Jennifer's Body: In Theaters 9.18.2009

"Jennifer's Body" is the second movie written by Academy Award winning "Juno" writer Diablo Cody and stars Megan Fox. The film's genre is a dark comedy with horror elements. Megan Fox plays Jennifer, a beautiful high school student who gets possessed by satan and starts killing and eating her male classmates. Megan Fox is so unbelievably good looking in this movie it's crazy. When Jennifer doesn't feast for a while it starts to hurt her appearance, but with Megan Fox playing her that never seemed to happened. "Mamma Mia!" star Amanda Seyfried plays Needy, Jennifer's best friend who strives to end her devilish rampage. The film also stars J.K. Simmons ("Spider-Man") playing a teacher, Amy Sedaris ("Strangers with Candy") playing Needy's mother, and Adam Brody ("The OC"). Brody plays a singer, who along with his bandmates possessed Jennifer. Simmons, Sedaris, and Brody all were very funny in the film and I wish they all had more scenes, especially Simmons and Sedaris. "Jennifer's Body" was directed by "Girlfight" and "Æon Flux" director Karyn Kusama. The film reminds me of several other horror movies like 1976's "Carrie", 1985's "Fright Night", and 1987's "The Lost Boys". Despite a couple flaws here and there "Jennifer's Body" still receives a decent 3 wheelchairs out of 5. View Trailer Here

The Informant!: In Theaters 9.18.2009

"The Informant!" is a dark comedy that stars Matt Damon. Damon plays Archer Daniels Midland executive Mark Whitarce, who in the early '90s blew the whistle on the company's price-fixing tactics. In 1992 Whitarce confessed to the FBI that he and other executives had routinely met with competitors to fix the price of lysine, a food additive. Whitarce secretly gathered hundreds of hours of video and audio over the next 3 years. Damon is simply spectacular as the bipolar informant. He makes you laugh by his quirkiness, insanity, and just downright dumb behavior. His behavior is so idiotic you'll be shaking and scratching your head almost the entire movie. My favorite part of the character is the unbelievably outrageous internal narrations. Damon had to gain 30 pounds for the title role. Scott Bakula ("Quantum Leap") and Joel McHale ("The Soup") co-star as FBI agents. This has been Bakula's biggest role in a very long time. Joel McHale was very impressive in his largest film role to date. I have never been a fan of his acting, especially in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 2". Though his acting drastically improved in this film and in his NBC show "Community". "The Informant!" was written by "The Bourne Ultimatum" co-writer Scott Z. Burns and directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh previously directed Damon in "Ocean's Eleven", "Twelve", and "Thirteen". The movie is not a slapstick comedy, it is a wonderfully written film."The Informant!" receives 4 wheelchairs out of 5. View Trailer Here

Everybody's Fine: Upcoming 12.4.2009

"Everybody's Fine" is a 2009 holiday film that stars Academy Award winner Robert De Niro. De Niro stars as Frank, a widower who embarks on an impromptu road trip to reconnect with each of his grown children. When he sees them, he discovers that their lives are not as perfect as they seemed. Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore, and Sam Rockwell co-star as De Niro's children, other castmembers include Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo ("Frozen River") and Katherine Moening ("The L Word"). The film is a remake of 1990's "Stanno tutti bene" by Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore. Some people are claiming that De Niro might win his third oscar because of his work in the film, but also because he is being honored at the Kennedy Center Honors. The publicity at the Kennedy Center will be great due to it being held on the same day as the film's release and the CBS telecast at the end of December won't hurt because it's just before Oscar nomination ballots go out. If De Niro does win an oscar it will be his first win since 1980 for his potrayal of Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull". "Everybody's Fine" was written and directed by "Nanny McPhee" director Kirk Jones and will be out in theaters on December 4, 2009. View Trailer Here

Silence: Upcoming 2010 or 2011

"Silence" is an upcoming film directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Benicio del Toro, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Daniel Day-Lewis. The movie is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Japanese Catholic author Shusaku Endo. The film follows two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Fr. Sebastiao Rodrigues and Fr. Francis Garrpe (Benicio del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal) who in the 17th century traveled to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. There they witness the persecution of Japanese Christians at the hands of their own government, which wished to purge Japan of all western influence. They also discover that due to being tortured, their mentor Fr. Cristovao Ferrerira (Daniel Day-Lewis) has committed apostasy or the abandonment of one's religion. This will be Scorsese's third collaboration will Day-Lewis, the other two collaborations were 1993's "The Age of Innocence" and 2002's "Gangs of New York". The film will be written by Scorsese and "Gangs of New York" writer Jay Cocks. The movie hasn't gotten an official release date, but will be released in either 2010 or 2011. "Silence" might begin shooting this year in the country of New Zealand.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: Upcoming May 2011

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" is the upcoming fourth film in the Pirates franchise and will be released in May of 2011. The proposed storyline for the movie is for Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa to meet up in newly founded New Orleans and then for them to set
sail to find the Fountain of Youth. As for the cast, Johnny Depp signed on to return in September '08, Geoffrey Rush has expressed interest in returning as Barbossa, Keira Knightley does not wish to return, and Orlando Bloom will not return either. Another change is the director, Gore Verbinski who directed the previous three films has scheduling conflicts, so he was replaced by "Chicago" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" director, Academy Award Nominee Rob Marshall. I don't understand why they would make another film after the disastrous third film, "At World's End". I was a big fan of "Curse of the Black Pearl", thought "Dead Man's Chest" was pretty good, but that last one was terrible. Maybe this one will be better due to the fact it will not be rushed. As opposed to the second and third films which were made simultaneously.

The Road: Upcoming 11.25.2009

"The Road", the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel has recently changed its release date from October 16, 2009 to November 25, 2009. The film tells the story of a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen as the father, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron. The film also just released their theatrical poster. View Trailer Here

Up in the Air: In Theaters 11.25.2009

"Up in the Air" is the third film by Academy Award nominated director Jason Reitman and stars George Clooney. Reitman previously directed 2006's "Thank You for Smoking" and 2007's "Juno". George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert who
travels around the country firing people. Ryan doesn't have a personal life and he numbs himself with sex, booze, and drugs. On occasion he delivers motivational speeches about the virtue of a relationship-free life. His life on the road however is threatened when his company chooses to ground him at corporate headquarters and when he meets the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. The movie co-stars Vera Farmiga ("The Departed") as the woman, Anna Kendrick ("Twilight"), Jason Bateman ("Extract") as Ryan's boss, Danny McBride ("Pineapple Express") as Ryan's brother in-law, J.K. Simmons ("Spider-Man"), and Zach Galifianakis ("The Hangover"). The film was written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Turner previously wrote 2005's "The Longest Yard" and 2006's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning". The movie is loosely based on the novel "Up in the Air" by Walter Kim. The film is due out in theaters on November 25, 2009 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. View Trailer Here

Inglourious Basterds: In Theaters 8.21.2009

"Inglourious Basterds" is the new film from acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino and it stars Brad Pitt. The movie opens in Nazi-occupied France, in 1941. It is here where we meet Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who is in charge of tracking down and killing Jewish families hiding in France. We then cut to the Basterds, a group of Jewish American soldiers led by Aldo "the Apache" Raine (Brad Pitt), Raine orders his crew to produces 100 Nazi scalps. The Basterds were specifically chosen to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds are made up of Eli Roth as Danny Donowitz, Til Schweiger as Hugo Stiglitz, Gedeon Burkhard as Wilhelm Wicki, B.J. Novak as Smithson Utivich, and Omar Doom as Omar Ulmer. The acting is this film is out of this world, Brad Pitt is funny, Til Schweiger is terrifying, and "Hostel" director Eli Roth is very surprising in his biggest acting role. The two female leads were played by Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger. They are both very good and very attractive in the film. The standout star though was Austrian actor Christoph Waltz. Waltz was amazing as the Colonel and might even be oscar worthy. Tarantino veterans Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel each make uncredited appearances in the film. Jackson plays the narrator and is heard twice, each time was done to perfection. "Inglourious Basterds" is quite an entertaining film, its cool, awesome, funny, dramatic, and at times is very gruesome. Tarantino did a great job on this one and you have to think he is back to his old ways. To me "Inglourious Basterds" is his best film by far this decade. "Kill Bill: Vol. 1", "Kill Bill: Vol. 2", and "Death Proof" were also released in this decade and are all well below average films. "Inglourious Basterds" gets 4 1/2 wheelchairs out of 5. View Trailer Here

All About Steve: In Theaters 9.4.2009

"All About Steve" is a 2009 comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. Bullock plays Mary Horowitz, a crossword constructor for the Sacramento Herald, a strange unusual single woman who lives with her parents. After Mary fears she may never meet a man, she accepts a blind date from her parents and meets news cameraman Steve (Bradley Cooper). After Steve is freaked out by Mary, he tells her that he has to leave to cover a news story. Mary stays happy and thinks Steve is Mr. Right. After a series of events, Mary starts to stalk Steve around the country to different news stories. The film co-stars Thomas Haden Church, Ken Jeong, and DJ Qualls. Church plays a egotistical news reporter who helps fuel Mary's infataution with Steve. Church is pretty funny in his part and to me is the best part of the entire movie. Surprising DJ Qualls didn't annoy me like he does in most of his movies. The film was written by "License to Wed" writer Kim Barker, "License to Wed" came out in 2007 and was basically unwatchable. Saying that "All About Steve" was so much better, but like "License to Wed" just didn't make it for me. "All About Steve" receives a bad 2 wheelchairs out of 5. View Trailer Here

Extract: In Theaters 9.4.2009

"Extract" is the latest movie from "Beavis and Butt-head" and "Office Space" creator Mike Judge. The film stars Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, J.K. Simmons, and Ben Affleck. Bateman plays Joel, an extract factory owner who gets fed up with his simply mundane life. Joel deals with many problems in the film that includes problems at work, problems at home, and just down right bad luck. Joel's life gets turned upside down, when his best friend Dean (Ben Affleck) convinces him to hire someone to sleep with his wife (Kristen Wiig), so he can feel free to then sleep with Cindy (Mila Kunis), an intern at the factory. Joel has second thoughts the next day to the fact he was under the influence the night before. "Extract" is full of laughs with the funniest parts coming from Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck. Dean is clearly my favorite Affleck character out of all films he has acted in. Mila Kunis and Kristen Wiig are both very cool and very funny in the film. Character actor David Koechner is hysterical as the annoying neighbor to Bateman and Wiig's characters. No "Extract" is not as good as Judge's 1999 comedy "Office Space", but is a very good comedy. "Extract" receives 3 1/2 wheelchairs out of 5. View Trailer Here

The Fighter: Upcoming 2010

"The Fighter" is an upcoming biopic about light welterweight boxer "Irish" Micky Ward. Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg has trained for a whole year to portray the Lowell, Massachusetts native, Ward. The film will focus on the relationship between Ward and his brother turned trainer, Dickie Eklund. Dickie was boxer himself and nearly beat Sugar Ray Leonard in a 1978 bout, but had to retire in 1985 due to drug abruse. After retiring, Dickie became his brother's full-time trainer for 26 fights from 1985-1991, Micky retired in 1991. After a three year absence from boxing, Dickie pushed Ward back into the ring and from 1994-97, he won nine straight fights. These wins propelled him to face bigger known fighters like Emanuel Augustus and Arturo Gatti. Micky was made famous for beating Augustus in 2001 and Gatti in 2002. Ward faced Gatti two more times over a course of a year, losing both times. Micky retired for the last time following his second loss to Gatti. The film will co-star Christian Bale as Dickie Eklund, Academy Award nominee Amy Adams as Ward's love interest, and Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo as a character not yet determined. To resemble the aging Eklund, Bale lost some weight and wore prosthetics on his face. The movie was written by "Donnie Brasco" writer Paul Attanasio and "Ghosts of Mississippi" writer Lewis Colick and directed by "Three Kings" and "I Heat Huckabees" director David O. Russell. "The Fighter" will be released sometime in 2010.

NEW!!: Invictus Picture: Upcoming 12.11.2009

The first picture of Clint Eastwood's "Invictus" has just recently been released. The picture features Matt Damon (right) as Francois Pienaar, the captain of 1995 South African World Cup winning Rugby team and Morgan Freeman (left) as South African President Nelson Mandela. The film chronicles how the 1995 Rugby World Cup helped bring the country of South Africa together after the fall of apartheid. The South African team beat the favorite New Zealand team 15-12 in the final at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium. Clint Eastwood will not be acting in the film. "Invictus" will be coming out in theaters on December 11, 2009.

New York, I Love You: Upcoming 10.16.2009

"New York, I Love You" is a romance film that is due out in theaters on October 16, 2009. The movie stars an ensemble cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, Ethan Hawke, James Caan, Julie Christie, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf, Blake Lively, Robin Wright Penn, Chris Cooper, and Natalie Portman. Portman co-wrote and co-directed the film as well. "New York, I Love You" is a collective work of eleven short films, with each segment running around 10 minutes. The segments never cross paths, but they all shared the same theme, love. All five boroughs of New York City were depicted as the setting for at the least one of the shorts. Eleven internationally known directors tackled each short, with some writing the segment as well. The best known directors from the bunch are From Hell's Allen Hughes, Vanity Fair's Mira Nair, Red Dragon's Brett Ratner, Elizabeth's Shekhar Kapur, and Natalie Portman. This is Portman's second try as a director, she previously directed the short film "Eve" in 2008. "New York, I Love You" was influenced by 2006's "Paris, je t'aime", which featured 18 short films and 21 international directors. View Trailer Here

The Rum Diary: Upcoming 2010

"The Rum Diary" is a film adaptation of the 1998 Hunter S. Thompson novel and it will star Johnny Depp. Depp who was a close friend of Thompson, has been trying to get this movie made since the year 2000. The film follows Paul Kemp a New York journalist who grows tired of America under the Eisenhower administration and decides to move to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once in Puerto Rico, Kemp begins to write for the fictitious paper The San Juan Daily News. While working for the paper, Kemp begins drinking rum heavily and becomes infatuated with Chenault, a colleague's girlfriend. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as the colleague, Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) as Chenault, Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan) as Moburg, and Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) as the paper's editor. The story takes place in the late 1950s. Thompson originally wrote the story in the early 60s, when he traveled from New York to San Juan to write for a ill-fated sports paper. Thompson then applied to write for The San Juan Star, in which he was denied. He did however became friends with some Star writers and that provided context for "The Rum Diary" plotline. The movie was written and directed by Academy Award nominee Bruce Robinson (The Killing Fields). "The Rum Diary" will be released in theaters sometime in 2010.

The Men Who Stare at Goats: Upcoming 11.6.2009

"The Men Who Stare at Goats" is a 2009 comedy based on the 2004 novel by Jon Ronson. The film stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges. Ewan McGregor plays Bob Wilton, a reporter who stumbles into the story of a lifetime when he meets special forces agent, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Lyn reveals that he has been involved for the past 20 years in a top secret unit within the American military whose purpose is to develop mind-control powers for psychic spying. Bob then joins Lyn to see the inner workings of the unit and witnesses their bizarre activities. The activities include staring at goats in order to kill them telepathically. Kevin Spacey plays Larry Hooper, a former psychic soldier, while Jeff Bridges plays the founder of the psychic program, Bill Django. Robert Patrick, Stephen Lang, and Stephen Root co-star in the film as well. The movie was directed by "Good Night, and Good Luck" co-writer and producer Grant Heslov. "The Men Who Stare at Goats" will be out in theaters on November 6, 2009. View Trailer Here