He wasn t exactly adored by his people, but Coriolanus is wowing critics in its opening week in theaters.
Ralph Fiennes shakes up Shakespeare s play, directing for the first time and starring in the title role as a Roman war hero who becomes a reluctant political leader. Fiennes moved the action from 5th century B.C. to the present day, with the actors remaining faithful to Shakespeare s words.
AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle gave the movie three stars out of four, saying: The pace of the camera and the storytelling improves considerably in the second half, or the play s fourth and fifth acts. The whole production finds its balance and Fiennes performance grows fuller, finally bursting forth in a late rush of sympathy at the end.
Also earning strong reviews as well as Oscar buzz for its star is Shame. Michael Fassbender plays a good-looking New York City bachelor whose stylish exterior masks the fact that he s a sex addict with an increasing urge to engage in dangerous behavior to satisfy his needs.
AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire wrote: Fassbender reunites with Steve McQueen, the British artist-turned-filmmaker who directed him in his breakthrough role, 2008 s Hunger, in which he starred as Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. The two seem to push each other to their extremes in a collaboration that s as challenging as it is creatively liberating. She gave the film three 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:
Coriolanus : Metacritic, 78; Movie Review Intelligence, 73.8; Rotten Tomatoes, 92. Average: 81.3.
Shame : Metacritic, 71; Movie Review Intelligence, 68.8; Rotten Tomatoes, 81. Average: 73.6.
Sleeping Beauty : Metacritic, 60; Movie Review Intelligence, 55; Rotten Tomatoes, 48. Average: 54.3.
Answers to Nothing : Metacritic, 29; Movie Review Intelligence, 40.4; Rotten Tomatoes, 11. Average: 26.8.
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