Sing

Review by Bob Ignizio

Even animals love a singing competition in SING, which must be, what, the 200th animated kid flick this year? Fortunately, although it's not a top tier effort, SING is at least entertaining. Probably moreso if you're in the under 12 year old target market than an old geezer like me and/or the modern pop hits being covered by the cast don't make you cringe (also me).

Anyway, the plot is pretty simple. Koala Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) owns a theater, something that was his childhood dream. Unfortunately, all his productions bomb, and the bank is about to foreclose. In a last ditch effort to save his beloved venue, Buster decides to put on a singing competition ala 'American Idol' or 'The Voice', in which everyday animals get a chance to show their talents to the world. The prize is supposed to be $1000, but Buster's elderly lizard secretary accidentally prints up fliers offering 100 times that much.

Hot Pursuit

Review by Bob Ignizio

I thought after seeing PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 that it was a shoo-in for worst movie of the year. But then along comes HOT PURSUIT to give it a run for its money. Where BLART seemed to actively work at being bad, HOT PURSUIT is a textbook example of lazy filmmaking. It's almost unfair to say this film had a script. More like a buddy picture “mad libs” that had all its blanks filled in the most unimaginative way possible. Since they didn't try, why should I? Instead I'm just going to reuse my review of 2013's THE HEAT, the film whose success is likely responsible for this knock-off:

Wild

Review by Pamela Zoslov

In her memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed writes of her 1,100-mile journey on the PCT — a 2,663-mile hiking trail that runs from the U.S. Border with Mexico to the U.S.-Canada border — to heal herself after the death of her mother, her descent into heroin addiction and promiscuity, and her divorce. Strayed undertook the three-month solo desert trek without much knowledge or preparation, and the book details her injured feet, lost toenails, encounters with rattlesnakes, and the strain of her impossibly heavy backpack, dubbed “The Monster” by fellow hikers on the trail.

Mud

Review by Joseph Anthony

It’s easy to forget about what America looks like when you go to the movies. Too often films look like suburban commercials or show us the same 4 big cities. But the truth is, a majority of America looks like the films Jeff Nichols is making. Nichols first film, SHOTGUN STORIES, was set in the woods of Arkansas. His wonderfully crafted 2010 film, TAKE SHELTER, was set in the fields of Ohio. MUD takes us to the shores of the Mississippi River. These settings are instantly appealing and recognizable. They feel more like home than most films released. Nichols uses these settings as a sort of character, and it makes MUD a wonderful place to be for a couple of hours.

This Means War

Review by Pamela Zoslov

Surrounding THIS MEANS WAR, a movie about two spies who rival for a woman's affections, is the story of two studios at war over the hearts of moviegoers. Fox, the studio behind the action-comedy THIS MEANS WAR, hoped to outdo rival Sony, which was scheduled to release its sappy wife-in-a-coma movie THE VOW on Valentine's Day. Fox's strategy was to characterize THIS MEANS WAR, a movie replete with explosions, shootings, car crashes and broken stunt glass, as a romantic comedy – the perfect Valentine's Day date movie. Cooler heads and audience research prevailed, and Fox will now release the movie on February 17 to an inevitable torrent of bad reviews.

Water For Elephants

It's depression era America, and Jacob Jankowski (TWILIGHT heartthrob Robert Pattison) is a handsome young man whose future is derailed by tragedy. He drops out of veterinary college, hops a train, and ends up joining the Benzini Brother's Circus where he does his best to take care of the animals under less than optimal conditions. The job puts Jacob in close proximity to the show's lovely star Marlena (Reese Witherspoon). The two become attracted to each other, but try to keep their feelings in check. And with good reason. Marlena is married to the owner of the circus, the alternately charming and cruel August (Christoph Waltz), a man known to have those who displease him thrown off a moving train.

How Do You Know

Review by Pamela Zoslov

It’s been a long time since we encountered the eccentric style of James L. Brooks on the big screen – his last major film (unless you count Spanglish), was As Good As It Gets in 1997. The multiple Emmy and Oscar-winning writer, director, actor and producer, whose credits span television’s top tier (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, The Simpsons), is not a prolific filmmaker, having made only six movies in 27 years. Brooks has described filmmaking as “lonely,” which may explain why he doesn’t do it often.

Brooks’ reticence is reflected in his movies, which are all about talking and not talking. The characters in his new romantic comedy, How Do You Know, are forever telling each other not to say anything, calling to say they’re not calling, walking away from a conversation, or berating themselves for saying things they regret. In a sense, Brooks’ dialogue is about the importance, and the peril, of words – a metaphor, perhaps, for the writing process, with its frustrating blocks and endless revisions. In a Brooks romantic comedy, there’s a lot more thinking, talking and explaining than lovemaking.