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Movie Reviews Reviews of new movies, classic and art films, foreign films, and popular movies. Featuring Bob Mondello, Kenneth Turan, David Edelstein, and Mark Jenkins.

Movie Reviews

Thursday

'Vulgaria': Raunch Comedy With An Asian Accent

Guangxi gangster Brother Tyrannosaurus (Ronald Cheng, left) agrees to back a film for producer To Wai-Cheung (Chapman To) — with a few conditions. China Lion Entertainment hide caption

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China Lion Entertainment

Movies

'Vulgaria': Raunch Comedy With An Asian Accent

Hong Kong cinema's wild man, director Pang Ho-Cheung, brings his eye for the unconventional to his movie-biz satire. Critic Mark Jenkins explains that while some of the Cantonese slang may be lost on an American audience, bawdy jokes share a universal language.

'Hotel Transylvania': Vampire Gags, Minus The Bite

Murray the Mummy (Cee-Lo Green), The Invisible Man (David Spade), Frankenstein (Kevin James), Eunice (Fran Drescher), Dracula (Adam Sandler), Wayne (Steve Buscemi) and Wanda (Molly Shannon) are only a few of the ghoulish guests in Hotel Transylvania. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

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'Hotel Transylvania': Vampire Gags, Minus The Bite

An all-star cast, a veteran director and writers with proven comic chops serve up tired laughs and a grating lead character in Hotel Transylvania. Critic Ian Buckwalter wants the animated comedy staked through the heart.

Time And Crime, Thoroughly Crossed Up In 'Looper'

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis star as present and future versions of the same man in Looper. Alan Markfield/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Alan Markfield/Sony Pictures

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Time And Crime, Thoroughly Crossed Up In 'Looper'

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis star as the present and future versions of a skilled assassin in Rian Johnson's mind-bending thriller. Critic Jeannette Catsoulis says the film's offbeat performances and stylized nihilism make up for the plot holes left in most time-travel stories.

'Solomon Kane,' Hellbound And Down In Old England

William Crowthorn (Pete Postlethwaite) and his Puritan family earn the respect of master warrior Solomon Kane (James Purefoy), the brooding antihero of a bleak comic-book adaptation. RADiUS-TWC hide caption

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RADiUS-TWC

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'Solomon Kane,' Hellbound And Down In Old England

Adapted from Robert E. Howard's comic of the same name, Michael J. Bassett's film falls flat in its bid for the big screen. Critic Scott Tobias says the film gets bogged down in its bloodshed, wiping away all trace of the fun the pulp original offered.

'Looper': Time-Travel Nonsense, Winningly Played

Old Joe (Bruce Willis) and his younger self (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), two iterations of the same assassin, play a particularly personal game of cat and mouse in the time-travel thriller Looper. Alan Markfield/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Alan Markfield/Sony Pictures

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'Looper': Time-Travel Nonsense, Winningly Played

Fresh Air

Rian Johnson's action-thriller can't dodge the frustrating elements of most time-travel tales, but the film's characters, performances and stylization add up to an experience that critic David Edelstein believes is the right amount of happy and tragic.

'Looper': Time-Travel Nonsense, Winningly Played

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Wednesday

'Won't Back Down' Takes A Too-Easy Way Out

Nona (Viola Davis), a well-meaning teacher, teams up with warrior mom Jamie (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to fix the education system that failed their children. Kerry Hayes/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

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Kerry Hayes/Twentieth Century Fox

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'Won't Back Down' Takes A Too-Easy Way Out

Writer-director Daniel Barnz aims to convey the idealism of a community fighting for its children's education. Critic Ella Taylor believes that the film is better described as a propaganda piece focused more on pointing fingers than offering believable solutions.

Friday

The Art Of Preserving A High School 'Wallflower'

Charlie (Logan Lerman), Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) navigate the joys and pains of high school in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. John Bramley/Summit Entertainment hide caption

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John Bramley/Summit Entertainment

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The Art Of Preserving A High School 'Wallflower'

Fresh Air

Writer-director Stephen Chbosky brings his 1999 young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the screen. Critic David Edelstein says the result may be better than the book — a project that communicates the trials of high school in a way that is both painful and elating.

The Art Of Preserving A High School 'Wallflower'

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Thursday

A Cop Drama, Hard To 'Watch' (In The Best Way)

Officers Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) and Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) tangle with a vicious drug cartel in End of Watch. Scott Garfield/Open Road Films hide caption

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Scott Garfield/Open Road Films

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A Cop Drama, Hard To 'Watch' (In The Best Way)

Writer-director David Ayer's foray into the world of the LAPD is just the latest in an oversaturated genre. But critic Stephanie Zacharek says End of Watch is one of a kind — and so artful in its artifice, that it almost fools you into believing that it's reality.

Bullets And Buddies On The Streets Of South Central

Officers Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) become the targets of a drug cartel in End of Watch. Scott Garfield/Open Road Films hide caption

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Scott Garfield/Open Road Films

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Bullets And Buddies On The Streets Of South Central

Action thrillers about the LAPD have become a staple in Hollywood, but NPR's Bob Mondello says End of Watch approaches the genre with an emotional authenticity that's often missing in lesser films.

Bullets And Buddies On The Streets Of South Central

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Nothing To 'Dredd' About A New Action Adaptation

Judge Dredd and his protege, Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), fight a drug lord in a post-apocalyptic slum. Joe Alblas/Lionsgate hide caption

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Joe Alblas/Lionsgate

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Nothing To 'Dredd' About A New Action Adaptation

Pete Travis' new take on the British comic does justice to the story of post-apocalyptic Mega-City One and its all-powerful lawmen, the Judges. As critic Joel Arnold explains, Dredd succeeds where its 1995 predecessor didn't — by taking bold risks. (Recommended)

The Pangs And 'Perks' Of High School, Revisited

Sam (Emma Watson), Charlie (Logan Lerman) and Patrick (Ezra Miller) help each other through the lowest parts of high school in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. John Bramley/Summit Entertainment hide caption

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John Bramley/Summit Entertainment

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The Pangs And 'Perks' Of High School, Revisited

Writer-director Stephen Chbosky adapts his 1999 novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, into a film about loss, friendship and sexuality. Critic Mark Jenkins says that the film conveys the realization that being an outcast doesn't mean being alone.

Teen Rebellion, Written On The Body In '17 Girls'

Inspired by events in Gloucester, Mass., 17 Girls focuses on a gaggle of French high schoolers who make a pregnancy pact — in large part to exercise control over their lives. Strand Releasing hide caption

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Strand Releasing

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Teen Rebellion, Written On The Body In '17 Girls'

Inspired by a real-life "pregnancy pact" story, writer-directors Delphine and Muriel Coulin explore the idea that all teens share a desire for control, but have trouble imagining outcomes and consequences.

Eastwood, Adams Keep Up With The 'Curve'

Mickey (Amy Adams), a successful lawyer, reluctantly hits the road to assist her father (Clint Eastwood), an Atlanta Braves baseball scout whose eyesight has begun to fail. Keith Bernstein/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Keith Bernstein/Warner Bros. Pictures

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Eastwood, Adams Keep Up With The 'Curve'

Robert Lorenz's directorial debut, Trouble with the Curve, pits new against old on the most American of battlegrounds: the baseball field. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film's unfussy sensibility does justice to its exploration of family, purpose and love of the game.