Pain & Gain

This hyperactive comedy caper is based on the true story of a Miami personal trainer who, with two body-builder buddies, schemed to get rich quick by kidnapping a wealthy client and forcing him to sign over all his assets. Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Anthony Mackie play the trio whose biceps are so much bigger than their brains that the scam seems doomed to failure. Director Michael Bay (the Transformers movies) directs in a gritty, cartoonish style, alternating Three Stooges-inspired slapstick with much less pleasant content. Wahlberg and Johnson admittedly give the film some welly, but the mix of comedy and violence makes for often uncomfortable viewing.