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<i>Pixels </i>Is Adam Sandler's Laziest Movie Yet, Somehow
1. Pixels is a perfectly acceptable idea for a movie that has unfortunately been Sandlerized. Based off a famous short film from 2010 that you can watch below—and you probably should just watch now, for free, thereby saving yourself the trip to the theater—it revolves around aliens who receive a tim...
Even Paul Rudd Can't Save <i>Ant-Man</i>
1. If you’re going to make a movie about a superhero whose superpower is being able to shrink to the size of an ant and then command ants to do his bidding, it’s fair to say that having a good handle of the ridiculous will come in handy. This is an Ant-Man! That’s the dumbest superhero power ever! H...
Rational Man: In Praise Of Late-Period Woody Allen
Assessing a filmmaker’s legacy can be difficult, especially when his career hasn’t ended yet. It can be even tougher when that director’s personal life has in some ways outdistanced his movies, warping our impression of them just as it’s changed our feelings about the person who made them. ...
<i>Trainwreck </i>Isn't A Revolutionary Romcom, But It Is A Great One
For a movie written by and starring a comedian whose standup upends sexual taboos and whose hit Comedy Central show often skewers different genres and pop-culture detritus, the most remarkable thing about Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck is how traditional it is. That’s not a criticism: Rather than trying t...
Grierson & Leitch's Best Movies Of 2015 (Well, So Far)
As of last week, we are halfway through 2015. As usual, most of the year’s “prestige” movies aren’t out yet, but that doesn’t mean that the past six months didn’t have some terrific films. To make sure they aren’t forgotten come year-end-list time, Grierson & Leitch today present our favorite movies...
It's Time To Take Channing Tatum Seriously
In the last few years, I’ve noticed a funny trend. My friends and I will be talking affectionately about Channing Tatum’s movies—usually, the Jump Street films—and the other person will suddenly get quiet, like he’s about to make some dark, embarrassing confession to me. “You know, what?” he’ll inva...
<i>Terminator Genisys </i>Is Like A Loud, Lousy, Super-Confusing Cover Band
1. Terminator Genisys seems specifically designed to give you a headache. It’s a reboot, a sequel, a reimagining, and a rehash of the previous Terminator films all churned up and spackled together, a film that conjures up all your memories of those movies only to eradicate them with little explanati...
Fuck This Bear: <i>Ted 2</i>,<i> </i>Reviewed
1. How sincere is Sincere Seth MacFarlane? I know I’m a dope for even asking—associating a genuine emotion with such a sniggering clown is a sucker’s bet—but I really do want to know. Because Ted 2 has moments, lots of moments, that it seems to play completely straight, as if we are watching an actu...
<i>Inside Out </i>Is The Weepiest Pixar Movie Yet
1. Considering how many Pixar films seem designed solely to trigger your tear ducts, it’s fitting that the studio has finally made a film that is specifically about sadness. Inside Out is full of the bright colors and wacky characters and madcap hijinks you’ve come to expect, but it’s ultimately a m...
<i>Dope </i>Is A Buoyant '90s Throwback That Does Most Of The Right Things
1. Dope is a movie about ’90s hip-hop and black culture, but it feels like a throwback in other ways, too. That decade, somewhat amazingly, was the last time movies like this existed on a semi-regular basis: ambitious, original, almost-raw movies by black people about black life, aimed at a national...
<i>The Tribe </i>Is The Darkest, Greatest Silent Movie You'll See All Year
Most movies, even some of the greatest, encourage you to be passive. As intellectually stimulating or deeply moving or incredibly exciting as they might be, your role is to sit back and let it wash over you. When critics describe a film as “challenging,” it usually means a little work is required on...
<i>Me And Earl And The Dying Girl </i>Is Too Precious To Be Truly Great
The biggest obstacle toward liking Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is, well, basically everything about it. From its title on, this Sundance award-winner comes draped in preciousness and ironic remove, like a teen practically begging you to steal his lunch money while rolling his eyes and making some...
<i>Jurassic World </i>Features Cooler Dinosaurs And Way Stupider People
1. Here’s the only real question you need to ask yourself about Jurassic World: Does it bother you that such a theme park could never actually exist? I mean, obviously it could never exist: It has dinosaurs, for one thing. But more to the point, can you accept the fact that no rational human being w...
<i>Love & Mercy </i>Brings Brian Wilson's Legend To Life, Twice
The Brian Wilson myth lends itself easily to the biopic treatment—perhaps too easily. In clumsy hands, the Beach Boys co-founder could be reduced to his most infamous, sensationalistic qualities: genius! Recluse! Weirdo! Thankfully, the Wilson-approved Love & Mercy is several degrees smarter and mor...
<i>San Andreas </i>Is The Perfect Replacement-Level Disaster Movie
1. San Andreas doesn’t hit a single beat you don’t expect, and there’s comfort in that. It feels like a ritual, like a visit to a loud but harmless elderly aunt’s house where you know nothing exciting is going to happen, but you’re okay with that. Sometimes you just need some quiet time, no? This mo...
Cameron Crowe's <i>Aloha</i> Is Every Bit The Disaster You Suspected
As a rule, I ignore negative buzz about upcoming movies. For one thing, you never know the agenda behind those leaking damaging information about reshoots or bad test-screening scores. For another, the film industry is littered with classic movies that were initially thought to be duds. (How many or...
<i>Tomorrowland </i>Is Hopeful, Uplifting, And Absolutely Intolerable
1. Tomorrowland is a movie about optimism and hope and brightness and good cheer, which probably explains why it put me in such a foul mood. It’s like that television evangelist who’s so smiley and squeaky-clean that you just know he’s up to something weird when no one’s looking. This movie spends m...
<i>Pitch Perfect 2 </i>Is Bigger, Bawdier, And Substantially Worse
1. Pitch Perfect 2 is a total bummer, and it takes a while to figure out why. The 2012 original was such a pleasant, charming surprise, smart and clever and warm-hearted, but also pleasantly geeky; a cappella groups are not the centerpiece of the collegiate experience in the world we live in, but Pi...
<i>Mad Max: Fury Road </i>Is Glorious, Thrilling, Overwhelming Lunacy
1. I quit smoking more than four years ago, but nothing—not a night full of drinks, not a table full of smokers, not a gasoline IV—has made me want a cigarette more than Mad Max: Fury Road did. You leave the theater still shaking, everything still pumping and throbbing, a treadmill stopping on a dim...
Dumber-er And Awesomer: <i>Furious 7, </i>Reviewed
1. Furious 7 has a scene I have been waiting a long, long time to see in a movie, and it happens twice. Two cars facing each other from opposite sides of the street. Two men, nostrils flaring, glowering, revving their engines, respective erect penises in hand. They shift into gear. They floor it. ...