Knight and Day

Tom Cruise is back on the big screen this weekend with a new action-thriller-comedy and it is good. Cameron Diaz stars a June who accidentally bumps in to Roy Miller, a rogue secret agent, on the run from the government and June's life becomes very complicated very fast with her only hope of surviving in the hands of Roy. The chemistry and comedic timing between Cruise and Diaz is spot on and makes for a very fun and funny film. As in any Cruise action film, there is no skimping on the special effects and the acrobatic fight and flight sequences. There are other big name films out there right now and Cruise is not the name draw that he use to be but you should check out this movie because you will have an entertaining night out at the movies when all is said and done.

Click here to check out the official website.

Grown Ups

Unlike the abysmal MacGruber, this reunion of former Saturday Night Live alumni delivers a very funny guys movie about best friends who have grown up with their own families and drifted apart but are brought back together by the death of their beloved basketball coach. Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider play the five best friends with their wives played by the lovely Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, and Joyce Van Patton . Outside of the peeing in the pool that is shown in the trailer, the stand out comedic moments are Bello's breast feeding scenes, the arrival of Schneider's estranged daughters, and the visit to the water park. An all around good ensemble comedy that delivers regardless of what Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post says. One thing I still don't get from Hornaday's review is how a farting grandmother is sexist but I recommend seeing the film regardless.

Click here to check out the official website.

SeaQuest DSV - The Complete Series

On the list of shows I always wanted to watch but never got to see when it was on, SeaQuest DSV ran for three seasons and tried its best to be the Star Trek of the sea but just could never reach that status. Although produced during the last years of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the production values just do not hold up and the stories are rather weak. The late Roy Scheider starred as Captain Nathan Bridger with the late Jonathan Brandis as the young Lucas Wolenczak, a boy genius much like Wesley Crusher on ST:TNG, with the rest of the cast filled with TV regulars. The second season seems to be the "hippy" years as the crew comes back with longer hair and a more lax military structure but returns to the strict military format in the final season when Michael Ironside joins the crew as captain after the SeaQuest disappears at the end of season two. I enjoyed the flash from the past and recommend the series to Scheider fans but don't expect a performance anywhere close to either Chief Martin Brody in Jaws or Office Frank Murphy in Blue Thunder.

Click here to check out the season one trailer.

Jonah Hex

DC Comics cult favorite western comic finally gets to the big screen this week with Josh Brolin sporting the classic facial dis-figuration that the character in known for. Hex's nemesis, Quentin Turnbull, is played by John Malkovich who killed his family and sets him out on his trail as an infamous bounty hunter seeking revenge who is also approached by the government to track down Turnbull so the bounties on his own head can be expunged. With any western you need a local saloon/whorehouse and the whore with a heart is played by Megan Fox who unfortunately does not bring anything to the role that could not have be done by any other young starlet. The movie is pretty short but the story is complete and does have some nice re-animated dead scenes that push the narrative along. This film is not going to make much money at the box office unfortunately but it does deliver for the fan in me who counts Jonah Hex as one of his favorite DC Comics.

Click here to check out the official website.

Toy Story 3

Pixar and Disney have brought back to us our favorite toys with a new coming of age story that plays on the heart strings like a master violinist. Andy is heading off to college and is faced with leaving his beloved childhood toys behind but while cleaning up his room his toys get sent to a local day care facility in error that turns out not to be the nirvana the toys hoped it will be. All the familiar voices are back with new toys voiced by Ned Beatty as Lotso the Pink Teddy Bear, Michael Keaton as Ken, and Bonnie Hunt as Dolly. Pixar is true to form delivering a fantastic film that is for all ages and a marvel of storytelling with animation that is second to none. Also the expected opening short film, Day & Night, is pure genius with a perfect blend of traditional and computer animation that shows Pixar is a master of animation in any form.

Click here to check out the official website.

The A-Team

Growing up in the 80's made seeing the big screen adaptation of The A-Team tv series a must and I am happy to report the casting was dead on. My favorite team member from the old series was Murdock and Sharlto Copley, who starred as Wikus Van De Merwe in last year's sci fi hit District 9, was perfectly crazy with Bradley Cooper a close second as the smooth talking con man known as Faceman. If you were a fan of the show in spite of the inability for anyone ever being killed or hit by the flying bullets you will love this update that does include a respectable and deserving body count with the requisite over the top shenanigans that only could be delivered on a Hollywood budget. Be sure to stick through the credits to see the cameos you want as a fan of the show and they are worth waiting for through the credits. This is one adaptation of an old favorite tv series that does not disappoint - check it out and you will have a blast.

Click here to check out the official website.

The Karate Kid

This weekend at the movies is a throw back to some of the best of the 80's and the first thing up is the remake of 1984's The Karate Kid that starred Ralph Macchio and the late Pat Morita. This time out the story is much better in that that it takes place in China where Dre Parker, played by Jaden Smith, has relocated with his mother for her job and as an outsider crosses paths with the local teenage boys who do not accept him and attack him until he learns to defend himself and earn their respect after confronting them at a local martial arts tournament under the tutelage of his apartment building's maintenance man, Mr. Han played by martial arts legend Jackie Chan. The movie keeps the key plot points of the original but avoids the cheesiness that easily comes out in the original film. Jaden is quite the little martial artist and growing in to a decent actor under the watchful eye of his parents, Jada Pinkett and Will Smith. Judging from the clapping and cheering in the theater during the tournament finale, the audience enjoyed the movie as much as I did and if have kids that will love it even more..

Click here to check out the official website.

The Lottery

Some days I get really over-whelmed by the opportunities my job affords me. Right now I am watching this wonderful documentary on the charter school system and am awestruck by the emotional and visceral impact of the film. Kudos to Madeleine Sackler on delivering a very thoughtful and relevant film that everyone should see. I am proud knowing that Citybridge Foundation will be assisting in getting this film a wider audience in the local DC community and thank them for letting me attend the screening in their office. Eva Moskowitz you are a champion of education and one of my new heroes - continued good luck.

Click here to check out the official website.

Splice

Producer Guillermo del Toro brings us Vincenzo Natali's science fiction thriller dealing with two scientists and their offspring that is the result of their genetic splicing tests. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley star as the two scientists with Delphine Chaneac staring as the unique and mature Dren who tries to fit in to the world around her. Although there are some horrific and bloody scenes in the film, to call this film a horror film is to do it an injustice. The effects are amazing and you do come to believe the creature Dren is very real even before she matures. As always, you can not go wrong in seeing anything directed by, written by, or produced by del Toro because it will be a unique and immersive film experience that should not be missed.

Click here to check out the official website.

Marmaduke

Everyone's favorite Great Dane makes his feature film debut thanks to the voice talents of Owen Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland and Sam Elliott. The plot centers around the Winslow family as they relocate due to a new job opportunity for the father and their teenage dog, Marmaduke, tries to make friends with his fellow pets at a local dog park. The movie is your typical family fair with nothing that you have not seen before in other feature animal films. The best parts involve the live animals with select CGI for the talking animals that is not too distracting. An adequate family film but there are better films currently out to spend you dollar on that you will enjoy more.

Click here to check out the official website.

Killers

Katherine Hegel continues her box office run with a new action-romantic-comedy with Ashton Kutcher. Jen is on vacation with her family when she meets Spencer who she falls for not knowing he is in fact an assassin for the government and is in town on an assignment. The action is pretty good and the comedy OK with the best moments being delivered by veteran actress Catherine O'Hara as Jen's mother who likes her Bloody Marys. Other comedy notables making an appearance are Martin Mull as Spencer's handler, Alex Borstein and Kevin Sussman as their assassin neighbors, and Rob Riggle from The Hangover. Save your money for a matinee if you want to see this film and then you will get your money's worth.

Click here to check out the official website.

Terry Pratchett's Going Postal

The Discworld is back on the BBC with the Ankh-Morpork Post Office being rejuvenated by a reformed con man who must outwit the owner of the popular clacks system to keep his position and most importantly his life. As always in a Terry Pratchett story the characters are the key with the ever sinister Lord Ventinari, played by Charles Dance, the con man forced to be Post Master General named Moist von Lipwig, played by Richard Coyle, Adora Belle Dearheart who over sees Golem rights, played by Claire Foy, and Reacher Gilt the owner of the clacks network, played by David Suchet. As a fan of the Discworld and all of the novels, I have enjoyed all of the BBC dramatizations, The Color of Magic and Hogfather, with this one being no exception. My favorite part was finally seeing Sergeant Angua realized for the screen as the sole female werewolf on the City Watch. If you love the Discworld and all things Pratchett like me, you will not want to miss this.

Click here to check out the official trailer.

The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!

The ribald and raunchy Big Brother cartoon spoof from Comedy Central now gets it big movie treatment if only for the straight to DVD market. The plot is that our cast of animated housemates find out that their show has been canceled by realizing that they can now curse and show nudity without the normal bleep outs and censor bars and the plot gets more bizarre from there. The knocks at Disney princess films and South Park abound with Seth MacFarland of Family Guy riding along as the hunter-killer robot I.S.R.A.E.L. stalking our crew. Foxy Love, voiced by Cree Summer, is still my favorite character with Spanky Ham, voiced by Adam Carolla, a close second. If you are a fan of the show you will love the movie but if not you will hate it - no in between to be found here.

Click here to check out the official website.

Deadwood: The Complete Series

Since I purged my home of cable TV, I have been discovering and revisiting TV series that I never got a chance to see or that were highly recommenced by my friends that I should check out with HBO's Deadwood being at the top of the list. Once you get use to the ever flowing use of the words fuck and cunt, this was a great western series with all the trappings of The Godfather, Shakespeare, and Unforgiven sprinkled in to make it savory. The show featured Ian McShane from Kings as the wonderfully contemptible Al Swearengen, Timothy Olyphant currently starring as another lawman in Justified, Paula Malcomson who is no longer a whore but a distraught mother in Caprica, and Powers Boothe as Al's competitor and nemesis. It was a shame the show did not get a fourth season to deal with the fallout from George Hearst's strong arm take-over of the town, played by Gerald McRainey, and the departure of Alma Garrett, played by Molly Parker. I recommend checking out this show on Netflix or Amazon but you will not want your children to watch it due to the really strong language, nudity and violence: the old west at it's darkest and finest hour on television.

Click here to check out the teaser trailer for the first season.

Click here to check out the teaser trailer for the second season.

Click here to check out the gag reel from the third and final season.

Shrek Forever After 3D

The Shrek gang is back and this time in 3D - Disney's latest effort to squeeze a few more bucks out of a dying franchise. This time out Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers, makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, to give up a day in his life which ends up re-writing history and could lead to him being erased from existence. Not sure how this film was made better by being in 3D but it has a fairly good plot and is much better then the last two films. The high point of the film is what has become of Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas, and how he has let himself go - very funny stuff. Unless your kids really want to see the 3D, save yourself the $3 surcharge and check it out at a weekend matinee.

Click here to check out the official website.

Just Wright

Queen Latifah and Common star in this romantic dramedy about a NBA pro who becomes injured and will lose his career unless his physical therapist get him back on to the court. Latifah is wonderful as the down-to-earth sister who takes a back seat to her gold digger sister, played by Paula Patton last seen in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, who leaves the player when his career appears over and then tries to worm her way back in after he makes his amazing recovery. All in all a good move with plenty of fun characters with a stand out performance by James Pickens Jr. as the father who can not complete the simplest home repair. No musical outing for Latifah this time but Common shows his chops at the piano . One of the better date night movies and it has basketball - what guy is not going to like this?

Click here to check out the official website.

Sex and the City 2

The girls are back and headed for Abu Dhabi as part of an all-expenses-paid boondoggle. This time out it is a year later in their lives and they are dealing with the issues of parenthood, falling in to a comfortable routine, being successful on your own terms, and menopause. The highlight of the movie was the gay wedding at the being that was completely over-the-top and hilarious to watch with a cameo by Liza Minnelli. A decent follow up to the first movie and actually more interesting. Sarah Jessica Parker has found the role of her life and seems to be milking it for all it is worth and this is a good thing as long as we do not have to sit through another outing like Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Click here to check out the office website.

Letters to Juliet

I did have free screening passes to see this movie but I let them go when the date I planned to see it with could not make it but since I had time to kill today and the times worked out between other movies I wanted to see I went ahead and checked it out. The movie stars the lovely and popular Amanda Seyfried and the wonderful Vanessa Redgrave as Sophie, who is about to get married, and Claire, a woman who missed a rendezvous with the young love of her life, who come together when Sophie finds Claire's letter to Juliet and responds to it as one of the "secretaries of Juliet" telling her she should try to find her missed love. A consummate chick flick but worth watching to see how Regrave makes acting seem effortless. The love affair that sprouts up between Sophie and Charlie, played by Christopher Eagan, seems a bit forced at times but does not derail the movie. If you have to see this film with your girl, make sure you get double brownie points to cash in later.

Click here to check out the official website.

MacGruber

It was about time for another Saturday Night Live skit to get converted to a movie to see if a repeat of the success of Wayne's World was possible. Unfortunately, even with Powers Booth, Ryan Phillippe, Kristin Wiig and Val Kilmer along for the ride, this should have just stayed as a two minute sketch because the laughs are forced and far between. When your go to sight gag is running around bare-assed with a celery stick hanging out of your ass, you maybe need to go back to the writer's table. Also, when did Kilmer actually decide the bloated image of the late Marlon Brando was a good performance look for film? Skip this and suffer through it on Comedy Central on a rainy Sunday afternoon if you cannot find anything else to watch.

Click here to check out the official website.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Until the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie can make it our way, Disney has tried to repeat the formula again but instead of high seas, pirates, and Johnny Depp we trade up for desert sand, hassansins and Jake Gyllenhaal. Although no one can hold a candle to Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, this movie does pack in the action, huge effects, a hot Arabian princess played by Gemma Arterton, and the great Alfred Molina as the bandit leader turned friend. I did not have high expectations for this film based on the fact that it starred Gyllenhaal but the movie works and works well on all levels to score a win as the big popcorn muncher, summer event movie just behind Iron Man 2. Kudos to Mike Newell on his best film effort since Four Weddings and a Funeral - still a favorite of mine. So should we look forward to the Prince of Persia: 1001 Arabian Nights?

Click here to check out the official website.