Capsule Reviews of Movies

Reviews

Ratings:

**** Excellent *** Good

** Fair * Poor

Reviewers: C.R., Carrie Rickey; S.R., Steven Rea; D.D., Dan DeLuca; T.D., Tirdad Derakhshani; D.H., David Hiltbrand; W.S., Inquirer wire services.

Edge of Tomorrow See Steven Rea's review on Page 4.

The Fault In Our Stars See Steven Rea's review on Page 4.

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia See Tirdad Derakhshani's review on Page 11.

Words and Pictures See Steven Rea's review on Page 5.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Schematic sequel to 2012's reboot of the Marvel Comics franchise starring a kid (Andrew Garfield) who morphs into a webslinging superhero driven by adolescent heartache and indecision, and by gigantic, effects-driven fight scenes - against super-foes including Jamie Foxx's Electro and Dane DeHaan's Green Goblin. And through it all: Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, a lash-batting cartoon of brainy cute-osity. 2 hrs. 22 PG-13 (intense action, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Belle Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as the illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy officer and an African slave, raised - alongside her white cousin - in the world of 18th-century English aristocracy. Rooted in history, and also in the traditions of Jane Austen, this handsome period piece combines heady romance and pointed issues about race. With Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Sam Reid. 1 hr. 45 PG (adult themes) - S.R.

Blended In this rom-com, the comedy is strictly middle-cheek standard and the romance is nonexistent. Blame the listless leads, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, who play antagonistic single parents taking their kids to the same South African resort. 1 hr. 57 PG-13 (profanity, crude and sexual content) - D.H.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier The ninth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings Steve "Cap" Rogers (Chris Evans, sporting Popeye biceps) to modern-day Washington, where the old-school "super soldier" struggles to come to terms with a preemptive, paranoid government mind-set. With Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Robert Redford in a sinister supporting role. 2 hrs. 16 PG-13 (action, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Chef Jon Favreau stars in - and wrote and directs - this bouncy paean to the culinary arts, about a top cook who gets a career-killing bad review, rebounds, and bonds with his son in a feel-good food truck ride across the States. Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, and John Leguizamo join the fun - which feels force-fed at times. 1 hr. 55 R (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Chinese Puzzle The third installment in French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch's "Spanish Apartment" series - this one set in New York, where the heading-toward-40 friends and lovers of the first two movies are faced with new complications, new responsibilities, and with kids, too. It's all very busy, and cute, and, um French. R (sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Cold In July After shooting and killing a home invader, a man fears for his family's safety when the dead man's ex-con father shows up. 1 hr. 49 R (extreme bloody violence, sexuality, profanity) - T.D.

The Dance of Reality This autobiographical film follows writer-director Alejandro Jodorowsky's childhood in Chile. 1 hr. 58 No MPAA rating (profanity, nudity, disturbing images, violence) - T.D.

Fading Gigolo John Turturro wrote, directed, and stars in this quirky comedy as an unlikely manwhore with an even unlikelier pimp (Woody Allen). Piquantly amusing until it bogs down in the second half. 1 hr. 38 R (profanity, nudity, sexual content) - D.H.

Finding Vivian Maier A fascinating puzzle-piece mystery - and a revelatory portrait of an eccentic figure who worked as a nanny in Chicago from the '50s through the '90s - and who dragged her charges through the city, taking pictures. The heretofore unknown street photographs are nothing less than brilliant; the documentary about this curious figure is a find in more ways than one. 1 hr. 23 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - S.R.

Forces of Nature Get a close-up look at natural disasters in this Imax documentary.

Godzilla Giant Japanese monster reappears in this narratively muddled, effects-driven reboot. Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are among the noble thespians who tear around, screaming as if the world were collapsing around them. It is, thanks to a 350-foot-tall pile of dinosauric scales and dentition. 2 hrs. 3 PG-13 (intense action, carnage, adult themes) - S.R.

The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson's eighth, and most teeming film, is a Between the Wars comic caper set in a fictitious central European land where Ralph Fiennes is the concierge of an elegant alpine hostelry. When a wealthy guest dies and the will is read, a mad dash for money and a prized painting ensues. With Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Saoirse Ronan, and newcomer Tony Revolori. Sublime. 1 hr. 40 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Ida Two women - an orphan raised in a convent, preparing to take her vows, and a cynical, hard-bitten former prosecutor and judge - meet in Pawel Pawlikowski's extraordinary film, embarking on a road trip across the bleak terrain of 1960s Communist Poland - a road trip that is at once tragic, hopeful, and unforgettable. 1 hr. 20 PG-13 (sexual situations, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Immigrant Marion Cotillard is nothing less than amazing as a destitute Pole who arrives at Ellis Island, 1921, and falls in with a smooth-talking pimp (Joaquin Phoenix). James Gray (Two Lovers, The Yards) directs this half-crazy, fascinating yarn. 1 hr. 58 R (nudity, violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Dorothy returns to her old stomping grounds to help out her friends in this subpar animated family feature. 1 hr. 28 PG (some scary images and mild peril) - W.S.

Maleficent Angelina Jolie stars as the titular villain of the Sleeping Beauty tale in this imaginative, if somewhat belabored reinvention of the classic Disney's cartoon. With Elle Fanning as the cursed Aurora, and District 9's Sharlto Copley alarmingly cast as her dad, the king. Flower-powered fairyland visual effects to die for! And Jolie, horns and cheekbones high, is magnificent as the villainess fairy godmother. 1 hr. 37 PG (violence, scary images, adult themes) - S.R.

Million Dollar Arm Jon Hamm stars as a desperate sports agent who sets out to find baseball talent in India and ends up babysitting two young homesick villagers. Not nearly as heartwarming as it intends. With Lake Bell, Aasif Mandvi, Suraj Sharma, and Madhur Mittal. 2 hrs. 03 PG (suggestive language and situations) - D.H.

A Million Ways to Die In the West Seth MacFarlane writes, directs and casts himself (a mistake) in the lead of this potty-brained and seriously unpleasant sagebrush spoof. Neil Patrick Harris, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfriend, and Charlize Theron appear to be willing participants in the racist, misogynist "comedy." It's beyond bad taste. It's just bad. 1 hr. 56 R (profanity, crude humor, sex, nudity, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Neighbors In this lewd comedy, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are young parents whose lives are massively disrupted when a rowdy fraternity led by Zac Efron moves into the house next door. Smutty? Oh, yes. And often fall-on-the-floor funny. 1 hr. 37 R (profanity, nudity, sexual content, violence, alcohol and drug abuse) - D.H.

Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch's sly and seductive vampire movie, starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as two old (very old) lovers, is as much about the life-sustaining force of music as it is about any hankering for blood. With Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, and John Hurt. 2 hrs. 03 R (profanity, nudity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Other Woman Leslie Mann - ditzy and gasping, Lucille Ball and Olive Oyl rolled into one, in panic attack mode - makes this formulaic sex farce tolerable, barely. She's the wife who discovers her husband is cheating on her with Cameron Diaz, and with Kate Upton. The trio team up, in a spirit of twisted sisterhood, to exact revenge. PG-13 (sex, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Railway Man Hang in through the stuffy start and you'll get an emotionally powerful (though graphic) film about the horrors of war (WWII) and its aftereffects. With Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine. 1 hr. 56 R (torture scenes) - D.H.

Titans of the Ice Age 3D This Imax features looks at the creatures that dominated the Earth thousands of years before modern human civilization. Not Previewed

X-Men: Days of Future Past Time-travel is of the essence in this entertaining seventh installment in the series based on the Marvel Comics about a gang of misfit mutant superheroes and their respective mentors, Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto. Directed by Bryan Singer, with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine as the linchpin. Geeky, action-packed fun. 2 hrs. 11 PG-13 (intense action, violence, adult themes) - S.R.