Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson | PG-13 |
ACTION
Fast Five opens with Mia (Jordana Brewster) and Brian (Walker) springing Dom (Diesel) from a prison bus by doing insane things in pricey cars, forcing the bus to roll a dozen times, somehow without killing a soul. The message: Laws of physics will be ignored in this movie, stuff will happen that defies Earth's gravitational pull, and it will be kind of awesome. Fast Five, however ridiculous, delivers a steady supply of humor and octane as the fugitives enlist an Ocean's Eleven crew (including the hilarious Tyrese Gibson and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) to help them take down a Rio drug lord (Joaquim de Almeida) while evading a bulldog of a U.S. federal agent (Johnson). The cars and stars are hot, and even clocking in at more than two hours, Five doesn't flag.
Prom
Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell | PG |
DRAMA
Go ahead, chide Prom for its cheesy teen antics-High School Musical minus the musical. But when overachiever Nova (Teegarden) tells not-particularly-bad boy Jesse (McDonell) why prom is important-that it's the only time the seniors will ignore social strata and just be-you'll be hooked. Prom puts its big, throbbing heart right out front, busying itself with whether Mei (Yin Chang) will tell boyfriend Justin (Jared Kusnitz) they're not going to the same college after all, whether lothario Tyler (DeVaughn Nixon) will get caught, and whether Nova and Jesse will figure out that they're in love. Cliches abound, but by the time the disco ball starts spinning, you won't care.
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
Hayden Panettiere, Glenn Close, Patrick Warburton | PG |
ANIMATED
Granny (Close) has been kidnapped, a super-secret truffle recipe is missing, and Hansel (Bill Hader) and Gretel (Amy Poehler) are being held by a witch (Joan Cusack). Even with so much at stake, plus a steady stream of one-liners, Hoodwinked Too is stale and overdone-but it is nice to see female characters taking charge.
