Review: 'Mortdecai,' starring Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor

So look at here: We are starting out 2015 with a new Johnny Depp as a crazy character movie, huh? This time it’s supposedly for adults with the whole R-rating thing. I guess he just has no interest in playing someone regular again. Oh well, he was quite good at it at one point in time.

So what is this movie? It’s called Mortdecai. It’s based on a series of comedic thrillers from author Kyril Bonfiglioli that I clearly have not read. Also starring in this is Gwyneth Paltrow as Johanna Mortdecai, Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany, and Olivia Munn. I guess their goal was to make a really funny British style comedy for American people but it seems like they failed on both sides here.

So what is Mortdecai about? It’s about this dandy-like British art smuggler by the name of Charlie Mortdecai (Depp). He bubbles around as he’s trying to get money to pay his 8 million pounds in taxes. A famous art restorer is murdered for this famous Goya painting and his old Oxford rival Inspector Martland (McGregor) asks him help them find the murderer and the painting. This takes Mortdecai and his manservant Jock Strapp (yes that is his name, and he's played by Paul Bettany) all over the world trying to find this painting. Total hijinks ensue ... I guess. The B-plot is Mortdecai having marital issues with Johanna, his wife, because of his new mustache that he loves so much and she hates.

You know the thing with this movie is that it’s not good but it really doesn’t suck enough to hate. Mortdecai just washes over you in uninterestingness. It seems like they were trying make something in the old Peter Sellers Pink Panther lane of comedy but it never catches on. In a lot of ways the pacing and the structure feels like it would be a really good animated movie. I’m thinking with the way the performances are and the costuming being so over the top, this would’ve been great as a cartoon. The movie really relies too much on weird facial expressions and goofy pratfalls. The cinematography really isn’t anything to talk about other than these silly over-CGI-ed transitions from city to city.

The real saving grace to this whole thing is Paul Bettany as Jock Strapp. He’s hilarious during the whole movie as Mortdecai's tough guy/ladies’ man manservant. Watching makes you think this story would be a lot more interesting if it were from his perspective rather than Mortdecai's.

Another funny thing with this movie is the two stars of it are American actors doing English accents, whereas everyone else is actually English; it's a bit disjointing. I don’t know if Gwyneth Paltrow’s accent always works.

But seriously, this movie really isn’t something to go out and see in the theater. It might be something fun to watch at home. As I said earlier, it isn’t good enough or bad enough to even get a real reaction. I think Mortdecai is something to pass on and instead just go catch up on Academy Award nominees.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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Review: Tommy Wirkola's 'Dead Snow: Red Vs Dead'

Zombies, cool. Nazi Zombies, infinitely cooler. This is the basic premise under which Dead Snow was originally made back in 2009. To run down the original (which this movie does a great job of recapping for you in the first 10 minutes) a group of friends heads out to a cabin for a ski vacation and discover a box of treasure.  It just so happens that the gold is actually Nazi gold, and opening it awakens a company of dead Nazi soldiers from under the snow and, BOOM, Nazi zombies. From there it’s pretty standard zombie faire, albeit in an awesome way, leaving only one survivor in the end, Martin who was bitten but was able to saw his arm off in time ala Evil Dead 2. Dead Snow: Red Vs Dead picks up immediately following the events of its predecessor with Martin soaking in the viscera and horror of what has just happened which, by the way, includes him accidentally killing his girlfriend with a hatchet…by the way folks, if your significant other is currently rage killing a zombie with a hatchet it’s probably not a good idea to walk up behind them in that moment, just saying. Anyway, as Martin makes it to his car he gets attacked again by a group of zombies including their commander, Herzog. Usually that’s not an issue, just drive away, except for the fact that he has a manual transmission and is missing his right arm. Finally! A decent reason for our hero to not get away immediately when there are monsters outside of your car. As he makes his getaway the Nazi commander is hanging from his car until he gets hit by a passing truck leaving his severed nazi arm flopping in Martin’s front seat. Passing out Martin awakens in a hospital to find that the doctors mistook Herzog’s severed arm for his own, and attached it. With Herzog’s Nazi’s reassuming their old mission to wipe out a small town Martin must jump back in the fight with the help of his new zombie arm all while evading the police who think he killed all of his friends (what? They didn’t buy the old Nazi Zombies killed my friends bit?). 

Does that sound utterly ridiculous to you? In a good way or a bad way? I ask these questions because, in all honesty, my review could end right there. If you answered “in a good way”, you’re going to dig this movie, its really that simple. They take that premise and chock it up with all the great, silly, gory fun of the first film and maybe even a little more. Other than the top level premise almost everything about this movie is pretty standard, from the main plot point of a possessed arm to the zombie kills, you’ve seen it all before…just not like this. Dead Snow: Red Vs Dead is one of those flicks that proves you can put all of those overused tropes of film in your movie and still have a blast of a flick, as long as you do it right! While there is a lot of familiarity to the movie there’s a lot of new ground broken as well, first and foremost being the power of Herzog. He functions almost like the Queen Bee in a hive mentality-laden zombie horde. He can revive the dead by touch and convert the living the same way, no need to bite…a power given also to Martin thanks to the transplant. It’s a really cool switch and melds with the new threat perfectly. Instead of just being brainless flesh eaters the dead are driven to accomplish what they were stopped from doing in life. We find out, as I said previously, that Herzog and his men were on their way to wipe out a small town. What I didn’t mention was that we later find out that Herzog and his men executed a Russian unit on their way there. Seeing Martin, using his newfound zombie powers, bring a group of dead Russian soldiers out of the ground in order to lead them in an undead battle royale against the Nazi’s is a thing of beauty. 

In the mix of all this is the Zombie Squad, an American crew Martin recruits to push the odds in their favor. He thinks he’s getting a paramilitary merc squad, what he gets is a geeky trio lead by Daniel (Martin Star of Freaks & Geeks fame). Here’s where they went in another new direction, instead of being incompetent geeks out of their depths, they actually kick some ass….even if it seems to be mostly luck.  Rounding out the cast of characters is a small town police department who have never seen anything resembling “action”. Disposable but hilarious, the Norwegian branch of the Barney Fife academy really adds a nice touch on top of what is already a bucket of gross undead fun. 

Speaking of gross and undead, let’s get to that gore shall we? I mean, that is one of the major draws of a zombie flick, right? Now I know I said that the kills were standard, and they are, with a special emphasis on pulling out intestines. Where they really excel is in two places, the comedy and the production value. I’m going to guess it would have been much cheaper for this small indie movie out of Norway to use CGI but there are practical effects abounding throughout, I don’t know if I say one obvious CGI shot, and boy does it pay off. The shear ick factor given by the work they did is worth the price of admission, look especially to the first severed head you see, there’s this glazed squishy-ness quality to all of the effects shots that really make you shudder. But, you know, in a good way. One last thing on the effects side of things, really a question more than anything else, why is it that I can watch all the gore this movie can throw at me without batting an eye but the first scene involving vomit immediately makes me squirm? The second place they really get it right is possibly the most important aspect, the comedy. None of this works if it’s not genuinely absurd and funny, especially considering it’s not the least bit frightening. I’m trying to think of a place where they jokes fell flat and, while I’m sure there were some, I can’t remember any. Just now I said it’s absurd and funny, that’s probably better said so absurd it becomes funny, the things they get away with make you laugh, and then make you question whether or not you should feel bad for laughing. Say, two mothers walking their infants in strollers getting blown all to bits by a 70 year old Nazi tank, for instance. I should also include that, though the kids are covered pre-explosion, there is a quick second of a tiny infant flying at the screen. See, now we’re back to “If it’s not funny, it doesn’t work”. 

So what’s the final word? I’ll revert to my earlier question, does this sound utterly ridiculous to you? This is a simple movie to review, there’s no nuance, either it’s your thing or it’s not. If it’s not, I didn’t write this for you, I wrote this solely to remind those who dug it about Dead Snow, and to let them know that Dead Snow: Red Vs Dead is a follow-up that’s just as good, if not better, than the original. 

4 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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Review: 'Alan Partridge', Starring Steve Coogan

Last year, we saw Steve Coogan's more dramatic side in Philomena, a Best Picture nominee that he helped co-write and . But now that he's back in the comedic chair, the first thing we see him in is his BBC character Alan Partridge, in the movie titled... you guessed it: Alan Partridge. Now I'll immediately start off by saying that I haven't seen the series the movie is based off of, but it is safe to say that the film is enjoyable and funny regardless of your level of Alan Partridge knowledge. 

Alan Partridge (Coogan) is as annoying as ever. A DJ who is immensely aware of his own popularity and image, he cares about nothing and no one but himself. If there's a way to save his own hide, he'll stoop low enough to make sure that his job, and more importantly his large ego, stay intact. Partridge is definitely the kind of guy who follows the motto that as long as someone's talking about you, then there's no such thing as bad publicity. 

Everything gets a little complicated when Alan's radio station is bought by a new company and changes their image to a more modern taste and a different sound. Which means that they're looking to fire someone and only two possible people are on the list: Alan and Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney). When Alan convinces (or rather begs) the station to fire Pat and keep him (in a display of humorous desperation), Pat eventually goes off the deep end and holds the station's employees hostage, forcing Alan to be the middle man between Pat and the police. And the whole time, poor Pat still thinks that Alan has his best interest at heart. 

British comedy is always less subtle than American comedy. It's a little more fast-paced and either you get the jokes and humor off the bat or you don't. There's no pause button that gives you a cue of when to laugh. And that's exactly what Alan Partridge feeds off of. Many fans liked the first series of the show better than the second and third, and some may be split on whether the film still holds a candle to the show, but there's no denying that this film has a spark. 

It starts off slow and the laughs are few and further between, but as the film progresses, so does its comedy. Steve Coogan is as awkwardly funny as ever. His character's annoying but never so much so that it's obnoxious, and yet when he is being slightly irritating, that's when the laughs are the most. The supporting cast gets enough to do that they're not just extras, and some of the funniest scenes are between Coogan and Meaney, both awkward and slightly strange in different ways. 

Alan Partridge is exactly the kind of person who society looks up to and hates at the same time. He's a fame whore who's only concerned with being talked about and popular, doesn't care about hurting other people to get what he wants, and is rude and demeaning a lot of the time. Yet, somehow the people love him, though it's unclear whether it's because of his attempt at being charming and charismatic or because he's an entertaining DJ. It's a really interesting point of discussion about the desperation for fame and the meaning of having some kind of moral code. Partridge even uses the hostage situation for press, trying to gain as much news coverage as possible, even continuing radio hosting with Pat while under lockdown. 

Perhaps this is reading too much into the Alan Partridge character and what he stands for. Ultimately, the film is pretty entertaining with some laugh-out-loud moments from around halfway through until the end. Steve Coogan's comedy is sometimes hit or miss with some people, but he's pretty humorous in a role he's been playing for awhile. You don't need to be a fan of the show to find enjoyment out of this movie, which is endearing regardless of its overly simple plot and sometimes asinine sense of humor. Just wait for the scene where the cast makes up a new jingle for Pat's radio show while under threat of being shot and you'll know this is worthy of a laugh. 

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Review: 'Ride Along', Starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart

It's really hard to dislike buddy cop movies regardless of how many there are out there. Yes, they cover the same territory, one's always more sour than the other, and though they hate each other in the beginning, they become comrades by the end of the film. It's all been there, done that, and Ride Along is much of the same. Director Tim Story doesn't try very hard to make it into anything original, and maybe that's his whole point. 

Ben Barber, AKA "Blackhammer" to the gaming world (Kevin Hart), is a high school security officer and hopeful police cadet. He's just gotten accepted to the police academy and loves playing video games to the point of obsession. He's also in love with Angela Payton (Tika Sumpter) and in taking the next steps in their relationship, asks her tough-ass cop brother James (Ice Cube) for his blessing to ask Angela to marry him. 

Ben is scared of James, and James doesn't think very highly of Ben (setting your future fiance's brother on fire at a BBQ doesn't help either). Nor does the experienced cop feel that Ben is good enough to be with his sister. So in order to "prove himself" to James, Ben agrees to go with him on a ride along for a day and see if he's worth his salt as a future brother-in-law and as a cop. 

At work, James has been investigating a faceless crime boss named Omar (Laurence Fishburne) with his two buddy cops Santiago (John Leguizamo) and Miggs (Bryan Callen). As the ride along goes through the day, it's Ben who discovers a few clues that may lead them to who James has been searching for for three years... and what could also gain James's blessing. 

There's no doubt that Kevin Hart's a funny guy. And while his ranting is occasionally funny, it sometimes goes on for too long and causes the scene to lose its humor. The second act of the film also involves too much of the same thing: Ice Cube taking Hart to different venues that involve what the police apparently call a "126" call, which is an annoying situation that no cop wants to deal with. One of these 126 calls involve a crazy man at a farmer's market who douses himself in honey and ends up fighting Hart. 

The funniest parts of the movie come in the very last ten minutes or so of the film when all the action's going down and James and Ben find themselves in a situation they don't seem equipped enough to handle. This is when the dragged out events of the first three-quarters of the film come into play and finally pay off without being shoved in our faces for humor's sake. 

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart generally make a decent pair onscreen, annoying each other to no end and Hart acting like Ice Cube's much younger, and scared little brother who hides behind him when the going gets a little tough. And to Hart's defense, his inexperience as a cop plays heavily into his character and the scenes where he tries to act like Ice Cube's tough-guy persona. 

As a comedy, Ride Along is just okay. It brings a few genuinely amusing moments that entertain, but lacks the ammunition needed to keep the laughs going throughout. Some of the comedy is overdone and too much time is spent on Ice Cube embarrassing Hart in different situations that it becomes a little tiresome after awhile. The finale, however, really amps the entertainment value this movie has to offer, so at least it ends on a good note and goes out in style. 

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Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston

Adam Sandler movies are a lot of things, but rarely do I consider them to be flat out dumb. Even some of his more juvenile films, like Happy Gilmore or You Don't Mess with the Zohan, had a bit more going on  between the ears than people give them credit for. Just Go With It is another piss poor attempt by Sandler to make a "mature" comedy, remaking the 1969 Walter Matthau comedy, Cactus Flower. That film features  Goldie Hawn in her first major big screen role, opposite Ingrid Bergman. The three of them helped make a ridiculous, farcical situation believable with help from a pinpoint script by I.A.L. Diamond. Adam Sandler's version has no such support, and is forced to make it's characters dumb as a bag of rocks in hopes that the story makes any sense. It still doesn't.

Phoning in another flick from a posh island resort in Hawaii, Sandler is perpetual hound dog Danny Maccabee, a seemingly irresistible plastic surgeon who scores chicks by wearing a wedding ring on his finger. Women just cant' seem to pass up those married doctors with a house full of kids. I guess every woman in the world is a skanky, home wrecking oaf. Danny's actions are lazily excused away by the fact that his previous attempt at marriage was short-lived due to a cheating spouse, which is like saying I should rob McDonalds because they screwed up my order one day. His scheming ways aren't exactly supported but easily dismissed by his best friend and assistant, Katherine(Jennifer Aniston), a divorced mother of two annoying kids who I guess represents all the good and wholesome stuff he's missing out on as a philandering fool.

As fate would have it, Danny meets the girl of his dreams in uber-babe Palmer(Brooklyn Decker). Letting his guard down for once and not exploiting the wedding ring ploy, he actually scores with Palmer the first night they meet, a surefire sign of eternal happiness. The two are completely smitten with each other, up until she finds the ring in his pants pocket and assumes he's married. Face plant! Rather than making up a suitable, easily defensible lie like "I used to be married but never threw it away", he digs himself a planet-sized hole by saying his divorce isn't final yet. Danny fumbles and stammers so badly during this moment that anyone who believes him must've suffered a recent brain-related event. To her credit, Palmer doesn't quite buy it and demands to meet the wife, which forces poor Katherine to pose as her. Eventually her two kids get sucked into the scheme as well.

The setting suddenly shifts to Hawaii so the entire "family" can get to know one another, but it's really just an excuse for the more clownish characters to have a reason to stick around. In particular Danny's dufus friend( Nick Swardson), an oversexed irritant pretending to be Katherine's boyfriend. In a completely underhyped appearance, Nicole Kidman pops up in the cliched role of Katherine's high school enemy, Devlin Adams. She's meant to be this terrible, Mean Girls-type character, but the problem is that everybody in this film is so reprehensible that she looks sad by comparison.

There's a reason why this movie doesnt' work, and unfortunately I have to go back to Cactus Flower to make my point. While the basic premise of the two movies is the same, the whole "wedding ring" thing wasnt just some scheme to nail hot chicks, or at least it wasn't presented as such. Danny is a scumbag, and he never actually ceases to be one. Just because he shares a few sweet moments with the kiddies doesn't excuse his actions, and he's such a jerk that I can't imagine why either woman falls for him. Oops, hope I didn't spoil anything for ya, in case this is your first romantic comedy. Adam Sandler tries to make Danny lovable with a few campy voices, but the magic he once had has long faded. Jennifer Aniston, on the other hand, is better than this movie deserves. I've been hard on her but the fact is she's grown into a decent comedic actress who is actually more attractive as she gets older. She was excellent in The Switch last year, and that trend continues. She hammers out as much chemistry as she can with Sandler, who appears to have no interest in returning the favor. Is it weird that I prefer her over the swimsuit model, Decker? Speaking of Decker, her husband Andy Roddick makes a brief, almost funny cameo, so watch out for that if you care about that sort of thing.

Frequent Sandler collaborator, director Dennis Dugan(Grown Ups, The Benchwarmers) continues to prove why it's good to have really successful friends who can help you get work even after there's proof you don't deserve it.

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Awesome 'I Love You, Man' mini-sequel! Sydney and Peter meet Rush!!

It took me a few viewings to really learn to love I Love You, Man. One of the reasons why was the way Peter(Paul Rudd) and Sydney(Jason Segel) raved over their love for the Canadian rock band, Rush. In fact it borders on obsessive infatuation than anything else.

Well it looks like the two characters are still at the forefront of the minds of Rudd, Segel, and director Jon Hamburg because they just shot a hilarious 6 minute mini-sequel which sees the two best buds finally meet their long time idols!  Check it below, courtesy of Funny or Die!  Kinda makes me want a real sequel. What do you think?

Jason Segel & Paul Rudd Meet Rush from Jason Segel

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Punch Drunk DVDs

Date Night
It's hard to do better than the comedic pairing of Steve Carell and Tina Fey. As a goofy married couple who's stale marriage's only "excitement" is their weekly dinner date, they suddenly get all the action they can handle when they're mistaken for a couple of criminals. The script could've used more punch, but the strong cast compensates, including Mark Wahlberg as a shirtless hunk who Fey seems to keep finding reasons to visit.







Letters to God
If you dug movies like Fireproof or Henry Poole Is Here you'll probably dig Letters to God. It's the story of a down 'n out postal worker who finds a new strength and faith after meeting a cancer stricken young boy who writes letters to God to aid through the tough times.









Death at a Funeral
Ask me if I think this movie ever should've been made and my answer would be a resounding "Negatory"! An Americanized remake of the 2007 Brit comedy about a guy trying to make it through the disastrous funeral for his father, Chris Rock leads a strong ensemble cast(including Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, and Peter Dinklage). The real stand out for me was James Marsden, who plays the daughter's antsy boyfriend.







The Joneses
How far would you go to keep up with the Joneses? In Derick Borte's unique comedy, the line between real life and a permanent marketing campaign gets blurred. Demi Moore and David Duchovny star as a slick, stylish upper class family(with two ultra chic kids, I might add) who seem to have it all. It's because they do. The Joneses are a make believe family, created by marketing folks to be seen living the high life, driving the most expensive cars and rockin' the most expensive toys, all in hopes of selling them to their peers. An insightful, sharp comedy that I'm afraid is probably happening somewhere in the world right now.

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Dinner for Schmucks

The challenge in adapting Franis Veber's French dark comedy, The Dinner Game, for American audiences was finding a way to take what is a downright mean-spirited concept and finding a way to keep all the characters tidy and likable.  The easiest answer is letting Steve Carell do what he does best, which is playing the lovable loser you can't help but root for. It doesn't hurt adding Paul Rudd to the mix, who has turned portraying the ambitious straight-man into an art form. As hilarious as these two often are, they can't overcome a lazy script with easy jokes and a totally flavorless dessert course.

One of the great appeals of Schmucks is the novel premise, a combination of fratboy prank and college hazing for CEOs. Tim (Rudd) has been angling for a way to climb the corporate ladder in the financial firm where he toils away on the 6th floor with the rest of the mid-level employees. His dreams of moving up the the vaunted 7th floor are within his grasp after his boss invites him to dinner. A very special dinner, where they invite "unique" people as guests and basically make fun of them. A distasteful concept in itself, one that Tim is all too eager to partake in, to the disgust of his girlfriend, Julie(Stephanie Szostak).

Even as Tim tries to back out on the dinner to ensure his girlfriend doesn't freeze him out forever, fate seems to be playing favorites as he literally runs into the perfect idiot to make his potential peers happy. Tim's car wreck of an introduction to Barry(Carell) sets the stage for the future of their relationship. Barry is a loser to the nth degree. Not just an idiot, but a sort of chemically bred super moron, who's hobby is recreating masterpieces using dead mice. Tim's invitation turns Barry into the friendliest, most havoc wreaking stalker in history, as every step he makes causes wanton destruction. Karmic retribution is in full effect as Tim's life crumbles all around him as Barry tries to "help" patch up his failing relationship and tenuous work status. A lunch dinner with a potential client involves insulting the Swedish, a false marriage proposal, and a car ran through with a signpost. And that's just the start of it.

Genuinely uncomfortable, cringe worthy moments are Schmucks' high points. It excels when Tim is is pestering the poor, beleaguered Barry. Carell gets as much emotion and believability out of a fairly one-note, absurd character. He's similar to his Michael Scott character from The Office in their mutual cluelessness and lack of self awareness. I think that Paul Rudd has fallen into a rut of playing the same character in too many movies. He's the guy who needs to have his heart warmed up and taught a lesson. He's just coasting here, and isn't particularly funny when given the opportunity. The real scene stealer is Jemaine Clement, late of HBO's Flight of the Conchords, as an egotistical artist trying to steal Tim's girlfriend. The storyline doesn't really work, like many of the subplots, but it's the best I've seen from Clement yet. I wanted to follow his character and ditch everybody else. Speaking of subplots that don't work, Zach Galifianakis as a mind controlling moron who shares a past with Barry should've been left on the cutting room floor. I'm almost convinced at this point that we've seen Galifianakis's one shining moment in The Hangover, and we'll see him attempt to recreate that magic in film after film.

The defining dinner scene is another problem, as the snobby rich folks of course must be put in their place and the losers given their moment to shine. That would work if we were given a reason to care about any of them, but personally I find it hard to relate to a guy who has a puppet for a wife. I got no sympathy for a lady who speaks to dead animals over dinner. If she can't see why that's a bad idea then she deserves a little criticism. Most of the jokes, in particular an imaginary "battle of the boobs" between Carel and Galifianakis just falls face first into the plate.

Perhaps if director Jay Roach hadn't played it so safe, maybe Schmucks would be worth a plate or two. Instead, it goes out of it's way to give us a cushy ending that frankly none of these characters really earns. A darker turn is where they really needed to go, rather than trying to make a broad appeal summer comedy. You'll get some real, hearty laughs out of Carell and the rest of the talented cast, but I doubt many will be rushing for a second helping.

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Judd Apatow Preps new Pee-Wee Herman Film!

I've had a rash of ex-girlfriends, and even my current one, who don't understand my love of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Directed by Tim Burton back in 1985, it's the perfect example of a guy who never can and never would grow up. It's just one big hallucinatory fever dream caught on film. After Pee-Wee, real name Paul Reubens, got caught jerkin' his gerkin' out in public, he pretty much disappeared and both TV and movies havent' been as fun since.

Now out of nowhere comes the story that Judd Apatow will be producing a new comedy adventure starring Pee-Wee Herman. The two apparently met after Apatow saw the newly revived Pee-Wee Herman Show at the Nokia Theater. The tour has been selling out dates for the last few months, triggering a return to prominence for Reubens. A showing of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure sold out at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles just last week.

It doesnt' appear that Apatow has any interest in directing the project. The script is being written by Reubens alongside Paul Rust, who most will recognize as the lead character from I Love You, Beth Cooper. He also had a small role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. The film is already being described as a "road pic" with a "gigantic adventure".

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was a surprise hit back in 1985, coming out of nowhere to take in over $40M. It's since become something of a cult classic. That film's success spawned a less funny, less successful 1988 sequel, Big Top Pee-Wee. It's flat out terrible. Kris Kristofferson must still have nightmares. That led to a highly successful Saturday morning series, which I maintain was far more adult than my kiddie brain could've understood at the time, which ran from 1986-1990.

You can read more of Variety's coverage of the story here.

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Tops at the Box Office!

1. Toy Story 3- $59M/$227M
You wanna know how great Toy Story is already doing just two weeks into it's release? It's already the 5th highest grossing film of 2010, and about to jump ahead of Shrek Forever After, which has been out for well over a month.
2. Grown Ups- $41M
Despite getting pummeled by critics, Adam Sandler's ensemble comedy took in an impressive $41M, fourth highest debut of his career. That's about $10M for everytime I laughed.
3. Knight and Day- $20.5M/$27.8M
Even with two extra days(it released on Wednesday), Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz's spy comedy got off to a slow start. It's the lowest opening for a Cruise starrer in nearly 20 years, and almost half the debut of Mission Impossible 3, his last action film.
4. The Karate Kid- $15.4M/$136M
After a huge start, The Karate Kid is tailing off pretty fast, falling another 48% from last week.
5. The A-Team- $6M/$62.8M
Maybe they needed a Plan B afterall?
6. Get Him to the Greek- $3.01M/$54.5M
7. Shrek Forever After- $2.88M/$229M
8. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time- $2.8M/$86.2M
9. Killers- $2M/$44M
10. Jonah Hex- $1.6M/$9.14M
Ouch.

* The highest per site average of any film in the Top 20 goes to Cyrus, starring John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill. The indie comedy turned up another $300,000 at only 17 theaters for a total of $565,000. It's due for a wider release in the coming weeks.

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The New Wave: 6/25/10

I still can't tell you why it's called Knight and Day. Idiotic titles aside, it's good to see Tom Cruise having fun again in a starring role. Something of a comeback for Cameron Diaz as well, who the last time I saw her she was walking around looking like a q-tip in the ultra somber My Sister's Keeper. This one came out on Wednesday, and judging by it's early totals($3.8M on day one) you probably haven't seen it yet. Go check it out. It's better than you think. You can read my review here.

Those familiar with the Duplass Brothers' film, The Puffy Chair, know that their style doesn't exactly lend itself to the mainstream. It's called "mumblecore" for a reason. The style is talky, somewhat ad-libbed, and characters tend to get a little close mouthed when emotions are at their heaviest. So mixing in John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill in sounds like an instant contradiction. But it's not. Reilly stars as a lonely guy who finds real love again with a single mom(played by the gorgeous Marisa Tomei), only to have it threatened by her posessive son(Hill). A battle of wills ensues, and the results might just surprise you. You can check out my review here.

It was around this time last year that Adam Sandler got smoked in theaterss in Judd Apatow's Funny People, a misleading title if there ever was one. Now he's back again, and this time he's brought along a few of his friends for a comedy that once again has the comedian dealing with issues of family and growing older. Sounds like a laugh riot, doesn't it? My review of Grown Ups can be found here.

Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love is a feast for the senses. From the gorgeous landscapes of Sanremo, Italy to the luscious tastes and smells of the gourmet food. The real treat here is Tilda Swinton, who had to learn both Italian and Russian for her role as a wife rediscovering youth and vitality in a much younger man. I review this film a couple of months ago, which you can check out right here.

This one looks like a poor man's Guy Ritchie flick. Writer Mark Rowe is probably best known for the fractious Irish comedy,Intermission, which was pretty good if you could figure out what everyone was saying. Cilian Murphy stars as a guy who owes a monster debt to the toughest gangster in town(Brendan Gleeson), but makes matters worse when he accidentally kills one of his thugs.

Can you believe it's been six years since Taylor Hackford directed Jamie Foxx into stardom in Ray? Crazy. It's also crazy that this is the first time Hackford has ever cast his wife, Helen Mirren, in a starring role. Judd Apatow could use a little of his restraint. Love Ranch is VERY loosely based on Sally and Joe Conforte, who opened up the first legal brothel in this country's history. I consider them American heroes. Love Ranch doesn't hit theaters until next Wednesday, 6/30, so expect the review that morning.

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New Dinner for Schmucks theatrical trailer

Back in April we got the first look at the new comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, from director Jay Roach. The film stars Paul Rudd(Role Models) as an IRS employee looking to score major points with his boss by finding the perfect guest for what is known as the "dinner for idiots". Rudd's boss holds these dinners, and provides special benefits to the employee who finds the perfect moron to attend. Enter Steve Carell's(The Office) character, an innocent loser who has a thing for dressing up mice.

If you'll recall, the first trailer didn't exactly blow me away. Neither does this one, with many of my original criticisms intact. I still hold out hope since the cast is so good, and I had a thing for the film it's based on, Le Diner de Cons.

Dinner for Schmucks is due to hit theaters on July 23rd, 2010. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think!

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