!["Admission," "The Croods" and "Olympus Has Fallen"](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/48/5c/1363892603_4231_3-22.jpg?itok=GD_t81A9 ""Admission," "The Croods" and "Olympus Has Fallen"")
Among the new movies that were released Friday, March 22 in theaters throughout the Valley are a dramedy pairing Tina Fey with Paul Rudd, an animated adventure about cavemen and an action-thriller in which the White House is taken by terrorists.
Tina Fey plays a Princeton admissions officer who, up for a promotion, takes a professional risk when an alternative school teacher (Paul Rudd) introduces her to a college-bound kid who just might be the son she gave up years ago in a secret adoption. (PG-13 - 100 minutes)
If anyone asks you to see “Admission” with them, swiftly reject their offer. If they then see the new comedy without you and say that it was anything other than a complete waste of their time, immediately deny having ever known them. Tina Fey is utterly unfunny as a character who is socially impaired and ultimately unlikeable while Paul Rudd appears as though he is starring in another movie altogether - a movie that may have actually been worth watching. A scene in which the wannabe freshmen’s fates are decided is kind of compelling but the rest should be renounced. (Grade: D)
Nicolas Cage plays a prehistoric patriarch whose family must embark on a search of a new home when their cave is destroyed. An imaginative nomad (Ryan Reynolds) helps them conquer their fear of the outside world and discover that all they need to survive is each other. (PG - 98 minutes)
Like most recent animated flicks, “The Croods” excels in its visuals - transporting viewers to a colorful and imaginative world - but it can never quite match that creativity when it comes to its story. That is to say that Dreamworks Pictures’ latest effort is sufficient but far from special, failing to flaunt the humongous heart that Pixar appears to have trademarked given the distinct lack thereof in most movies produced by other studios. The result is an action-packed adventure that will charm children but leave adults relatively underwhelmed until the last act at which point the motion picture finally shows creative promise. (Grade: C)
Sara Rue plays a single suburbanite who volunteers to cat sit at her unrequited love's downtown L.A loft and meets another man who appreciates her thereby prompting her to transforms not only the mess of a loft but also the mess of herself. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (PG-13 - 92 minutes)
It is a shame that “Dorfman in Love” is not a better movie. After all, the new romantic comedy propagates a very admirable message about being one’s self and stars actress Sara Rue who really does deserve more recognition for her talent. However, despite those two strengths, the flick fails to take its own advice and instead desperately tries to be what Hollywood wants it to be rather than constructing an identity unique to itself. This cookie-cutter effort features less characters than it does caricatures who navigate the formulaic plot with predictability right up until its ham-fisted finale. (Grade: D)
Mark Webber plays a struggling actor who kindles a relationship with a single mother (Shannyn Sossamon) and begins to realize that he can no longer remain in denial about the real-life consequences his choices have on his own son. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (NR - 90 minutes)
“The End of Love” may be one of the most incredibly intimate motion pictures you will ever witness, exhibiting - with unparalleled honesty - the deeply emotional bond between a parent and their child. That honesty is due in part to actor Mark Webber co-starring with his own real-life son but also because he, in writing and directing the new drama, used his own challenging childhood experiences as inspiration. Having said that, the project is sometimes even so intimate that it feels more like a home movie than a feature film and has all of the format’s momentum and resolution - or lack thereof. (Grade: C)
‘The Girl’
Abbie Cornish plays a single mother who, struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, crosses paths with that of a young girl from Mexico and begins a journey that will change her life - discovering that she is the architect of her own fate and learning what it is that truly defines home. Playing exclusively at AMC Arizona Center 24. (PG-13 - 95 minutes)
“The Girl” is a timely and touching tale of transformation through tragedy. Writer/director David Riker’s new drama, which is in the same vein as 2007’s “Under the Same Moon” and 2011’s “A Better Life,” tackles the topic of illegal immigration in a way that encourages viewers to consider the outlook of those on the other side of the fence yet never truly takes sides and instead challenges said viewers to come to their own complex conclusions. And while Riker circumvents some inconvenient details along the way and ends on a somewhat contradictory note, star Abbie Cornish’s penetrating performance is worth the price of admission in and of itself. (Grade: B)
Gerard Butler plays a disgraced former presidential guard who, when the White House is captured by a terrorist mastermind (Rick Yune) and the President (Aaron Eckhart) is kidnapped, helps retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger disaster. (R - 118 minutes)
“Olympus Has Fallen” is explosively exciting, exceptionally suspenseful and has everything that one could possibly want in an entire season of “24” condensed into two intense hours. It is hard to believe that director Antoine Fuqua’s new action-thriller was not initially conceived as an mission for Jack Bauer because it seems tailor-made for him. However, Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning is a spectacular stand-in, single-handedly saving the day in such a way that ensures viewers a really riveting time from the moment the White House comes under crowd attack to the last-ditch effort to protect the president’s life and simultaneously stop America’s apocalypse. (Grade: B)
Sam Riley and Garrett Headlund play an aspiring writer and an ex-con who, determined not to get locked into a constricted life, cut their ties and take to the road in search of the world, of other encounters and of themselves. Kristen Stewart also stars. Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. (R - 124 minutes)
Regardless of the company that they might afford you, some road trips should just never be taken. “On the Road” is an one of them. Director Walter Salles’ cinematic adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel of the same title is a tedious, overlong and meandering motion picture - which is a shame considering its cast includes the likes of Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams and Viggo Mortensen. Sure, the scenery is sometimes spectacular but you are almost guaranteed to get lost along the way - be it out of sheer boredom or simply out of the strenuously spontaneous nature of the narrative. (Grade: F)
Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine and Selena Gomez play best friends whose serendipitous encounter with a rapper (James Franco) promises to provide them with all the thrill and excitement they could hope for and a spring break they will never forget. Playing exclusively at Harkins Tempe Marketplace. (R - 92 minutes)
If writer/director Harmony Korine’s intention with his new crime drama “Spring Breakers” was to make viewers feel as though they have been drugged and are experiencing 90 minutes of extremely unpleasant intoxication, he hit that nail square on its head. The movie is artistically incompetent, substituting a structured narrative with something that looks more like a cross between a commercial and a music video. Worst of all, though, Korrine’s project is a direct insult toward young women - exploiting their bodies to pornographic effect and suggesting that the vast majority of them are soulless, money-hungry nymphomaniacs who are completely incapable of self-respecting behavior. (Grade: F)
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