Madonna's crown slips with mediocre movie reviews (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – Madonna may be the "queen of pop," but her crown as movie director slipped this week after most early reviews of her second feature film "W.E." ranged from middling to poor.

The picture, which had its world premiere at the Venice film festival on Thursday, is loosely based on the life of American divorcee Wallis Simpson, whose affair with Kind Edward VIII led to his abdication.

Madonna said she had been fascinated by the story for some time, pondering why a man would make such a huge sacrifice for love.

Andrea Riseborough stars as Simpson and Abbie Cornish as a modern-day woman who becomes obsessed with the person who prompted a constitutional crisis in 1936.

Britain's Guardian newspaper did not spare Madonna's feelings with a one-out-of-five star review.

"Could it be that Madonna is in deadly earnest here?" wrote Xan Brooks.

"If so, her film is more risible than we had any right to expect; a primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock."

Others were less damning, although the general tone was negative and one website quipped that it may be time for the 53-year-old singer to abdicate as a film maker.

Todd McCarthy of the Hollywood Reporter opined: "Madonna's second foray into directing is pleasing to the eyes and ears, but lacking anything for the soul."

And Mark Adams, chief critic for Screen Daily, wrote:

"Madonna aims high as she seeks to tackle love, celebrity, fame, abuse and disappointment, often hitting her targets -- and sometimes not -- but always offering up images that are beautifully shot and staged."

He singled out Riseborough's performance, which he described as "quite brilliant."

The Daily Telegraph gave W.E. three stars out of five, while Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail was generally complimentary.

"A lot of people will loathe it, simply because it's been made by Madonna," he wrote.

"But if they were to watch it with no knowledge of who directed, they would be pleasantly surprised. They might even find much of it enjoyable, although the odd moment may have them wondering if Madge has committed treason."

Some of Madonna's collaborators on the picture had wondered whether viewers' judgments might be colored by their opinion of the 53-year-old celebrity.

"When an iconic, global entity is involved it will be interesting to see how people react to that and whether people can judge the film without their own baggage or how they've felt about Madonna for 30 years," producer Kris Thykier told trade publication Variety.

The budget of W.E. is estimated to be around $15 million, and it hits movie theatres in North America in December.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Madonna's crown slips with mediocre movie reviews (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – Madonna may be the "queen of pop," but her crown as movie director slipped this week after most early reviews of her second feature film "W.E." ranged from middling to poor.

The picture, which had its world premiere at the Venice film festival on Thursday, is loosely based on the life of American divorcee Wallis Simpson, whose affair with Kind Edward VIII led to his abdication.

Madonna said she had been fascinated by the story for some time, pondering why a man would make such a huge sacrifice for love.

Andrea Riseborough stars as Simpson and Abbie Cornish as a modern-day woman who becomes obsessed with the person who prompted a constitutional crisis in 1936.

Britain's Guardian newspaper did not spare Madonna's feelings with a one-out-of-five star review.

"Could it be that Madonna is in deadly earnest here?" wrote Xan Brooks.

"If so, her film is more risible than we had any right to expect; a primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock."

Others were less damning, although the general tone was negative and one website quipped that it may be time for the 53-year-old singer to abdicate as a film maker.

Todd McCarthy of the Hollywood Reporter opined: "Madonna's second foray into directing is pleasing to the eyes and ears, but lacking anything for the soul."

And Mark Adams, chief critic for Screen Daily, wrote:

"Madonna aims high as she seeks to tackle love, celebrity, fame, abuse and disappointment, often hitting her targets -- and sometimes not -- but always offering up images that are beautifully shot and staged."

He singled out Riseborough's performance, which he described as "quite brilliant."

The Daily Telegraph gave W.E. three stars out of five, while Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail was generally complimentary.

"A lot of people will loathe it, simply because it's been made by Madonna," he wrote.

"But if they were to watch it with no knowledge of who directed, they would be pleasantly surprised. They might even find much of it enjoyable, although the odd moment may have them wondering if Madge has committed treason."

Some of Madonna's collaborators on the picture had wondered whether viewers' judgments might be colored by their opinion of the 53-year-old celebrity.

"When an iconic, global entity is involved it will be interesting to see how people react to that and whether people can judge the film without their own baggage or how they've felt about Madonna for 30 years," producer Kris Thykier told trade publication Variety.

The budget of W.E. is estimated to be around $15 million, and it hits movie theatres in North America in December.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Capsule reviews: `Conan,' `One Day' (AP)

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

"Conan the Barbarian" — No one ever turns into a giant snake. That, in a nutshell, is what's wrong with this remake: The knowing sense of big, ridiculous fun that marked the 1982 original is gone, and in its place we get a self-serious series of generic sword battles and expository conversations. Fight, talk, fight, talk, fight, talk, then an enormous throw-down followed by a denouement that dangles the possibility of a sequel (dear God, no) — that's the basic structure here. And yet, despite seeming so simplistic, director Marcus Nispel's film is mind-numbingly convoluted. The fact that it's been converted to a murky, smudgy, barely used 3-D doesn't help matters. While the original "Conan" — the movie that signaled the arrival of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a bona fide movie star — looks extremely dated nearly 30 years later, it still functions just fine as both an epic adventure tale and an admitted guilty pleasure. There's very little that's pleasurable in this new "Conan," aside from allowing us to ogle the muscular, 6-foot-5 physique of up-and-coming action star Jason Momoa. Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang and an over-the-top Rose McGowan co-star. R for strong bloody violence, some sexuality and nudity. 102 minutes. One star out of four.

• Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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"Fright Night" — Yes, this is a remake of the 1985 horror comedy. No, there is no originality left in Hollywood. But at least this "Fright Night" stays true to its origins by having a bit of cheeky fun, and the way it contemporizes the story is really rather clever. Once again, a vaguely nerdy teenager (Anton Yelchin) thinks his mysterious and seductive new next-door neighbor (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. No one else believes him except for his even nerdier childhood pal (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But the setting makes this premise make sense. Craig Gillespie's film takes place in the overly developed suburban sprawl outside Las Vegas, where people come and go and those who do live there often sleep all day and work all night. The barren wasteland of abandoned houses — if they were ever inhabited in the first place — is the perfect place for a bloodsucker to lay low. Farrell is clearly thriving doing showy comic parts, between this and "Horrible Bosses." And the strong supporting cast includes Toni Collette as Yelchin's skeptical single mom and David Tennant in a scene-stealing turn as an alleged master of the supernatural. It all works well enough that it makes you wish it weren't in 3-D, which adds a suffocating layer of dimness, which doesn't exactly help engage us given that so much of the film takes place in the dark, at night. R for bloody horror violence and language, including some sexual references. 101 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

• Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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"One Day" — Maybe it was all more resonant, more poignant on the page: the many highs and lows and major life shifts that occur during the decades-spanning friendship/romance between Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess). But here they feel so cursory and rushed, it's as if we're watching a filmed version of the CliffsNotes of David Nicholls' best-seller. The central conceit is this: Em and Dex meet after a long night of post-college graduation partying on July 15, 1988. "One Day" keeps coming back to that one day, year after year, and checks in with them as they date other people, forge careers, share awkward dinners and basically wait around until the inevitable July 15 when they'll be together. Big, weighty moments are thrust before us — and these should be serious hanky moments — but since the emotional groundwork hasn't been laid for them, we're not moved. We're just not there yet. Emma and Dexter feel more like ideas, types, rather than fleshed-out characters, so the supporting players who supposedly play crucial roles for them barely register either. It's a handsome misfire, though. And it's all the more curious coming from Danish director Lone Scherfig, whose last film was the excellent "An Education" (2009), which was nominated for three Academy Awards including best picture. PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity, language, some violence and substance abuse. 104 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

• Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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Lady Gaga hatches new album, to mixed reviews (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Pop provocateur Lady Gaga unveils her second full-length album this week, three years after taking the music world by storm -- but while sales will likely be huge, early reviews are mixed.

True to her social media-friendly form, the 25-year-old is releasing "Born this Way" in unconventional style by posting some songs on online social game Farmville ahead of Monday's launch, as well as other singles already issued.

The title track was released in February, shortly before Gaga -- real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta -- caused a storm by turning up inside a giant translucent egg at the music industry's annual Grammys awards show.

She also raised eyebrows this weekend when, during a television performance of the song on Saturday Night Live, she simulated giving birth as the finale to the song, surrounded by her writhing dancers.

"I want to celebrate and share 'Born This Way' with my little monsters in a special way that's never been done before," Gaga said of the release of excerpts on her in-game "GagaVille" farm last week.

Her "little monsters" are the legions of fans who worship the star, whose hit singles from her first album, 2008's "The Fame," included "Bad Romance," "Paparazzi" and "Poker Face."

Gaga has sold over 15 million albums and 51 million singles worldwide, won five Grammys and was included in Time's list of the most influential people and the top 10 of Forbes' world's "100 Most Powerful Women," her website says.

Compared by some to chameleon-like pop legends David Bowie and Madonna, she has rocketed into the pop stratosphere despite only having made one full-length album, "The Fame" in 2008, followed by 2009's eight-track "The Fame Monster."

So the spotlight on her new record is intense.

But despite a massive publicity blitz and the likelihood that her fans will buy it in massive numbers whatever critics say, pre-release reviews have been decidedly mixed.

Britain's Guardian gave it four out of five stars, lauding Gaga as "the most exciting, confounding and mind-bogglingly creative artist on planet pop," while MTV talked about the album's 14 "darkly sumptuous tracks."

But Entertainment Weekly, noting that the album has leaked online already, called in "an inconsistent blend of icy techno-pop and greeting-card empowerment that?s more a triumph of production than songwriting."

The LA Times sniffed: "Say what you want about Lady Gaga, but nuance is not one of her strong points, nor is musical adventure. She?s unsubtle in her message, unsubtle in her dress, and most important unsubtle aesthetically."

The New York-born star's ability to drive fans into a frenzy is already legendary, helped by her being a leader of the first generation of stars to use social media to connect with her audience.

Last week she became the first person with more than 10 million followers on Twitter, while she was the first artist to top a billion views on video sharing website YouTube.

The singer has quickly become part of the pop star firmament: in April Elton John revealed that he and his partner David Furnish had chosen Lady Gaga to be their newborn baby boy's godmother.

She has also made waves on political issues: in November she used her celebrity platform to press for repeal of a US law forbidding gays from serving openly in the military.

But for all her ubiquity, critics say she should focus on the music.

"If Gaga had only spent as much time on pushing musical boundaries as she has social ones, 'Born This Way' would have been a lot more successful," said the LA Times.

The Washington Post's reviewer was more blunt, lamenting: "Whether by fluke, curse or cosmic coinky-dink, Lady Gaga's new music is everything that she's not. It's boring."

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Capsule reviews: `Thor,' `Something Borrowed' (AP)

"The Beaver" — Mel Gibson's interpersonal flaws have all but ruined his career. Now with this dark comic drama, Gibson delivers a career performance that salvages a flawed film. Directed by longtime pal Jodie Foster, who also co-stars, the film was shot in between Gibson's 2006 anti-Semitic rant during a drunken-driving arrest and his ugly breakup from ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. Inevitably, because of the spectacle of Gibson's private life, it will be difficult for viewers to separate the real person from the fictional character, a suicidal man struggling with depression and inner demons. Gibson seems to be exploring his own dark emotional recesses as his character at first comically, later savagely, works through his issues via an alter-ego, a beaver puppet he wears on his hand. The performance makes the film generally work despite a story that veers from an absorbing family dynamic into a pointless media circus as the beaver becomes a national celebrity. Gibson creates a rich, engrossing portrait of a man in deep distress, with great heart and humor where appropriate, and the rest of the time with the disturbing conviction of someone who's been there himself. Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence co-star. PG-13 for mature thematic material, some disturbing content, sexuality and language including a drug reference. 91 minutes. Three stars out of four.

• David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"Jumping the Broom" — This is what it might look like if Nancy Meyers directed a Tyler Perry movie. It's got all the glossy production values of a Meyers film like "Something's Gotta Give" or "It's Complicated": expensive clothes and expansive houses in the elegantly upscale setting of Martha's Vineyard. And the ensemble cast, featuring Paula Patton, Laz Alonso and Meagan Good, offers plenty of eye candy. But it also has all the lowbrow humor and high melodrama of a Perry movie, the broad characters and earnest religious fervor, and the same jarring tonal shifts between those two extremes. The first feature from director Salim Akil, a veteran of the TV series "Girlfriends," presents the culture clashes that occur between two black families — one old-moneyed, the other blue-collared — when they're about to be united through marriage. Patton plays Sabrina Watson, a New York corporate lawyer who's enjoyed a privileged upbringing. She meets cute with a Wall Street up-and-comer, Alonso's Jason Taylor, when she hits him with her car. Instantly, they're smitten and in no time, they're engaged. But plot contrivances keep their respective families from meeting until the day before the wedding. Angela Bassett as Sabrina's cultured mother and Loretta Devine as Alonso's mom, a Brooklyn postal worker, are two formidable actresses who deserve stronger material. PG-13 for some sexual content. Running time: 108 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

• Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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"Something Borrowed" — This romantic drama poses the question: What happens when you realize you're in love with your best friend's fiance? But the characters are either so ill-defined or unlikable, it's hard to care whether they get out of this tricky situation with their emotions and relationships intact. And that's odd, and unfortunate, because "Something Borrowed" stars the ordinarily adorable Ginnifer Goodwin as a New York attorney who finds herself in that predicament. Directed by Luke Greenfield ("The Girl Next Door") and based on the novel by Emily Giffin, "Something Borrowed" introduces us to Goodwin's character, Rachel, on the night of her 30th birthday. She's quietly freaking out about the passage of time because she's still hopelessly single, the cliched trademark of so many chick-lit heroines. Meanwhile, her closest pal since childhood, the blonde party girl Darcy (Kate Hudson), is about to marry Dex (Colin Egglesfield), Rachel's good friend from law school. Rachel introduced the two of them six years ago and encouraged them to get together, even though she was secretly in love with Dex. But after a few drinks at her surprise party, she and Dex end up sleeping together — and that inspires them to revisit feelings they'd both suppressed. PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, and some drug material. Running time: 113 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

• Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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"Thor" — The Norse gods are off to a decent, though not divine, start in this latest movie in Marvel Comics' big-screen expansion of its superhero pantheon. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays the god of thunder, cast out by his father (Anthony Hopkins) and forced to learn some humility down on Earth. Director Kenneth Branagh draws on his Shakespearean roots to fill the tale with loads of palatial pride, envy, rivalry and resentment that drive the action. The human part of the equation often is where the film comes up short, as in the puny humans of whom Thor supposedly becomes so fond. Fresh off her Academy Award win for "Black Swan," Natalie Portman as Thor's mortal love interest is a surprisingly insubstantial presence. Thor is the god who fell to Earth, but why he wants to stay among these little Earthlings never feels genuine, given the far cooler place he calls home. The action is a bit muddled and the story sometimes is unfocused, but Hemsworth has true star power, a regal presence that helps keep the disparate elements stitched together. With Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings and Clark Gregg. PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. 113 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

• David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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