119 minutes. Two stars out of four. Wally Pfister has made his name as one of the top cinematographers in the industry, having worked consistently with Christopher Nolan and winning...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — 13 Sins
“13 Sins” is darkly funny and deeply twisted. It’s a remake of a 2006 Thai film but it also has something relevant to say about today’s economic woes and the culturally-driven desire to get rich quick. See it with someone who isn’t easily offended. Here’s my RogerEbert.com review. Read the...
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