Reel News: Week of June 5 — Entourage, Insidious Chapter 3, The Spongebob Movie, Jupiter Ascending, McFarland USA

Upcoming Theatrical Releases

Entourage
Director: Doug Ellin
R; 1 hr. 45 min.
Trailer

“Entourage,” the much-anticipated big-screen version of the award-winning hit HBO series, reunites the show’s original cast, led by Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven. Movie star Vincent Chase (Grenier), together with his boys, Eric (Connolly), Turtle (Ferrara) and Johnny (Dillon), are back…and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Piven). Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often cutthroat world of Hollywood. (Synopsis by Warner Bros.)

This suffers from the shortcoming of occurring too long after the show went off the air. There is nothing new here, just nostalgia for the series, and the film suffers from the worst kind of paralysis: a lack of a good idea. It is fun (for fans of the show), but not memorable. Rent it.

Insidious: Chapter 3
Director: Leigh Whannell
PG-13; 1 hr. 37 min.
Trailer

The new chapter in the terrifying horror series is written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. This chilling prequel, set before the haunting of the Lambert family, reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity. (Synopsis by Focus)

Not available to critics for review.

Upcoming DVD Releases

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
Director: Paul Tibbitt, Mike Mitchell, and Mike Mitchell (VI)
PG; 1 hr. 40 min.
Trailer

SpongeBob SquarePants, the world’s favorite sea dwelling invertebrate, comes ashore to our world for his most super-heroic adventure yet. (Synopsis by Paramount Pictures)

Drawing fair comparisons to Looney Tunes and Monty Python, this is a frantic, nonsensical assault on the senses. For all the chaos, there is some deft comedy and film making at work that makes this rise above the pieced-together story. See it.

Jupiter Ascending
Director: Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski
PG-13; 2 hr. 5 min.
Trailer

From the streets of Chicago to the far-flung galaxies whirling through space, “Jupiter Ascending” tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who was born under a night sky, with signs predicting she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along-her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos. (Synopsis by Warner Bros.)

Unchecked ambition makes this a decidedly boring but visually-stunning venture. There is potential, but those moments are never fully realized into a coherent film. Rent it.

McFarland USA
Director: Niki Caro
PG; 2 hr. 9 min.
Trailer

From Disney comes MCFARLAND, the true against-all-odds story of the 1987 McFarland high school cross country team in an economically challenged community. (Synopsis by Disney)

Beating inspiring sports movies clichés to death never felt so good. At its core, this is a throwback to classic, inspirational film making. See it.