This week at the movies: Melissa McCarthy crushes it; Ari Gold comes to the big screen; another teen girl gets haunted.
Spy
The verdict is in: everyone loves Melissa McCarthy. I mean, how can you not? Every since her scene-stealing turn in Bridesmaids, they’ve been trying to put her in a movie as the central star, with mixed results. It looks like Spy, a spoof send-up of all the spy movies in the world (starring some people who’ve played actual spies in those movies, like Jason Statham and Jude Law) is the perfect vehicle for McCarthy to showcase her myriad talents. In the flick, she works for the CIA—but only in the office on the computers, helping those in the field track bad guys. When it falls to her to go into the field, she must go undercover and assume a number of hilarious guises. Pratfalls ensue.
Perfect For: Melissa McCarthy fans (and who isn’t?) But not the children. (She’s got a dirty mouth!)
What the Critics Say: Give her all the money! Writes Entertainment Weekly: “Put the woman in any damn thing she pleases. She’s that good.” Says the New York Times: “And why not? The busy, silly script allows Ms. McCarthy to be her own best sidekick, in effect an entire sketch-comedy troupe unto herself.”
Our Take: Yes, yes, yes!
Watch the Trailer:
Entourage
Note to filmmakers: It’s usually a bad idea to take a successful TV show and put it on the big screen. Sure, you might do major Box Office numbers (Sex and the City, X-Files), but the actual art that comes out of these films is usually abysmal and casts a pall over the TV show itself. Enter Entourage, the movie. The boys are all back: Vince, Ari, Drama, Eric, Turtle. Good news: They are still grappling with Hollywood’s awfulness, and still partying and being fabulous. Bad news: That seems to be the plot.
Perfect For: You missed Ari Gold’s ridiculous one-liners, basically the only reason to watch the show.
What the Critics Say: Less like a movie and more like an overlong episode. While the critics haaaaated it (25% Rotten Tomato meter rating), the audiences loved it (84% Rotten Tomato audience meter reading). Writes the New York Post: “Put it this way: Gary Busey is in the movie. You'll forget it faster than he does.” And says the Wrap: “Piven's Ari is so over-the-top in his narcissism and megalomania that he's fun to watch, but the other lead characters are the kind of bros who should be having drinks thrown in their faces on a regular basis.”
Our Take: Only if you are a megafan.
Watch the Trailer:
Insidious: Chapter 3
Only one week in, we’re deep in summer blockbuster season, which means horror movies in June. The third chapter of Insidious is actually a prequel (does anyone remember the first two? No?) and features the new style of haunting movies: ghouls and ghosts and spirits and whatnot that have actual physical form. It’s not enough for them to spook you invisibly, but now they have to actually beat you up and throw you around before they possess you. Seems fun.
Perfect For: The weird people who get thrills from stuff like Paranormal Activity, the Purge, and other ghoul-based haunting horror movies.
What the Critics Say: A collective, “meh.” Writes Variety: “Chief among things that go bump in the night in "Insidious: Chapter 3" is the movie itself - a thuddingly dull prequel to James Wan's very enjoyable (and highly profitable) demonic-possession horror franchise.”
Our Take: It’s not our bag, but if this is how you get your jollies, it’ll probably do the trick.
Watch the Trailer:
LIGHTS, CAMERA, EVEN MORE ACTION: Check Out More Movie Reviews>>
