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Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 6:15 PM UTC

Capsule reviews of new movie releases

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Topics: From the Wires,

Capsule reviews of new movie releasesThis film image released by A24 Films shows, from left, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine and Vanessa Hudgens in a scene from "Spring Breakers." (AP Photo/A24 Films, Michael Muller) (Credit: AP)

“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” — The only incredible thing here is the way this comedy makes Steve Carell so thoroughly and irreparably unlikable. In a film about magic tricks, this is the most difficult feat of all. Even when Carell is playing characters who are nerdy (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) or needy (“Crazy, Stupid, Love”) or clueless (TV’s “The Office”) or just plain odd (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”), there’s usually an inherent decency that shines through and makes him seem relatable, vulnerable, human. None of those qualities exists within Burt Wonderstone, a selfish and flashy Las Vegas magician who once ruled the Strip alongside his longtime friend and partner, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi), but now finds his act has grown outdated and unpopular. Even within the confines of a comedy sketch, where he probably belongs, Burt would seem one-dimensional and underdeveloped with his hacky jokes and tacky clothes. Stretched out to feature length, the shtick becomes nearly unbearable — until, of course, the movie doles out its obligatory comeuppance, followed by redemption, and goes all soft and nice. By then it’s too little, too late. Jim Carrey gives it his all, as always, as the up-and-coming gonzo street magician who threatens Burt’s career, but Olivia Wilde gets little more to do than serve as the supportive “girl” as Burt’s assistant. PG-13 for sexual content, dangerous stunts, a drug-related incident and language. 101 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

___

“Spring Breakers” — Harmony Korine seems to want it both ways, all day, in this superstylized descent into a sunbaked hell where bikini-clad, gun-toting college babes serve as our guides. As writer and director, Korine wants us to be appalled and aroused, hypnotized and titillated. He wants to satirize the debauchery of girls gone wild while simultaneously reveling in it. And damned if he doesn’t pull it off. This is the rare movie that I actually found myself liking the more time I spent away from it. In the moment, I found it numbingly repetitive, even boring at times: an obvious juxtaposition of sex and violence, of dreamlike aesthetics within a nightmare scenario. And it is all those things. But it stuck with me, and it made me realize the genius of his approach. There is a great deal of genuine artistry in this film, which is the most polished and mainstream to date from the maker of indies like “Trash Humpers,” but “Spring Breakers” is also provocative in various ways, depending on the viewer. The corruption of formerly squeaky-clean Disney superstars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens may be Korine’s cleverest trick of all: They get to show some range, we get to gawk. But James Franco steals the whole movie away when he arrives about halfway through as a cornrowed, wanna-be gangster rapper named Alien. It’s a showy, wonderfully weird performance, but Franco also finds the vulnerability beneath the bravado. R for strong sexual content, language, nudity, drug use and violence throughout. 92 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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