Arts & Entertainment

Movie Reviews: Elysium and Planes Open Friday

Movie reviews and movie times for theaters in the Brookfield area, including 2 Guns and Wolverine. Let Patch help you decide what you're going to see this weekend.

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Elysium and Planes are two of the new films coming up this weekend. Check out reviews and more below. 

Elysium


"While the movie may not, in the end, be so effective in tapping into our current class anxieties, that hardly seems to matter. Like a trip to Elysium, it’s a wild ride." — New York Observed Full Review

"A cheekily gruesome and genuinely urgent entertainment, Blomkamp's latest nevertheless can't help but beg the question: Where's Snake Plissken when you need him?" — Chris Cabin, Slant Magazine Full Review

"Unfortunately, Elysium devolves. It doesn’t address the ramifications of making everyone healthy for eternity, or what it is on Earth they’re making or digging up that fuels whatever economy is left on the space station. For such a well thought-out premise, there’s not a mention of how capitalism works in this futureworld." — Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News Full Review

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Planes
From above the world of 'Cars' comes Disney's 'Planes', an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty's not exactly built for racing-and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty's courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.
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    2 Guns
    "Wahlberg, whose dim-bulb act was over-exposed in Pain and Gain, fares better here in a more heroic role. Stig is a hothead and a narcissist, but he’s also just a little bit smarter than he looks. The same goes for 2 Guns as a whole." — The Boston and Mail (Toronto) Full Review

    "2 Guns is a much-needed reminder that the best summer surprises can come when you least expect them." — Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly Full Review

    "By its conclusion the story has worked so hard to be twisting and clever that it runs out of steam and becomes outlandish, marked by a surplus of violence — too often casual and gratuitous — for what essentially is a buddy cop movie." — Claudia Puig, USA Today Full Review

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    Wolverine
    "Until a third act that collapses in a harebrained heap, the director largely succeeds in keeping the more cartoonish aspects at bay, roughing up the surface with organically staged fight scenes and, crucially, raising the stakes by stripping his hitherto indestructible hero of his self-healing powers." — The Hollywood Reporter Full Review

    "Good thing the Aussie star has the role down to a science, since the rest of The Wolverine is a howler." — Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News Full Review

    "This turgid return papers over the previous film’s narrative, but creates little in the way of a fresh character arc." — Guy Lodge, Time Out London Full Review

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    The Smurfs 2


    "Only adults with 'Smurf-holm syndrome' could love this film." — The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Full Review

    "The Smurfs 2 probably isn’t any worse than you might expect. On the other hand, it’s almost certainly not any better. It’s just a matter of figuring out how much punishment you’re willing to endure for the sake of the small child you’re taking to the movies." — Bruce IngramChicago Sun-Times Full Review

    "This insipid, and sometimes awkward, blend of animation, computer generation and live action wastes a ton of talent and lacks a true sense of whimsy." — Claudia Puig, USA Today Full Review

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    The Conjuring
    "The big difference is that "The Exorcist" took the nation by storm with fresh ideas and brilliant filmmaking. The Conjuring conjures with amped-up echoes of old ideas, and represents a bet that they still retain their creepy appeal for today's audience." — Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal Full Review

    "The net result is an entertainingly frightening film that keeps the audience in a state of alarmed, but eager, anticipation." — Claudia Puig, USA Today Full Review

    "Though The Conjuring claims to be based on a true story, in truth it's based on every horror film that's come before it." — Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine Full Review

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    Despicable Me 2
    "This shallow sequel to 2010's much cleverer Despicable Me — the 10th-biggest animated movie in U.S. history — seems to be merely going through the motions." — Claudia Puig, USA Today Full Review
    "Guaranteed to charm anyone who’s out of school and already bored." Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News Full Review

    "The minions give good mayhem and the twig-armed animation’s lovely. Despite the coolest submarine-car since Bond’s Lotus Esprit, though, Despicable Me 2 is light on gadgets – and surprises, too." — Total Film Full Review

    Do you plan on seeing these movies? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how they were.

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