Shared Darkness

Apparently chiefly inspired by the loads of money generated by robots smashing into one another in the Transformers films, executive producer Steven Spielberg helps orchestrate more metallic mayhem in Real Steel, in which a tremendous technical polish is brought to bear upon what is frequently a rather awkward grafting of family drama and overblown, futuristic boxing tale. The nature of its conceit all but obliges Real Steel end with estranged father holding son aloft in his arms, but it’s of course how viewers are taken to that point that matters. And while its stabs at emotionalism are sincere, director Shawn Levy’s movie never once shakes free of the feeling that it owes its entire existence to external market forces. Still, if one can shrug off the story flaws, the film’s undeniable gloss and special effects proficiency are what help keep it bobbing and weaving, allowing it to intermittently connect. The interplay between humans and robots is extraordinarily believable; scale is consistent, and never betrayed. For the full, original review, from Screen International, click here. (Disney, PG-13, 127 minutes)

An inoffensive but hardly essential piece of occupational boosterism, American Teacher provides a look at the public education crisis in the United States through the eyes of those often lambasted or pilloried as somehow being a bigger part of the problem than of the solution. Helmed by Academy Award-winning director Vanessa Roth, the documentary spotlights the extraordinary personal sacrifices that a lot of instructors make by choosing to teach — as well as how qualified and otherwise passionate people are sometimes driven from the field by the rocky shoals of hard-knock financial reality. Many of the subjects here are inspiring, but, sadly, American Teacher comes off as more of a staid, herky-jerky stump speech than a fiery and clarifying call to action. For the full, original review, from ShockYa, click here. For more information on the film, meanwhile, click here. (First Run, unrated, 80 minutes)