Because of embargoes (those happy little restrictions on when critics can post reviews, good or bad), a lot of our critics aren’t able to share links with you until release day. Here are some last-minute reviews for this weekend’s upcoming films. We’ve kept in all the reviews posted yesterday as well so you can have more help in deciding what to see (if you haven’t already).
Our critics have been hard at work reviewing the latest films. Here is a look at what’s coming out this weekend (in select cities, check your local listings) and what else may be in theaters right now.
Opening: Jun. 27, 2014
Wide (United States)
Transformers: Age of Extinction
[New Reviews Today] For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Begin Again
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A romantic drama that captures and conveys the healing power of music.
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: The documentary’s release as the net neutrality debate rages will only underscore what we have lost.
Dustin Jansick @ Way Too Indie
- Excerpt: Despite some shortcomings, it remains a deeply compelling documentary about some of the most important issues of the Information Age.
Ron Wilkinson @ ItsJustMovies.com
- Excerpt: A cautionary tale about the power of entrenched financial interests in an era of unlimited information access.
Jackpot
[New Today] Mark Dujsik @ Mark Reviews Movies
- Excerpt: Here is a mean-spirited movie about bad-hearted people in which the central question seems to be which of these characters is the nastiest of the lot.
Snowpiercer
[New Reviews Today] For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Whitey: United States of America vs. James J. Bulger
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Berlinger’s work has revealed the warped wheels of the American justice system before, garnering a groundswell of support for the West Memphis Three. With “Whitey,” he’s casting an ever wider net.
2014 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
2 Autumns, 3 Winters
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
22 Jump Street
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Blended
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Borgman
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Boyhood
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: One of the best and most memorable films ever made about the art of improvisation as a path of wisdom, creativity, and personal renewal.
Chef
[New Reviews Today] For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Code Black
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
A Coffee in Berlin
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: The film’s finale is so strong, it almost convinces you you’ve seen a better film than you actually have.
Coherence
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Cold in July
[New Reviews Today] For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Dance of Reality
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
Edge of Tomorrow
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Frequencies
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
The Galapagos Affair
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
Jonathan Richards Richards @ www.jonrichardsplace.com
- Excerpt: There’s a bit of hagiography at work in Nicholas Wrathall’s documentary Gore Vidal The United States of Amnesia, but its subject stands up to the treatment.
Happy Christmas
Dustin Jansick @ Way Too Indie
- Excerpt: More meandering and less polish than Swanberg’s previous effort, though the film contains similar charm and a lighthearted spirit.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
I, Frankenstein
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Ida
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Jersey Boys
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Jodorowsky’s Dune
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Lego Movie
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Lucky Them
Jonathan Richards Richards @ www.jonrichardsplace.com
- Excerpt: This slight, modestly entertaining movie owes everything to the talents of its actors, starting with the redoubtable Toni Collette.
McCanick
- Excerpt: A solid premise gives way to wobbly psychology in McCanick, a police story that ends up being carried on the shoulders of its considerable lead performer.
Mood Indigo
Samuel Castro @ Ochoymedio.info [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Michel Gondry vuelve a hacer una de las suyas. Y esta vez, la frase no es un elogio.
Night Moves
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Noah
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Non-Stop
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Obvious Child
[New Reviews Today] For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Odd Thomas
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Omar
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Other Woman
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Palo Alto
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Rage
Travis Hopson @ Punch Drunk Critics
Rigor Mortis
Ron Wilkinson @ ItsJustMovies.com
- Excerpt: What is probably an acceptable horror flick for Eastern audiences offers subtleties that are lost on us poor Westerners. Glutinous rice?
The Rover
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Signal
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
That Awkward Moment
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Think Like a Man Too
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Transcendence
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Violette
Jonathan Richards @ www.jonrichardsplace.com
- Excerpt: For the first two hours or so of this absorbing examination of the life and career of Violette Leduc, the mood is as dark and grim as the leaden skies of a Parisian winter. But there are occasional shafts of brightness that break through the clouds as the story goes along; and then, toward the end, the sun comes out.
We Are the Best!
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
Who Is Dayani Cristal
Jonathan Richards @ www.jonrichardsplace.com
- Excerpt: Back in 1941, during the Great Depression, Preston Sturges made a classic satirical film called Sullivan’s Travels, in which a successful Hollywood director of light comedies (Joel McCrea) decides to make a hard-hitting movie about the lot of the downtrodden by hitting the road as a hobo and experiencing the life first hand. Bernal’s obviously heartfelt presence here smacks a little of Sullivan’s noble delusion.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
2014 Films (Coming Soon)
9-Month Stretch
Dragan Antulov @ FAK [Croatian]
- Excerpt: ako ima par lucidnih trenutaka, mnogi koji odgledaju ovu francusku komediju osjecat ce se kao da su odsjedili kaznu iz naslova.
All the Wrong Reasons
- Excerpt: Strong ensemble includes Karine Vanasse, Emily Hampshire, and the late Cory Monteith
Citizen Koch
Jonathan Richards Richards @ www.jonrichardsplace.com
- Excerpt: The movie didn’t have to be called Citizen Koch. In fact, the title leads us to expect a level of insight into the brothers that it does not begin to deliver.
Evergreen: The Road to Legalization
Joshua Brunsting @ The CriterionCast
Hide and Seek
Humshakals
[New Today] Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
Ironclad: Battle for Blood
Korengal
[New Today] Jamie S. Rich @ Oregon Live
Maïna
- Excerpt: Well-intentioned film plays like a hybrid of soap opera romance and those Canadian heritage minutes that used to play during the commercial breaks of Hockey Night in Canada.
The Physician
Dragan Antulov @ FAK [Croatian]
- Excerpt: Jedno od neobicnijih ostvarenja današnjeg kino-repertoara koje vec zbog toga zaslužuje publiku.
A Place in Heaven
The Wonders
- Excerpt: This wacky film by Avi Nesher is worth the trip down the rabbit hole.
