Movie-O-Meter: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Woody Allen’s Fading Gigolo, Aaron Paul Decodes Annie Parker and More


Capsule reviews of the weekend’s new movies. Should you see it, wait for DVD, or skit it altogether? We lay it out below. SEE IT NOW!

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Clocking in at a not-so-svelte 142 minutes, Marc Webb’s sequel to his popular Spidey reboot spends a large amount of its energy on the love story of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy (giving leads Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone plenty of welcome screen time), which might turn off some of the more committed summer blockbuster purveyors, but strikes us as a good deal more interesting than endless battles of spandex and rampant city destruction. Good thing, too, as the villains (including Jamie Foxx as Electro, and Dane DeHaan as a resurrected Green Goblin) are a pretty uninspired lot. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 57%

2. Dancing in Jaffa: A rousing dancehall doc about Pierre Dulaine, an internationally renowned ballroom dancer, who starts teaching a course for Israeli and Palestinian children in his home city that forces 10 year olds to learn how to co-mingle and work together — at least on the dancefloor. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

3. Blue Ruin: A tense, gripping thriller that has cleaned up at various film festivals (including the FIPRESCI award at Cannes) en route to its release. Jeremy Saulnier’s bloody revenge trip involves a young homeless man returning home in order to exact vengeance on a man just released from prison, which results in his own estranged family being threatened in return. This was partially funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, so, you know, good on you, Internet. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

FEEL FREE TO WAIT FOR DVD

1. Fading Gigalo: If you’re seeing this, chances are you’re drawn to it for the same reason as many critics at last year’s Toronto Film Festival: Seeing Woody Allen as some sort of neurotic pimp was simply too interesting to pass up. Unfortunately, John Turturro’s feature (one he co-stars in) appears to be less enthralling than the sum of its stunt casting. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54%

2. Decoding Annie Parker: Swirling uplift and good cheer vibes emanate from this feel-good true story about the titular Annie Parker (Samantha Morton), a young mother who develops breast cancer, and the groundbreaking doctor (Helen Hunt) who thinks she’s found a genetic link to the disease. Aaron Paul, Rashida Jones and Alice Eve star as Annie’s somewhat dubious support system. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 57%

Check out last week’s Movie-O-Meter here.