Movie Reviews: “Unfriended”, “Paul Bart: Mall Cop 2”, “True Story” and “Ex-Machina”

Movie Reviews: “Unfriended”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”, “True Story” and “Ex-Machina”

“Unfriended”

MPAA Rating: R

Running Time: 82 minutes

Toscano’s Take:

Rating: D-

A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend. “Unfriended” is a silly, predictable, nonsensical horror film using the Internet as it were a haunted house. The silliest moments in the film come from the friends as they type their panic on their keyboards. OMG… it’s enough to make you LOL…

“Unfriended” gets a D- and is rated R.

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Starring:                                       Studio:

Shelley Hennig                                                                 Universal Pictures

Moses Jacob Storm

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”

MPAA Rating: PG

Running Time: 94 minutes

Toscano’s Take:

Rating: D-

It’s been six years since the last “Paul Blart” movie. In this outing, for no apparent reason Blart heads to Vegas with his teenage daughter before she heads off to college and hijinks ensue. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” is a terrible movie. There’s nothing salvageable in this film that should have gone straight to video. I get the feeling that the cast and crew wanted an all-expense paid trip to Vegas and did it under the guise of shooting a film.

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” is a complete waste of time. It gets a D- and is rated PG

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Starring:                                       Studio:

Kevin James                                                              Colombia Pictures

Molly Shannon

“True Story”

MPAA Rating: R

Running Time: 100 minutes

Toscano’s Take:

Rating: A-

When disgraced New York Times reporter Mike Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo – who has taken on Finkel’s identity – his investigation takes an unexpected turn. In one of the best psychological thrillers I have seen in a long time, Jonah Hill and James Franco go against type and offer up their finest performances to date.

“True Story” is a solid thriller well worth your time to see. It gets an A- and is rated R.

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Starring:                                       Studio:

James Franco                                                             Fox Searchlight Pictures

Jonah Hill

Felicity Jones

Gretchen Mol

“Ex-Machina”

MPAA Rating: R

Running Time: 110 minutes

Toscano’s Take:

Rating: A-

A young programmer is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female robot. The new sci-fi film asks the question what constitutes life? Ex-Machina is a brilliant and understated film that is more thriller than robot movie. Relying on its characters to move the story, the film is a chess game that happily requires the viewer to participate by engaging and empathizing.

One of the best films of the year, “Ex-Machina” deserves an A – it’s rated R

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Starring:                                       Studio:

Domhnall Gleason                                                             Universal Pictures

Alicia Vikander