The Dictator (Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris) in Theatres on July 25, 2012

The Dictator (2012)

Audience
Rating: 3.3/5
Liked the Movie: 53% (n=130,686)

Critics
Rating: 3/5
Liked the Movie: 58% (n=194)


Reviews

"For once, Baron Cohen has a real script and a supporting cast as skilled at improv as he is. And those complementary elements make a difference." - Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

"On the laughmeter The Dictator is closer to Borat than to the misfired Bruno, which is to say it's funny for about half of its brisk 83 minutes." - Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

"Most of The Dictator had me neither laughing nor shocked, but just staring at the screen in anxious is-that-all-there-is? silence." - Dana Stevens, Slate

"Of course it's offensive and tasteless. That's the point. Sometimes the jokes are excruciatingly funny." - Richard Roeper, richardroeper.com

"Clearly, Baron Cohen is a smart, gifted and versatile actor; it's time for him to stretch his abilities and dictate to himself a new kind of challenge." - Christy Lemire, Associated Press


Movie Info

The heroic story of a North African dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. -- (C) Paramount

Rated: R

Running Time: 1 hr. 23 min.

Genre: Comedy

Directed By: Larry Charles

Distributed By: Paramount Pictures

Cast
Sacha Baron Cohen (Aladeen / Efawadh)
Anna Faris (Zoey)
Ben Kingsley (Tamir)
Megan Fox as Herself

Source: rottentomatoes.com

The Adventures of Tintin (Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig) in Theatres on November 30, 2011

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Critics
Average Rating: 3.6/5
Like the Movie: 87% (n=46)

Audience
Like to See the Movie: 85% (n=20,516)


Reviews

"A thoroughly enjoyable old-fashioned adventure." - Alex Zane, Sun Online

"109 minutes of straight-up action-adventure, Indiana Jones-style, gorgeously rendered in mo-capped 3D and staged with typical brio and top-notch craftsmanship by Spielberg." - Eugene Novikov, Film Blather

""The Adventures of Tintin" is full of laughs, and contains some of the best animation ever put up on the big screen." - Cole Smithey, colesmithey.com

"Spielberg and Jackson will have no trouble selling the sequel to us as they have captured our imaginations with a serviceable Tintin introduction." - Lisa Giles-Keddie, real.com

"It's hard to imagine how Belgian creator Herge would be anything other than thrilled." - Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express

"Only the combined forces of director Steven Spielberg and computer-generated 3D animation could create such a spectacle." - Grant Rollings, Sun Online

"There are breathtaking chases, cliff-hanging suspense and fearless derring-do, all of which give the action the same giddy, helter-skelter dash Spielberg brought to Raiders of the Lost Ark." - Jason Best, Movie Talk

"It's an unusual way to bring a childhood thing to life, to make a movie that contains no life." - Ed Whitfield, The Ooh Tray

"Famously, Hergé said that Spielberg was the only director capable of successfully bringing his creation to the big screen. That probably remains true. But this film hasn't done it." - Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

"This is the ugliest film ever made." - Antonia Quirke, Financial Times


Movie Info

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present a 3D Motion Capture Film The Adventures of Tintin directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig as the nefarious Red Rackham. -- (C) Official Site

Rated: PG

Running Time: 1 hr. 40 min.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Hergé, Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish

Distributor: Paramount

Cast
Jamie Bell (Tintin)
Andy Serkis (Captain Haddock)
Daniel Craig (Red Rackham)
Nick Frost (Thompson Twin)
Simon Pegg (Thompson Twin)
Toby Jones (Silk)
Daniel Mays (Allan)
MacKenzie Crook (Tom)
Gad Elmaleh (Ben Salaad)
Joe Starr (Barnaby)
Cary Elwes

Source: rottentomatoes.com

Captain America (Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones) in Theatres on July 27, 2011

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Audience
Rating: 4.1/5
Like the Movie: 86% (n=75,003)

Critics
Rating: 3.4/5
Like the Movie: 73% (n=135)


Reviews:

"Need a top-notch comic-book movie to stop this summer's march of mediocre superheroes? "Captain America: The First Avenger," reporting for duty." - Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

"By finding an ingenious way to streamline a now-familiar genre, Captain America: The First Avenger does his country proud. " - Glen Weldon, NPR

"Captain America" is exactly what the third week of July needed: a curiously fun, surprisingly imaginative and unashamedly old-fashioned yarn of skulduggery and adventure." - Andrew O'Hehir, salon.com

"Captain America is not high art, but it is so unabashedly fun -- and such well-made fun -- that it is hard to not like and admire it for so steadfastly being what it is." - James Rocchi, MSN Movies

"With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances, Captain America is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment." - rottentomatoes.com

"Evans, who played the Human Torch in two less-than-fantastic Fantastic Four films, brings such humor, heart and vigor to virtuous Steve that our rooting interest holds even when the action gets to be standard-issue." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"Scrawny Steve is such a guileless and likeable little dude that his sweetness endures long past the super-sizing." - Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

"Captain America's metabolism, Peggy tells him, burns energy four times faster than the average person's. The movie's metabolism burns out." - Joe Morgenstern, Wal Street Journal

"Here's what's missing: tension, drama, and most of all, a sense of wonder. This is a superhero movie, isn't it?" - Tom Horgen, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A forced love angle and vapid dialogue dooms Captain America." - Laremy Legel, film.com

"Red, white and bland." - Peter Debruge, Variety


Movie Info

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). -- (C) Paramount

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 2 hr. 1 min.

Genre: Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Joe Johnston

Written By: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Cast
Chris Evans (Captain America / Steve Rogers)
Tommy Lee Jones (Colonel Chester Phillips)
Sebastian Stan (James "Bucky" Barnes)
Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter)
Hugo Weaving (Johann Schmidt / Red Skull)
Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark)
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)

Source: rottentomatoes.com

Super 8 (Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning) in Theatres on June 10, 2011

Super 8 (2011)

Audience
Rating:
Like to See the Movie: 92% (n=21,357)

Critics
Rating: 3.9/5
Like the Movie: 87% (n=23)


Reviews

"An engaging return trip to Steven Spielberg's youthful world of wonder courtesy of J.J. Abrams." - Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

"It's so much fun to watch these cheeky, loveable kids pull together and navigate their way through this extraordinary adventure." - Matthew Toomey, ABC Radio Brisbane

"Super 8 is still fun, and often funny too. It's also entertaining, and sometimes even a little startling." - Ariel Katz, The Vine

"J.J. Abrams rekindles the child in all of us in this super film that is all at once sci-fi thriller, mystery adventure and coming of age story. It's got heart, too." - Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile

"Super 8" is made by young-minded adults who haven't lost their sense of inspiration for the magic of making movies from a child's perspective." - Cole Smithey, colesmithey.com

"While other filmmakers have been inspired by Spielberg to push the envelope, J.J. Abrams seems happy to try to make one like they used to, except not as successfully." - Tim Grierson, Screen International

"Super 8 is a noble effort that gets a lot right, and a lot wrong." - Jordan Hoffman, UGO


Movie Info

Synopsis: Writer/director J.J. Abrams teams with producer Steven Spielberg for this period sci-fi thriller set in the late '70s, and centering on a mysterious train crash in a small Ohio town. Summer, 1979: a group of young friends are filming a Super-8 movie when a pickup truck derails a speeding train. When the locals start to disappear and even the inquisitive deputy can't come up with answers, suspicions emerge that the incident was anything but an accident. As the truth finally begins emerge, no one is prepared to learn what now stalks the unsuspecting citizens of this once quiet community. Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 1 hr. 51 min.

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Written By: J.J. Abrams

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Cast
Kyle Chandler (Jackson Lamb)
Elle Fanning (Alice Dainard)
Dan Castellaneta (Izzy)

Source: rottentomatoes.com

"Thor" (Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins) in Theatres on April 29, 2011

Thor (2011)

Hazel's
Rating: 4/5
Review: Great acting from the cast and cool special effects! I was sad for Loki when he let go of the rope, seeing his father was not pleased. Watching the movie was a Thor-oughly enjoyable ride =)

Audience
Rating: 3.9/5
Like the Movie: 81% (n=106,681)

Critics
Rating: 3.4/5
Like the Movie: 78% (n=234)


Reviews

"Delivers pretty much everything you could want from a Thor movie, thanks to a superb script, note-perfect direction from Kenneth Branagh, a terrific supporting cast and a charismatic, star-making central performance from Chris Hemsworth." - Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

"Branagh makes the most of CGI's potential to create glimmering surfaces and vast landscapes and, for once, the 3D is a bonus." - Leo Robson, Financial Times

"It wants to impress with dazzling special effects rather than through an emotive, captivating story." Matthew Toomey, ABC Radio Brisbane

"A triumph! I can't wait for Thor to meet Tony Stark. Avengers assemble!" - Jens S

"While Thor may not be a thundering triumph, it's decent enough fun to make you hope that lightning strikes twice and we get a sequel." - Dave Golder, SFX Magazine

"Thor-roughly good fun." - James Smith, Little White Lies

"The most problematic hurdle in The Avengers' path is cleared with ease and some style by a film that makes a virtue of its inherent silliness. You're up, Captain America." - Nell Smith, Total Film


Movie Info

Genre: Drama, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Synopsis: The epic adventure "Thor" spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As a result, Thor is banished to Earth, where he is forced to live among humans. When the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero.

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 2 hr. 10 min.

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Directed By: Kenneth Branagh

Written By: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne

Cast
Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki)
Natalie Portman (Jane Foster)
Anthony Hopkins (Odin)
Stellan Skarsgård (Professor Andrews)


Source: rottentomatoes.com