Opening Everywhere: 300: Rise of an Empire, Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Opening Somewhere: The Grand Budapest Hotel
FilmDrunk Suggests: Every time you see a Wes Anderson movie, Vince’s jeans shrink one size. Check out Vince’s review of The Grand Budapest Hotel and if you need me, I’ll be giggling with delight at Mr. Peabody.
300: Rise of an Empire
Rotten Tomatoes Scores:40% critics, 78% audience
Gratuitous Review Quotes:
Long on crimson spurts of blood but low on character, larded with production value but bereft of any other kind of it, “300: Rise of an Empire’ is a 3D joke. – James Rocchi, Film.com
If the movie’s action recalls video games, the dramatically artificial lighting suggests 1980s rock videos. Indeed, Rise of an Empire is so campy that it might work better as a musical. – Mark Jenkins, NPR
Armchair Analysis: I can only hope that this sequel leads to Meet the Spartans 2, because it’s the sequel that comedy truly needs right now. Also, here’s a fun question to take you into the weekend: Is Lena Headey the next Diane Lane? I say yes.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 77% critics, 80% audience
Gratuitous Review Quotes:
Fifty years ago, animated entertainment was a lot quieter. But that was my “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.” This is someone else’s. And it should give them, and even a few open-minded parents, almost just as much giggly fun. – Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Mr. Peabody is fast-paced and jammed with rib-poking historical references, but it couldn’t be called witty, even on the broadly winking level of the original cartoon. – Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Armchair Analysis: Should be a simple enough comedy, acceptable for both children and adults alike. It also has Stephen Colbert in it and I’d watch anything he’s in, even if it’s just his voice.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Rotten Tomatoes Scores:89% critics, 89% audience
Gratuitous Review Quotes:
This is one of Anderson’s funniest and most fanciful movies, but perversely enough it may also be his most serious, most tragic and most shadowed by history, with the frothy Ernst Lubitsch-style comedy shot through with an overwhelming sense of loss. – Andrew O’Hehir, Salon
A higgledy-piggledy tutti-frutti concoction that also has its share of old-world melancholy. – Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Armchair Analysis: I don’t really have an opinion on Wes Anderson, as I like a few of his movies and don’t care about some others. But Adrien Brody really irritates me, mainly because he was in that inAPPropriate Movie, and that’s inexcusable. He also always looks like he’s so proud of himself, and that’s really annoying. I’m an adult.