A Cold War classic is captivating audiences all over again, with "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" earning rave reviews in its opening weekend.
This adaptation of John le Carre's 1974 best-seller stars Gary Oldman as a veteran British intelligence agent trying to sniff out a mole within the ranks. Toby Jones, Colin Firth and Ciaran Hinds are among his suspects.
AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire gave the movie three stars out of four, saying: "Tomas Alfredson, perhaps best known for directing the superb Swedish vampire thriller 'Let the Right One In,' has crafted a precisely detailed, retro-faded, well-acted mystery. But he's created a mood in this tale of Cold War espionage that may be a bit too chilly, a tension that may almost be too restrained."
Also drawing strong reviews is "Young Adult," starring Charlize Theron as a delusional teen-lit writer who travels to her Minnesota hometown to pry her high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson) away from his wife and newborn daughter. The film reunites "Juno" director Jason Reitman and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Lemire also gave this one three stars, writing: "Charlize Theron dares you to like her in 'Young Adult' — and the movie itself dares you to stick with an anti-heroine who makes no apologies for her deplorable behavior. It's an exciting thing to see, this willful rejection of tidy character arcs and happy endings, and it actually makes you wish 'Young Adult' had been even further fleshed out and gone on a little longer."
On the other end of the spectrum is "New Year's Eve," an ensemble romantic comedy from director Garry Marshall, who brought us "Valentine's Day" last year. Katherine Heigl, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Josh Duhamel and Lea Michele are among the enormous cast.
AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle gave the movie just one and a half stars out of four, saying: "If there is some kind of world record for schmaltz, this may have set it. Included here are first kisses, midnight rendezvous, dying fathers, newborn babies, husbands at war and trapped strangers. It's narcotic mawkishness, with notes played on heartstrings like a 12-string guitar."
Here's a look at how these movies and others fared on the top review websites as of Friday afternoon. Each score is the percentage of positive reviews for the film:
— "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy": Metacritic, 88; Movie Review Intelligence, 84.1; Rotten Tomatoes, 88. Average: 86.7.
— "Young Adult": Metacritic, 74; Movie Review Intelligence, 74.6; Rotten Tomatoes, 78. Average: 75.5.
— "The Sitter": Metacritic, 39; Movie Review Intelligence, 43.9; Rotten Tomatoes, 20. Average: 34.3.
— "New Year's Eve": Metacritic, 24; Movie Review Intelligence, 24.6; Rotten Tomatoes, 5. Average: 17.9.
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Online:
http://moviereviewintelligence.com/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
