Quick Reviews Catch-Up Part 1: Pre-Summer

Yeah, so remember how I used to write little reviews of movies I saw in theaters? Obviously I haven't done it in a while because of...well, a lot of reasons. But that doesn't mean I haven't been seeing them. So it's time to get started again. In order to get through this quickly I'm not going to say a whole lot about these, as most of them are already out of the theaters. (Some are out on DVD and Blu-ray already, though.)

I've broken them down into two posts. This one deals with everything released prior to the summer blockbuster season (which actually started in early May with "Iron Man 3"), with the rest to follow.

42: Well-acted, but kind of a standard biopic. My grade:  B+

21 and Over: College students get drunk and party. Again, kind of standard but well-executed. My grade:  B+

Oblivion: It held my interest. I saw this long after it opened and already learned of a key plot twist, so the element of surprise was gone. My grade: B

Oz the Great and Powerful: James Franco as the about-to-become-the-Wizard of Oz? A little bit meh. Which witch was going to turn green was pretty obvious. Speaking of, when are we getting a film version of "Wicked," by the way? My grade: B

The Call: Ridiculous and over-the-top but in a good way. My grade: B

The Croods: Unfortunately it's no "Flintstones" (TV series). Fortunately it's no "Flintstones" (live-action films). My grade: B

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: Underrated. Starts off rather horrendously but somewhere along the way it hooked me in. Magic? My grade: B-

Mama: Saved from a worse grade by Jessica Chastain and by a twist at the end that I rather appreciated. My grade: B-

Admission: Considering it starred Tina Fey and the adorable Paul Rudd, a big disappointment. My grade: C+

Escape from Planet Earth: Wasn't expecting a whole lot. Got what I expected. My grade: C+

Pain and Gain: Biggest problems: implausible plot (despite being based on a true story) and unlikable characters. My grade: D+

Scary Movie 5: Serious lack of funny jokes is a bad thing in this spoof genre. My grade: D

Spring Breakers: Garbage featuring the worst James Franco performance I've seen. At one point he performs fellatio on a gun. That's not what we want to see him fellate, trust me. My grade: F