Posted on May 16, 2012 at 11:03 am
This week’s Most Valuable Performer is clearly Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, who stars in two big nationwide releases. In “Battleship,” she plays the hero’s plucky and supportive love interest and in “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” she is the movie’s high point and comic relief as the much-younger wife of a very competitive former NASCAR champion played by Dennis Quaid.
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:02 am
Two movies are opening this week, both with all-star powerhouse ensemble casts. “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a cheerful cozy of a film about English retirees living in India, based on the popular novel by Deborah Moggach originally titled “These Foolish Things
We also have “The Avengers,” which has already broken box office records overseas with a $178 million opening. The Avengers assembling include Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo takes over from Eric Bana and Edward Norton), Black Widow, and Hawkeye. Can this bunch of damaged loners take on the mighty villain Loki? I sure want to see it when they do! With Joss Whedon writing and directing, it is sure to be smart and innovative.
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:00 am
A sheltered Christian student finds himself at a notoriously free-thinking college, women learn to play the game of romance a man’s way, and a former Marine finds the woman whose photograph was his lucky talisman in this week’s feature films, all based on best-selling books. Also opening this week is DisneyNature’s latest “how do they get that footage?” documentary, the story of an orphaned chimp named Oscar.
The Lucky One
Stand-up comic and talk radio stat Steve Harvey is the author of the best-selling advice book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment
Donald Miller’s book Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
And Disney’s fourth Earth Day release is “Chimpanzee,” with a contribution going to Jane Goodall’s institute for every ticket bought this weekend.
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:57 pm
It’s nostalgia week for those who came of age in the late 90’s. James Cameron’s Oscar-winning and box office record-setting “Titanic,” originally released in 1997, will be back in theaters as we observe the 100th anniversary of the ship’s tragic collision and the loss of 1517 lives. And “American Pie,” a ground-breaking 1999 release, will be followed up this week with “American Reunion,” a fourth in the series of sexcapades involving Jim (Jason Biggs), his friends, and some dessert. What made the first one so original was not its sexual humor, though it did go further than previous teen sex farces like “Porky’s.” The real step forward was its treatment of the girls in the film. They were not the usual sex objects and bimbos of sex comedies. They were confident in themselves and their sexuality. The movie and its sequels wisely combine outrageous raunchy humor with a sweet and even monogamous heart. Poor Stifler (Seann William Scott) is the player who gets played and some of the characters get embarrassed but the movie comes down on the side of love.
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Three of the biggest movie comedy stars have movies opening this week. Jason Segal (“The Muppets”) stars in an indie from the “mumblecore” Duplass brothers (“The Puffy Chair”), about what happens when “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” goes, as movie heroes have always gone, on a quest. In this case, it is just a quest to buy some glue for his mom (Susan Sarandon) and he is accompanied by this brother (Ed Helms). Will Ferrell stars in the all-Spanish “Casa de Mi Padre,” an offbeat parody of telenovelas, which, let’s face it, are already pretty much parodies of themselves. And the big release of the week is “21 Jump Street” with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, a comedy update of the television series about undercover cops that made Johnny Depp a star.
