Critics Consensus: Final Destination 5 Sorta Thrills, The Help Inspires
Plus, 30 Minutes or Less misses the mark, while Glee 3D is toe-tapping fun.
This week at the movies, we've got deadly premonitions (Final Destination 5, starring Nicholas D'Agosto and Emma Bell); a wacky bank heist (30 Minutes or Less, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride); societal change (The Help, starring Viola Davis and Emma Stone); and Gleek mania (Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, starring Lea Michele and Chris Colfer). What do the critics have to say?
Final Destination 5
61%
Listen up, Final Destination fans: we've got good news, and we've got bad news. The good news first: the critics say Final Destination 5 is probably the best entry in the series, with tense, well-crafted set pieces that provide some welcome freshness to the franchise's signature Rube Goldberg-esque kills. The bad news: critical success is relative here, since the Final Destination movies aren't exactly rife with interesting characters or tight plotting. Once again, a group of attractive young people survive a horrible disaster (this time on a collapsing bridge) and once again the hand of fate picks them off in diabolical ways. However, this time there's an interesting twist: if those marked for death can kill some random innocent person, they can delay the Grim Reaper's scythe. The pundits say Final Destination 5 boasts better craftsmanship and more genuine suspense than previous installments, but it's still bogged down by its devotion to formula, and the actors - game as they may be - are merely cogs in the machine. (Check out this week's Total Recall, in which we run down some of cinema's most memorable dead teenager movies.)
30 Minutes or Less
45%
There are plenty of good movies about criminal ineptitude - check out the Coen Brothers' oeuvre for examples -- but it's a thin line between riotous farce and grim villainy. And critics say 30 Minutes or Less never quite walks that tightrope -- despite some maniacally funny scenes, it's tonally all over the place, and never quite as tight as it should be. Based upon (pretty horrific) true events, 30 Minutes or Less tells the story of Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), a pizza-delivery guy who's forcefully enlisted to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to his chest by a pair of wannabe criminals. Thereafter, Nick must dodge the cops and the crooks while working out his personal problems. The pundits say 30 Minutes or Less has moments of absurd hilarity and some interesting twists, but it's pretty uneven, jarringly shifting from goofy laughs to brutal violence to sentimentality without finding a consistent tone. (Check out Crime Doesn't Pay, our feature on some of the dumbest criminals in the movies.)
The Help
76%
Kathryn Stockett's bestselling 2009 novel The Help, which chronicles the close relationship between three very different women in Jim Crow-era Mississippi, quickly became a book-club favorite, so a movie adaptation was inevitable. Fortunately, critics say The Help largely succeeds - it's moving and heartfelt, and features such terrific acting that its missteps are easy to forgive. Aibileen (Viola Davis) works as a maid for white families and is mourning the recent death of her son; she's close friends with Minny (Octavia Spencer), whose outspokenness has hurt her employability as a domestic. Meanwhile, Skeeter (Emma Stone), a well-to-do college grad and an aspiring writer, is troubled by the disappearance of the black maid who helped raise her, and turns to Aibileen and Minny to learn more about their underappreciated lives and labors. The pundits say The Help sometimes sugarcoats the ugliness of its era, but the performers - particularly Davis - are so outstanding that the film works as a poignant, inspirational tale of empathy and understanding.
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie
60%
Glee has a dedicated primetime audience, and the songs from the show have dominated the pop charts. So how does the gang from McKinley High do in its big screen, three-dimensionally enhanced debut? Pretty well, say critics, who call Glee: The 3D Concert Movie an infectious, toe-tapping experience that successfully distills the show's equal-opportunity exuberance for multiplex consumption. Glee documents the cast in performance at the Meadowlands, giving fans an up-close-and-personal view of the New Directions crew as they belt out pop favorites from the likes of Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and, um, Men Without Hats. The Pundits say Glee may not convert nonbelievers into diehard Gleeks, but it's still mightily entertaining, with plenty of showstopping songs, some backstage banter, and an egalitarian spirit that's tough to resist.
Also opening this week in limited release:
- Senna, a documentary about the life and death of the Formula One legend, is Certified Fresh at 94 percent.
- Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, a documentary portrait of artist Anselm Kiefe and his large-scale works, is at 86 percent.
- Scheherazade Tell Me a Story, about an Egyptian talk show host whose outspoken political views threaten her husband's career, is at 83 percent.
- Littlerock, an indie drama about a small town as seen through the eyes of a pair of Japanese tourists, is at 83 percent.
Lenny Monroe
Hmmm so Final Destination 5 still ended up being the best reviewed out the series... Still seems like the fives have been a strong point in a series lately. Maybe Wes Craven's Scream 5 and Pirates of the Caribbean 5 will continue the same trend, like Fast 5 and X Men First Class
Aug 11 - 04:55 PM
Lenny Monroe
Also, how many Final Destinations do you think they will make? My guess is 8 lol. And it will be titled "Seriously Guys This Really Is The Final Destination"
Aug 11 - 05:00 PM
Harrison Brenner
My guess is 10. Hollywood is starting to make as many sequels as they want without really caring. (Cars 2, Spy Kids 4, etc.)
Aug 11 - 05:13 PM
Michael Lin
you cant really say that Pixar doesnt care, Cars 2 was one failure after a long line of sucesses, they were trying to improve on their lowest performing film and just failed miserably
Aug 11 - 05:32 PM
MicHaeL Hendriks
In reply to Michael L.'s post:
I thought 'Ratatouille' was the worst-performing one.
But anyway, if 'Cars' was (one of) the worst, they shouldn't have tried to do much more with it.
I mean, sure, they could have been trying to improve upon it, but usually it doesn't make sense to keep going with something that didn't work before.
Especially in this industry.
Obviously, 'Toy Story 3' was a huge success. Also because they did it right and everything.
But still, there was a successful formula.
And also 'Cars' might have been mostly for kids, I don't think cars with faces would do it for everyone.
At least, not for me, I didn't even see the movie(s) because I don't find it appealing, and I love what Pixar does in general.
Living toys, great! Lonely robot, great! Hysterical bugs, great! Friendly monsters, great! Cooking rat? Maybe... Talking cars with faces? Not so much... Unless it's '80s 'Knight Rider'.
Aug 12 - 05:30 AM
Eric Irvan
Michael L., just how is Cars 2 a failure? It has made more than twice its budget worldwide and is outperforming the first Cars in just about EVERY SINGLE one of its foreign markets, which was Pixar's plan. Not only is Cars 2 NOT a failure, but it is a tremendous success proven by the fact that it will ultimately take in more worldwide than its predecessor did. If making more than twice the budget means a movie is a failure, than that means 99% of ALL movies ever made everywhere are failures. This doesn't add up. Your logic is astoundingly bad.
Aug 12 - 06:03 AM
John Noto
Eric- Because the movie wasn't good. Phantom Menace made a shitload of money, and I'm sure a lot of little kids liked it, but was a failure in the minds of everyone but Lucas.
Aug 12 - 06:59 AM
Adam Tobias
Premo Beat,
I enjoyed Cars 2 a lot. You shouldn't make a blanket statement like that just because you feel that way. Many people don't believe that Cars 2 was a failure.
Aug 12 - 07:45 AM
Mister Vile
I don't care how much a movie makes if it isn't good. Do you get royalties or own a KB Toy Store?
Aug 12 - 08:41 AM
Clint Davis
I think he was mentioning that Cars 2 was an epic critical failure. Police Academy made a ton of money back in the day, does that make it a success today?
Office Space made no money at the box office in '99, does that have any bearing on the fact that it is viewed by most people as a success today?
Aug 12 - 10:00 AM
Clint Davis
I think he was mentioning that Cars 2 was an epic critical failure. Police Academy made a ton of money back in the day, does that make it a success today?
Office Space made no money at the box office in '99, does that have any bearing on the fact that it is viewed by most people as a success today?
Aug 12 - 10:00 AM
Paul Atreides
Tobias... just what part of 'critical review' don't you understand? And when someone (Premo Beat, in this case) offers an assessment of a specific thing (a movie, in this case), that's not really what a "blanket statement" is (generalization, typecast, stereotype--these are blanket concepts). And many more people than the supposed "many people" you reference DID AND DO think 'Cars 2' was a failure... beginning with the score and reviews that it got here, LOL. As far as Eric's comments on the money grossing thing in and of itself determining whether or not a movie is a success or failure... really? I can't refute that any better than Premo did with 'The Phantom Menace' example, but the Matrix sequels come to mind as well. The examples of garbage films making a lot of money are so innumerable, it's hard to know where to even begin with a list. What typically makes these wastes of film monetary successes are the throngs of double-digit IQ people easily hypnotized by eye-candy... certainly not that the movies themselves had good to great stories, scripts, acting, etc. "99% of all movies ever made everywhere" earned more than twice their budgets, eh? Whose logic is astoundingly bad, again?
Aug 12 - 10:03 AM
Adam Tobias
DEChap423,
Do any or the posts that precede mine mention anything about 'critical review?' Not that I can see. And yes, I do understand what it means.
So do you have actual proof that more people thought it was a failure than enjoyed it. There are the reviews on here, but that's only one small sample. Try asking the audience the movie was actually targeted towards: young kids, especially boys.
I doubt Pixar would be breaking records for toy sales if kids hated the movie.
Aug 12 - 10:30 AM
Scott Yoo
Wow DeChap you just sound like an arrogant douche, I saw the movie and basically turned it off after the first five minutes, but I still don't believe the movie was a total failure... You don't make a movie to get high praise and reviews from critics rotflmao, It's all about making money, which they clearly did. I know a few kids like my nephews who really enjoyed the film, and honestly everyone I know tells me it was very good. They probably couldn't give two shits about what the critics think as long as the kids the movie was meant for enjoyed it and they turned a profit.
Aug 14 - 12:42 PM
Paul Atreides
LOL, Tobias... I wasn't quoting the words "critical review" from any previous comments, but that concept was obviously the basis by which most people who were disparaging 'Cars 2' were doing so. "Actual proof"?... other than the majority of opinions everywhere I've seen and read--TV, newspapers, here, etc.--no I don't. Most movie opinions being as subjective as they are, I'm not sure there's really any such thing as "actual proof". But whatever... other than a small handful of Disney classics, I didn't care for animated movies when I was a child; so maybe I'm not the best judge of what constitutes a good one--especially as an adult. But obviously there HAVE been many bad sequels that rode the shirttails of their predecessors into the land of financial success, so making money alone doesn't determine whether or not a movie's (particularly a sequel) a success in the bigger picture. Movie production companies who begin to think that it does run the risk of ruining their reputations and making much less money in the future. Scottc, you "sound" like one of the pathetic dipshits who helps create markets for most of the mindless garbage coming out of Hollywood--but opinions do vary.
Aug 19 - 10:51 AM
Gordon Terry
Eight.
Aug 11 - 05:51 PM
Chris Skoufis
Gonna be a total of 7 Final Destination movies. If this one is successful, they'll shoot Final Destination 6 and Final Destination 7 back-to-back.
Aug 11 - 07:39 PM
Joshua Dinsmore
I'd like to see more original films/movies rather than see sequels that only serve to make the studio more money, unless that sequel/prequel is somewhat better than the other sequels of a series (i.e. First Class).
Aug 11 - 05:18 PM
Eric Irvan
Michael L., just how is Cars 2 a failure? It has made more than twice its budget worldwide and is outperforming the first Cars in just about EVERY SINGLE one of its foreign markets, which was Pixar's plan. Not only is Cars 2 NOT a failure, but it is a tremendous success proven by the fact that it will ultimately take in more worldwide than its predecessor did. If making more than twice the budget means a movie is a failure, than that means 99% of ALL movies ever made everywhere are failures. This doesn't add up. Your logic is astoundingly bad.
Aug 12 - 06:02 AM
Eric Irvan
Michael L., just how is Cars 2 a failure? It has made more than twice its budget worldwide and is outperforming the first Cars in just about EVERY SINGLE one of its foreign markets, which was Pixar's plan. Not only is Cars 2 NOT a failure, but it is a tremendous success proven by the fact that it will ultimately take in more worldwide than its predecessor did. If making more than twice the budget means a movie is a failure, than that means 99% of ALL movies ever made everywhere are failures. This doesn't add up. Your logic is astoundingly bad.
Aug 12 - 06:02 AM
Jack Mehoff
Cars 2 is a failure due to it being the worst rated Pixar movie. There are tons of movies that make money but suck. Audiences are idiots sometimes for dumb things(Transformers, Smurfs, and especially Cars 2).
Aug 12 - 09:17 AM
Joshua Dinsmore
I don't know why you're commenting under my message, but I don't think Cars 2 is a failure. It's just the weakest of the Pixar bundle.
Aug 12 - 10:52 AM
Aakash Kumar
x men was more of a prequel and a reboot tbh. love it.
Aug 11 - 05:30 PM
Matthew Thomas
No, it was more of a reboot than a prequel.
Aug 11 - 05:35 PM
The Watcher
Nope. It was a full on prequel made to keep in the continuity of the original movies, as evidenced by the Wolverine cameo.Plus, it re-created Magneto's origins pretty much the same way the first movie did.
Aug 11 - 06:11 PM
Link O'Fett
X-Men: First Class is a prequel, otherwise it would have completely ignored continuity.
Aug 11 - 10:49 PM
Mister Vile
there are a lot of nerd-only-type inconsistencies, but it is a prequel.
Aug 12 - 08:39 AM
Manuel Granados
My only question is this. Did they pretend Wolverine origins never happened? Because when they meet Wolverine in his cameo he is already Wolverine-ing it up or at least has the gruff attitude, yet in the origins movie he doesnt know who Xavier is. Im guessing Vaughn and Fox simply pretended that piece of shit movie never happened.
Aug 12 - 09:59 AM
Mister Vile
If you watch it again you see that Wolverine doesn't look at them. You also know that Wolverine doesn't age, but Xavier and Magneto did, so i might not recognize them anyway. Xavier could have forgotten him, since he never really talked to him.
Aug 12 - 11:33 AM
Mister Vile
so what i was really trying to say: Wolverine Origins is cannon. Hugh Jackman is just the staple of the franchise and they wanted him in it, even if just a cameo.
Aug 12 - 11:35 AM
Noah Kinsey
Manuel- If we are going to pretend that the Wolverine inconsistency is due to the filmmakers ignoring Origins, then we also have to assume that they are also ignoring the first X-Men, since in that one Xavier was puzzled why we couldn't locate Erik or get into his mind - only to find out he's wearing a helmet (which he'd never seen before). In First Class, Xavier sees said helmet, and knows its defense against his special abilities.
Aug 12 - 11:39 AM
Manuel Granados
Well, wolverine wouldnt forget Xavier and his scent or Magneto. But what Noah says is also true, hadnt even thought about that. Doesnt make the movies any less, just goes to show that Origins was forgettable I guess lol. There are no glaring plot holes in First Class, it breaks continuity a little and nothing huge like if they killed Magneto in it, or said mutant powers come from bacteria around people.
Aug 12 - 03:19 PM
Lenny Monroe
ACTIVATE NERD MODE: Okay. X Men Origins took place 20 years before the X Men trilogy, meaning the mid to late 80s. You can tell this because during the opening credits when they showed all the wars Wolverine and Sabertooth went through, the Vietnam War was the last one you saw them in. First Class, obviously took place during the '60s, but there is ONE inconsistency I found. In Origins, Emma Frost was a teenage girl that Wolverine rescued along with the other kid mutants, like Cyclops, but in First Class she was a grown woman working for Sebastian Shaw. The reason why this is, I do not know
Aug 12 - 07:49 PM
Noah Kinsey
One inconsistency, Lenny? Really?
Aug 12 - 08:04 PM
DJ Adams
How about how Xavier gets paralyzed by the end of First Class, but then can miraculously walk again at the end of Origins and the opening scene of The Last Stand. Also note how Xavier and Magneto are still friends when they visit Jean in the beginning of The Last Stand, even though became rivals at the end of First Class.
Aug 14 - 12:29 AM
DJ Adams
Also, this one is rather minor, but Beast has a brief cameo in X2 where he still appears like a normal human even though he became all blue in First Class.
Aug 14 - 12:40 AM
Justin D.
The X-Men franchise is littered w/ inconsistencies and plot holes like the ones you've all pointed out. The only way that franchise can fix everything is to start over again, and it looked like Fox was going to do that w/ First Class. Sadly, FC was more prequel than reboot and just created more continuity errors, such as Emma Frost's fluctuating age, Prof. Xavier's ability to walk, Beast's secondary mutation, and Mystique trying and kill the man who was essentially a brother to her w/o any remorse. I have given up hope of ever seeing an X-Men film that tells the proper origin, w/ the original 5 members.
Aug 14 - 10:56 AM