Right Cinema

The DVDs releasing this week include “Vantage Point”, “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns”, and “Drillbit Taylor”. It looks like a little bit of action, a little bit of love, and a little bit of laughs.

“Vantage Point” Releases on DVD July 1

Vantage Point

When the President of the United States is shot while giving a speech at an international location, it’s up to the people in the crowd and a couple secret service agents to put the pieces together and figure out what exactly went wrong. The movie stars Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, and Sigourney Weaver, but even with a strong cast like that, the critics say they can’t carry a weak script. Even the good reviews have comments like, “To fall for Vantage Point you have to throw away any connection to reality” and “watchably silly”.

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns

When Angela Bassett’s character loses her job in inner city Chicago, she’s almost at wit’s end with how to make ends meet. But then she receives word that a father she has never met has passed away, and the single mother of three decides to take her kids to Georgia for the funeral and see what kind of help she can find. In the process of getting her feet back on the ground, she finds friends, family and even love. Critics give this one a C.

Drillbit Taylor

Another film in a long line of Judd Apatow scripts, “Drillbit Taylor” stars Owen Wilson as a pre-teen bodyguard. When three boys start high school as freshman, they’re small size makes them perfect targets for the school bullies. So they take matters into their own hands and hire a bodyguard, who teaches them how to stick up for themselves. But again the movie is not all it’s cracked up to be. Wilson is said to be phoning it in this time around and the bullies are just a little too dark for how lighthearted the film is supposed to be.

See the trailers for the movies below.

Videos

It’s time for summer blockbusters, and the movies releasing Friday fit the bill. It’s time for some family fun with the long-awaited Pixar film, “WALL-E”, and some hot action with Angelina Jolie’s latest, “Wanted”.

“Wanted” Releases June 27

Wanted

Curving bullets. Assassins. And the return of Morgan Freeman. Oh, and one fine-looking Angelina Jolie. The folks in “Wanted” are a fraternity of assassins who recruit James McAvoy. Though the plot and the focus of the movie appear somewhat lacking, the action looks bad ass. The only question is, will it be enough to carry the script?

The plot: After Wes’ father is murdered, the Fraternity recruit him to avenge his death and become a trained assassin. Kill one, save thousands. But there might be more to this group of assassins than meets the eye.

WALL-E

In the most anticipated animated movie of the year, we find Short Circuit look-alike Wall-E alone on planet Earth, left to clean it up. But love blossoms when a spaceship, carrying Eve, lands at Wall-E’s landfill. And while reviewers say that there’s really only 45 good minutes in the one and a half hour movie, they also say that’s a damn good 45-minute stretch. As Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle writes,

Philosophically and emotionally, this is probably the most profound animated film ever made or attempted. … For as long as it stays on Earth, “WALL-E” is a great film, and on its way to being one of the masterpieces of the decade. But then it leaves Earth, and, once it does, it goes into pedestrian territory.

See the trailers for the movies below.

Videos

Another week, another DVD release. The DVDs releasing this week bring you action, adventure, and fun for all ages. We’ve got “The Spiderwick Chronicles”, “10,000 B.C.”, “Definitely, Maybe”, “Persepolis”, and “Charlie Bartlett”.

“Definitely, Maybe” Releases On DVD June 24

Definitely, Maybe

Have you had a bad Monday? Do you really need a feel good movie you can curl up to with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s? Then “Definitely, Maybe” is the DVD pick for you this week. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, and Elizabeth Banks, the story is about a little girl dealing with her parents divorce. She’s worried about her dad, and in the midst of the unpacking, she convinces her dad to tell her the story of how her parents got together. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll enjoy Ryan Reynolds.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

In the family film department this week, we’ve got “The Spiderwick Chronicles”. Starring Freddie Highmore (previously seen in “August Rush”), the story is about a boy who finds a mysterious book that opens the doors to an unseen world. While it appears beautiful at first glance, soon the ugly ogre rears his head, and the boy and his family must figure out how to get their world back to normal. The critics mostly love it, saying it’s fun for both kids and adults, and let’s face it, those are the best movies.

10,000 B.C.

I actually watched “10,000 B.C.” in the theater … on opening night. Don’t ask me how it happened, it just did. But interesting fellow movie-goers aside, the movie actually wasn’t all bad. It’s a strong story of love, courage, and fulfilling your destiny. After a band of horse-riding vandals ransack D’Leh’s village and kidnap his love, he must lead the few strong survivors into battle to regain the love of his life (played by Camilla Belle) and restore peace to his village. And, yes, there’s some pretty good special effects.

Persepolis

A favorite in the foreign film and animated film categories at the Oscars, as well as Toronto, Telluride and Sundance, “Persepolis” is the story of a young girl living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. When the main character, Marji, begins to speak out against the new tyranny of the Islamic fundamentalists, her parents send her to study in Vienna and stay out of trouble. Feeling like she doesn’t belong in either location, Marji must find her true identity in unfamiliar territory.

Charlie Bartlett

In the comedy department this week, we have “Charlie Bartlett”, a story about a high school student struggling to make the transition from private school to public school. But he finds his calling as the high school shrink, who happens to get some meds prescribed by his own psychiatrist. He sets up shop in the boys’ bathroom, and the students line up the dozen to get Charlie Bartlett’s advice. Rated overall as a B-, you’re sure to get a few laughs out of this film.

See the trailers for the movies below.

Videos

Hollywood studios have chosen two of the “biggest” comedies of the summer season to go up against one another on the same weekend. Which film will end out on top of box office ticket sales by end of the weekend?

First off, we have the Steve Carell vehicle, Get Smart, which is a remake of a 1960s sitcom created by the legendary Mel Brooks. The story is a play on a familiar scenario: A clumsy, not-so-quick-on-the-draw funny guy somehow becomes a secret agent and stumbles and bumbles his way to saving the world. In 1965, this may have been a novel concept, but we’ve seen some version of this a million times by now. Fortunately, Steve Carell is very funny and Anne Hathaway always seems to deliver a better than expected performance. Because Carell has generated enough good will with me and I tend to enjoy Anne Hathaway, I’ll probably pony up for the tickets, soda, and popcorn prices that would cover a tank of gas.

Next, we have Austin Powers, I mean Mike Myers, in The Love Guru. This movie can go one of two ways. It could be a genuinely funny Mike Myers creation that would remind us of the unique humor from his previous masterpieces, while not copying his past work. Or . . . it could end up being a tired photocopy of a photocopy and just a means for Paramount to turn a quick buck by following a formula that worked a coupled of times back in the 1990’s. In that sense, it might seem like watching VH-1 I Love 1998. It is not old enough to be a missed classic and at the same time the expiration date has run on its freshness.

There are two further elements worth mention regarding The Love Guru. One is that it has Justin Timberlake.

Timberlake is talented and fully commits to whatever he takes on. Plus, he does not need to do a stupid movie, like Lindsay Lohan, because he has a ridiculously successful career, unlike Lindsay Lohan. I like Justin Timberlake, and he may help sway me to watch this film or at least rent it some time in the near future.

On the other hand, The Love Guru also has one of the least talented actresses my eyes have ever gazed upon (even worse than Lohan who at least has an addiction excuse).

In fact, I believe society as a whole is less fortunate because studios keep putting Jessica Alba in movies. Seriously, Jessica Alba is one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. She seems nice and sweet. However, the girl could not act her way out of a paper bag and I have never seen a Jessica Alba movie that I liked or that I thought would be possible to like even after 5 wine coolers. Of course, there are those who may disagree. When I recently visited one of the more popular movie sites, I was enlightened by this comment (typos included) from Austin567:

“jessa abla if u are reading this leader u are my favorite actor in the intire WORLD and u are so cute”

Really Austin567? Really? If u are reading this Austin567, you are a silly, misguided fool. I bet you there are at least 566 Austins out there that are much cooler and a better judge of talent, a better judge of human beings, and a better judge of anything living. But that’s, just like, my opinion.

Okay, forget everything I just said. I watched both trailers and I actually think they will both be funny. Maybe Austin567 will be down for a double feature.

Click below to watch the trailers and judge for yourself:

Videos

It’s almost Tuesday again - time to update that Netflix queue with these new titles. With the DVDs releasing this week, I hope you’re ready to laugh, because it’s pretty much nothing but comedy. This week, we’ve got “Fool’s Gold”, “Be Kind Rewind”, and “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins”.

“Fool’s Gold” Releases This Week

Fool’s Gold

With the smokin’ chemistry between Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, “Fool’s Gold” brings the laughs the way a romantic comedy should. McCounaughey plays a treasure salving machine who is on a mission to find the Queen’s Dowry from the 18th Century. Hudson is his wife, who is just about to divorce him when they come upon a clue that might really bring the treasure to life. With lots of laughs and adventure, this movie is a pretty good rental pick this week.

Be Kind Rewind

Jack Black and Mos Def star in this comedy about two guys who work at a video store. After Jack accidentally erases all the videotapes, they come up with a way to save the store - recreate the movies themselves and rent the remakes. But when viewers start to like the remakes more than the originals, Jack and Mos Def become famous. And most people are liking the movie, calling it “corny, cool, and beautiful” with “the most touching ending of Gondry’s films”.

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

In Martin Lawrence’s latest movie, the comedian stars as America’s favorite talk show host living the good life. But when Roscoe has returns home for his parents’ 50th Anniversary celebration, it’s a bit of a culture shock from the high-profile, pampered celebrity life he’s used to living. Growing up, Roscoe was the awkward kid who got picked on all the time, and celebrity or not, that’s the way his family remembers him.

See the trailers for these DVDs below.

Videos

I hope you weren’t looking to get caught up in a good drama or suspense movie this weekend because the new movies releasing this week are nothing but laughs. This Friday “Kung Fu Panda” and “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” come out in theaters.

“Kung Fu Panda” Releases Friday

Kung Fu Panda

A star-studded cast of celebrities provide the voiceovers for this family-friendly animated comedy. Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu - the list goes on and on. This sounds like the highest paid cast of an animated movie that there’s been in awhile.

But will the turnout live up to the payday? So far it sounds like it. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 88% after the critics weighed in. The reviews go a little like this:

• “simple and lighthearted”

• “my favorite film of the year so far”

• “A Jenny Craig wet dream”

• “funny, unpretentious, more than bear-able crowd-pleaser”

• “solid family film material”

You Don’t Mess With The Zohan

Adam Sandler’s latest movie brings a little lightheartedness to the war on terror. Sandler plays Zohan, and Israeli specialist who really just wants to do ladies’ hair. He moves to New York to pursue that dream, but when Palestinian terrorist Rob Schneider comes calling, things get messy … and funny. Well, it’s supposed to be funny, but it appears that the movie may have missed the mark. Instead “Zohan” is full of vulgarity and gay jokes, gimmicks that lost their luster long ago. But you might get a laugh or two out of it, and with only one other competitor this weekend, it will probably bring in the cash.

See the movie trailers below.

Videos

In theaters this Friday, Adam Sandler brings his brand of wacky comedy to the big screens with his latest movie, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”. You can see the preview here.

Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”

“Knocked Up” and “Superbad” genius Judd Apatow helped out with the screenplay of “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”, in addition to Robert Smigel of “TV Funhouse”. Which means this movie is sure to be full of laughs, even if some scenes are a little dumber than others. In the film, Sandler is Zohan, the anti-terrorism specialist who secretly wants to do women’s hair in New York City. But when Palestinian terrorist Rob Schneider hits the scene to take out Zohan, things get messy.

Unfortunately, not everyone loves “Zohan” - it’s about 50-50 with the critics. But if vulgar is your thing, this movie might be just what you’re looking for on Friday.

See more photos of Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” and the movie trailer below.

Photos and Video

Whenever there’s a top secret double-agent spy action hero, he drives a manly car. He drives KIT. He drives a Ferrari. He drives an Audi. He drives a Bat Mobile. He drives a … a Vespa? If you’re Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”, that’s right. Agent Smart drives a Vespa.

Agent Smart Rides a Vespa

Steve Carrell stars as Agent Maxwell Smart in the upcoming comedy, “Get Smart”, opposite Anne Hathaway, which premieres June 20, 2008. But in spoof comedy fashion, this action hero doesn’t drive just any old vehicle - he’s rockin’ the Vespa.

Vespa has been a part of “Get Smart” since it was a television show in the 1960s. In fact, the Alpha-Wallis Vespa was developed specifically for Maxwell Smart, which could fly and scope things out under water.

To promote both the movie and the scooter company, they have paired with Subway in an instant-win sweepstakes. Ten free Vespas will be given away as grand prizes. So go get your 5, 5-dollar, 5-dollar footlooooong, and maybe you’ll get a Vespa while you’re there.

See more photos from the “Get Smart” movie and the trailer below.

Photos and Video

The weekend movie releases are getting better every Friday - you can tell we’re getting close to the summer blockbuster season. As the movies get bigger, the previews get more prevalent and constant. That’s how you know that the movies releasing tomorrow are “Speed Racer” and “What Happens In Vegas”.

Speed Racer Releases Tomorrow

Speed Racer

For as many big names are in this family-friendly action movie, including Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, and Emile Hirsch, I just don’t see “Speed Racer” being the big box office hit the commercials are making it out to be. Then I saw a preview promoting the movie as the perfect Mother’s Day movie. No way! This is a kid’s birthday movie, romantic comedies (or anything but “Speed Racer”) are Mother’s Day movies.

I’m sure there’s a plot in there somewhere - young race car driver uncovers an evil plot and saves the day to save the family racing business. It’s really about the visual stimulation with this one. Have you seen those neon lights - you might need sunglasses.

What Happens In Vegas

Now, this movie looks great - funny and cute, the way a romantic comedy is supposed to be. Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher star in this film about two crazy kids who go to Vegas, get hammered, get married, win millions from a slot machine, and then fight over the money. The trick is that whoever bails on the marriage loses the money, so there’s a lot of antics. And yes, hilarity ensues. But, just as you’d expect, it appears that the plot is predictable and characters one-noted.

See the trailers for “Speed Racer” and “What Happens In Vegas” below.

Videos

A couple years ago a friend of mine recommended that I watch episodes of Arrested Development. I was immediately hooked and Arrested Development became one of my favorite sitcoms in the past five years. For those who may be unfamiliar, the show included some extremely funny actors like Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, David Cross, and Jeffrey Tamboor, to name a few. However, since the show has ended, no one’s career has taken off more than Michael Cera’s, and deservedly so.

What’s ironic though is that Michael Cera never really stood out to me when watching the show. He played the awkward, timid, sexually confused adolescent extremely well, but his humor never jumped out at you. Since then, I have come to learn that Cera does not steal scenes with his brand of comedy, but rather he heightens his scenes with a subtle realism that makes you feel as if his character is perpetually trapped in awkward moments like ones you have squirmed through from time to time when you were growing up.

After Arrested Development, Cera’s career has flourished in movies like Superbad and Juno. However, a look at his filmography and you will notice that he has been acting since he was about 10 years old in the late 90’s.

With Juno and Super Bad both doing well with critics and in the box office, Cera has arrived and hopefully the best is yet to come. Cera is also known for making a lot of short skits distributed on the world wide web. So I scoured the internet to find some of Cera’s finer moments. Click below to watch some of these hilarious clips.

Videos

Just two movies coming out this weekend, but they’re both getting a lot of airtime as far as previews go. If you didn’t know that “Iron Man” and “Made of Honor” were the movies releasing tomorrow, I’m not sure what you were doing for the past few weeks. It’s like no matter where I look, there’s Robert Downey, Jr. and Patrick Dempsey, shilling their films.

“Iron Man” Releases Tomorrow

Iron Man

The latest in comic-book movies finds Robert Downey, Jr. creating a one-man army whose uniform gets better and better as the film goes on. By the third or fourth version he’s flying through the sky. The suit begins as a way to escape captivity, but evolves into a crime-fighting machine.

In “Iron Man”, Downey plays businessman Tony Stark who makes his money selling ideas to the military industry. Of creating the character, Stan Lee said, “I’m gonna make him the kind of guy that normally young people hate.” The comic book was set in the 1963, when America was at war with Vietnam and Communism, and Stark was the proud capitalist businessman who moonlighted as Iron Man. For a great political commentary of the whole idea of capitalist as hero, check out this Slate article. I never read the comic books, so it makes me want to see how bad Tony Stark really is.

Made of Honor

Romantic comedies follow one of three plotlines: (1) crazy love triangle, (2) boy and girl fall madly in love, but must be separated for one reason or another before finding each other again, and (3) friends become lovers. Typically, in the third variety, one friend realizes he loves the other just one minute too late, and the other friend has already moved on, giving up on her life-long dreams of romance with the first friend in the minute just before. And that’s what we seem to have here with “Made of Honor”. While I like the cast (Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan), the plot seems like a poor twist on the old friends become lovers story. And the critics agree. With a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems that movie was almost universally panned. But I’m sure Dempsey still makes for good eye candy for an hour and a half.

See the trailers for “Iron Man” and “Made of Honor” below.

Videos

In “What Happens in Vegas” Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher play a pair of Vegas-goers that get drunk and married. When they win big at the casino, no one’s getting divorced any time soon - there’s too much money at stake. But when Ashton and Cameron were filming those drunk scenes, were they really drunk?

What Happens In Vegas

That’s what one YouTube poster would have you believe, judging by the title of the clip. In the scene, we see Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher at the altar of a Vegas chapel, stumbling all over each other, sipping cocktails, and slurring their vows. But what makes that genuine drunkenness? I’m saying it’s acting - it would be hard to remember your lines if you were really that inebriated.

The weirdest is part of the clip is the two making out in the back the whole time. They had to keep that up for awhile.

See the drunk scene from “What Happens in Vegas” and the movie trailer below.

Videos

In the new dark comedy “I Love You Phillip Morris”, Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey star as two men who fall in love in prison. The movie follows Jim Carrey as his character, a con artist and escape artist, busts out of jail to be with Ewan McGregor’s character.

I Love You Phillip Morris

So how would two seasoned actors like Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey prepare for the roles of prison lovers? Apparently by trolling the gay bars in South Beach, namely Halo.

The story of “I Love Phillip Morris” is a true tale about cell mates in a Texas prison. For his part, Ewan calls it “an incredible story.” Also joining the cast is funny girl Leslie Mann (”Knocked Up”, “40 Year Old Virgin”). I’m looking forward seeing Carrey’s repeated escape attempts and McGregor’s efforts to help - sounds funny to me.

See more photos of Ewan McGregor, Jim Carrey, and Leslie Mann and a clip of Hollyscoop talking about “I Love You Phillip Morris” below.

Photos and Video

Finally! Solid comedies coming out this weekend. Not that “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” wasn’t funny, I just didn’t think it was going to be at the time, so my excitement level was pretty low. But the movies coming out this weekend? We’ve got “Baby Mama” and “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”, both sure to draw laughs (I mean, Tina Fey was named MSNBC’s “funniest person”), and in the thrills department we’ve got “Deception”.

“Baby Mama” Releases Tomorrow

Baby Mama

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler star in this comedy about a 37-year-old woman who hires a surrogate mother so that she can have a baby, since the baby doctor doesn’t like Fey’s uterus. Happens, I guess. But when the surrogate ends up homeless, she moves in with Fey, and the fun begins. There’s also some others in this great cast that add to the fun: Conrad from “Weeds” (who doesn’t love him, his real name is Romany Malco), Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, Steve Martin, and Maura Tierney. Oh, and Dax Shepard, but I’m not making the call whether that adds anything to the movie or not. With the funniest person of the moment in Tina Fey, it’s got to be good comedy.

Deception

Oh, do I love me some Hugh Jackman. “Deception” also stars Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams, who play in this suspense-filled thriller about a sex ring gone wrong. When Michelle Williams goes missing and police come knocking on McGregor’s door, suddenly Jackman is no where to be found and McGregor’s on the hook. It’s even more complicated because McGregor was starting to fall for the mystery girl. And the critics make it even more exciting, with one noting,

The plot comes together in Madrid in a whirl of multimillion-dollar swindles and gunplay, and for all its contrived surprises, it has the feel of a well-designed mousetrap snapping shut.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

What can you say about this one? It’s round 2 of Harold and Kumar. This one begins as Harold and Kumar leave White Castle and discover that Harold’s dream girl, Maria, is leaving for Amsterdam. So the two decide to follow her. Unfortunately for Kumar, in this post-9/11 world, he is mistaken for a terrorist, the plane is diverted, and they’re sent to Guantanamo Bay. Let the hilarity ensue. And yes, Neil Patrick Harris is back with another obligatory cameo. Unfortunately, it appears that it looks a lot like the first time, and as one reviewer put it, “Chasing freedom’s not as funny as chasing fast food.”

See the trailers for the movies releasing tomorrow below.

Videos

So it’s finally here, the over promoted, overrated, and regurgitated “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” The other movies joining Ms. Marshall as new releases this Friday are “88 Minutes” and “Forbidden Kingdom.”

88 Minutes

“88 Minutes”

Al Pacino is back as a college professor who is also a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI. This background comes in handy when he gets a death threat by phone giving him 88 minutes to live. Dun dun. Who is the caller? And how is Ryan from the O.C. going to help? Maybe he’ll attack the assailant with his surf board.

“Forbidden Kingdom”

Jackie Chan and Jet Li team up for the first time. Then I’m assuming there’s going to be a lot of kicking, punching, and apparently, a Monkey King. The Monkey King is a legendary Chinese relic and all hell breaks loose when it needs freed. Everyone was kung fu fighting - Eeyah!

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

Ever felt like you’ve seen a movie, beginning to end, and it’s not even out yet? That’s how I feel about this movie. I’m thinking rental. If you’ve seen one 40-year-old Super Knocked Up Drillbit, you’ve seen them all.

See the trailers for the movies below.

Videos