Dracula Untold (PG-13) Chalk up yet another big-budget horror flick that throws expensive CGI effects on the screen instead of actually trying to scare us. I mean, does that ever work? Luke Evans plays the 15th-century Transylvanian count who turns himself into a vampire to fight off Turkish invaders. Supposedly the movie returns to the roots of the real-life inspiration for Dracula, Vlad Tepes, but the real guy was far nastier than the patriotic tragic hero we see here. In any event, this movie deserves to be forgotten along with all the other Dracula stories that have been told and told again. Also with Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Art Parkinson, Paul Kaye, Diarmaid Murtagh, and Charles Dance.
The Equalizer (R) Denzel Washington re-teams with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua for this reboot of the 1980s TV series that plays a bit too much like other Denzel thrillers of late. He plays a former CIA hitman suffering from OCD and insomnia who pisses off the Russian mob when he takes retribution on a pimp who brutally beats an underage prostitute (Chloë Grace Moretz). The early scenes between Washington and Moretz are well-played, so it’s a shame when she leaves the movie. (Where does she go?) Fuqua tries for elegance and brutal efficiency in depicting the hero’s killings (accomplished, as in the TV show, without a gun), but those qualities aren’t in this director. This isn’t really bad. It’s just stuff we’ve seen before. Also with Marton Csokas, David Harbour, Haley Bennett, David Meunier, Johnny Skourtis, Alex Veadov, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo.
Fury (R) Exhausting and not in a good way. Brad Pitt stars in this World War II movie as an American tank commander who tries to keep his crew alive in Germany during the war’s endgame. Writer-director David Ayer (End of Watch) comes up with a good combat sequence with the tank trying to win a one-on-one battle with a German Panzer boasting superior armor and firepower, but he also fills this movie with one-dimensional characters, stupid machismo, and gaseous sentiments about the brotherhood among soldiers. The movie wants to be serious and reverent, but it’s too undercooked to pull that off. Also with Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Scott Eastwood, Anamaria Marinca, Alicia von Rittberg, Brad Henke, Xavier Samuel, and Jason Isaacs.
Gone Girl (R) This movie tastes like death, and I mean that in a good way. David Fincher’s complex, black-as-the-grave murder mystery stars Ben Affleck as a man who becomes the publicly demonized prime suspect when his wife (Rosamund Pike) disappears. Gillian Flynn adapts this from her own bestselling novel and writes like a seasoned veteran, while Fincher expertly tightens the screws. Supporting actors (Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, and Carrie Coon especially) give tasty performances, and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provide a fearsomely detached score. Both Fincher’s nihilism and Affleck’s talent for playing flawed, self-loathing guys receive a great showcase in this movie that flatly dismisses the illusions peddled by romantic movies. Also with Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes, Missi Pyle, Emily Ratajkowski, Boyd Holbrook, Lola Kirke, Scoot McNairy, and Sela Ward.
The Good Lie (PG-13) This drama about the Sudanese genocide has its heart in the right place, but where is its brain? Arnold Oceng, Emmanuel Jal, and Ger Duany play three African refugees who resettle in Kansas City in 2001. The movie never explains why it’s left to their employment counselor (Reese Witherspoon) to help them acclimate to a strange new country. The big canvas seems to defeat director Philippe Falardeau, whose storytelling is so poor that bureaucratic rules are explained to be insurmountable in one scene, then solved in the very next one. It’s good that the movie isn’t about a heroic white woman rescuing the refugees, but the Africans are still reduced to one character trait apiece. Oceng manages to convey a sense of maturation all the same. He deserved a better vehicle than this. Also with Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, Peterdeng Mongok, Femi Oguns, and Sarah Baker.
Guardians of the Galaxy (PG-13) The funniest Marvel Comics movie so far. Chris Pratt stars as an intergalactic thief who has to team up with a green-skinned assassin (Zoë Saldana), a revenge-minded alien (Dave Bautista), an insanely angry talking raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and his walking tree sidekick (voiced by Vin Diesel) to stop a blue-skinned overlord (Lee Pace) from doing bad things to the universe. The five main characters make a terrific comedy team, with Pratt anchoring the proceedings well and the raccoon stealing lots of scenes. Director/co-writer James Gunn (Slither) festoons the soundtrack with splendidly cheesy 1970s and ’80s rock anthems. Most superhero movies treat their characters with earnest reverence, and Gunn gleefully throws a pie in the face of it all. Also with Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, John C. Reilly, Djimon Hounsou, Ophelia Lovibond, Wyatt Oleff, Benicio del Toro, and Glenn Close.
Happy New Year (NR) A typical Bollywood production where just about everything happens. Shah Rukh Khan stars as a jewel thief who seeks to avenge his family by recruiting a team of thieves to pose as a dance team in Dubai so they can steal a set of diamonds from a broker (Jackie Shroff). The comedy is way too broad and the action is only fair, but the songs by Vishal-Shekhar are pretty good and performed well by Khan and Deepika Padukone. A safe even sings a song to the group’s safecracker (Boman Irani). Stay for the closing credits, where everyone from the studio’s CEO to the star’s drivers gets their own dance number. Also with Abhishek Bachchan, Vivaan Shah, Sonu Sood, and Anupam Kher.
John Wick (R) A movie that’s directed by a former stuntman and feels like it — the action sequences are enviably smooth, but everything else is crap. Keanu Reeves plays a retired hit man. A Russian mob boss’ idiot son (Alfie Allen) kills his dog, so our hero kills about 50 people in response. The writing is terrible and so are the Russian accents on Allen and Michael Nyqvist as his dad. You’re better off waiting a few months and watching the fight sequences when they’re excerpted on YouTube, because the sequences with John taking down a death squad at his house and fighting a contract killer (Adrianne Palicki) in his hotel room repay multiple views. Also with Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters, Omer Barnea, Lance Reddick, Clarke Peters, Bridget Moynahan, John Leguizamo, and Ian McShane.
The Judge (R) So close to being good, it’s infuriating. Robert Downey Jr. stars as a soulless big-city corporate lawyer who returns to his small home town in Indiana for his mother’s funeral and winds up staying to defend his estranged, retired-judge father (Robert Duvall) from a murder charge. The drama is entirely predictable, with the son’s old flame (Vera Farmiga) still good-looking and single, and every courtroom scene set at Dramatic Lighting O’Clock. The lead actors and a heavyweight supporting cast do some good work, but they can’t overcome the inappropriate humor that makes this movie feel like a long, bad sitcom. Also with Billy Bob Thornton, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Ken Howard, Emma Tremblay, Balthazar Getty, David Krumholtz, Denis O’Hare, and Leighton Meester. — Cole Williams
The Maze Runner (PG-13) The shadow of The Hunger Games looms heavily over this dystopian science-fiction thriller starring Dylan O’Brien as a boy who awakens without his memory in a community full of similarly amnesiac boys trapped in the center of a giant maze. The film’s look is derivative, and the acting is mostly anonymous, aside from the beauteous Kaya Scodelario as a girl who mysteriously shows up late in the proceedings. Still, the central mystery (taken from the James Dashner novel this is based on) is well handled, and the plot’s twists and turns are employed dexterously to reveal enough information to keep up the intrigue. Other YA novels have been turned into far worse movies. Also with Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Jacob Latimore, and Patricia Clarkson.
Ouija (PG-13) Olivia Cooke stars in this deeply moronic horror flick as a girl whose best friend (Shelley Hennig) appears to kill herself, so she tries to contact her friend’s spirit by using a Ouija board. “I don’t think we should do this,” somebody says. Well, duh! Does anything good ever happen when movie characters play with Ouija boards? Cooke is a promising talent with a pretty good American accent, but this movie’s just too stupid to be scary. Also with Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Bianca Santos, Douglas Smith, Lin Shaye, and Matthew Settle.
St. Vincent (PG-13) This movie should be unbearable Hollywood-style melodrama, but it’s made into something rather enjoyable by the efforts of its actors. Bill Murray stars as a mean old man whose financial difficulties spur him to take a job watching over the 11-year-old boy next door (Jaeden Lieberher). The young Lieberher does more than hold his own amid a cast filled with Oscar nominees, while Melissa McCarthy turns in a gratifyingly understated performance as the boy’s mother and Naomi Watts does a tartly funny slapstick turn as a pregnant Russian stripper. Writer-director Theodore Melfi doesn’t come up with the best material, but he directs with a dry style that keeps this just on the right side of sentimentalism. Also with Chris O’Dowd, Kimberly Quinn, Lenny Venito, Nate Corddry, Ann Dowd, and Terrence Howard.
23 Blast (PG-13) Yet another inspiring real-life football story gets turned into a rote sports drama. Mark Hapka stars as Travis Freeman, a high-school football star who manages to come back to the team after suddenly and permanently losing his sight. The real Freeman went blind at age 12, but the movie takes big liberties with the facts. Dylan Baker makes his directing debut and co-stars as Travis’ dad. Hapka does good work, even though he and Bram Hoover (a screenwriter who co-stars as Travis’ best friend) are over 30 and look it. Still, a great story like Freeman’s deserved a better film. The real Freeman makes a cameo appearance as a minister. Also with Stephen Lang, Max Adler, Alexa PenaVega, Kim Zimmer, Becky Ann Baker, and Timothy Busfield.
The Blue Room (R) Mathieu Amalric directs and stars in this French movie based on Georges Simenon’s novel as a man suspected in the death of his mistress (Stéphanie Cléau). Also with Léa Drucker, Mona Jaffart, Olivier Mauvezin, and Laurent Poitrenaux.
Whiplash (R) Miles Teller stars in this drama as an aspiring drummer who’s mentally and physically abused by his teacher (J.K. Simmons) at music school. Also with Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, Chris Mulkey, Damon Gupton, and April Grace.
