This weekend brought us a trifecta of spiritual-based (or at least spiritually-minded) films. The Age of Adeline used a unique twist on timeless love, and though I didn’t get a chance to see Russell Crowe’s directorial debut,  The Water Diviner, based on the trailer, the movie digs deep to explore the connection a father has with his son and the faith needed to rise above the facts to find the truth. The most spiritual of them all, the thought-provoking, yet heavily amateurish Little Boy, explores much the same territory, but instead of a father searching for his son in the middle of a war, the son reaches out to bring his father home from the war with nothing but faith the size of a mustard seed. Read Full Review

From my understanding, Paul Blart: Mall Cop didn’t set the cinema world on fire back in 2009. It did make a ton of money (and did leaps and bounds over its counterpart, Observe and Report), but from the reaction to the film from both critics and the public, there didn’t seem to be much demand for a sequel. But money speaks louder than words in Hollywood, and since Adam Sandler (through his production company, Happy Madison) likes to keep his good friends employed, I guess Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was inevitable. And though the premise for the follow-up is sound (having the main character leave the confines of his world to explore new territory is a staple for sequels to movies like this), adding a new chapter to a film that ran mostly flat doesn’t make for a better movie. Read Full Review

Unlike the super-charged excitement surrounding this month’s biggest film (not to mention the biggest film this year to date), April’s slate of films has started with a whimper. Over the past two weeks, only two movies have opened in wide release, and in order to keep my anti-Nicholas Sparks streak alive (that’s right friends, I am lucky enough to have yet to be Notebook-ed), The Longest Ride was never an option. So unless I wanted to avoid the cineplex for two weeks straight (or go see an independent film or two that didn’t interest me in the slightest), the only other choice was Furious 7, the new addition to a franchise that has never been high on my must-see radar. I still have yet to see Tokyo Drift (although I am a big fan of Lucas Black) or Fast and Furious (which would be the fourth, for those keeping score), I only saw The Fast and the Furious (with those pesky definite articles, that would be the original) when it hit cable, and I’ve probably only seen bits and pieces of 2 Fast 2 Furious. (Bet you can’t guess which one that is!) I probably wouldn’t have gone to see Fast 5 if it hadn’t have been for my friend, but it was then that I understood something very pivotal about this franchise — it’s like a drug; once you’ve submitted yourself to its high-gloss stunt work and expanding story arc, you can’t keep from coming back for more. I went to see Fast and Furious 6 on my own accord two years ago, and even though I roll my eyes more often than not when it comes to everything about this series, I gave in to Furious 7 and its high-octane absurdness. Read Full Review