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The DVDs releasing Tuesday include “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Strangers”. Looks like it’s a week full of action and scares.

“The Incredible Hulk” releases Tuesday on DVD

The Incredible Hulk

Edward Norton and Liv Tyler star in this remake of the comic book classic, “The Incredible Hulk”. Unfortunately it’s only 5 years after that other remake that bombed, so no matter how good this new one is we all still have the bad taste of Eric Bana as the Hulk in our mouth. But apparently we should overlook the 2003 version and give the Ed Norton one a chance. The critics and comic book fans seemed to like it,

“In the end, The Incredible Hulk is exactly what it should be: An all-out action romp that resets the comic book icon’s big screen continuity and paves the way for future installments (both in the Hulk franchise, as well as in that of the Avengers) in the newly unified Marvel movie universe.”

The Strangers

Two Liv Tyler movies in one week! But this one is sure to make you jump off the couch at least once or twice. “The Strangers” is a film about a couple who stays at a cute bed-and-breakfast after a friend’s wedding, but it turns out to be anything but cute when they get some unexpected visitors. These three uninvited strangers make life a living hell for Tyler and Scott Speedman, but it makes for a great horror flick. The New York Times says,

“[The Strangers is] raising the stakes with a bloody preview of the ending before flashing back to the horrors that precede it. But this is no splatter movie: spare, suspenseful and brilliantly invested in silence, Bryan Bertino’s debut feature unfolds in a slow crescendo of intimidation….”

Flight of the Red Balloon

“Flight of the Red Balloon” is a French film about Paris life starring Juliette Binoche. The movie is based on a children’s book by Albert Lamorisse, but the movie takes a much more serious tone than the book that inspired it, focusing not on the boy and his balloon, but the boy, his mother, and his new nanny. The director makes a beautiful movie out of this story about a struggling family,

All the sounds and movements of the characters co-mingle, interact, climax, and then gently descend: You won’t see anything as rapturous as this in any film this year.

See the trailers for the movies below.

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The long-running film critic show, “At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper”, has come to an end. Roger Ebert has announced his departure, an announcement that comes only shortly after Richard Roeper’s own statement that he won’t be involved in the show.

Ebert and Roeper

Roger Ebert made the announcement on his website today, stating in part,

“After 33 years on the air, 23 of them with Disney, the studio has decided to take the program named ‘Siskel & Ebert’ and then ‘Ebert & Roeper’ in a new direction. I will no longer be associated with it. The show was a wonderful experience…. We made television history, and established the trademarked catch-phrase ‘Two thumbs up.’ The trademark still belongs to me and Marlene Iglitzen, Gene’s widow, and the thumbs will return. We are discussing possibilities, and plan to continue the show’s tradition.”

The statement from Ebert, and an earlier statement from Roeper, come after news of changes to the show’s format began circulating.

The exit of both big name critics has led some to wonder about the relevance of professional critics in this day and age. With all those bloggers out there and other amateurs, it’s getting harder to keep professionals on the payroll. I think I agree - was anyone watching “At the Movies” anymore?

See more photos of Ebert and Roeper and a video of the film critics below.

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“The Dark Knight” was released Friday, July 18, and people were lined up for blocks to get in to see it. And the money came pouring in. It’s as if the Joker was forshadowing his own success when he stacked up millions of dollars in pyramid form. The midnight shows alone brought in $18.5 million. When added to the rest of the day’s totals, Batman made $66.4 million on opening day. This amount broke the previous record of $59.8 million held by “Spider-Man 3″.

Batman is “The Dark Knight”

And yes, it was worth every penny. I saw the new Batman movie last night, and loved it. Sure there was a lot of hype going in, particularly owing to the Heath Ledger back story. But it lived up to it.

I would recommend watching “Batman Begins” again before going to the theater, though. I spent a good 15 minutes saying to myself, “how did the last one end, again?” But I got over it, and fell right into the new story.

As I’m sure you’ve heard before, Heath Ledger truly is the best part of the movie. He’s 100% believable as the Joker, and funny! Although he’s crazy as hell, you kind of get what he’s saying, and he’s totally light-hearted about it and yet simultaneously dark. A hard character to pull off, Ledger does it well.

As for the rest of the cast, Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart hold up their end of the bargain. They’re righteousness isn’t even annoying - people really are good deep down! But as much as I love Maggie Gyllenhaal, her Rachel Dawes was just okay - I think she watched “Batman Begins” too many times and became a mimic of Katie Holmes. I know the character is the same, but make it your own, Maggie.

Over all, a great movie. I completely forgot about standing in line for 45 minutes while the movie started 40 minutes late. (New movie theater - apparently they’re still trying to figure things out. Unfortunately, there was no comment card.)

See more photos from “The Dark Knight” and the trailer below.

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Heath Ledger was brought to Hollywood with the expectation that the Aussie would be a heartthrob that could play the lead in light, formulaic, bubblegum, moneymaking vehicles. If the studios had their way, Ledger would play in a variation of 10 Things I Hate About You twice a year until he became too old and no one would take him seriously. However, Ledger’s talent and desire to be a great actor shattered Hollywood’s moneymaking schemes. He was on the verge of blazing a fantastic fiery trail, but like many before him, his star burned out much too soon.

Ledger gave one of the most memorable performances I have ever seen as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain (2005). He is also set to leave us with one last performance for the ages as the Joker in this summer’s The Dark Knight. After his passing, I was interested in watching his 2006 role as a heroin addict opposite Abbie Cornish in Candy. Candy is a story of two young artists who yield their love to the powerful hold of their heroin addiction. However, unlike most films about addiction, Ledger and Cornish were able to deliver their roles with a tragic beauty rather than a depressing sadness. Ledger described the movie as a love triangle between his character, Cornish’s, and lady heroin.

Although I am saddened by Ledger’s death, I look forward to what I expect to be a one-of-a-kind performance that will blow us all away this summer. Of course, there is another famous actor who once played the Joker, and he was not supportive of Ledger in this role.

In an interview with MTV, Jack Nicholson expressed his frustration:

I’m furious. I’m furious. They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me. . . . Maybe it’s not a mistake. Maybe it was the right thing, but to be candid, I’m furious. . . . [T]he Joker comes from my childhood. That’s how I got involved with it in the first place. It’s a part I always thought I should play.

Well Mr. Nicholson, I would like to go out on a limb and predict that Heath Ledger will be nominated for a much deserved Oscar for supporting actor as the Joker. Although Jack’s performance was very good, I think Ledger’s interpretation of the Joker will make Nicholson pale in comparison.

In an excellent interview with The New York Times, Ledger discussed his trouble sleeping and his use of sleeping pills. Of course, it is easy to speculate, but I would rather leave with this quote from that same interview:

But there are many stories inside of me and a lot I want to achieve outside of one flat note.

No one will ever accuse Ledger for being flat, and I look forward to see him tell the Joker’s story. He was an exceptional talent and a decent human being by all accounts. Whatever happened, and however it happened, I hope that he rests in peace.

Click below to watch a fantastic interview of Heath Ledger on Charlie Rose talking about “stillness,” his appearance on Ellen, and the trailers to Candy and this summer’s The Dark Knight.

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So I went and saw “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” last night, along with a million other people. And although I walked in with low expectations (because seriously, how many movies can Judd Apatow make that are hysterical), I loved it. Surprisingly, though, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” did not bring in as much money as the Jackie Chan-Jet Li flick, “The Forbidden Kingdom”.

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

The movie stars Kristen Bell as the sexy actress Sarah Marshall. After she breaks up with her boyfriend Peter (played by Jason Segel, who also wrote the movie), he flies to Hawaii to get away for awhile. Unfortunately, Sarah is also there, at the same resort, with her new boyfriend, a famous rockstar. Mila Kunis plays a girl who works at the resort, and aside from the way-too-tan look (just because you live in Hawaii, doesn’t mean you need to have a super tan), she does a great job.

Segel plays the role of the kinda nerdy, kinda funny, sweet boyfriend guy, and he does it well. He’s even comfortable with full frontal nudity. Prepare yourself for the shock. The thing about it is they threw in the penis shot for the shock-value, and while it achieved that goal, it didn’t add anything to the movie. Actually, it took away from the comedy of the scene a little. Instead of listening to Segel’s jokes, I’m staring at his, well, you know.

If I had any gripes about the movie, there might be two. One, as mentioned above, there was some gratuitous raunchiness. Sometimes raunchy is funny, and sometimes it’s just raunchy. The line is thin, and Segel crosses it once it or twice. The other is Jonah Hill. In “Superbad”, hilarious. In “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, not so much. He was just a little too whiny and clingy to the rock star. I laughed a couple times, sure. But mostly his scenes were my least favorite.

So, overall, worth seeing. It’s even worth seeing in the theater. You’ll laugh, and there’s even a sweet love story mixed in there. Grab some popcorn, fill up the soda, and cozy up for one of my favorite comedies of the year so far.

See more photos from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and the trailer below.

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Throughout his career, Daniel Day-Lewis has delivered some of the most memorable, brilliant, and unique performances in recent cinematic history.

At the age of 32 in My Left Foot (1989), Daniel Day-Lewis won his first Oscar for playing the true story of Christie Brown – a quadriplegic who becomes an accomplished artist and writer all by using his lone functional limb. In 1992, Lewis played in The Last of the Mohicans as an adopted orphan reared by Mohawks. In 2002, Lewis received another Oscar nomination for playing Bill “The Butcher” Cutting in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. While I did enjoy Gangs, everything else in the movie played a distant second to Lewis’ performance as The Butcher. Of course, then there was his universal praise in 2007 for playing Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.

Lewis takes all of his roles very seriously and on the screen you can tell that he gives himself completely to the roles he chooses. When he accepted his Oscar for There Will Be Blood, he referred to his wife as “Mrs. Plainview.” Of course, unlike many of his successful peers, Lewis is very patient with the roles he chooses and only averages a film once every 15 to 24 months. Between 1992 and 2007, Lewis has played in exactly 8 films. One of those films was in 1997 where Lewis played another Danny in The Boxer. In the film, Danny Flynn is a hometown favorite who is released from prison after 14 years for some IRA related activities that he had little or nothing to do with. He comes home to a town that is sick of fighting and a group of local strongmen that do not appreciate Danny’s desire to live a life of peace. Overall, the film was good and Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance was solid, however, this one falls short compared to the amazing roles with which he has spoiled us. For now, Daniel Day-Lewis is not slated for any new films, but I am sure that once he comes out of his typical hiatus, he will move us with another unforgettable performance.

Click here to see an interview with Daniel Day-Lewis on the Arsenio Hall Show and SNL’s Bill Hader in “There Will Be Milkshakes for Old Men.”

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In the second season of one of my favorite shows when I was in high school, Picket Fences , a new D.A. was elected to the small town of Rome, Wisconsin. Don Cheadle played in 35 episodes as D.A. John Littleton, and he immediately drew me in as a very likeable and warm character.

In a time when TV was still a distant second to the silver screen, Cheadle made a smooth transition and has played memorable roles ever since. He played an undercover agent in the Oscar winning Traffic (2000), he was hilarious as an explosives expert with a Cockney accent in Ocean’s Eleven (2001), he was part of another ensemble Oscar winning picture in Crash (2004), he was nominated for an Oscar in the awe shocking Hotel Rwanda (2004), and he played in a movie that was both sweet and sad with Adam Sandler in Reign Over Me (2007).

In 1999, Cheadle played in a lesser known made-for-TV movie, A Lesson Before Dying. Set in the deep South in the 1940s, an African American (played by Mekhi Phifer) is wrongly accused with murder, and his attorney’s only defense to keep him from being sentenced to death is that the black man’s worth is that of a hog and it would be absurd to put a hog on the electric chair. Don Cheadle plays a teacher who helps the young man find his dignity so that he can walk as a man before his life is meaninglessly ended.

This movie was subtly powerful and tragically beautiful. Yes, it was made-for-TV, but it won numerous awards including an Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. After watching A Lesson I realized two things about Don Cheadle. One, he is very good working with others and he does not need the spotlight. Ensemble movies typically do not work because there is not enough room for all the stars to shine, but Don Cheadle consistently plays in amazing ensemble movies. Second, his characters are always very warm, endearing, and comforting, and if I were behind bars and on death row, I know who I would want my teacher to be.

I think it would be wrong to write about Don Cheadle and not mention his tireless humanitarian work to stop the genocide in Darfur. Here are links to www.1800genocide.com and a CNN article about his efforts.

Click below to see a trailer for Cheadle’s documentary Darfur Now and to view an interview with him regarding Darfur and the 1800Genocide.com organization.

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In 1987, Steven Spielberg began filming an adaptation to J.G. Ballard’s autobiographical account as the young English son of a diplomat and his fight for survival when Japan occupies China during World War II. It was the first American movie shot in China since the 1930s. Spielberg had to choose among 4000 kids to play the leading role of Jamie Graham. The movie was Empire of the Sun, and the actor Spielberg chose to star in his epic movie was a thirteen-year old by the name of Christian Bale.

Bale has grown up since Empire, and the kid handpicked by Spielberg has matured into one of our generation’s finest and most daring actors. In 2000, Bale gave an unforgettable performance as Patrick Bateman in the cult classic, American Psycho. He lost almost 70 lbs to play a neurotic Trevor Reznik in The Machinist (2004). He brought back the Dark Knight with some serious attitude in Batman Begins (2005), transformed himself into a U.S. fighter pilot shot down and captured in Laos in Rescue Dawn (2007), gave what I thought was one of the finest and most underrated performances of the year in 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and took a chance playing one of the many Bob Dylan inspired characters in I’m Not There (2007) to round out the year.

His complete and sometimes frightening devotion to the characters he plays force you to pay attention to his every move and mannerism. Bale’s performances are typically accomplishments of total mind and body. As seen below, it is obvious that Bale has an extraordinary physique and astonishing discipline. When you watch him on the screen, you get the feeling that he exists through these characters, and his performance is a matter of survival. If anything, you could say that Bale is at times too serious. There is definitely an element of humor missing when I compare Christian Bale to some of my favorite actors. However, I admire and enjoy his performances because he never fails to entertain.

Christian Bale’s performance in Empire of the Sun is nothing short of amazing for an actor of any age. But again, this is a 13 year old playing the lead role in a Steven Spielberg epic. Throughout the film, Bale has to mature from a spoiled rich brat into a street smart, admirable, courageous boy who is more capable and resilient than any of the grownups around him. In the hands of a less-than-great actor this would be an impossible task, but you never doubt this transformation for a second. Steven Spielberg may be the greatest director of all time, but his ability to pick this tremendous talent out of 4000 children is just another sign of his dedication to great filmmaking and his genius. In the case of Spielberg and Bale, I guess it just takes one to know one.

Click below for a look at the trailers for Empire of the Sun, The Machinist, The Dark Knight, and an interview on the Today Show.

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