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.

And So It Goes See Steven Rea's review on Page 9.

Boyhood See Steven Rea's review on Page 4.

Come Back to Me See Tirdad Derakhshani's review on Page 6.

The Fluffy Movie This documentary looks at the career and comedic style of Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias. Not Previewed

Happy Christmas See Steven Rea's review on Page 11.

Hercules Dwayne Johnson takes the title role in this latest big-screen take on the ancient legend. Not Previewed

I Origins See Tirdad Derakhshani's review on Page 5.

A Long Way Down See Steven Rea's review on Page 12.

Lucy See Tirdad Derakhshani's review on Page 5.

A Most Wanted Man See Steven Rea's review on Page 4.

Very Good Girls See Steven Rea's review on Page 8.

Begin Again 1/2 Keira Knightley, bringing those daunting cheekbones to bear on a mawkish music-biz screenplay, is the best thing about John (Once) Carney's New York City melodrama. Mark Ruffalo is the down-on-his-luck industry veteran who thinks he can turn the heartbroken English singer into a star. With Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, Catherine Keener, and Hailee Steinfeld. 1 hr. 44 R (profanity, 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.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 1/2 Unnecessarily slow and somber sequel to the 2011 reboot of the sci-fi franchise from another century. The apes are dominant, living a life of peace in the misty woods north of San Francisco, but then the humans come asking favors - armed with guns. With Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, and Andy Serkis' performance-capture turn as Caesar, leader of the highly evolved monkeys. 2 hrs. 10 PG-13 (violence, action, adult themes) - S.R.

Deliver Us From Evil A New York City cop (Eric Bana) and an unorthodox priest (Edgar Ramirez) who specializes in exorcisms join forces to investigate a series of possessions that are terrorizing the city. 1 hr. 58 R (bloody violence, grisly images, terror throughout, profanity) - T.D.

Earth to Echo Any similarities to E.T. are strictly intentional in this thoroughly winning kiddie sci-fi caper, as boys help a stranded little alien escape first the authorities and then the atmosphere. 1 hr. 31 PG (action sequences) - D.H.

The Fault in Our Stars A sweet, bittersweet tale of cancer-stricken lovebirds - played by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort - facing love, and death, head-on. An adaptation of John Green's YA megaseller, from the writing team behind The Spectacular Now (also with Woodley) and (500) Days of Summer. 2 hrs. 6 PG-13 (sex, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 1/2 One of the most delightful surprises of the year, this DreamWorks Animation sequel is an intelligent, sensitive, and beautifully realized morality play that will fascinate children and parents alike. Five years after he ended the war between dragons and Vikings, young hero Hiccup and his fellow dragon-riders face off against a dreaded enemy named Draco, who subjugates dragons, using fear and torture to make them do his bidding. 1 hr. 42 PG (adventure action and some mild rude humor) - T.D.

The Immigrant 1/2 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.

Jersey Boys John Lloyd Young, who starred as Frankie Valli in the original Broadway musical, cinches up his face and hits the high notes with grace in Clint Eastwood's enoyable, and surprisingly tough, music-biz biopic. Wall-to-wall Four Seasons songs, too. 2 hrs. 14 R (profanity, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Life Itself 1/2 A touching, inspiring documentary portrait of Roger Ebert, the famously prolific thumb-slinging movie critic whose life story is the stuff of movies itself - and whose resilience in the face of an 11-year struggle with cancer is nothing short of extraordinary. 1 hr. 58 R (adult themes) - S.R.

Maleficent Angelina Jolie stars as the titular villain of the Sleeping Beauty tale in this imaginative, if somewhat belabored reinvention of the classic Disney 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.

Obvious Child 1/2 Jenny Slate stars as a Brooklyn comedian who finds herself pregnant following a messy, drink-fueled one-nighter, in this low-key indie set in a world of stand-up, breakups, and visits to Planned Parenthood. Philadelphia native Gabe Liedman costars. 1 hr. 29 R (profanity, sexual content, adult themes) - T.D.

Persecuted An evangelist who refuses to back a senator's call for sweeping religious reform goes on the run after being framed for murder. Not Previewed

Planes: Fire & Rescue 1/2 Dusty the converted cropdusting plane is back and this time he's battling forest fires. This animated kids' film is better than the original, but that's not saying much. 1 hr. 23 PG (peril) - D.H.

The Purge: Anarchy 1/2 In this sequel to the 2013 hit, a young couple fight for survival as the annual purge rolls around. 1 hr. 43 R (adult subjects, profanity, strong bloody violence) - W.S.

Sex Tape Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel are a married couple trying to put the passion back in their lives. So, why not video themselves having sex? And then why not spend the rest of the movie desperately trying to reclaim the gifted iPads featuring their X-rated marathon? Naked butts, yes. Raunchy dialogue, yes. Laughs - not so much. 1 hr. 30 R (sex, nudity, profanity, drugs, adult themes) - S.R.

Snowpiercer 1/2 A global-warming experiment goes awry and Earth freezes, leaving survivors to circle Earth on a train driven by perpetual motion. Class war breaks out between those in back and those in front. All aboard for Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Chris Evans. 2 hrs. 6 R (violence, language, smoking, drug use) - T.D.

Tammy 1/2 Melissa McCarthy goes on a crazy low-rent road trip with her boozy grandma (Susan Sarandon) in a raucous comedy that goes off the rails in its second half. 1 hr. 36 R (profanity, adult themes) - D.H.

Think Like a Man Too 1/2 Kevin Hart oversees the couples therapy comedy, a sequel to the 2012 hit based on Steve Harvey's bestseller Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. 1 hr. 46 PG-13 (crude sexual content, partial nudity, language, and drug material) - W.S.

Transformers: Age of Extinction 3D Director Michael Bay outdoes himself in the latest pulverizing chapter of his robot franchise. It's much longer and much louder than any of the previous demolition extravaganzas. Mark Wahlberg provides the puny human element. 2 hrs. 45 PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult themes) - D.H.

Venus In Fur Wickedly smart and wickedly playful, Roman Polanski's adapatation of David Ives' Tony-nominated play works on so many levels it's dizzying. A two-character piece about power, perversion, subjugation, seduction, the battle of the sexes, and the relationship between an actress and her director, it stars Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Mathieu Amalric, who bears a striking resemblance to Polanski. 1 hr. 36 No MPAA rating (sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Violette 1/2 This impressive film brings to life the long relationship between French writers Violette Leduc and Simone de Beauvoir. 2 hrs. 12 No MPAA rating (adult subjects, profanity, sexuality, smoking) - T.D.

Wish I Was Here 1/2 Zach Braff's 10-years-later followup to his writing/directing debut Garden State finds the actor playing an actor - a middle-30s slacker whose dreams of fame and fortune, or just steady work, appear dashed on the rocks of reality: a mortgage, school tuitions for the kids, a wife who seems weary and glum. Kate Hudson and Mandy Patinkin co-star. 2 hrs. R (profanity, sex, adult themes) - S.R.