Rush: Fast, But Not So Furious

Ron Howard's movie about worthy opponents takes us into the reckless (but not wreckless) world of Formula One racing in the mid-1970s.

In this flick based on real events, we meet James Hunt, a fast-driving, fast-living English playboy, and Niki Lauda, a fast-driving, methodical, calculating Austrian.

The competition between the two drives them to take the kind of risks that rev up speed.

You don't have to be a race car fan to enjoy this movie, but it would help. Otherwise Rush makes an enjoyable visit to the multiplex, but not quite the rush you're looking for.

Prisoners: Will Capture You

"Oh My Gosh," a woman pants as she leaves the movie theater. (Yes, she did say "gosh.")
"I've got such a headache," another woman moans.

They've just seen Prisoners and don't be surprised if this flick has the same effect on you.

It's edgy in every way. The actions on the screen is out there. And you'll be sitting at the edge of your seat for most of the 2-hour-and-26-minute movie. You won't be bored for even a split second.

Hugh Jackman, as a father whose young daughter goes missing, and Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective on the case, are riveting. But it's the story and psychology of the characters that will catch you up, take hold of you and not let go for at least 30 minutes after the closing credits.

The movie makes you question how you'd react in a similar circumstance. How far would you go to get your child back? Dead or alive.

Instructions Not Included: But Sorely Needed

 What were they thinking?
To be more specific, why did this movie arrive at the local multiplex?
Not that it was bad. Well, not that bad.

 It did have a lively, colorful palette and a fairytale plot, though more like the old Grimm stories than the sanitized ones we read to kids nowadays. The trouble is that the grim turn of events comes out of nowhere at the end of what seemed like a comedy, making this PG 13 movie pretty inappropriate for children. And the theater was filled with children when the Movie Slut viewed it.

Make that Latino children. Another problem is that this Mexican flick is in Spanish and though English subtitles flash across the screen, it would take a pretty brainy child to read them. So, that means American families won't be flocking to see this flick.

The Movie Slut won't instruct you to skip this one about a Dad, who finds himself the sole parent of a baby when mom drops her off and disappears. But consider yourself forewarned.

The Family: Wiseguys Meet All in the Family

The trouble with this "family flick" is that at nearly two hours, it's a good hour too short.
Like when have you heard the Movie Slut say that before? Like never.

It's not a comedy that will have you doubled over with hilarity, but one that maintains a gleefully zany plot and superb comedic action from start to too-soon finish.

Our witness-protected family, masquerading as the all-American Blakes, have arrived in France, sparking more Franco-American strife than we've experienced since the freedom fries brouhaha. But these jokes, tickling as they are, are secondary to the sociopathic antics of these goodfellas and gals.

Robert de Niro, as the head of the psycho family, nailed it. And Michelle Pfeiffer, who's already been Married to the Mob, more than reprises her role.

Give thanks each day that they're not the folks next door. But do meet them at the multiplex.

Riddick: Just Plain Ick

"There are bad days. And there are legendary bad days," says Riddick (Vin Diesel) at the beginning of this sci fi alleged thriller, right after he battles a gaggle of giant slimy alien predators.

Should you venture to see this movie, you'll understand the true meaning of "legendary bad days."

Yeah, the Movie Slut shudda known better, but she listened to a critic who found the movie about an alien mercenary turned-anti-hero  — who first appeared in Pitch Black and then in the Chronicles of Riddick in 2004) — entertaining, even funny. Is that funny as in your house was sucked away by a tsunami? Ha. Ha.

Riddick, the alien superhero, who can survive a direct hit from a refrigerator dropped from a plane, is hiding out on a hellishly dystopian planet. Not only does he have to battle the previously mentioned predators, but bounty hunters have arrived to take him — dead or alive. (Think sequel and you'll guess what transpires.)

If movies can be psychoanalyzed, this one has a virulent case of Passive Aggressive Syndrome. It pretends that the over-the-top violence and misogyny are just for winks and chuckles. Even though there's nothing funny about them.

As one character says near the end of the movie, "This is one fucking demented fairytale."

Closed Circuit: Now They See You

Substitute Mid-Eastern terrorists for Communists, and you have a pretty good idea how this British thriller goes. It's an old-fashioned suspense flick and the Movie Slut says that as a compliment.

The violence isn't over the top. The bad guys aren't particularly sadistic. You won't have to watch a 20-minute car chase. And there are no aliens. (Not that there's anything wrong with them.)

You will scoot to the edge of your seat. You will care about the characters, at least some of them. And while some action is predictable, at other times you'll be taken by surprise. (She loves when that happens.)

You may not talk about CC at the water cooler, but that doesn't mean you didn't enjoy it.

World's End: WTF?

World's End begins and pops along for about half the film as a typical British comedy. Five eccentric characters are on a lunatic mission to complete the pub crawl they'd abandoned 20 years ago.

Five guys. Twelve pubs. Countless pints with some shots tossed in for added intoxication.

But something insanely unexpected happens on the way  to the World's End, the last pub on their boozy odyssey.

No, the Movie Slut, unlike some other spoilsport reviewers, will not give this plot point away. She will just say that while many fans of British comedy may find this less than entertaining, she relished the digression.

WE has a message. It's about the dangers of growing old and stuffy. In the end, these characters were willing to risk their lives to avoid this fate.

 She'll drink to that.