Critics Consensus: Snitch Talks a Decent Game
Plus, Dark Skies wasn't screened -- guess the Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we've got an undercover dad (Snitch, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Susan Sarandon) and terrorized suburbanites (Dark Skies, starring Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton). What do the critics have to say?
Snitch
58%
At first glance, Snitch appears to be a run-of-the-mill action flick. But critics say it's a bit deeper than that, using a thriller framework to make a point about minimum sentencing laws, and while it doesn't always hit its mark, it's well-acted and often thought-provoking. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as a father who infiltrates a drug ring after his son is wrongly accused of drug trafficking; soon, he finds himself in over his head, caught between the cartel and an ambitious prosecutor. The pundits say Snitch is a smarter-than-average crime picture with a strong performance from Johnson, but it occasionally succumbs to plot contrivances.
Dark Skies
35%
It looks as if the people behind Dark Skies didn't want to rain on the critics' parade, as the film wasn't screened prior to its release in theaters. Produced by some of the same folks who brought you Insidious and Sinister, Dark Skies is the tale of a family that moves into a suburban house and is increasingly subjected to terrifying and inexplicable events that seem to be supernatural in origin. Time to guess the Tomatometer!
Also opening this week in limited release:
- 11 Flowers, a coming-of-age drama about a Chinese schoolboy whose life intersects with that of a fugitive killer, is at 100 percent.
- Red Flag, starring Alex Karpovsky in a road comedy about an indie filmmaker who finds himself in a strange relationship while on a promotional tour, is at 85 percent.
- Bless Me, Ultima, a drama about a young boy who befriends an elderly woman with magical powers, is at 73 percent.
- Rubberneck, also starring Alex Karpovsky as a research scientist who becomes obsessed with his coworker, is at 58 percent.
- Inescapable, starring Marisa Tomei in a thriller about a man desperately searching for his daughter in Syria, is at 29 percent.
Finally, props to Pep Danguilan for coming the closest to guessing Escape From Planet Earth's 29 percent Tomatometer.
Janson Jinnistan
I'm most interested in Carl Franklin's return with "Bless Me Ultra", an intriguing story based on a controversial book.
The Karpovsky films seem interesting, as his comedy has been compared to Albert Brooks. I'll have to see if this is a young talent in waiting.
Not interested at all in the wide releases. "Dark Skies" is the follow-up by the man who brought us the curses of "Legion" and "Priest". Third strike, bitch. The director of "Snitch" had a mild success with his previous "Felon", but honestly that was almost entirely due to Val Kilmer's excellent performance.
Feb 21 - 05:02 PM
Big Brother
I actually didn't hate Priest. Yeah, it was derivative and could have done with another 20 million to improve the special effects, but the story itself wasn't terrible, the action was good and Paul Bettany delivered as the lead actor. You're right though, Legion was shite.
Feb 21 - 05:23 PM
Val Mordas
I found both Legion and Priest to be below average films but neither was bad enough to warrant being rated lower than anything with the word 'Twilight' in it. Just shows you the ratings can be a popularity contest even more than judging a film on it's merits.
Feb 21 - 05:39 PM
Jameson Bradford
Poor "Twilight (1998)" with Newman, Sarandon and Hackman. Not a bad movie, but no one will ever know it. Shit, I type in "Twilight" with RT and it won't even come up.
Feb 22 - 06:20 AM
Dave J
That movie is up there if you type the actors/ actresses names- it's only like that because not a heck of alot of people had seen it even though it's known to be Reese Witherspoon's first nude scene!
Feb 22 - 03:54 PM
Infernal Dude
Priest also had a potentially great villain in Karl Urban, but he was wasted like the rest of the film. Dark Skies looks like Insidious with aliens, Fire in the Sky and Communion did it better.
Feb 21 - 11:54 PM