Yep, this week marks a rather low point for summer movies. It looks like neither the Will Smith/M. Night Shyamalan collaboration After Earth or the magical heist film Now You See Me is destined to be a classic. Of the former, our critic Dan Lybarger writes, that it “never really builds any tension or excitement because the people involved look so bored, and the sets and special effects look so cheap and shoddy” to the extent that a “barrier between the crashed ship and the elements looks suspiciously like a shower curtain.” And, despite some handsome ads, the verdict on Now You See Me isn’t so hot either — it’s enjoyable for a while, but “falls apart at the end, ” reports Rick Bentley of the Fresno Bee.
Better, though in a strange and discomfiting way, is Ramin Bahrani’s fable of modern agriculture, At Any Price, which Philip Martin says reminds him of “a couple of rather obscure ’70s films — Stuart Rosenberg’s WUSA and John Huston’s Fat City” and the indie drama I Do.
For full reviews, read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette MovieStyle section.