Gangster Squad
Official Synopsis: Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (
Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and–if he has his way–every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (
Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (
Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
“Gangster Squad” is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD’s efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.
Starring: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Michael Pena, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Robert Patrick, Josh Pence
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Running Time: 113 min.
Rating: R for strong violence and language
Critical Response:
- Rottentomatoes: 34% (52 fresh, 101 rotten, score: 5/10).
- Metacritic: 40 out of 100 (4 positive, 22 mixed, 9 negative).
A Haunted House
Official Synopsis: In an outrageous send up of the
Paranormal Activity movies, The Devil Inside and other “found footage” movies,
A HAUNTED HOUSE features young couple Malcolm (
Marlon Wayans) and Kisha (
Essence Atkins) who have just moved in to their dream house. As they settle in, they quickly find they’re not alone. But it’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s Malcolm’s girlfriend who is possessed by a demon. Malcolm hires everyone from a priest to modern day ghostbusters to rid her of this unwelcome intruder, determined not to let the evil spirit ruin his relationship… or, more importantly, his sex life.
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Marlene Forte, David Koechner, Nick Swardson, Cedric the Entertainer
Director: Michael Tiddes
Genre: Comedy, Spoof
Running Time: 86 min.
Rating: R for crude and sexual content, language and some drug use
Critical Response:
- Rottentomatoes: 10% (2 fresh, 19 rotten, score: 2.6/10).
- Metacritic: 25 out of 100 (1 positive, 1 mixed, 6 negative).
Zero Dark Thirty
Official Synopsis: "Zero Dark Thirty" tells the story of the SEAL team that tracked down and killed
Osama bin Laden, as well as the events that led up to the mission itself. The movie is directed by
Kathryn Bigelow and written by
Mark Boal, the director-writer duo that brought us
"The Hurt Locker". The movie stars
Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Scott Adkins, Joel Edgerton, James Gandolfini and
Kyle Chandler
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Genre: Action, Drama
Running Time: 157 min.
Rating: R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images, and for language
Critical Response:
- Rottentomatoes: 93% (158 fresh, 12 rotten, score: 8.8/10).
- Metacritic: 95 out of 100 (41 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative).