LOS ANGELES (AP) - The best-selling novel "The Help" is now a movie that's winning over critics, as well.
The drama about the friendship between black maids and an aspiring white writer in 1960s Mississippi stars Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Octavia Spencer. AP Movie Writer David Germain said in his rave review: "A class act such as "The Help' is rare enough in Hollywood. Coming at the tail end of summer blockbuster season, it's almost unheard of." He gave the movie three and a half stars out of four.
Also opening nationwide this week is the comedy "30 Minutes or Less," starring Jesse Eisenberg as a pizza delivery guy and Danny McBride and Nick Swardson as the idiots who strap a bomb to his body and force him to rob a bank. AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire said in her two-star review: "None of this crackles with the kind of breezy, madcap hilarity that it should; it's actually rather tortured and convoluted."
And for viewers of the Fox series "Glee," there's "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie," featuring the show's stars performing several fan-favorite songs in character. Lemire wrote: "Is it calculated? For sure. But it does what it needs to do to please its target audience. Everyone else may as well surrender to the juggernaut." She gave the film two and a half stars out of four.
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:
- "The Help": Metacritic, 62; Movie Review Intelligence, 72; Rotten Tomatoes, 73. Average: 69.
- "30 Minutes or Less": Metacritic, 50; Movie Review Intelligence, 48.3; Rotten Tomatoes, 42. Average: 46.8.
- "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie": Metacritic, 50; Movie Review Intelligence, 53.8; Rotten Tomatoes, 62. Average: 55.3.
- "Final Destination 5": Metacritic, 51; Movie Review Intelligence, 51.9; Rotten Tomatoes, 55. Average: 52.7.
- "Senna": Metacritic, 81; Movie Review Intelligence, 79.5; Rotten Tomatoes, 92. Average: 84.2.
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