The Maze Runner PG-13
Adapted from James Dashner’s 2007 novel, this is the first of a young adult science-fiction trilogy. Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) awakens aboard a freight elevator that arrives at a clearing known as the Glade, located at the center of an enormous maze. Thomas joins a group of several dozen teens trying to find a way out, and who, like Thomas, are unable to remember their past. Alby and Newt (Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster) are the self-appointed leaders, while Gally (Will Poulter) is the enforcer. In order to rescue a pair of maze runners trapped after dark, Thomas enters the maze where he outsmarts the Grievers, killer mechanical spiders. Then Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) arrives. She is the first girl and seems to have a connection to Thomas. Together, along with Thomas’ friend Minho (Ki Hong Lee), they formulate a daring escape plan. Though slow to gather steam, the film has been praised for elevating its dramatic elements above its CGI action set pieces. (Lisa Miller)
This is Where I Leave You R
Following the death of their father, four grown siblings return home where they must sit Shiva together for one week, while living under the same roof. Jason Bateman and Tina Fey play a brother and sister whose failed marriages freed them to pursue the one true love that got away. Corey Stoll portrays a brother desperate to have a baby with his wife. The pair’s noisy sexual escapades cue dialogue from the family such as, “Shove a baby up there.” Jane Fonda appears as the over-sharing mom, spouting opinions and revelations that make everyone uncomfortable. Often trite rather than illuminating, this comedy could be more amusing while pointing out that grown children are responsible for the state of their own happiness. (L.M.)
Tusk R
Indie star director Kevin Smith (Clerks) returns with Tusk, which starts as a goofy comedy about podcasters and turns into a loathsome horror flick set in Canada. Podcaster Wallace (Justin Long) is a jerk specializing in humiliation and cringe humor. While seeking an old and eccentric man (Michael Parks) for his next episode, the tables are violently turned when the victim becomes the victimizer and begins to surgically alter the podcaster. Smith probably wants to be Tod Browning (Freaks), but the explicit, grotesque absurdity cancels out his efforts—along with the spotty humor and frankly dull stretches. (David Luhrssen)
A Walk Among the Tombstones R
Having proved himself an actor possessing “a particular set of skills,” Liam Neeson once again appears as a dispenser of justice. Having left the police force after his stray bullet killed an innocent, unlicensed private investigator Matthew Scudder (Neeson) pursues a pair of kidnapper-murderers who target criminals unwilling to ask for help from the cops. This time, they’ve killed the wife of a drug trafficker (Dan Stevens), returning her mutilated body after he paid her ransom. Set on the eve of Y2K, Scudder, now refusing to use a gun, eschews cell phones and computers in favor of questioning witnesses in the flesh. Adapted from a 1992 crime novel by Lawrence Block, private P.I. Scudder appears in nine previous and eight later novels, so this film’s success could well lead to a long-lived franchise. (L.M.)
