Critics Roundup
The votes are in on Rio 2, and things are not looking good. Critics are saying the film is too bright, has too many celebrity voices, and too much subplot. And since our lovebirds from Rio are happily situated with coupled owners, they don't even need to leave on another adventure in the first place. The AV Club says, "Despite the attempts at broadening the secondary-ideological themes, this is another familiar father-in-crisis tale, dotted with musical interludes for [Kristen] Chenoweth and [Jemaine] Clement, and dressed in brighter plumage." The Dissolve says Rio 2 puts in a lot of effort "to give people what they expect." But PluggedIn believes Rio 2 has some redeeming factors: "Director Carlos Saldanha . . . certainly knows how to create something sparkling and colorful for the kiddos." And it's good for the family because it "praises family, friendship and love, along with positive life-building traits like responsibility and bird-brained determination." So it might be worth a trip to the theater with your family after all.
Wondering whether or not you should see Draft Day? According to The Dissolve, it's an unusual sports movie—"one that takes place almost entirely off the field." Kevin Costner, playing the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, shows us how much work the NFL really is. But the AV Club says all the plots and subplots actually come across as "overly simplistic." A.O. Scott for the NYTimes agrees, but says that while the film "is shallow and evasive, more built around corporate wish fulfillment than around reality . . . it sells itself beautifully."
Movie News
Corey and Topanga are back, but this time as parents in the new Disney Channel series Girl Meets World. This spinoff reminds us of the '90's sitcom and may represent a shift in Disney's television programming. Read more and watch the trailer here.
In what's becoming an annoying trend clearly designed to get more of your money at the box office, the Divergent "trilogy" will now include four films, with the third book in the series—Allegiant—being split into two. Read more here.
Heather Cate is a spring intern with Christianity Today Movies and a student at The King's College in New York City.
