Community Corner

Movie Reviews: 'Dark Skies' Dead On Arrival

Find movie reviews and showtimes for theaters in the south metro.

Editor's Note: All reviews and information aggregated from Moviefone and RottenTomatoes.

Want to catch a movie this weekend? Here is Patch's roundup of movies playing at the three theaters in the south metro: Burnsville's Paragon Odyssey 15, Marcus Rosemount Cinema, Apple Valley’s Carmike Cinema and Great Clips IMAX Theatre at the Minnesota Zoo.

In town:

Dark Skies

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Plot: From the producer of "Paranormal Activity," "Insidious," and "Sinister" comes "Dark Skies:" a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels.

"Mostly ... it all ends up feeling like a lost, minor episode of 'The X-Files:' A little scary, a little silly and catnip for those who want to believe." New York Post, Full Review

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"Writer-director Scott Stewart doesn't want to play his hand too early. By the time the movie is over, it's easy to see why he kept his cards close to his chest. He's not really holding anything." Globe and Mail, Full Review

"It doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to detect (the movie's) thinly veiled conservatism, and it doesn't take an undue alarmist to be disturbed by the implications of this sort of fear-mongering." Slant Magazine, Full Review

Safe Haven

Plot: An affirming and suspenseful story about a young woman's struggle to love again, Safe Haven is based on the novel from Nicholas Sparks, the best-selling author behind the hit films The Notebook and Dear John. When a mysterious young woman arrives in a small North Carolina town, her reluctance to join the tight knit community raises questions about her past. 

Reviews:

"'Safe Haven,' the latest weepie from a Nicholas Sparks novel, takes close to two hours to get where it's going — the intersection of Lovers Lane and nowhere." LA Times, Full Review

"The latest Sparks adaptation, 'Safe Haven,' will probably continue his winning streak, especially with its Valentine’s Day opening pegged to lure female fans. A thriller element that has not been present in earlier Sparks movies is designed to draw reluctant male viewers to see the picture, but they won’t respond with the same enthusiasm as his core audience of woozy romantics." Associated Press, Full Review

"Even when the overall story is sinking in implausibility, there are bits of business—between, say, Hough and one of Duhamel's kids—that almost make you believe in these people." Pioneer Press, Full Review

Escape From Planet Earth

"Scorch Supernova isn’t quite as zingy a name as Buzz Lightyear, but it’s approximately the same egocentric, obtuse interstellar hero. Brendan Fraser plays Scorch in the Weinstein Company’s 3-D animated comedy “Escape From Planet Earth” (PG for action and some mild rude humor), whose title provides the premise. When Scorch visits our world on a misguided rescue mission, it’s up to his nerdy, by-the-book younger brother (Rob Corddry) to spring him from captivity in Area 51. Also in the voice cast: William Shatner, Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson and George Lopez. It wasn’t screened for critics, which is usually a bad sign for adults in the audience. As soon as a review becomes available, we’ll post it." Star Tribune

Snitch

Plot: In the fast-paced action thriller 'Snitch', Dwayne Johnson stars as a father whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime and is looking at a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years.

Reviews:

"'Snitch' is more of a dramatic thriller than an action movie, and director Ric Roman Waugh fills it with close-ups, dark interiors and tense faces." Seattle Times Full Review

"This movie executes two missions: A) to entertain us; and B) to put some big exclamation points on a couple of messages about certain drug laws in this country in need of a thorough re-examination." Chicago Sun-Times Full Review

"Unusual for this sort of thing, Snitch is a film for which you remember the characters and actors more than the big action moments." Hollywood Reporter Full Review


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