Here is a summary of the reviews from today’s show:
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a very good sequel. Even though some of the action sequences are frantic to the point of being sloppy, the focus on character and story gives the movie an edge over most other animated films and over most sequels in general.
22 Jump Street frequently feels more like a Saturday Night Live skit lampooning as a Hollywood sequel than an actual motion picture. It begins well and it ends well but the long stretch in between is a marathon of college movie clichés that isn’t worth it.
Despite caving to its sentimentality, Belle is a pretty good movie. It tells an unusual story and it does a better than average job portraying the complicated interplay of race, class, and gender. The movie comes up a little light on substance but as a period romance it works.
Chef may be low on story but it’s high on character and fun. The movie is lightweight, no doubt about it, but it’s also charming and enjoyable, the kind of movie that’s rare in the summer movie marketplace.
All is Lost is the kind of film that challenges what audiences expect from the movies and from storytelling in general. The picture is excellently made and has a terrific performance by Robert Redford but it is the quiet dread of the movie that makes it unnerving and memorable.
Full reviews can be found in the review archive.