Weekend Movie Trailers & Reviews: Emma Watson's 'Wallflower' vs. 'Dredd'
by Andy NeuenschwanderAnother big slate this weekend, as Hollywood fails to put out a sure-thing, big-time blockbuster but does provide a number of mid-range movies, most of them with solid reviews. Here are the quick hits for this weekend's kinda-big releases:
"Dredd"
Rated R, 1 hr 28 mins.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%
Believe it or not, it looks like the 3D remake of the Stallone movie (or the new reboot of the comic book adaptation, whichever way you want to look at it) is actually pretty good. Mind you, this is still mostly mindless violence. But it's highly stylized violence, complete with self-parody and tongue-in-cheek humor. This is Judge Dredd the way he was supposed to be, and the reviews confirm it.
"House at the End of the Street"
Rated PG-13, 1 hr 41 mins.
RT score: 12%
Jennifer Lawrence was a newly appointed Hollywood star when she started filming this horror flick. Now she's the star of "The Hunger Games," and she's about to be one of the most highly paid actresses over the next few years because of it. I'm saying all of this and hyping her credits because this particular movie is not very good. The score of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes should be evidence of that. But, if you like horror, you might still enjoy it... about 68% of the audience did.
"End of Watch"
Rated R, 1 hr 49 mins.
RT score: 84%
Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña star in this cop movie in which our heroes get caught up with the drug cartel in LA and must fight back. It might seem like you've seen tons of movies like this before, and plot-wise, maybe you have. But the characters and performances are great here, which sets "End of Watch" apart from the rest of the buddy cop action movie field.
"Trouble with the Curve"
Rated PG-13, 1 hr 50 mins.
RT score: 54%
Clint Eastwood returns in front of the camera for this comedic drama, but leaves the directing to first-time director Robert Lorenz, who has to this point only acted as producer for Eastwood's past films. You can blame him or the script for the movie's split reviews (some call it "pleasant" while others find it "ham-fisted"), but you probably can't fault the performances of Eastwood and Amy Adams.
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Rated PG-13, 1 hr 43 mins.
RT score: 80%
Emma Watson is slowly but surely breaking away from Harry Potter, and this teen drama is a good step. Based on the novel of the same name, this adaptation provides a coming of age story with a solid script, emotional honesty, and solid performance from a young cast. Chances are you've seen a movie like this before, but when it's done well, that doesn't matter much.