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The Fourth of July always draws crowds to the theaters, and this year offers some good flicks as well as some duds. From the indie fairy tale "Beasts of the Southern Wild" to the uproarious comedy "Ted" to the rebooted "The Amazing Spider-Man," consider our guide to what movies to see—or avoid—over the holiday.
The Fourth of July always draws crowds to the theaters, and this year offers some good flicks as well as some duds. From the indie fairy tale "Beasts of the Southern Wild" to the uproarious comedy "Ted" to the rebooted "The Amazing Spider-Man," consider our guide to what movies to see—or avoid—over the holiday.
Set—and shot on location—in post-Katrina Louisiana, the visually resplendent fairy tale "Beasts of the Southern Wild" centers on a 6-year-old girl, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), who sets off on an epic journey in search of her long-lost mother after her tough-love father, Wink (Dwight Henry), falls ill. Meanwhile, the polar ice caps have melted, resulting in a terrible storm, as well as the unleashing of an army of mythical prehistoric creatures called “auruchs,” that are headed straight for her. “There’s really a personal freedom and a celebratory-ness and a humor that’s happening in the face of some pretty dire environmental circumstances down there. I found the resilience and the tenacity addictive,” said Benh Zeitlin, the film’s director. “I still do, and I’m probably going to live there the rest of my life.” "Beasts of the Southern Wild," which took home the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes, is one of the best films of the year, and boasts an extraordinary performance from its miniature protagonist, who just may hold the distinction of being the youngest Oscar nominee in Academy history.
This 3-D computer-animated family film is notable not only for being Pixar’s first fairy tale, but also their first movie boasting a female protagonist. Slightly darker in tone than previous Pixar efforts, Brave is set during the 10th century in the highlands of Scotland and follows Merida (voiced by "Boardwalk Empire’s" Kelly Macdonald), an archer-princess whose mother is cursed by a witch, and must undo the spell and save her kingdom before it’s too late. With the departure of two of their finest directors to the live-action realm, Andrew Stanton ("Finding Nemo," "John Carter") and Brad Bird ("Ratatouille," "Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol"), coupled with "Cars 2’s" disappointing box office/critical reception last summer, Pixar has a lot riding on this, and while the film performed decent business—by Pixar’s lofty standards—with its clichéd, lame fairy-tale story, obscured visuals (why is the film so damn dark?), and pointless 3-D, "Brave" holds the distinction of being one of the worst films in Pixar’s celebrated canon.
Although people questioned whether it was too soon to reboot the "Spider-Man" franchise just five years after the underwhelming "Spider-Man 3," and early preview footage looked a bit too “adorkable” for our taste, director Marc Webb, best known for helming the indie dramedy "500 Days of Summer," has achieved the near-impossible with "The Amazing Spider-Man:" he’s not only made the best superhero film since "The Dark Knight," but also the best "Spider-Man" movie, period. Webb’s film is an origin story that follows Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), a geeky high-school outcast, who is smitten with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). After discovering a mysterious briefcase belonging to his father, Parker finds himself on the path to becoming the web-slinging superhero, Spider-Man, and facing off against Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who transforms into The Lizard. Webb’s film boasts outstanding usage of IMAX 3-D—you feel like you’re swinging through the city—and outstanding performances from its stars, in particular Garfield and Stone, whose chemistry is so magnetic it’s no wonder they’re rumored to be dating off-screen as well.
Directed by Adam Shankman, who helmed the impressive "Hairspray" remake, and adapted from the jukebox Broadway musical of the same name, "Rock of Ages" is a comedy-musical centering on a waitress/aspiring actress, played by "Footloose’s" Julianne Hough, and a busboy/aspiring rocker, played by newcomer Diego Boneta, who fall in love and hope their dreams become reality amid the 1980s hair metal music scene. Featuring the music of everyone from Bon Jovi to Journey, the film also stars Tom Cruise as hair metal singer Stacee Jax, who was described by Shankman as a cross between “Axl Rose, Keith Richards, and Jim Morrison”; Russell Brand as the narrator and manager of the Bourbon Room, where the protagonists work; Alec Baldwin as the owner of the Bourbon Room; and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the conservative activist who wants to shut the place down. While Cruise does a fine job as the oft-shirtless, serpentine rocker—a more family-friendly version of his creepy womanizing self-help guru in "Magnolia," and Baldwin and Zeta-Jones look like they’re having a ball, the leads (Hough/Boneta) are awful, and there’s really no semblance of a story in between the deliberately tacky musical numbers, making the film look like one big ol’ mess.
Written, produced, and directed by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, his feature film directorial debut, "Ted," stars Mark Wahlberg as John, a Bostonian whose childhood wish is granted: his beloved teddy bear, Ted (voiced by MacFarlane), comes to life. The two enjoy a happy slacker existence—smoking weed and lounging around all day. However, when John grows up and decides to pursue a serious relationship with the love of his life, Lori (Mila Kunis), Ted begins seeing red. A foil of sorts to Pixar’s "Brave," the CGI-animated teddy bear, Ted, who takes bong rips, blows coke, and curses like a trucker, is completely hilarious, and Wahlberg builds on the impressive, award-worthy comedy chops he showed in "I Heart Huckabees" to deliver an incredibly winning turn as an over-the-hill jerk. MacFarlane’s film is probably the best R-rated comedy to come out since "Bridesmaids."
On the other end of the former underwear model spectrum is "Magic Mike," based in part on star Channing Tatum’s stint as a male stripper at the age of 18. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic"), this ensemble comedy-drama centers on Mike Martingano, a.k.a. “Magic Mike”—a stripping veteran who teaches a young apprentice (Alex Pettyfer) the ropes while also trying to assimilate to a normal life with the help of his protégé’s sister, played by relative newcomer Cody Horn. But more noteworthy, perhaps, is Matthew McConaughey, who stars as a former stripper named Dallas who owns Xquisite, the club where “Magic Mike” gets down. McConaughey plays bongos, serenades the crowd with a guitar, and rocks backless chaps in his most testosterone-crazy performance since "Reign of Fire" (in a good way, that is). But tonally, the movie is all over the map. Transitioning awkwardly from outrageous comedy to druggie drama, the entire middle of the movie drags, and Horn, as Tatum’s love interest, is an awkward actress who never for a single moment makes you believe she’d pull him away from his life of debauchery, including three-ways with Olivia Munn.
