This week you’ve got a little bit of everything - a hapless mall cop, adorable baby monkeys, ghosts in the Skype machine, and brooding Tom Hardy as a Russian officer.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Kevin James is back as the hapless security cop; except this time he’s in Las Vegas, supposedly to be enjoying his first vacation in forever, albeit at a security officer’s convention. Instead, duty calls when he gets wind of a heist in the casino, and he embarks on a Bond-like mission. The premise is funny: Bond meets slapstick. From the looks of it, the execution is not.
Perfect For: The fans of the first Paul Blart movie (and would you believe there are a lot of them?)
What the Critics Say: Only one “Top Critic” has weighed in. Time Out sniffs: “This oft-ridiculed screen giant is here to answer a question that has plagued mankind for decades now: what would a film be like if every single person involved made as little effort as humanly possible?” Adding: “‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2’ is a lazy, witless, laugh-free experience. But even by their standards, this is a slog to sit through.”
Our Take: Nope!!
Watch the Trailer:
Unfriended
Unfriended is your basic horror movie slasher but with a genius premise. The set- up is all too real: A girl gets harassed online when embarrassing videos are posted of her, causing her to commit suicide (which is also posted online). A year later, she comes back and haunts the friends she suspects who are all on a group chat, and threatens to kill them one by one until they tell her who posted the video. It’s Paranormal Activity meets real life bullying meets every possession film you’ve ever seen.
Perfect For: Fans of teen slasher flicks, Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project.
What the Critics Say: Begrudging admiration: Writes the Wrap: “Neither as silly as it might look nor as terrifying as its "Titus Andronicus"-via-Mark-Zuckerberg set-up promises, it takes a high-concept yet bare-bones premise and milks it for all the jolts it can.” And says the Village Voice: “Unfriended is the one movie from 2015 you'll always be able to look back at and feel something of what life was like back when, even if you're not a cyberbullying white teen.”
Our Take: Intriguing enough to go.
Watch the Trailer:
The Monkey Kingdom
Two words, everyone: BABY MONKEYS! It’s a Disneynature film, so think National Geographic minus the part where anyone gets hurt too badly. So, soft-focus lighting, adorable shots of monkeys cavorting with the other animals in their kingdom, and most importantly, BABY MONKEYS!
Perfect For: Everyone. If you don’t love baby monkeys, you have no heart.
What the Critics Say: Even the cold-hearted, curmudgeonly critics liked it: Variety: “The cheekiest, funniest, and most purely entertaining entry in the Disneynature series.” And says The New York Daily News: “If you don't love monkeys already - and really, we all should - then "Monkey Kingdom" will swing you in the right direction.”
Our Take: I think you know how we feel.
Watch the Trailer:
Child 44
A thriller based on a best-selling novel, starring Tom Hardy as a fallen Russian secret police officer during the 1950s, who is exiled when he refuses to sell out his wife as a traitor. Meanwhile, there’s a child serial killer on the loose, killing young boys. Also starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, and Noomi Rapace.
Perfect For: Fans of drama, spy movies and gazing longingly at Tom Hardy’s beautiful face.
What the Critics Say: A miss. USA Today: “Child 44 could have been far more compelling had it dug deeper into its political thriller layers and not drifted into yet another story of a diabolical killer on the loose.”
Our Take: I will be renting this in the privacy of my own home.
Watch the Trailer:
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