-- — “To Rome with Love” (Romance/Comedy: 1 hour, 42 minutes)

Starring: Woody Allen, Penélope Cruz, Roberto Benigni, Jesse Eisenberg and Alec Baldwin

Director: Woody Allen

Rated: R (Sexual references)



Movie Review: Rome is the setting for several people, mostly couples, discovering new lives. Their stories intertwine. Each player discovers new meaning for work, love and relationships.

This is not one of Woody Allen’s best films. Last year’s “Midnight in Paris” was superb. Its scenes were artistic, and the characters were intriguing. The characters’ relationships were grand. The same is not true for this latest outing.

“To Rome with Love” has interesting relationships conveyed in a puzzling manner. Allen intended for this movie to be like The Decameron, a medieval collection of novellas. Allen’s intent was to tell several stories that happen in Rome. He relays stories jumbled together unevenly.

Audiences must not only keep switching languages from English to Italian with English subtitles; they must also watch three stories play out simultaneously. Allen has accomplished this more effectively in the past because the stories all connected in some manner.

Here, the individual subplots do not conform to make a solid screenplay. They do entertainment. A few of the lines are intelligently designed humor that works well. Overall, the quirky variety of stories is only mildly amusing.

Grade: C (From Valdosta with discontent)

 

“The Watch” (Comedy/Science-Fiction: 1 hour, 42 minutes)

Starring: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade  

Director: Akiva Schaffer

Rated: R (Profanity, drug usage, nudity, sexuality, thematic elements and violence)



Movie Review: Suburbanites Evans (Stiller), Bob (Vaughn), Franklin (Hill) and Jamarcus (Ayoade) form a neighborhood-watch group after a gruesome murder in the nice town of Glenview, Ohio. The odd group stumbles upon an extraterrestrial. They must defend Earth from an alien invasion. There goes the neighborhood.

Led by Stiller, this bunch of misfits masquerade around their neighborhood as watchmen. Surely, Earth is doomed. This group thinks with half a brain, and that is not the good half. Directed by Schaffer (“Hot Rod,” 2007), “The Watch” is a mess.

Written material presented is a pathetic attempt at humor in this screenplay. The lines are sophomoric. The plot is crazy and far from convincing.

However, this is a comedy, and this genre always stretches the imagination. Still, humor can only go a certain distance before it becomes asinine. “The Watch” is a pitiful excuse for humor. It is awful to the point it would have to step up to be bad.

Grade: F (Not worthy of watching)

 

“Step Up Revolution” (Musical/Romance: 1 hour, 39 minutes)

Starring: Ryan Guzman, Kathryn McCormick and Misha Gabriel Hamilton

Director: Scott Speer

Rated: PG-13 (Strong language, violence and suggestive material)



Movie Review: Virtually the same story as its 2006 prequel “Step Up” (Director Anne Fletcher), “Revolution” is the fourth in this musical series of intense dancing. This outing follows a group known as The Mob, led by Sean (Guzman) and Eddy (Hamilton). The group operates as a flash-mob performance ensemble in Miami. After a historic neighborhood is threatened with displacement by wealthy real-estate developer Bill Anderson (Peter Gallagher), The Mob takes to the streets to protest. Matters become more complicated when Anderson’s daughter, Emily (McCormick), joins The Mob.

Again, the “Step Up” films have very similar stories. Each film revolves around a couple very much like that of Romeo and Juliet. The couple have their differences but eventually find love and happiness. This is ho-hum material lacking originality, and it is formulaic.

A good thing is these musicals have dance components and music that entertain. Audiences should overlook the story and enjoy the entertainment, which is better.            

Grade: B- (Still stepping up ...)