The first week of classes, in theory, means less homework and fewer commitments. With respectable films for all kinds of moods coming out this week, perhaps a movie is just what you need to fill that lull between Spring Break and getting down to business.
Nim’s Island
Abigail Breslin, who played the child Olive in Little Miss Sunshine, stars in this swashbuckling family movie. Jodie Foster plays a fantasy author. Along with the lead character from her book (not sure how that works) they help Breslin find her poppy.
Big-name guest appearances abound. Breslin is cute. The premise is cute. A lot of money has been thrown into it. Won’t be bad.
Shine a Light
It’s basically a Rolling Stones concert video. However, it was directed by Academy-Award-winning director Martin Scorsese.
See Mick Jagger strut. See Keith Richards’s face droop past his shoulders. See guest appearances by celebrity friends Christina Aguilera and Bill Clinton. There aren’t many surprises, but it’s nice to look at. “[Scorsese] comes at the Stones from every imaginable angle. He voodoos the footage into a fluid whole,” New York magazine says.
Leatherheads
George Clooney and The Office’s John Krasinski star as 1920s football players competing for the affections of a reporter, played by the always puckered Renee Zellweger. Directed by Clooney, it is easy enough to like but everything from its predictable lines to its premise are just as easy to forget.
Krasinski may be redeemed from last year’s miserable License to Wed, but nobody else is so lucky. “Aims only to please and proves perfectly amiable, but ultimate effect is one of much energy expended to minimal payoff,” Variety says.
The Ruins
You’re on vacation with your friends. It’s exotic. You’re having a great time and then bad stuff happens. Hostel or Turistas have been transported to Central America by producer Ben Stiller. Just like the plot, this is just another horror flick — cool visual effects, bad acting and an even worse script.