By Tim Ryan
Scene from RoboCopColumbia PicturesHappy Valentines Day! This week at the multiplex, weve got got futuristic law enforcement (RoboCop, starring Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman); a star-crossed romance (Endless Love, starring Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde); a time-spanning battle between good and evil (Winters Tale, starring Colin Farrell and Jennifer Connelly), and the complexities of love (About Last Night, starring Kevin Hart and Regina Hall). Find out what the critics have to say on Rotten Tomatoes.
RoboCop
A wicked satire disguised as a sci-fi action flick, Paul Verhoevens RoboCop was one of the most brutal and subversive mainstream films of the late 1980s. The best critics can say for the new RoboCop is that its well-acted and reasonably exciting, but it lacks the visceral grit that made the original so compelling. When Detroit detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is badly injured on the job, a military contractor fits him with a robot exoskeleton in an attempt to create the ultimate crime fighter. RoboCop is currently at 49 percent on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer; check out some of the reviews here:
Rotten: An action adventure thats graphics-rich, logic-poor, coherence-challenged and pleasure-impaired. Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Rotten: The re-imagined crime, action, sci-fi thriller isnt going for the biting satire of Paul Verhoevens 1987 original, or its extreme violence. The sci-fi side hasnt evolved much. And the thrill? Well, most of the thrill is gone. Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
Fresh: Its well made, polished, and hits every mark but is it crazy to want a futuristic sci-fi action flick about a motorcycle-riding metal supercop to be just a little more fun? Ian Buckwalter, NPR
Fresh: This RoboCop has updated the dystopia with some clever ideas and better acting, while at the same time sanitizing any satire with video-game polish and sequel baiting. Jake Coyle, Associated Press
Endless Love
The original Endless Love was no great shakes, but it at least earned points for audacity. Critics say the biggest problem with this remake is that its pretty bland, lacking the passion and energy to make this anything other than a middling melodrama. Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde stars as teenagers from different sides of the tracks who fall in love, but complications ensue when her dad demands she break up with him. Endless Love is currently at 18 percent on the Tomatometer; heres what some of the critics are saying:
Rotten: Shana Festes endlessly lame Endless Love remake turns the obsessive sexual heat way down from the infamous 1981 Brooke Shields vehicle while also tossing out the tragedies of Scott Spencers acclaimed source novel. Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Rotten: What does this new version offer? A different set of actors, a Valentines Day release date and kissing. Lots of kissing. Kissing in place of character development and dialogue, even entire kissing montages where a meaningful plot should be. Stephanie Merry, Washington Post
Rotten: It may prove too bland even for its target audience. Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Fresh: The film isnt bad as far as these things go. A lot of it is due to the cast, as the leading couple create some believable sparks. Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic
Winters Tale
Winters Tale has it all: time travel, magic realism, deathless passion, and even Satan himself. What it lacks, critics say, is logic, coherence, and restraint, and the result is an unintentionally funny schmaltz-fest thats more likely to inspire befuddlement than swooning. Its 1915, and Peter (Colin Farrell) has fallen in love with Beverly (Jessica Brown Findlay) while robbing her familys mansion. When she dies of consumption, he finds himself in the present-day, where he bonds with Virginia (Jennifer Connelly) and tries to escape a demon (Russell Crowe).Winters Tale is currently at eight percent on the Tomatometer; here are some of the reviews:
Rotten: A surrealist love story with countless admirers has been reduced by Akiva Goldsmans screen version to a potboiler brimming with treacly preachments. Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Rotten: How do you adapt Winters Tale, Mark Helprins epic 1983 magical-realist novel, into a movie? If youre writer-director Akiva Goldsman, you take a meat tenderizer and hammer away until all thats left is romantic-fantasy mush. Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Rotten: Winters Tale perfectly portrays the confusion of falling in love and not knowing all the rules because you lost your Dungeons & Dragons manual and never took Comparative Religions 101. Graham Killeen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Fresh: This live-action fairy tale aims to recapture the romantic splendor MGMs golden era; the dialogue and metaphysical conceits are often risible, but even they convey an emotionalism rare in 21st-century Hollywood. Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader
About Last Night
As the old saying goes, never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The critics say that even though Saving Mr. Banks deviates significantly from the historical record, it still manages to be a heartwarming showbiz tale with outstanding performances from Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers (Thompson) reluctantly agrees to meet with Walt Disney (Hanks), who desperately wants to adapt her book for the screen. Travers is deeply skeptical of Disneys plans, and he has to pull out all the stops to persuade her to collaborate on the film. About Last Night is currently at 72 percent on the Tomatometer; heres a rundown of the reviews:
Fresh: In a genre that avoids risk-taking, About Last Night is a breath of fresh air, a fun date movie that is as satisfying at least temporarily as a rebound boyfriend. Sometimes thats all you need in a movie. Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
Fresh: The four leads are entirely engaging including the manic Hart, who seems to play variations of the same character in every movie. Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fresh: However uneven, the movie at least knows the cardinal rule: In a rom-com, theres no rom without the com. Hart and Hall give it their all. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Rotten: Theres no critique going on, no point of view, no right and no wrong, no innocent or guilty party and no dramatic stakes. Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
For more movie reviews, trailers, and pictures, check out Rottentomatoes.com.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/02/14/robocop-endless-love-winters-tale-about-last-night-review-revue/
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