» Movies Catalog
| ||||||
 |
THE BUZZ: Sounds like a Sacha Baron Cohen concept to us, but really this is a comedy triangle formed by Sandler, his go-to director Dennis Dugan, and He Who Makes It Funny, Judd Apatow, who wrote Zohan with Sandler and Robert Smigel. As wafer-thin as the premise sounds, this first picture is working for us, as is the idea of a Mariah Carey sighting! (Serious.) Expect the comedy here to go from gross-out to soft-and-matured in three acts. | |||||
 |
Director: Sergei Bodrov Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Amadu Mamadakov, Khulan Chuluun Studio: Picturehouse Entertainment The Plot: Temudgin, a young Mongol boy, endures years of poverty and torment before forming one of the most powerful empires in human history; as Genghis Khan, the leader extends the Mongol Empire from East Asia to Central Europe -- creating a legacy that lasts for over 150 years. THE BUZZ: Naw, this isn't a rehash of Nomad, that strange, Jay Hernandez-starring confection Sergei Bodrov co-directed a couple years ago; Mongol is an entirely new curiosity. Already called out by watchdogs who aren't cool with Bodrov's revisionist take on Genghis Khan's rise to power, this is the first chapter of a planned trilogy -- though we imagine the financiers here will wait until the worldwide receipts are tallied before shelling out for a second installment, but if the release date change (December 2007 --> March 2008 --> August 2008) is any indication of investor confidence. Only an Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar win can help here ... | |||||
 |
Director: Mark Osborne John Stevenson Stars: Jack Black, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie Studio: DreamWorks Animation The Plot: Po (Black), a reluctant panda bear, is recruited by a team of Kung Fu masters and trained in the ways of the ancient martial art in order to protect the Valley of Peace from an evil snow leopard. THE BUZZ: Just when you thought it wasn't possible to out blitz Bee Movie's ad nauseam marketing crusade for an animated movie lacking green ogres, penguins or Pixar, this cuddly black-and-white slacker comes along and starts telling us to turn off our cell phones before every single movie! Okay, we get it, build awareness, create interest. But really, aren't pandas and kung fu pretty interesting on their own already? Still, gotta hand it to D'Works for booking another Stiller, er, stellar voiceover cast. Black's got skills for drawing in the JanSport set and Jolie can finally take Shiloh and Maddox to see mommy on the big screen. | |||||
| ||||||
 |
Director: Louis Leterrier Stars: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth Studio: Universal Pictures The Plot: Geneticist Bruce Banner (Norton) takes flight in order to understand -- and hopefully cure -- that the condition that turns him into a monster. Complicating his situation is the military initiative that wants him captured and controlled, as well as the arrival of a more-deadly nemesis: The Abomination. THE BUZZ: Edward Norton ascends to the role he almost nabbed the first time around. (Too bad about the new Betty Ross, though. Now she's like the old Rachel Dawes.) With Transporter director Louis Leterrier working off a screenplay by Zak Penn (he had a hand in the second and third X-Men installments), we're trusting that the action will be ratcheted way up (uhh, check!), without sacrificing too much characterization. Did you hear that the film's third act (we're not calling it a movie anymore) will include a 26-minute Hulk vs. Abomination fight sequence? Leterrier let's it rip here. | |||||
 |
Director: M. Night Shyamalan Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation The Plot: A family is on the run after natural disaster threatens the entire planet. THE BUZZ: If tinfoil hats shield people from the effects of electromagnetic fields, alien mind control and watching Lady in the Water, then Shyamalan fans have nothing to worry about here. 'Cause aside from the alleged troubles he faced trying to get this script off the ground, M. Night's bigger obstacle may be getting audiences to forget about those silly scants and snarfs. The trailer first look is online (for now at least) here. | |||||
| ||||||
 |
Director: Peter Segal Stars: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures The Plot: Maxwell Smart (Carrell), Agent 86 for CONTROL, battles the forces of KAOS with the more-competent Agent 99 (Hathaway) at his side. THE BUZZ: Hmmm... Mel Brooks and Buck Henry as reinterpreted by the guys who wrote Failure to Launch.... Where's KAOS when you really need them? Still, we give courageous snaps to the nice casting, but weren't Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 supposed to be romantic foils? Carell, handsome as he is, seems more suited to playing Hathaway's father than her boyfriend. We'll be watching Office reruns and the Devil Wears Prada DVD instead, thanks. | |||||
 |
Director: Marco Schnabel Stars: Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Romany Malco Studio: Paramount Pictures The Plot: Pitka (Meyers) an American raised outside of his country by gurus, returns to the States in order to break into the self-help business. His first challenge: To settle the romantic troubles and subsequent professional skid of a star hockey player (Malco) whose wife left him for a rival lover (Timberlake) before the NHL Stanley Cup. THE BUZZ: This level of character-based humor might expose Meyers as a player whose time has come and gone. And don't get us started on Guru's convoluted premise and the fact that the trailer doesn't take the time to let you know how Jessica Alba fits into the story. The only things that excite us here: (1) The presence of Weeds standout Romany Malco (even if he's styled like a Delirious-era Eddie Murphy) and (2) Justin Timberlake looking ready to steal scenes. | |||||
 |
Director: Patricia Rozema Stars: Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Joan Cusack Studio: New Line Cinema The Plot: Young Kit Kittredge (Breslin) looks to weigh in on the Great Depression by having the story she's written about the era published in Cincinnati's major newspaper. THE BUZZ: Ugh, a drama based on a popular line of dolls, set in the Great Depression?! Grapes of Bratz? | |||||
| ||||||
 |
Director: Andrew Stanton Stars: Ben Burtt, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures The Plot: A trash-compacting robot sets off on an adventure to discover the meaning of life. THE BUZZ: Number Five is alive and animated. According to legend, this film is the last of the leftover projects the Incredibles crew chewed over during an infamous lunch date back in 1994 that spawned several Oscars for Pixar and Disney. Now the 'toon twosome are poised for another box office return that's out of this world (and hopefully still doing lunch together). | |||||
 |
Director: Timur Bekmambetov Stars: Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie Studio: Universal Pictures The Plot: When Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) discovers his recently murdered father was an elite assassin, the young man is recruited into his father's old organization and trained by a man named Sloan (Freeman) to follow in his dad's footsteps. THE BUZZ: Timur Bekmambetov's English-language debut is similar in theme to his criminally mismarketed Night Watch, except Wanted is spun off from a pottymouthed comic serial darker in nature than V for Vendetta and Sin City combined. | |||||
