This week at the movies: something for everyone. There’s Meryl Streep as a rocker; Jason Bateman in a scary thriller; comic book superheroes; and a goofy, animated sheep.
Fantastic Four
What makes a superhero movie good or bad? Superpowers? The bad guys? The origin story? The cast? Fantastic Four, another in the series about the school for superheroes, based on the comic book series, has a pretty cool cast—a lot of up-and-coming or indie actors with roles in a big Hollywood flick, including Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Miles Teller, Reg E. Cathey and more you’ll recognize from other movies. But does it have the rest of the necessary elements? Seems not.
Perfect For: Fans of Spiderman, Iron Man, all the ‘Mans. Not for the really young ones.
What the Critics Say: The Rotten Tomato meter rating is abysmally low—a mere 8%. Here’s the nicest bad review from the Wrap: “Director Josh Trank has assembled a quartet of engaging, charismatic performers and stranded them in a miasma of exposition and set-up. So much time is spent putting the pieces on the board that there's barely any time to play with them.”
Our Take: Not so fantastic. Nope, nope, nope.
Ricki and the Flash
Meryl Street can play anyone. This is the lesson from Ricki and the Flash, in which she plays an aging rocker and a terrible mother who has come home to help her grief-stricken daughter, upset after a breakup. A narcissistic rock star? She’s got that down cold. After all, she’s already played a mean magazine editor, the famous chef Julia Child, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and a witch. The movie is directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Diablo Cody, both Oscar winners, and Streep stars opposite her real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer.
Perfect For: You like family dramadies: think Terms of Endearment, The Family Stone.
What the Critics Say: Mixed bag, but praise overall for Streep. Writes Entertainment Weekly: “Ricki raises smart questions about why a mother's musical ambitions are so much more selfish than, say, seven-time dad Mick Jagger's, and even the shamelessly corny sing-along finale wrings a few real tears out.” And says the Seattle Times: “Streep's performance, like lightning, jolts everything.”
Our Take: Despite the unevenness, it looks like an enjoyable time.
The Gift
A psychological horror thriller starring Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall as a married couple who encounter a long lost friend of Bateman’s—Gordo, played by Joel Edgerton, who also directed, wrote, and produced the movie. Things get weird when Gordo is constantly dropping by the house unannounced, leaving little gifts and insinuating himself in their lives. When they have to break up with him, he gets really mad. Really mad. Seems that he and Bateman have some unfinished business from the distant past.
Perfect For: Fans of Gone Girl might like this thriller.
What the Critics Say: As a world-class shocker, the thriller gets tons of rave reviews. Writes Variety: “A coolly unsettling thriller that begins as an un-ironic homage to late-'80s/early-'90s yuppies-in-peril dramas... before taking a turn toward the moral and existential minefield of Michael Haneke's Cache.” And, says The Wrap: “Nothing here feels cheap or hasty, which is why the horror, when it comes, is all the more chilling and grim. Slick, sharp and terrifying, "The Gift" is a truly brilliant thriller — and, one hopes, the first of many features from Edgerton to come.”
Our Take: Definitely going if you’ll hold our hand.
Shaun the Sheep
The nearly wordless animated flick centers around Shaun (a sheep, as the title implies) and his flock. After a practical joke gone awry, and the farmer goes into the city, the flock follow suit and get in and out of trouble in this fish-out-of-water (or, as it happens, sheep-out-of-farm) tale.
Perfect For: Preverbal kids, toddlers, and grown-ups alike.
What the Critics Say: Nearly all raves. The adorable movie is based on a charming British TV series and it didn’t lose quality in the translation. Writes the Los Angeles Times: “Playful, absurd and endearingly inventive, this unstoppably amusing feature reminds us why Britain's Aardman Animations is a mainstay of the current cartooning golden age.”
