“Transformers: Age of Extinction” (PG-13) — Michael Bay returns to the bang-bang-kaboom style of filmmaking with this fourth installment of the toy-inspired blockbuster series. Mark Wahlberg (Shia Labeouf is nowhere to be seen) plays a hardworking inventor in rural Texas. He finds a truck that is more than meets the eye. He also has a very pretty teenage daughter who is fond of jean shorts (Nicola Peltz). Did I mention that Optimus Prime charges into battle mounted on a robot T-Rex and wielding a giant sword?
Since it’s the fourth movie in a series about explosions, you’d think there would be little left to say. Bay didn’t think so: This one clocks in at almost three hours of run time. Most folks don’t have the fortitude and focus to hang with the Autobots for that long.
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“Chef” (R) — Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) wants to bring real flavor into the menu at the upper-crust Los Angeles restaurant where he’s a chef. His stubborn and suffocating boss (Dustin Hoffman) won’t let the creative juices flow. After a conflict that boils over onto Twitter, Carl calls it quits with the restaurant. Upset, unemployed and reviled in LA, he takes his friend (John Leguizamo) back to Miami with him to start all over at the street-level: selling fresh fare from a junky old food truck.
The movie pours on the heart and humor, garnishes it with a good soundtrack, and serves it up with an appealing cast: Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johanssen, plus appearances by Oliver Platt and Robert Downey Jr. Some have complained that the final product is too sweet, but it’s a refreshing and invigorating meal nonetheless, especially for those of us who just really like food.
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“Are You Here” (R) — A smarmy, easygoing local weatherman, Steve (Owen Wilson), is a bit of a jerk but a very loyal friend. His best bud, Ben (Zach Galifinakis), has real psychological issues, and Steve’s always there for him. When Ben’s father dies, he leaves the bulk of his estate to Ben, much to the chagrin of his uptight sister (Amy Poehler). Ben has to prove to the courts that he has the mental togetherness to keep his inheritance, and everybody else has to face who they really are. This is the second movie from Matthew Weiner, the creator of TV’s acclaimed “Mad Men.” Unfortunately, this film lacks the sensibilities and allure that make Weiner’s TV endeavor so sharp.
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“Third Person” (R) — Liam Neeson stars as a wounded and somber author trying to deal with his problems through layers of fiction. He’s just one of a crowd of big names playing sad characters with vaguely intersecting lives. Olivia Wilde plays his wild young love interest, Kim Basinger plays his cynical ex-wife, and then there’s Mila Kunis and James Franco in separate storylines in different cities. Some thematic threads (sort of) connect the characters, but it’s not enough to make you think or feel anything special about what’s going on. You get the feeling that with all the melodrama scattered through the script, the movie was too depressed to get its act together.
TV RELEASES
“The Mentalist: Season 6”
“24: Live Another Day”
“NYPD Blue: Season 7”
“Mike & Molly: The Complete Fourth Season”
“My Little Pony: The Complete Series”
“Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Complete Collection”
© 2014 King Features Synd., Inc.