Deli Man - B

Deli owner Ziggy Gruber

Rated PG-13, 91 minutes
Wes's Grade: B

Documentary "Deli Man" provides a fresh look at Jewish culture and food

If you've ever eaten in a delicatessen, you know that food is only part of the story, not to mention the culture and camaraderie that flows from it (essentially a diner, but the food is better). The warm, relaxed new documentary "Deli Man" tells the many stories behind the rich flavor and history of the delicatessen, which is a fixture in the Jewish culture. In Houston, Texas, third-generation deli man Ziggy Gruber has arguably built what some think is one of the finest delicatessens in the U.S., named Kenny and Ziggy's. His story - augmented by the stories of iconic urban delis such as Katz's, 2nd Avenue Deli, Nate 'n Al, Carnegie, and the Stage - embodies a tradition indelibly linked to its savory, nostalgic foods. Directed and written by Erik Greenberg Anjou, "Deli Man" is an entertaining, gregarious documentary that brings to light some of the untold stories of one of the more fascinating asepcts Jewish culture, yet shows that you can also make a documentary about just anything. Gruber's contemporary story gets the most footage, and while Gruber himself is a fun character (among other things, he gets acupuncture because of the stress of running a deli), it's not the most interesting, given all the delicatessens that came before him. There is some fun, generous helpings of commentary from historians as well as celebrities, including Jerry Stiller, Fyvush Finkel and Larry King that add a little spice to the proceedings, while also giving insight into how delicatessens are run (and interestingly, more than once, they caution against investing in them but then maybe that is the very reason to do so). "Deli Man" is a fresh look at an age-old institution as well as Jewish culture, though it may have limited appeal to those outside of the Jewish community and/or foodies. It's worth a look, though you may not want to go on an empty stomach, as it may make you very hungry seeing some of the yummy food.

It Follows - B

Rated R, 94 minutes
Wes's Grade: B

"It Follows" a chilling, creepy ride about a erotically supernatural curse

If you thought getting an STD after having sex was scary, it's nothing compared to having a supernatural force hunting you down, at least according to the creepy, often terrifying and original horror low-budget horror film "It Follows." After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager named Jay ("The Guest's" Maika Monroe) finds herself cursed by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something supernatural is after her. Directed and written by David Robert Mitchell in an auspicious feature debut, "It Follows" is a chilling, vivid experience that will stay with you long after the film is over. It starts with one of the creepiest opening sequences of recent memory, of a young girl in shorts and heels running for her life, whose fate doesn't end so well. "It Follows" is a truly scary, taut  cat-and-mouse game, made memorable by the "it" in the film's title, and remarkably well-made and acted considering its low-budget and has been scaring people since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Monroe, along with geeky British actor Keir Gilchrist, who plays nerdy friend/lover Paul, are memorable as the two who share and fight the supernatural force. What makes "It Follows" so unpredictable and so unlike other typical horror films of the genre, is the unique way that Mitchell has the supernatural being morph into humans: in other words, you never know what it may do or who it may be. Add a pulsating film score from electronica musician Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland) and brooding photography filmed on location in Detroit, Michigan that reminds you of 1970s John Carpenter, and "It Follows" provides a rich level of suspense that'll have you holding onto your seat. The erotically-fueled "It Follows" has a few slow moments in the first act, and the climax seems slightly out of place, but otherwise it's a pretty tense ride, with a few moments that'll make you really jump. Definitely worth a look.

Danny Collins - B-

Al Pacino is Danny Collins

Rated R, 106 minutes
Wes's Grade: B-

Pacino and company make for a witty but predictable "Danny Collins"

In the new dramedy "Danny Collins" there is a witty exchange between Al Pacino's character, an old rock singer, and Annette Bening, a hotel manager as he's about to go out. "An honest opinion, how do I look?" he asks her. "Well, slightly ridiculous" she replies. "No, I don't I look wonderful," he retorts. That could sum up the film itself: slightly ridiculous, thinking it's far better and more clever than it really is, which is a mildly amusing, somewhat touching but very calculated movie that really belongs on HBO or Showtime (I could easily see a series being made from this). Pacino is aging 1970s singer Danny Collins, who can't give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to rediscover his family (Bobby Cannavale and Jennifer Garner), find true love and begin a second act. Directed and written by actor and writer Dan Fogelman ("Crazy, Stupid Love") in his feature directorial debut, "Danny Collins" is an enjoyable but hardly subtle and far from revelatory, but is worth a look for the solid cast, who seems to enjoy themselves. Oscar-winner Pacino, whose characters looks like Keith Richards but whose music obviously resembles Neil Diamond's (it's actually loosely based on a true story of English folk singer Steve Tilston), is very game and performs well, though he's too old for the part (and we know now the old saying that singers make better actors than vice versa, with the exception of maybe that Streep goddess), yet he still has solid chemistry with the rest of the cast, including Bening, Plummer, Cannavale and Garner. The movie is much more fun when it doesn't take itself too seriously, and the predictable last act of the movie as Collins strives to find redemption in reconnecting with his long-lost family, while touching, comes hardly as a surprise (no spoilers, but someone in these types of things always gets sick with some rare disease, a stale contrivance if there ever was one). The often witty "Danny Collins" is an enjoyable piece of fluff that pulls few punches and you may not remember much after its over, but it's fun as it runs its course.

Get Hard - D+

Rated R, 100 minutes
Wes's Grade: D+

Forgettable, dumb "Get Hard" should be sentenced for unfunny behavior

Go ahead. Get it out of the way. The title of the profane, dumb new Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart comedy "Get Hard" is a sexual double entendre which should elicit some giggles, arguably more than the film itself, which is so named to help prepare someone for prison, or the hard life. An annoying, one-joke guilty pleasure that seems to ripoff the funnier (but hardly a masterpiece) 1980 Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder comedy "Stir Crazy," much of it falls flat, and not in a soft way. The prison-bound manager (Ferrell) of a hedge fund asks a black businessman (Hart) -- who has never been to jail -- to prepare him for life behind bars. Directed and co-written by Etan Cohen, who wrote the hit comedy "Tropic Thunder," the sporadically funny but absurd and uneven new comedy "Get Hard" appeals to the lowest common denominator, which means lots of bad language and gross-out moments. It's hardly a high point for either comic actor and tends to bring out their most annoying traits, especially the shrill Hart, who still should realize the value of comedy in the quieter moments (in other words, screaming your lines doesn't make you funnier). Ferrell, who is an expert at playing these daft buffoons, is slightly better, but most of it you've seen in the movie's trailers, and also shows he's willing to do just about anything to make you laugh or cringe (in the end, he doesn't, no spoilers here); as well, it wastes two terrific actors in "Parenthood's" Craig T. Nelson and "Community's" Allison Brie, who are given very little to do. My favorite moments had Ferrell's character picking fights in the park and getting beat up, and Hart's retelling of "Boyz n the Hood," yet I still had trouble buying into its dumb, dumb one-joke premise and predictable plotting, and much of it, especially a couple of unnecessary, mean-spirited sequences involving gangs (both white and black), seems like filler. The forgettable "Get Hard," which has some reflex laughs and an inordinate amount of bad language (thanks, in large part, to Ferrell and his producing partner Adam McKay), quickly grows tiresome and should do comic prison time for unfunny behavior. Richard Pryor, in the aforementioned "Stir Crazy," tried his own version of prison toughness with his memorable phrase "that's right, we bad." "Get Hard" is bad, and not in a good way.

Home - C+

Rated PG, 94 minutes
Wes's Grade: C+

More aliens? "Home" is energetic but bland, unoriginal fun

They say that home is where the heart is, and the modestly entertaining new animated movie "Home" has plenty of heart and fun moments to please the young set, though its so bland they won't remember much of it after its over. Though based on the 2007 best-selling kids book "The True Meaning of Smekday" by Adam Rex, the over-used alien plotting gives it a "been there, done that" feel. An optimistic yet inept alien race called the Boov led by Captain Smek (Steve Martin) invade the Earth to hide from their mortal enemy and make it their new home. Convinced that they are doing humans a favor, they begin to relocate them to a Desert Planet. A resourceful teenage girl named Tip (Rihanna), manages to avoid capture.When on the run and looking for the location of her mother Lucy (Jennifer Lopez), she is accompanied by a banished Boov named Oh (Jim Parsons) who has accidentally notified his people's enemies of their location. Directed by Tim Johnson ("Antz," "Over the Hedge"), "Home" is blandly energetic and predictable, silly fun that kids will get most out of, though like most things based on kids' books, it's redundant and much of it seems padded, considering its thin source. Pop singer Rihanna and "The Big Bang Theory's" Parsons make for a good voice pairing, though "Home" often feels like a vehicle for Rihanna, who also provides a few original songs on the soundtrack, as does Lopez (interestingly, Parsons' character Oh in the book is named J Lo and changed here to avoid confusion), who has a small role as Mom. "Home" is peppered with some colorfully humorous moments and clean animation but simply put, it's too familiar, too redundant and too long. The buddy-buddy storyline, seemingly expanded from the original novel, and the overused fish-(this time alien)-out-of-water plotting grow tiresome quickly, in spite of its admirable messages of individuality, friendship and speaking up. "Home" isn't terrible, but isn't terribly original, either, and do we really need more animated aliens? Serviceable but unmemorable family fun.

Do You Believe? - C-

Mira Sorvino

Rated PG-13, 115 minutes
Wes's Grade: C-

Stale Christian drama "Do You Believe?" won't find any new followers

Dear Lord, as a Christian and an avid moviegoer, my sincere prayer is that Christian filmmakers can eventually make an uplifting film whose Good Message can smoothly flow from a believable story and not hit you over the head with a dozen bricks. In Your Name I Pray, Amen. The main question posed in the stagnant, unoriginal new Christian-themed drama is "Do You Believe?" After you see it, not likely. In spite of a familiar cast and a sincere message it wears on its sleeve, it's also typically heavy-handed, preachy and only serves to show some of the challenges of films like this. When a local pastor (Ted McGinley) is shaken to the core by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher (Delroy Lindo), he is reminded that true belief always requires action. His response ignites a faith-fueled journey that powerfully impacts everyone it touches in ways that only God could orchestrate. Brought to you by Pure Flix Entertainment, who brought last year's big hit "God's Not Dead," the dramatically hollow, third-rate "Do You Believe?," much like other films in this genre, appeals to and will mostly be seen by its core audience of evangelicals, some who think that Kirk Cameron is a good actor. One thing that "Do You Believe?" has done this time, and perhaps inspired by "God's Not Dead," is that it actually has some familiar and respected (if not washed-up) faces, including Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino, Lee Majors, McGinley, Lindo (he is the most memorable as the street preacher trying to make a real difference), Cybill Shepherd, Sean Astin and even former football player Brian Bosworth, all of whom may get slightly more notice if this is as big a hit as "God's Not Dead" was, which may not be likely this time. The overused "Crash"-like intersecting story lines lack edge and believability, and Christian filmmakers have yet to find a way to smoothly integrate the Good News and let it flow from its story, instead of the other way around (any way you try to spin it, someone wandering into a church - during a service - after a robbery just seems contrived). I'm certainly not one to shoot the messenger and the movie "Do You Believe?" has its heart is in the right place, but like this genre in general, it seems to defeat the purpose of spreading the Good News when you primarily attract the people who already believe. Anyway, if you're so inclined to see "Do You Believe?" then go for it, but for a movie about the inspirational, it sure does lack inspiration (and a good script) and only preaches to the choir.

Insurgent - C-

Theo James and Shailene Woodley

Rated PG-13, 119 minutes
Wes's Grade: C-

Slick but insipid "Divergent" mostly for fans of the book series

After seeing the bland, repetitive "Insurgent," the second and disappointing installment of "Divergent" series, I'm hoping that sometime in the near future that moviegoers will tire of the whole YA dystopian movie-franchise thing and move on to something else. When the best thing about the movie is the lead's haircut, then you know the movie is in trouble. Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Kate Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. Racing against time to save their faction, they must find out what Tris's family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Directed by Robert Schwentke ("Red," "Flightplan") and co-written by Brian Dufffield, Akiva Goldsman and Mark Bomback and based on Veronica Roth's popular Young Adult "Divergent" novel series, "Insurgent" is a slick but lackluster sequel to the 2014 hit "Divergent," in spite of an appealing lead in Woodley, who is a game heroine but can't overcome what a ho-hum, mostly boring story it all is: the movie revolves around some secrets kept in some dumb box held captive by the always sleek Winslet; we get it, this young girl has issues, now move on to something more intriguing. Speaking of which, Winslet and the fun Miles Teller ("Whiplash"), as good/bad guy Peter, provide the only real energy the movie is in need of, given you won't find it with the boring team of James and the lovely Woodley, whose sporty haircut has more life than her character does. "Insurgent" wastes the talents of two other talented actresses as well: Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer, in what is barely more than a cameo, and especially Naomi Watts, woefully miscast as the mother of 30-year James, who seems too old for this. Schwentke handles the action scenes serviceably, but there isn't enough of them to keep the story moving along, and of course, leaving the film open for its final chapters, the final book split into two unnecessary installments (thank you, "Twilight" for starting that unfortunate trend). The "Divergent" series has a legion of fans who'll no doubt turn out for this movie, and this movie is really for the fans of that series. "Divergent" doesn't do itself any favors in this disappointing, mostly banal, second installment, which is flavorless and lacks dramatic shape, hardly a "Godfather Part II" or "The Empire Strikes Back" but more like "The Cannonball Run II." Unless you really like this sort of thing, I'd opt for something else this weekend.