Reel-View Ratings: The Bigger The Beard, The Better The Movie
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Tim Burton’s signature take on Alice in Wonderland was a box office hit six entire years ago, so this sequel — helmed by Muppets director James Bobin — seems too little too late. The lush, over-the-top visuals are back, as well as an all-star cast (including the late Alan Rickman), but the story seems to have gotten lost somewhere, as Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is forced to go back in time to save the fatally depressed Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp, phoning it in again) and his family. It’s a surprisingly boring, trite story to have come from the absurdist legacy of Lewis Carroll. Opens May 27 in wide release
LOVE & FRIENDSHIP
It’s Austen with an edge — a sharp one. Based off one of Jane Austen’s lesser-known novellas, starring the poison-tongued, ill-tempered Lady Susan, who says exactly whatever unpleasant thought is on her mind and is hotly focused on marrying her daughter off to any old suitor so that she can focus on her own hot prospect (without competition). Kate Beckinsale gamely slips into Lady Susan’s shoes to delightful effect, lashing out with acidic verve, and a picture-perfect cast (including the iconic Stephen Fry) rounds out the ensemble. It’s smartly directed and moves along at a brisk clip — it’s the shot in the arm Austen adaptations needed, and it didn’t even feature one zombie. Opens May 27 at Kahala Theatre
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
Now that the Justice League and Avengers have had their day in the sun, the X-Men at last have their big hero-fighting-hero movie, and it’s … well, not bad, but no revelation, either. A likeable cast of new mutants join the old as Apocalypse (an unrecognizable Oscar Isaac) seeks to wipe humanity’s slate clean and start fresh with a mutant-led world, and he requires the gifts of Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Professor X (James McAvoy). The series’ signature operatic dialogue and camp are intact, but much of its humanity — so key to its mutants-on-the-outside premise — is lost in the CG-heavy chaos. It’s fun, sure, but it could’ve been so much more. Opens May 27 in wide release
