Curious George [G]

[G]
Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: September 26, 2006

FV Rating:

Director: Matthew O’Callaghan
Starring: Will Ferrell, Frank Welker, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Dick Van Dyke

A kid’s film with little-to-no adult humor offered – using a more traditional style of animation rather than the seemingly industry standard methods of CGI – successful in today’s society? Impossible! With Pixar/Disney and Dreamworks releasing some of the film industries best animated comedic and family films over the past decade, and predominantly going the CGI direction in those films, the thought of a feature-length film based on a 65-year-old children’s book series of a monkey whose only means of communication are action and expression seems like a sure-fire miss, an idea that may have gone over well in the early 90s but is destined to fail in this new age of entertainment. However, with Curious George, the formula, unfamiliar to this generation, works surprisingly well. [READ MORE]

The Game Plan [PG]

[PG]
Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: January 22, 2008

FV Rating:

Director: Andy Fickman
Starring: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Madison Pettis, Roselyn Sanchez, Travis Sanders, Kyra Sedgwick

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Gridiron Gang, Walking Tall) stars as Joe Kingman, star quarterback for the Boston Rebels professional football team. Although he has made a career for himself in a position requiring him to run a team, he often puts himself before his teammates. The self-proclaimed "King" even makes it a point to end each interview he does by reminding media and fans alike that he is "number one on the field and number one in your heart." His main option on offense, when Kingman decides to look past himself, is Travis Sanders (Morris Chestnut – The Perfect Holiday, Like Mike), a conflicting personality to Kingman’s if there ever was one. The wide-receiver often gets ribbed by his teammates for his tendency to cut out early on post-game partying to spend time at home with his wife and kids. [READ MORE]

Harold and Kumar 2 Escape from Guantanamo Bay [R]

[R]
New Line Cinema
Release Date: April 25, 2008

FV Rating:

Directors: Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Starring: John Cho and Kal Penn

Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are back in Harold and Kumar 2 Escape from Guantanamo Bay, the long-awaited sequel to the 2004 surprise cult-hit where the two overcame great and numerous misadventures while craving White Castle’s delicious little burgers.

Picking up moments after the end of the first film, Harold and Kumar are getting ready to embark on a greater journey, this time following Harold’s love-interest, Maria (Paula Garcés, Red Princess Blues). While on the airplane, Kumar decides to test out his newly invented smokeless bong in the bathroom. Mistaken for a terrorist with bomb-in-hand, our heroes are subdued and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which they manage to escape from in little time. [READ MORE]

High School Musical 2 [PG]

[PG]
Walt Disney Pictures
Television Premiere: August 17, 2007
DVD Release Date: December 11, 2007

FV Rating:

Director: Kenny Ortega
Starring: Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Lucas Grabeel, Monique Coleman

Following the events of the original High School Musical, this original Disney Channel movie begins at the culmination of a school year that, as Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay Evans states in this film, "It was a very trying year, ladies. My drama department was invaded by outsiders. Singers coming from the chemistry lab and locker room. Shocking, really." This time around, the plot has the whole gang spend their summer vacation working at a local country club, owned by Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay’s parents. While Sharpay used her clout to get Troy (Zac Efron) a job, since she wanted to get him away from his girlfriend Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), as well as his Wildcat teammates, Troy insisted that his friends get summer jobs there as well, resulting in the whole gang from the first movie being on-hand for a new adventure. [READ MORE]

Just Friends [PG-13]

[PG-13]
New Line Home Video | buy now
DVD Release Date: March 7, 2006

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Director: Roger Kumble
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein, Chris Marquette

Just Friends opens to a scene, circa 1995, of a rather overweight Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds – National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Waiting) offering an enjoyable "rendition" of All-4-One’s "I Swear" while writing in the high school yearbook of his B.F.F., Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart – The Butterfly Effect). After his feelings are revealed to his friend, and it turning out the complete opposite of what he had hoped, Chris runs away from small town New Jersey, vowing to "be somebody." Ten years later, and Chris Brander is a big time music executive residing in Hollywood, where he sets off to sign the popular, yet insane, Samantha James (Ana Farris – Scary Movie) to a record deal. Following a series of mishaps, Chris unexpectedly finds himself back in Jersey for the Christmas holiday, where he is greeted at home by his kooky mother (Julie Hagerty – She’s The Man) and hormone-obsessed younger brother (Chris Marquette – The Girl Next Door). His first night back, he heads to a local restaurant where he finds Jamie and shortly after, his feelings for her once again find him. Unfortunately for Chris, despite being away for ten years, his struggles with getting out of "the friend zone" are far from over. [READ MORE]

The Legend of Zorro [PG]

[PG]
Sony Pictures | buy now
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2006

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Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Rufus Sewell, Adrian Alonso

The Legend of Zorro, which takes place ten years after the conclusion of 1998′s hit The Mask of Zorro, once again features Antonio Banderas (Once Upon A Time In Mexico) as Don Alejandro de la Vega, otherwise known as Zorro, and Catherine Zeta Jones (Chicago) as Elena de la Vega, the masked man’s beautiful wife.

Much like it’s predecessor, this movie mixes history with legend as Zorro continues to fight for California’s freedom, assisting in its finding statehood. With the official announcement of California being voted to join America as a free state, there is much to dispute by a variety of third-party characters, among them being religious fanatics who attempt to take over the land as well as political leaders from the south who fear what the addition of another free state would mean to the Union, as this would result in a greater number of free states as opposed to slave states. [READ MORE]

Nacho Libre [PG]

[PG]
Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon
Release Date: June 16, 2006

FV Rating:

Director: Jarred Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez, Darius Rose, Cesar Gonzalez

Nacho Libre is the second major film by director Jarred Hess, of Napolean Dynamite fame. Like his first film, much of the comedy here comes from both social- and self-mockery.

Other than Jack Black (School of Rock, King Kong), the film’s unequivocal star, the cast is made up of relatively unknown actors as well as actual mexican luchadors. Perhaps this is only to add to the greatness that Hess offers in his films as there seems to be a deliberate determinedness to succeed with less than what is expected. However, this takes nothing away from Black in what is arguably his best work to date, perhaps surpassing even his critically acclaimed 2003 hit School of Rock. While Black has shown little consistency in past films, with School of Rock he solidified himself as a legitimate comedic actor who could carry his own film. Nacho Libre not only further proves that point, but allows Black to show that he can be a successful character-actor as well. [READ MORE]

Superbad [R]

[R]
Sony Pictures/Apatow Productions
Release Date: December 4, 2007

FV Rating:

Directors: Greg Mottola
Starring: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogan, Bill Hader

In the summer of 2007, Hollywood saw more blockbusters released than possibly ever, with proven-franchises finding success in sequels (Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), as well as in feature-film debuts (Transformers, The Simpsons Movie). But that summer also saw the rejuvenation of the often-times ill-fated R-Rated comedy, with Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow responsible. Not only did they work together on the critically acclaimed Knocked Up, but they used their now proven formula of smart and witty humor to balance out the sexual connotations that often dominate the high school comedy genre here in Superbad.

With Rogan already having worked with rising star, and Apatow mainstay, Jonah Hill (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Walk Hard) in Knocked Up, and Michael Cera providing the awkward humor along with the quick, subtle comebacks he perfected on the Emmy-Award-winning sitcom Arrested Development, the comedic expectations here should be rightfully held to high standards. Newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Little Big Men) compliments the stars well in his acting debut as Fogell, a friend of Seth and Evan’s who fits in even less than they do. [READ MORE]

Superman Returns [PG-13]

[PG-13]
Warner Bros.
Release Date: June 28, 2006

FV Rating:

Director: Brian Singer
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden

Superman Returns is essentially the sequel to 1980′s Superman 2, and while there have been some liberties taken to ease the 26 year transition, for the most part continuity is maintained. Likewise, newcomer Brandon Routhe’s physical resemblance to the late Christopher Reeves adds to the continuity of the newly revived franchise. This respect paid to the former Man of Steel and the franchise that he helped jump-start in the late 70′s is displayed from the opening credits both with the introductory commentary by Marlon Brando’s Jor-El along with the familiar theme music heard in the film’s score.

After a 5 year hiatus from Earth while searching for the remnants of Krypton, Superman (Routh) returns home to find that nothing is the same as he left it. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth – Beyond The Sea), once Superman’s inamorata, now the jilted lover, has moved on since his leaving, engaged to pilot and newspaper editor Richard White (James Marsden – X-Men), and mother to a sickly child (Tristan Leabu) who becomes more important to the story as it progresses. Lois, rightfully peeved after falling for the hero only to have him take an extended leave of absence without a proper farewell, has recently won a Pulitzer Prize for an article which she wrote entitled "Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman." Unfortunately, her character takes a hit due to her ignorance or Superman’s alter-ego, Clark Kent, and his affection for her. This unrequited affection is displayed throughout the film, causing the desirable reporter to seem quite inconsiderate as a result. [READ MORE]

Waiting [R/Unrated]

[R/Unrated]
Live/Artisan | buy now
DVD Release Date: February 7, 2006

FV Rating:

Director: Rob McKittrick
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Luis Guzman, Dane Cook

Depending on who you consult, being considered among movies such as National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, and The American Pie Franchise can either be a compliment or an insult. This genre, which has become widely accepted amongst older high school-ers and college students alike in recent years, tends to aim to please this particular demographic as anyone younger shouldn’t be allowed to watch and most who are older would probably consider any and all of the movies that make up said genre to be nothing more than gross-out and immature humor, and rightfully so, as for every Van Wilder and American Pie, there are several Sorority Boys and 40 Days and 40 Nights, and for every Harold & Kumar there is a Dude, Where’s My Car. With that being said, even the greatest and most loved of these movies would be hard pressed to win anything other than a moonman at the MTV Movie Awards, which should actually be considered a positive more than anything, as this MTV generation is exactly that which such movies market to. [READ MORE]

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