This Is the End [2013]

Seth Rogen presents a wholly original premise: He and his movie buddies — all meta-playing themselves — party at James Franco’s house when the Apocalypse hits. The execution is nearly great, with Michael Cera and a musical finale as the highlights.

d: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg | imdb.com | trailer | Emma Watson
Pineapple Express 2 | The Real World | Interview: Rogen, Goldberg

Man of Steel [2013]

Director Zack Snyder, with the help of producer and “Batman” auteur Christopher Nolan, makes a mess of Metropolis, Smallville and the whole “Superman” franchise. He even dupes six Academy Award nominees / winners to stand in front of green screens.

d: Zack Snyder | imdb.com | trailer | Career Arc: Superman

Behind the Candelabra [2013]

Michael Douglas plays Liberace and Matt Damon his gay lover, who
are brazenly intimate, both physically and emotionally — part of the reason why this film is too good (and controversial) for the major studios but just right for Cannes and HBO.

d: Steven Soderbergh | imdb.com | trailer | Making of ...

The Hangover Part III [2013]

The final “Hangover” movie doesn’t include a hangover or the old spirit and wild laughs of the previous films. There is too much Zach Galifianakis and way too much Ken Jeong, but when Galifianakis resigns from the Wolfpack, it is genuinely sad.

d: Todd Phillips | imdb.com | trailer
Archive | The Hangover | The Hangover Part II

Star Trek Into Darkness [2013]

J.J. Abrams makes well-executed but benign PG-13 pop culture, and he has done it again with his second “Star Trek” movie, which seems like just the second part of a reboot. Kirk cries in the first act, then Spock shows he has feelings in the third.

d: J.J. Abrams | imdb.com | trailer | Ultimate Saga trailer
Archive | Star Trek [2009]

42 [2013]

Writer-director Brian Helgeland’s hagiography about Jackie Robinson contains nostalgic lighting, slow-motion baserunning and an overwrought sweeping score. Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), a cigar-chomping cartoon, is right at home in this afterschool special.

d: Brian Helgeland | imdb.com

Room 237 [2013]

Five film obsessives explain what Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is really about in this sort-of documentary. Their theories are complete and wonderful nonsense. Ultimately, the meaning of the film doesn’t matter, only that it means everything to these people.

d: Rodney Ascher | imdb.com | trailer | Last Call with Carson Daly
The Shining | The Power of ... | All work and no play makes Jack ...