In Theaters This Weekend: Reviews of ‘Paul Blart 2,’ ‘Unfriended’ and More

A Segway-loving mall cop, a group of tormented teens and a Soviet police officer are heading to theaters this weekend with the releases of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Unfriended and Child 44.

Find out what The Hollywood Reporter‘s critics are saying about the weekend’s new offerings (as well as which film will likely top the weekend’s box office).

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Neal McDonough and Shirley Knight star in director Andy Fickman‘s follow-up to the 2009 comedy. The action centers on the eponymous security guard finding himself in danger during a Las Vegas vacation. THR film critic Frank Scheck writes in his review that the film is a “painfully unfunny, slapdash follow-up in which the title character is so relentlessly obnoxious that you’ll be cheering for the villains.”

Unfriended

Director Levan Gabriadze‘s horror film stars Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm and Renee Olstead in the story of a group of teens tormented by their dead friend’s online account. “In the end, one would rather be back at one’s own computer, tending to the tedious details of digital life, than watching this clique get pinged to death,” THR film critic John DeFore writes in his review. 

Child 44

Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace and Joel Kinnaman star in director Daniel Espinosa‘s drama about a military police officer who investigates a string of child murders in the Stalin-era Soviet Union. THR film critic Jordan Mintzer writes in his review that the film “doesn’t really captivate the way it should,” despite the actors’ “committed turns.”

True Story

A former New York Times reporter investigates an accused murderer in director Rupert Goold‘s drama. Jonah Hill, James Franco and Felicity Jones star. The film “is involving but surprisingly calm,” and Franco and Hill’s scenes aren’t “as convincing as might be expected from these actors,” according to DeFore. Read his full review here. 

Email: Ryan.Gajewski@THR.com
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski