adamgehrke.com

Picking up where The Muppets (2011) leaves off, Kermit The Frog and the rest of the muppets head out on a world tour under the management of Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais); but, in a green flash Kermit is replaced his evil doppelgänger, Constantine The World’s Most Dangerous Frog. In one great leap Kermit is sent to a Russian gulag located in Siberia where new problems mount as warden Nadya (Tina Fey) has plans of her own on what to do with this otherwise innocent frog. Meanwhile, the C.I.A. and Interpol are on to a series of mysterious burglaries that seem to be following The Muppets traveling show. Stop Constantine, save The Muppets, and put on a good show all the while, tall orders for frog legs. Humorously admitting its own shortcomings right from the get go in song and dance the writers of Muppets Most Wanted aren’t entirely lying; but, when it comes to muppet entertainment you’re still almost guaranteed to come out ahead anyway. Sheer star power alone makes this edition shine bright, a veritable who’s who in Hollywood with almost every human character on screen. And, with several memorable original songs “I’m Number One”, and “The Big House” coupled with moderately sharp writing, Muppets Most Wanted has the makings for a crowd pleasing success. Go ahead and relive your childhood, this won’t hurt a bit, and while you’re at it, bring the kids along for good measure, they’ll enjoy it too. Muppets Most Wanted is rated PG.

Based on the wildly popular book series Divergent is the story Tris (Shailene Woodley), the daughter of a politician in a post apocalyptic world where a caste system of 5 groups keeps order amongst humanity. Faced with trying to find her own path and fit into a designated role Tris discovers she has a unique blessing/curse she’s divergent, meaning she’s a balance of all of the castes and therefor a freethinker and therefor a threat. Fitting in won’t come easy but the alternative is death, meanwhile a political overthrow that’s set to take place means genocide. Tris had better figure out how to do the right thing quickly and what’s the deal with her handsome trainer, Four (Theo James)? How to sum this one up, totally derivative and predictable source material, unlikeable characters, cheap out scoring with pop music, decent special effects, but an overstayed welcome makes this latest attempt to pander to the teen audience feel vapid. Sure there are a few redeemable qualities, Fight sequencing and filming is well thought out, and Kate Winslet can make liver look like filet mignon. Unfortunately, nutritional value on this package is low. Divergent is rated PG-13.

Detailing the life events of Mr. Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), the wealthy owner of the Grand Budapest Hotel, a young writer (Jude Law) retells what he has learned of Mr. Moustafa and the man who helped to make him who he is, Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). A tale of family in fighting, immeasurable wealth, fine art theft, murder, war, and law of the land in Zubrowka. Inspired by the works of Stefan Zweig, Wes Anderson takes a crack a telling this fantastic story, thick with ironic humor, impeccable dialogue, and art direction that is distinct and imaginative in a way that only Anderson seems able to capture. This gem features almost all of Anderson’s usual suspects, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, the list goes on and on. Anderson has also once again teamed up with Alexandre Desplat to create the scoring soundscape, magic and inspiring. Cinematic vision, use of miniatures, and rich story development make this a film to watch again and again just to catch everything. Fun! The Grand Budapest Hotel is rated R.