HappyThankYouMorePlease – (2010) On the way to meet a publisher, aspiring novelist Sam (Josh Radnor) encounters Rasheen (Michael Algieri) alone on the subway. While struggling to decide whether to send the young boy back to foster care, Sam looks after Rasheen and learns a few important life lessons. Meanwhile, Sam’s friends deal with various romantic tribulations. Radnor wrote and directed this comedy, which won the Best Drama Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Beastly- (2011) After arrogant teenager Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) humiliates a Goth classmate (Mary-Kate Olsen), she puts a curse on him that transforms him from a hunk into a hideous creature. To break the hex, Kyle must find someone who loves him for what he’s become. Living with a housekeeper after his heartless father (Peter Krause) throws him out, he connects with an addict’s daughter (Vanessa Hudgens) in this contemporary take on Beauty and the Beast.

The Lincoln Lawyer - (2011) Tasked with defending rich lothario Louis Roulet, who’s been charged with assault, lawyer Mick Haller finds himself and his family in danger when he deduces the truth behind this and former cases he’s worked on.

Trucker - (2011) Self-involved trucker Diane (Michelle Monaghan) contends with more than she thinks she wants to when her ex (Benjamin Bratt) is laid up in the hospital, forcing their 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett), to suddenly show up in her life — and need her. James Mottern writes and directs this unconventional take on motherhood, estrangement and family; Joey Lauren Adams co-stars.

Super - (2010) When his wife (Liv Tyler) falls in league with a drug dealer, average guy Frank D’Arbo (Rainn Wilson) dons the guise of a superhero, dubs himself the Crimson Bolt and tries to keep a tagalong comic-book store clerk (Ellen Page) from becoming his sidekick. But it’s hard to be a superhero when all you’ve got to work with is a pipe wrench. Kevin Bacon co-stars in this action-driven dramedy from writer-director James Gunn.

Win Win - (2011) When down-on-his-luck part-time high school wrestling coach Mike agrees to become legal guardian to an elderly man, his ward’s troubled grandson turns out to be a star grappler, sparking dreams of a big win — until the boy’s mother retrieves him.

Scream 4 - (2011) Perennial survivor Sidney Prescott, now a successful self-help author, returns to her home town of Woodsboro in the fourth act of director Wes Craven’s Scream franchise. Sidney’s homecoming, however, coincides with a slew of unsettling new murders.

POM Wonderful presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - (2011) Intrepid filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) directs this entertaining, bitingly ironic documentary, which scrutinizes the pervasive marketing, advertising and product placement practices that have become de rigueur in the entertainment industry. Cheerfully using the proceeds gleaned from product placement within this film to finance it (and underscore his point), Spurlock reveals the corporate power that saturates both film and television.

I Love You Phillip Morris – (2009) When upstanding Texas cop Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) realizes he’s gay, he changes his entire life and pulls a series of bold con jobs that lands him in jail — where he meets his one true love, cellmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). When Morris is transferred to another prison, lovesick Russell mounts a series of jailbreaks just to be with his beloved soul mate. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa direct this comedy based on a true story.

Happy Feet - (2006) Living with his colony in the Antarctic, young emperor penguin Mumble is aptly named: While his friends use their singing skills to attract mates, his caterwauling sends potential sweethearts waddling in the opposite direction. Yet Mumble is blessed with an unusual gift — he can tap dance in a way that would make Fred Astaire jealous. Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Robin Williams and Hugh Jackman lend their voices to this spirited Oscar winner.

The King’s Speech - (2010) Britain’s King George VI (Colin Firth) struggles with an embarrassing stutter for years until he seeks help from unorthodox Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) in this biographical drama that chalked up multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Logue’s pioneering treatment and unlikely friendship give the royal leader a sense of confidence that serves him and his country well during the dark days of World War II.

Predators - (2010) Rugged mercenary Royce (Adrien Brody) inherits command of an elite team of human fighters — including dorky-but-dangerous Edwin (Topher Grace) and tough-but-beautiful Isabelle (Alice Braga) — as they are hunted by a race of ruthless alien trackers known as Predators. Director Nimród Antal’s sci-fi action explosion, which also stars Laurence Fishburne and an uzi-toting Danny Trejo, is a direct sequel to the 1987 blockbuster Predator.

Somewhere - (2010) Set amid the hallowed grounds of Hollywood’s legendary Chateau Marmont, this atmospheric dramedy centers on hard-living actor Johnny (Stephen Dorff), whose life is thrown for a loop when his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning), pays him a surprise visit. As the two become better acquainted, Johnny realizes he needs to make changes. Oscar winner Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) directs this character-driven film co-starring Chris Pontius.

Love Actually - (2003) Writer-director Richard Curtis’s charming treatise on romance and relationships is an all-star ensemble comedy that tells 10 separate (but intertwining) London love stories, leading up to a spirited climax on Christmas Eve. One of the threads follows the newly installed Prime Minister (Hugh Grant), who, on his first day in 10 Downing Street, falls in love with the luminous girl (Martine McCutcheon) who brings him his tea.

Drive Angry - (2011) Career criminal Milton (Nicolas Cage) breaks out of prison to pursue the cult members who killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. Milton is in turn chased by a serial killer (William Fichtner) who’s determined to catch him before he can find redemption. Aiding Milton in his quest is Piper (Amber Heard), a comely waitress who supplies him with a muscle car that he uses to outrace the police that are hot on his trail.

The Company Men - (2010) Written, directed and produced by John Wells (“The West Wing”), this indie drama stars Ben Affleck as a successful businessman who comes face-to-face with America’s downsizing epidemic when he loses his job and is forced to take a construction gig. Rounding out the all-star cast are Kevin Costner as Affleck’s brother-in-law, Tommy Lee Jones as a conflicted corporate bigwig and Chris Cooper as a paranoid executive.

Religulous - Politically provocative talk show host Bill Maher skewers the current state of organized religion in this hot-button documentary that derives its title from a blend of the words “religion” and “ridiculous.” Making stops in Jerusalem, the Vatican and other holy destinations, Maher travels the world to talk to believers from a variety of faiths to find out why they’re so sure their religion is right — and why they’re so certain others are wrong.

The Lucky Ones - Three soldiers injured in the Iraq War return to native soil, only to find that their tour of duty has taken its toll on the home front. Hoping to repair their tattered lives, Colee (Rachel McAdams), Cheaver (Tim Robbins) and T.K (Michael Peña) set off on an impromptu cross-country road trip. While Colee seeks to repay her dead boyfriend’s family, Cheaver dreams of a big win in LasVegas, and T.K. tries to regain his confidence.

The Switch - Still single and increasingly attuned to the cacophony of her biological clock, 40-something Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) decides that if she can’t find a mate she’ll still pursue motherhood with the help of a sperm sample that’s not quite as anonymous as she thinks. As the baby grows up, Kassie’s best friend, Wally (Jason Bateman), agonizes over whether to reveal that he secretly replaced the donor sample with his own DNA.

Get Low - Oscar winners Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek team up to tell the true story of irascible Felix Bush, a backwoods Tennessee loner who planned his funeral in 1938 while he was still around to attend — and enjoy — the proceedings. Director Aaron Schneider’s deft blend of dark humor and poignancy also stars Bill Murray as Frank Quinn, the huckster owner of a failing funeral home, and Lucas Black as his dubious assistant.

The Next Three Days - When his wife (Elizabeth Banks) is sent to jail on murder charges she fervidly denies, college professor John Brennan (Russell Crowe) comes up with a plan to break her out by meticulously plotting the ultimate escape — despite the fact that he’s never committed a crime in his life. Writer-producer Paul Haggis (Crash) also directs this remake of the French film Pour Elle by Fred Cavayé. Liam Neeson and Brian Dennehy co-star.

My Best Friend’s Girl - When Dustin’s (Jason Biggs) girlfriend, Alexis (Kate Hudson), breaks up with him, he employs his best buddy, Tank (Dane Cook), to take her out on the worst rebound date imaginable in the hopes that it will send her running back into his arms. But when he begins to really fall for Alexis, Tank finds himself in an impossible position. Alec Baldwin and Lizzy Caplan star in this romantic comedy from director Howard Deutch (The Whole Ten Yards).

Pirate Radio - In 1966, hard-partying British DJs — a crew that includes Quentin (Bill Nighy), the Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Gavin (Rhys Ifans) and Dave (Nick Frost) — have the time of their lives running a radio station on a ship in the North Sea, broadcasting generation-defining (but banned) music to millions. But they face getting shut down by Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh). Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral) directs.

Charlie St. Cloud - Ben Sherwood’s intriguing novel is the basis of this ghost story about Charlie (Zac Efron), who is devoted to his brother, Sam, even after Sam’s death. As the caretaker of the cemetery where Sam is buried, Charlie has lots of time to commune with the dead. Sam visits frequently to hang out with Charlie, but when Charlie meets a mysterious young woman (Amanda Crew), he must decide whether to move forward or remain trapped in the past.

Heartbreakers - Mother-daughter con team Max (Sigourney Weaver) and Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt) make money the old-fashioned way: They swindle it. It works like this: Max seduces a lovestruck desperado, marries him and, with the aid of Page as “the other woman,” scams him for a huge divorce settlement. But the tables turn when they go after William Tensy (Gene Hackman), a rich mark with a smoker’s hack, and Page becomes smitten with bartender Jack (Jason Lee).

The American - On the heels of a rough assignment, assassin Jack (George Clooney) declares that his next job will be his last. Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him. Although duty will surely call, Jack becomes friends with Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and falls for villager Clara (Violante Placido) in this suspense thriller directed by Anton Corbijn.

Blood and Bone - After five years behind bars, Isaiah Bone (Michael Jai White) finally has the freedom to do what he wants. And the first thing on his list? Getting revenge for a fallen friend who asked him to take care of his wife and child should anything ever happen to him. Of course, meting out justice — Bone-style — will require total and complete immersion in the underground fighting scene. Eamonn Walker and Julian Sands co-star.

Derailed - Charles (Clive Owen), a successful ad exec and devoted family man, meets a sexy woman (Jennifer Aniston) on his morning commute. But their casual flirtation turns serious — just not in the way either expected — when a criminal pulls them into a dangerous plot. Now, with their lives thrown off-kilter, Charles and his paramour must turn the tables on the bad guys to save their families. Mikael Hafstrom directs.

Waiting for “Superman” - Dynamic documentarian Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) weaves together the stories of students, families, educators and reformers to shed light on the failing public school system and its consequences on the future of the United States. In this Sundance Audience Award winner for Best Documentary, Guggenheim deftly examines the options to improve public education and provide America’s teachers and students with the help they need.

The Ghost Writer - A writer (Ewan McGregor) stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician’s assistant drowns in a mysterious accident. In director Roman Polanski’s tense drama, the author realizes that his discovery threatens some very powerful people who will do anything to ensure that certain episodes from Lang’s past remain buried.

MacGruber - Based on the “Saturday Night Live” sketch, this action-packed comedy stars Will Forte as incompetent former special ops agent MacGruber. When he’s called back into action to deactivate archenemy Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber is on the case. Now, he must thwart Von Cunth’s plans to destroy Washington, D.C., with a nuclear warhead. Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Maya Rudolph and Powers Boothe co-star.

The Joneses - Keeping up with the Joneses (Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth) is next to impossible, considering they’re a family with good looks, fancy cars, a sprawling estate — and a shocking secret the neighbors would never guess. Gary Cole, Glenne Headly and Lauren Hutton co-star in this smart drama about the dark side of a material world from writer-director Derrick Borte.

Ondine - An Irish fisherman (Colin Farrell) hauls in an unexpected catch when a mysterious girl (Alicja Bachleda) gets tangled in his nets and soon affects the lives of everyone around her in this fantastical seaside tale from director Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire). Is it possible this beautiful stranger is a mythical sea nymph who’s been summoned from the ocean’s depths … or is she something far more common?

Death at a Funeral - Put-upon Aaron (Chris Rock) is always plagued by drama and dysfunction, but he encounters more than he can handle while attempting to plan his father’s funeral. What’s a family gathering without jealousy, tension and blackmail? Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover, James Marsden, Luke Wilson, Zoe Saldana, Regina Hall and Columbus Short round out a stellar ensemble cast. Neil LaBute directs.

I Am Comic – Going way beyond the funny, filmmaker Jordan Brady crafts an eye-opening portrait of the life of a professional comedian, shadowing retired comic Ritch Shydner as he bravely returns to the stand-up stage after more than a decade out of the spotlight. With the aid of candid interviews, backstage footage and performance clips, the film also rounds up advice from many popular comedians on what makes modern audiences laugh.

Jonah Hex - Enlisted by a Union soldier (Will Arnett), scarred bounty hunter Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) scours the Wild West in pursuit of Turnbull (John Malkovich), a crazed voodoo master with a scheme to assemble a devastating weapon that will destroy the government and lift the Confederacy. Based on the cult DC Comics hero, this action Western co-stars Michael Shannon as strange circus impresario Doc Cross Williams and Megan Fox as beautiful gunslinger Lilah.

Greenberg - At a crossroads in his life in New York, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) takes some time to figure things out and travels to Los Angeles, where he house-sits for his brother and forges an unlikely bond with his brother’s assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig). Acclaimed director Noah Baumbach’s (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding) finely observed relationship comedy also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rhys Ifans.

Alice in Wonderland -  A 19-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) journeys through Underland, where she experiences strange ordeals and encounters peculiar characters, including the vaporous Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry), the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and the sadistic Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas and Crispin Glover co-star in director Tim Burton’s bold adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic.

Batman: Under the Red Hood - There’s a mystery afoot in Gotham City when a shadowy vigilante known only as Red Hood (voiced by Jensen Ackles) sets his mind to stalking Batman (Bruce Greenwood) and his former sidekick, Dick Grayson (Neil Patrick Harris) — who now goes by the heroic name of Nightwing. But the duo can’t get too distracted, lest they fall prey to three familiar nemeses: the Joker (John Di Maggio), Ra’s al Ghul (Jason Isaacs) and Black Mask (Wade Williams).

Brooklyn’s Finest - Antoine Fuqua directs this tense drama about three wildly different New York cops whose paths collide in a Brooklyn housing project, where each must make a decision that will change the course of their lives forever. Cynical, washed-up Eddie (Richard Gere) no longer cares about the job or the rules; cash-strapped Sal (Ethan Hawke) sees a shortcut to solvency; and Tango (Don Cheadle) is torn between conflicting loyalties. Ellen Barkin co-stars.

The Wolfman - Based on the 1941 classic, this werewolf-themed horror film set in Victorian England centers on Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), an American man who, upon a visit to London, gets bitten by a werewolf. Talbot had come to England to make amends with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), but after a moonlight transformation leaves him with a savage hunger for flesh, family harmony is the least of his worries.

Moon - As he nears the end of a lonely three-year stint on the moon base Sarang, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) begins to hear and see strange things. It’s not long before Sam suspects that his employer — the conglomerate LUNAR — has other plans for him. Featuring Kevin Spacey as the voice of a robot, this sci-fi thriller also stars Matt Berry and Kaya Scodelario. The film was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival.

Legion - In the wake of an apocalypse of major proportions, a motley crew of survivors (including Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson and Kate Walsh) ekes out a living at an abandoned truck stop in the desert, never suspecting that the pregnant woman walking among them is carrying the Messiah. Paul Bettany co-stars in this thriller as the archangel Michael, who was sent to Earth to steer humankind away from darkness and toward the light.

Directed by: Brandon Vietti
Starring: Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Neil Patrick Harris, John Di Maggio
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action / Animation

Batman: Under the Red Hood is the latest in the series of DC Universe Animated movies. This film is based on two series of comics, Batman: A Death in the Family from the late 1980′s, and Batman: Under the Hood from the mid-2000′s. It certainly doesn’t follow everything page-by-page, but takes the overall themes and most necessary elements to translate to the screen. The introduction to the movie is a quick retelling of, arguably, one of Batman’s biggest failures. The following may seem like a spoiler, but any Batman fan is very familiar with this story, and it’s only the first 5 minutes or so of the movie. The Joker has apprehended Jason Todd, the 2nd Robin (Dick Grayson is all grown up and has taken the name Nightwing). He’s beating Jason within an inch of his life with a crowbar, taunting him the entire time. Meanwhile, Batman is speeding to the rescue on a Batcycle. Joker gives a farewell and exits the building, leaving Robin staring at a bomb ticking down to its final seconds. Batman hops off the bike and starts running toward the building, only to have it blow up in his face. He tears through the rubble, only to find Jason’s lifeless body. Yes, it’s an intense introduction leading into the opening credits.

The first thing I notice when watching any of these direct-to-video animated movies is the voice acting. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths was a good movie, but the people cast for the voices was disappointing. To replace the iconic voice of Kevin Conroy is a huge responsibility. William Baldwin was far from a convincing Batman. Bruce Greenwood, however, was surprisingly fantastic as The Dark Knight. At times he sounded very similar to Conroy, and at others he sounded unique while still maintaining the dark and smoky voice without going the Christian Bale gravelly route. John Di Maggio had a giant task in front of him as well, as fans have grown to accept nothing less than the voice and laugh of Mark Hamill’s Joker. Di Maggio made the smart decision to not even try to imitate Hamill’s Joker, but instead go his own way with it. I would describe the result as a cross between Hamill’s and Heath Ledger’s versions of the Joker. While I missed Hamill’s rendition at the beginning of the movie, by the end I had an appreciation for Di Maggio’s performance as well.

As far as the story and how this stacks up against the other DC Universe Animated movies, you’ll be happy to know that Batman: Under the Red Hood is among the best of the bunch. While some of the other recent releases, such as Green Lantern: First Flight or Superman: Doomsday, felt a little stale, B:UtRH is in a league along with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Wonder Woman. The characters are completely fleshed out and put into dramatic moments that will grip you. The animation is beautiful, the character design is flawless, and there are enough characters thrown in from the Bat-universe to keep fans happy without watering down the story. The one drawback for some might be that the movie doesn’t waste time with history lessons, assuming that you have a familiarity with the majority of characters involved. I appreciate that DC is willing to do this for the fans, because what we’re left with is the meat of the story without having to rehash so many things we already know.

Bottom Line: “Dare To Look Beneath The Hood”, and you’ll find one of the best animated superhero movies in existence.

Rating: 10/10  

Trailer:

Mary and Max - Mary Dinkle, a chubby 8-year-old Australian girl, and Max Horovitz, an obese, middle-aged New Yorker with Asperger’s syndrome, are a pair of unlikely pen pals in this quirky clay animation feature from writer-director Adam Elliot. Corresponding for two decades, the friends delve into a variety of topics, including sex, kleptomania, psychiatry, taxidermy and more. Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman provide the voices of Mary and Max.

Super Capers - When wannabe superhero Ed Gruberman (Justin Whalin) winds up in court for superhero brutality, the judge orders him to team up with the Super Capers, a group of inept trainees, in this engaging comic book satire. Along with Felicia Freeze (Danielle Harris), Will Powers (Ryan McPartlin), Herman Brainard (Sam Lloyd) and others, Ed tries to fight the forces of evil. But when he’s framed for a heist, he must travel back in time to set things right.

An Education - Jenny’s (Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan) Oxford-bound teen life is a bore in 1961 London until she’s given a different kind of education after being immersed in the beguiling but hazardous world of much-older David (Peter Sarsgaard). Even Jenny’s parents, Jack (Alfred Molina) and Marjorie (Cara Seymour), are intrigued by him, but her unimpressed teacher (Olivia Williams) works to keep Jenny’s entire future from crumbling under David’s influence.

Fantastic Mr. Fox - When Mr. Fox’s nightly raids on three nearby farms raise the ire of the selfish farmers, he must outwit the men’s increasingly outrageous plans to catch him in this animated adaption of the Roald Dahl book. As the farmers’ schemes take a toll on his hungry family, Mr. Fox must find a new way to get his paws on the bounty. Wes Anderson directs, and George Clooney and Bill Murray lend their voice-over talents in this Oscar nominee.

When in Rome - After fishing out coins from a water fountain in Italy, cynical New Yorker Beth Harper (Kristen Bell) finds herself being wooed by several ardent suitors. As she deals with the attention, Beth tries to figure out whether a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) really loves her. Danny DeVito, Anjelica Huston, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Will Arnett also star in this romantic comedy. Mark Steven Johnson directs.

She’s Out of My League - When he starts dating drop-dead gorgeous Molly (Alice Eve), insecure airport security agent Kirk (Jay Baruchel) can’t believe it. As his friends and family share their doubts about the relationship lasting, Kirk does everything he can to avoid losing Molly forever. Kyrsten Ritter, Lindsay Sloane, Jasika Nicole and Andrew Daly also star in this charming romantic comedy about unlikely lovers. Jim Field Smith directs.

Valentine’s Day - In this Los Angeles-set comedy from director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman), the tripwires of modern love are exposed in a carousel involving relationships and the single life on the most romantic day of the year: February 14. Proposals, infidelity, loneliness and more are explored. Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper and Patrick Dempsey lead a star-studded cast.

Shutter Island - World War II soldier-turned-U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by his own troubling visions and by Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley). Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer and Max von Sydow co-star in director Martin Scorsese’s plot twist-filled psychological thriller set on a Massachusetts island in 1954.

Extraordinary Measures - After their two young children are diagnosed with a rare genetic disease for which conventional medicine has no cure, John (Brendan Fraser) and Aileen (Keri Russell) pin their hopes on the work of unconventional scientist Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Director Tom Vaughan’s heartfelt drama is based on the true story of the Crowley family, as chronicled by journalist Geeta Anand in her book The Cure.

The Informant – While gathering evidence against his institutional employer to help the FBI build a price-fixing conspiracy case, affable agribusiness executive Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) begins to piece together a fantasy world of his own. Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey co-star in Steven Soderbergh’s dark comedy, which is based on Kurt Eichenwald’s acclaimed nonfiction book about the true-life Corporate America whistle-blower.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths – Alternate universes collide when Lex Luthor (voiced by Chris Noth) drops in from another dimension, imploring the Justice League to save his version of Earth — where he’s a good guy — from a group of supervillains called the Crime Syndicate. Mark Harmon, James Woods and William Baldwin lend their voices as Superman, Owlman and Batman, respectively, in this animated feature based on DC Comics characters.

Planet 51 – When Earth astronaut Capt. Chuck Baker (Dwayne Johnson) arrives on Planet 51 — a world reminiscent of American suburbia circa 1950 — he tries to avoid capture, recover his spaceship and make it home safely, all with the help of an empathetic little green being. Joe Stillman (Shrek) writes and Jorge Blanco directs this animated thrill ride that also features the vocal talents of Jessica Biel and Gary Oldman.

The Blind Side – Oversized African American Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean (Tim McGraw), Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL. Bullock’s performance garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination and Best Actress Golden Globe Award. Kathy Bates co-stars.

Directed by: Daniel Myrick
Starring: Jonas Ball, Matthew R. Anderson, Jon Huertas
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / War

The Objective is a low budget Twilight Zone/Bermuda Triangle themed movie. Directed and written by Daniel Myrick, The Objective is set in Afghanistan where CIA agent Benjamin Keynes requests the help of a US special ops team to escort him into the remote mountains of Afghanistan in order to find a cleric by the name of Mohammad Aban. The team picks up a local translator to help with their navigation and dialogue with the people of the region. As the team moves in and out of Afghan villages, a narration is done by main character Agent Keynes who fills us in that this mission is more than finding a specific cleric. It doesn’t remain hidden from the team for long that the CIA sent Agent Keynes here to investigate an unknown heat signal picked up by satellite in the remote mountain region. The US military had great concern this was quite possibly a secret base for Taliban weapons, even a nuclear bomb. But the real confusion comes in the form of paranormal activity the further these men travel into the mountains. Strange lights, shadows, sand filled canteens, and even valleys that are not supposed to be there come to the attention of the now paranoid and confused soldiers.

The Objective made me realize how much I missed the show The X-files. I only wish this movie had a higher budget, and a few better actors, be patient with that aspect. They seemed to also have done their military homework for a movie, but Brian will check to see the validity of that (smiles); in other words it seemed like they had actual military personnel on set to help with procedure accuracy as much as possible. I think the movie could have been scarier and the low budget attributed to this. It’s always hard to make an effect scary when it looks like something done for a B-rated Sci-Fi channel movie.

Special Effects and military accuracy aside, the movie brings to light a parallel sense of symbolism. It was the topic of the actual war in Afghanistan, and the fact that what we’re up against has many attributes that are unknown. The land, the history, the number of enemies, what it takes to endure, and the psychological stress it all brings down on soldiers stationed there. Now, I don’t think it was deliberately forced to be a strong political movie, but what I do mean to say is this movie in some way or another gave attention to the chaos of this region. There are many mysteries to this land that stretch back to the times of Alexander the Great and through the British Empire; I love the connection between the actual event of the “Hill of Bones” and this movie (look it up on Wiki). The Objective has a theme that is haunting; the anxiety the only present day super power has is not a fear of another super power, but of the unknown.

Rating: 3.5/5  

I wanted to revisit some older releases from around the globe I feel are great sci-fi action films. Since these came out a few years ago and some people might be familiar with them, I’ll keep it short and put all 3 in one post. OK, get in the plane…I’m serving Vodka on the rocks because our first stop is in Moscow.

Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) (2004)

The first movie installment based off a Russian book trilogy, Night Watch is like the high testosterone, binge drinking, visually stimulating, and much much better written version of Twilight. It has different “classes” of supernatural beings; Vampire, Shapeshifter, Seer, etc. along with some other random crazy cool powered people. The story is set around a treaty that was made long ago which was an agreement that the side of Dark and the side of Light would cease all wars because both sides were equally matched and they would simply annihilate each other. What was then created were equally authoritative units called “Watches” to make sure the other side wasn’t doing something it wasn’t suppose to. Poop hits the fan when our main character Anton discovers a seer that foretells the Apocalypse coming. The plot gets very interesting when the fate of mankind rests upon the decision of a boy over light or dark. It sounds cliche and yes I rolled my eyes at it, but the great thing about Night Watch is that it turns the plot around when you see who is related to who which keeps the movie away from being generic. The ending is a trip, a twist that I did not expect that becomes answered in the sequel, titled Day Watch (unfortunately a merging of the last two movies into one).

Natural City (2003)

The high quality cinematography and special effects in Natural City blew my mind. It has such a great environment and Blade Runner feel to the movie while still being its own film. The only problem I had with this movie was that the middle of the film gets very slow…there, I warned you. In the future people use cyborgs for different social working jobs and entertainment. The problem is they have a very short lifespan, which gets to be an issue when one of the main characters, named R, falls in love with a cyborg. R and his partner Noma are a special team of cops trained to track down and kill renegade cyborgs. R is caught between duty and desire when he discovers there is a black market technology that can transfer a cyborg’s mind into a human body. R is faced with the choice of saving the cyborg/girl he loves and killing off one crazy renegade cyborg (that has some good martial arts skills) that threatens society. Now it’s time to check out what France has to offer for a crazy martial arts/stunt flick…

District B13 (2004)

There are no white flags here, lots of guns though… and guys jumping off buildings and cars. You might have seen a clip of the big chase scene from District B13, and if so then that is pretty much most of the movie. This is a great popcorn action flick to watch, but I’m giving you a heads up. It contains a lot of cliche; the mob boss that kills his own men for not using the right deodorant, the lone cop, the nuclear bomb threat, some dude’s sister, and monkeys that have jet-packs (jk). District B13 takes place in the far off and unknown future of 2010 (gulp). Ghettos are blocked off from the main city of Paris and thus run by crime bosses that shoot their own men for peeing in a straight line. The baguette hits the fan when these thugs get a hold of a nuclear weapon, and a lone cop named Damien is sent in to infiltrate this district in order to disarm it. The problem is he has no idea how to get around, he recruits a partner/thug named Leito. The two of them perform some crazy ninja moves and stunts, so if you liked movies such as The Transporter and Ong-Bak, this might butter your croissant.

If you haven’t seen the movie, this review pretty much summarizes the entire film through every major plot point.

Directed by: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Catherine Keener
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure / Family / Fantasy

Just yesterday my father-in-law came over to my house with a gift for my wife: Where the Wild Things Are. But, this wasn’t the book, it was the movie. Now, when I first heard this movie was coming out, I was in South Carolina in the summer, and although I was on a golf trip,  I went to the nearest Borders and flash read the childhood classic. I once again enjoyed the amazing visuals, and the story was a little more odd than I remember, but it was still fun. Anyway, like I was saying, my wife and I received the movie yesterday, and since we are having a little boy in July, I thought it only right to screen what I thought would quickly become his favorite movie. And I was amazed at how 90 minutes of film would quickly relocate this flick from my “children’s collection” (which features the likes of Toy Story 1-2, Bee Movie, and Brave Little Toaster) to the 10+ rack.

The movie commences with “Wolf” Max violently chasing his black poodle with a fork. He eventually catches it and manhandles the poor thing. Lucky for me, I knew it was all fake, but after watching the practically torturous event, I said to myself, “Yikes, this isn’t as kid-oriented as I expected.” It was funny too because after the first scene all my father-in-law said was, “This kid is an animal.” I thought it interesting he said such a thing because Max was in a wolf costume, and I equated his dress with his behavior. Although a little violent and crazy for my PG perception, the movie progressed to show the horrible home-life of the main character.

The attention-emaciated child is seen trying to get the attention of his sister and mother all throughout the beginning, but to no avail. At one point he even succumbed to his child-like, annoying little brother instincts and attacked his sister’s friends with snowballs, just to get attention. His plan backfires when he goes to hide in the snow fort he made and one of his sister’s friends jumps on it leaving it utterly decimated and collapsed right on top of Max. At this point, I was unnerved as I relived one of my personal childhood fears–being stuck under a snow fort that collapsed on me. Luckily, Max gets out of the fort, stands up, and cries (I would do the same thing). At this point in the film, although Max receives the attention he wanted for a moment, it goes too far and his sister, Claire, doesn’t even stick up for him. Instead, she gives him a sad look and leaves him there, ALONE and in tears. The next scene then shows him in his sister’s room with his snowy, muddy boots jumping all over her bed. And then, out of anger, he destroys a little heart that he made her.

After a few more scenes of Max not getting attention, he decides to go overboard one night while his mom ignores him for some ugly dude. Max dresses up in his wolf costume again and goes downstairs to stand on the table and demand food from his mother. After a verbal reprimand, he eventually bites her. This leads to him flipping out and running away. And once again, throughout all of this time, I consistently heard, “This kid is an animal; he’s outta control!” And all I could do was agree. The character was as wild as the “Things” that we had not yet seen.

Now in the book, Max is bad, gets sent to his room without dinner, has a forest grow in his room, crosses the ocean and has fun on an island with the “Wild Things”, gets homesick, and wakes up in his room with a warm meal waiting for him. In the movie, when he runs away, this is where he gets into a forest, finds his boat and sails to the island of the “Wild Things”. Max arrives at the island after a lonely sea adventure and finds the main “Wild Thing” named Carol destroying houses of the other creatures in his group. Carol asks for help, but everyone else  is rather flabbergasted with his overreaction to some unknown event and they ignore him. At this moment Max builds with courage, jumps out and crushes a small hole in a house; it impresses Carrol, but not the others. They all then circle Max and this is when the movie really began to get creepy. They surround him and begin asking about what he is and then say they will eat him. As I was watching this, I said to myself, anyone under the age of 8 would be petrified just by watching this scene. Picture it, a little boy, surrounded by monsters threatening to eat him in the middle of nowhere;  I can’t say I fully knew what Max was thinking at that moment, but I know that if I were there I would be scared and want my mom; and, oh yeah, I am twenty-three.

Ha! Anyway, Max goes on to lie in order to gain some stature and the rest of the movie is about how he relates to all of the creatures. Each creature has its own personality trait; one is depressing, one is on the wild side (Carol), one is quiet, and yet all were very very moody. It made me a little upset that the creatures were so touchy, but I continued to watch. After gaining stature in the community, Max–acting as the perfect politician–breaks his promises as king and then tension builds between the “Wild Things”. (I don’t remember that happening in the book.) But before tension builds, Max brings a happy new atmosphere into the state of Wild Country by demanding they all play and howl at the moon and sleep in piles. Everyone seems happy, but then a little drama is brought in when Carol doesn’t like two owls that JW (Carol’s ex-girlfriend maybe? (It never gets explained too well)) is friends with. Carol finds out that Max is just a little boy when he is told by another wild thing. Carol then rips off the arm of this other wild thing and white “something” is shown oozing from the other “thing’s” body. I couldn’t believe that the film showed such violence and almost gore, and once again, at this point, the movie questioned my PG perception. After this violent outburst, Carol gets so upset he threatens to eat Max and Max hides in JW’s stomach–an odd hiding spot if you ask me. Once out of JW’s stomach, he decides to leave the island, because he knows he is a bad king, and is in fact homesick. But, before he leaves he tells the “Wild Things” that they really need a mom.

Although there was a “breakup” of sorts with Carol–Max’s favorite “Wild Thing”–Carol recognizes his fault when he finds a scant memento left by Max. He then runs to see Max leave the island and almost misses the bon voyage, but he makes it just in time, allowing me to consider this moment a mostly happy ending. The only problem I had was, Carol didn’t get to hug Max, or even vocally say goodbye. He only watches him leave, and that made me about 10% sad.

Finally, the movie comes back to the real when Max’s boat lands back in the forest and he ventures home. When he gets home his mom greats him and watches him eat his warm dinner (or maybe it was cake) with a giant smile on her face. Although this scene isn’t Max waking up to a warm meal, it is pretty close.

Perhaps you have noticed that up until now I have mentioned a plethora of emotions throughout my review: loneliness, happiness, depression, sadness, anger, courage, homesickness, fear, and forgiveness. One of the paramount qualities of this movie was its ability to evoke emotion from me. I was amazed at how I felt courage, fear, and loneliness along with Max. I was reminded of how my childhood was filled with all of those emotions. I remember overreacting when my sister and parents pissed me off even though I was being irrational, and I remember how I was oh-so-often forgiven by the same family members. Honestly, the ability of this movie to connect with its audience is amazing.

And although I was astonished by this movie’s ability to stimulate emotion, it was also its downfall (as a children’s movie). When Max was scared, there were some alarmingly intimidating scenes; when Max was erratic and disrespectful, it wasn’t a secret to the viewer, and I’m just not sure these scenes are the scenes a parent would want their 4-year old who has read the book to see; perhaps the images were too vivid. Images plant ideas into children’s heads and I think that children would either be having nightmares for a week or they would be standing on their tables shouting, “MAKE ME DINNER, WOMAN!”

As far as the acting is concerned, the actor who played Max–Max Records–was stunning. Every line he delivered, and every visual movement he made had me convinced he was born to play a bratty, challenged child. I also must say that the  “Wild Things” animation was incredible. In fact, it was done so well, I am not even sure if the “Wild Things” were animated at all; they may have been real! Not only were the “Things” well animated, but they looked exactly like the characters in the book. I was also happy to see that Maurice Sendak had a say in what went into the movie, and I know this is why viewers got to experience the emotions of childhood (mentioned above), because it is what the book is about– experiencing childhood.

Besides the dark visuals and blatant disrespect, the only other issue I had with the movie was its depressing mood. Although not entirely depressing, I was still a little gloomy when the credits started to role. This is not the same mood I felt when I finished the book last summer–or when I was a kid. When I was a kid I was often left hungry thinking about a warm meal, and this summer I was left happy recognizing unconditional love and forgiveness. And although the final scene had mom and child reunited, something was missing; I just don’t know what.

Rating: 4.5/5  

I’m not a big horror fan; I like my horror movies as I like pornography…DISTURBING!! I am kidding, but for real, it’s easy to do blood and gore, but it’s hard to make me stay awake all night wondering if my bed is going to start shaking. The House of the Devil came out in late 2009 and I was tempted to see it because it looks as if it was completely filmed in the early 1980s and re-released in 2009. Not the case. Director Ti West wanted the look of the era where many people believed there were Satanic Cults all around America. I have to give the film its credit with this retro look as everything is convincing of the times.

Lets get to it then. The film stars a young no name actress, Jocelin Donahue, as the main character Samantha. She’s a college student who apparently hates her living condition and is looking for an apartment to stay in rather than split a dorm with her skanky loser roommate. Samantha winds up scoring a good deal on an apartment but now she’s concerned on how she can start paying the rent because she has no job. Checking over the bulletin board on campus for job postings she sees a white piece of paper that says “Baby $itter Needed” and some tabs with a phone number to call (our plot is moving.. a little). After we listen to some old 80s tunes we’re on the way to check this house out with Samantha and her friend that is giving her the ride. (Side thought: How the hell did we do anything back then? Seriously, we’re spoiled. This film takes place in the early 1980s and there were no: cellphones, GPS, computers, etc. but they somehow find their way to this house in the country a few miles from campus…) Samantha and her friend make a deal; if these people are creepy they bounce. They’re more than creepy as it turns out the couple living in the house don’t have a child at all. They want her to stay in the house because of his elderly mother upstairs. Samantha’s friend tells her this is stupid, they lied, get the hell out of here. Samantha stays however since she is now offered $400 for 4 hours instead of $100 and she needs the money for her new place. OK, we’ll buy it. Her friend leaves, the couple who own the house leave, and Samantha is here in this big old house all alone with some elderly woman upstairs in a bedroom she is told doesn’t need to be bothered. Yeah, this is where if it were me I’d be staying with a shotgun and $4,000. The entire talk of this night on the news is that there’s a perfect lunar eclipse about to take place… spooky.

The film set this great setting and it convinced me a little of why she stayed, I went along with it, but here is where the film got stale. The anticipation was good and kept me on edge, but it was also slow. I think I was expecting more of a progressive pace along the lines of The Exorcist. What was needed were another thirty minutes to the movie. Samantha starts to find pictures of a younger couple in the house with a kid that were all recent pictures, none of which are the older couple she met that evening. She is hearing noises throughout the house with no response from this mother in bed upstairs.

Suddenly the film takes a much faster pace all too quick, as if they were running out of time and needed to get to an ending. The movie now becomes a slasher film but with some creepy makeup effects on the “mother” we discover (similar to the girl in The Exorcist). I liked the build of the movie, although very slow, I just didn’t enjoy how the end was shoved in there very fast. If you are into creepy anticipation style scary movies then rent this, but skip it if you’re the type that can’t sit still (the slow pace will be torture for you) or gets wigged out by “based on true events” horror movies.

Rating: 3/5  

Definitely, Maybe: Interested in knowing how her divorcing parents met, young Maya (Abigail Breslin) listens as her dad, Will (Ryan Reynolds), recounts his romantic past with three different and special women: Emily (Elizabeth Banks), April (Isla Fisher) and Summer (Rachel Weisz) — leaving Maya to guess which one is her mom. Kevin Kline makes an appearance in writer-director Adam Brooks’s tender tale of father-daughter bonding and lost love.

Fragments: Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning and Forest Whitaker lead an all-star cast in this haunting tale about the survivors of a madman’s senseless shooting spree. As they grapple with fate, each suffers aftereffects as uncontrollable as the crime itself. Loneliness, guilt, despair and faith consume them until each finds an epiphany among the ruins. Jennifer Hudson and Guy Pearce star in this drama based on Winged Creatures, a novel by Roy Freirich.

What Goes Up: When New York newsman Campbell Babbett (Steve Coogan) is sent from the city to the sticks to cover a local hero celebration, he becomes a hero of sorts after he takes interest in a group of discontented, confused high school students. But soon, Campbell gets entangled in a web of lies and misplaced sexual desire. Helmer Jonathan Glatzer’s wry feature debut set in the 1980s co-stars Molly Shannon, Hilary Duff, Olivia Thirlby and Josh Peck.

Serious Moonlight: When Louise (Meg Ryan) discovers that her husband, Ian (Timothy Hutton), is about to run off to Paris with a much younger woman, Sara (Kristen Bell), she does what any self-respecting wife would do: She duct-tapes him to the toilet, which is where he remains when their home is burglarized. The plot only gets thicker in this dark comedy helmed by first-time director Cheryl Hines and penned by Adrienne Shelly.

If you’re me (which I am), sometimes there are movies that no matter how bad they look, or how bad people have told you they are, I just can’t resist seeing. With Netflix, these movies are easier to avoid, because you can add them to your queue, have second thoughts, and remove them. Walking around an old brick-and-mortar video store though, they’re harder to resist, so you end up taking them to the register and bringing them home before you have a chance to reason yourself out of them.

Which is how I ended up watching G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It looked bad. People told me it was bad. And yet, there I was, taking it off the shelf and putting it into my DVD player.

And I got what I expected: Two-dimensional characters? Check. Crappy dialogue? Check. Muddled plot?  Check. Uninspiring action set pieces?  Check.

The worst part about it is that my rationale for renting G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was the same as when I saw the first live-action Transformers movie a couple years ago. It looked terrible, but I kept thinking that my nostalgia for the source material would at least make it palatable. I don’t remember if Transformers pulled out any “more than meets the eye” or “robots in disguise” business, but when “a real American hero” (groan) and “knowing is half the battle” (double groan) cropped up early in this one, I knew I was in trouble.

Like the live-action Transformers movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra wastes a lot of time doling out a lot of mythology that isn’t very compelling. The key to making dense mythologies work is to invest the audience in the characters first, then dive into the back story. I mean, who cares that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father if you don’t care about the characters? The fact that Duke, Baroness and “The Doctor” (Cobra Commander, but they don’t call him that until the end) have a complicated history, and that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have been rivals since childhood never really hits because the characters are just so dull.

Part of this has to be laid at the feet of the actors. Channing Tatum (Duke) and Sienna Miller (Baroness) aren’t accepting little gold statues anytime soon. I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt has the chance to be the actor of his generation, but behind the makeup and voice distortion, any semblance of a real performance disappears.

Despite some dubious career decisions, I actually think very highly of Marlon Wayans, but other than being the sass-talking black guy who (predictably) saves-the-day-at-the-last-possible-second-when-nobody-ever-believed-in-him, he doesn’t rise above the material. Christopher Eccleston is another favorite, but he’s basically asked to play a Roger Moore-era Bond villain.

The most egregious mistake the filmmakers made was the complete misuse of Dennis Quaid. The Quaid is nothing less than a force of sheer masculine nature who deserves the reverence the Internet usually reserves for Chuck Norris. His inclusion in the movie puts a strain on the credulity of multiple plot points.

First of all, if The Quaid was in charge of G.I. Joe, there would be no need to recruit additional members. The Quaid could single-handedly take on whatever ninjas, terrorists, mad scientists, pirates, vikings, alien invaders, or Sith Lords that could possibly be a threat to world peace.

Second, a plot point towards the end of the movie involves The Quaid’s operation being temporarily shut down by a bunch of bureaucrats. The Quaid answers to no one.

The Quaid disappears for much of the movie when he is incapacitated after being impaled through the chest. At one point, he is even shown in a wheelchair. Of all the aspects of the movie involving The Quaid, this is the least credible – impaling him through the chest is not enough to take him out of the action.

To return to an earlier theme,  like the live-action Transformers movie, this flick involves a ridiculously esoteric weapon that can’t possibly fall into the wrong hands only it does and “Oh, no!” There are chases. There are explosions. It’s boring.

In fact, that’s my biggest criticism of the movie – it’s just boring. When people are running around shooting at each other with terribly space age weapons, I should at least want to stop folding laundry for a minute and just sit down and watch the movie, right? G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra didn’t even pass that test.

Director Stephen Sommers made his name with The Mummy, which was a fun, pulpy movie that didn’t take itself too seriously and in Brendan Frasier, at least gave the audience a hero that was worth rooting for. Since then, he’s made clunkers like Van Helsing and now this. His touch for making dopey action fun has abandoned him, leaving lots of dopey action and no fun.

Directed by: Sam Liu, Frank Paur
Starring: Voices of Fred Tatasciore, Bryce Johnson, Steve Blum, Matthew Wolf
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Animation / Action

We are truly living in a golden age. In the past decade, the Red Sox have won the World Series twice and the Patriots have won the Super Bowl three times. Some of the best television ever, such as Arrested Development, Mad Men, The Wire, and LOST (wouldn’t it be great if someone reviewed that on this site on a weekly basis?) have hit the airwaves. Marvel introduced their Ultimate line, which reinvented classic characters for a new era while subtly tweaking classic story lines.

And of course, we’ve had super hero movies. So, so many super hero movies which have finally legitimized a marginalized movie genre and taken theaters by storm.

To me, super hero movies are like pizza. Even when they’re bad, they’re still pretty good. Last decade saw a flood of super hero movies. I’ll allow that there were definitely more bad ones than good ones. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, the first two Spider-Man movies, the first two X-Men movies, and Iron Man are the undisputed champs. As much as I want to like them, the third Spider-Man and X-Men movies kinda sucked. X-Men Origins: Wolverine put the ‘god’ in godawful. With Superman Returns, Brian Singer managed to ruin two franchises by putting the third X-Men movie in Brett Ratner’s hands and by making a shockingly dull Superman movie. I still defend Daredevil, but Elektra was X-Men Origins: Wolverine bad. The Fantastic Four movies were a lot like the comics that inspired them – pleasantly innocuous. I’ve only seen the first Hulk movie (a noble failure) and I haven’t heard anyone rave about the second one.

The important part is that those movies were being made, which is a victory in itself for The Geek Generation crowd.

What has flown under the radar somewhat is all of the direct-to-DVD animated movies that both DC and Marvel put out this last decade. I mean, I really don’t care about Dr. Strange, but make a decent animated flick about the guy, and I’ll watch it. The Ultimate Avengers titles, Green Lantern: First Flight, and The Invincible Iron Man are just some of the gems that you can only pick up on DVD.

So when I had a chance to watch Hulk Vs., featuring a Hulk/Wolverine throwdown and another one that saw the gamma-fueled green guy against Asgard’s mightiest, I had to take a look.

I came into both segments with a lot of anticipation. For the Wolverine segment, it was a chance to see a character I knew really well (and who made his comics debut against the Hulk), and for the Thor segment, it was a chance to familiarize myself with a character who I didn’t know a lot about.

The Wolverine segment went in an unpleasantly unexpected direction. Since the title of the disc is Hulk Vs., I wasn’t expecting Wolverine’s rogues gallery to figure prominently, but that’s what I got. In the short, the Weapon X project is trying to take Hulk down, and our favorite Canadian brawler got help(?) from Sabretooth, Deadpool, Omega Red, and Lady Deathstrike. Sabretooth benefited from a less-is-more approach (just make him mean and hate Wolvie!) and Deadpool was played to his motormouth best (unlike his depiction in the aforementioned and execrable X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Omega Red’s always a little problematic because his Russian accent gets overplayed, and Lady Deathstrike was a bit of an afterthought, but neither of them hurt the production.

Both segments featured wall-to-wall action, which, based on the title, means you’re getting what you paid for. One thing I was impressed by in the Wolverine section was that he actually drew blood with his claws (and even cut Deadpool’s arm off). X-Men cartoons have always been squeamish about Wolverine using his claws against another living person, so it was nice to see him cut loose.

While the Wolverine segment was more of a Wolverine story than a Hulk story, the Thor segment was more of a fifty-fifty split. The second part of the disc features Thor’s half-brother Loki using Hulk to attack Asgard during the one time of the year that the home of the gods is vulnerable.

There’s a lot of Asgard business – a Thor love triangle, the Warriors Three, the Norse Hell – but there’s a stronger focus on Bruce Banner and the curse of the Hulk than the first segment. Seeing Hulk thrash a bunch of immortals and their celestial home carries a visceral thrill, but ultimately it comes down to Bruce Banner proving that he can be a hero by embracing his Hulk half for the greater good.

Rating: 8/10  

Lately I’ve been in a movie-watching frenzy catching up on everything 2009 had to offer. When you watch as many as I do, it’s fairly easy to sort out the “Don’t Bother”s from the “Rent Me Now”s. Every month or so, I’ll give you a rundown of some of the movies I’ve watched lately and whether or not they’re worth your time.

Phoebe in Wonderland: Whether at home or at school, 9-year-old Phoebe (Elle Fanning) always seems to get in trouble for breaking the rules. When her drama teacher (Patricia Clarkson) casts her in a production of “Alice in Wonderland,” Phoebe begins to receive personal advice from the play’s characters. Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman and Campbell Scott also star in this fantastical tale about inspiration and overcoming adversity.

Adam: When beautiful teacher Beth (Rose Byrne) moves into a nearby apartment, strangely awkward Adam (Hugh Dancy), who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, breaks through his limited social abilities and flirts with the young woman in this moving romance. Beth responds to Adam’s unusual courtship, and as they overcome the obstacles to intimacy, they learn how to face life’s other challenges. Max Mayer directs, while Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving co-star.

Observe and Report: Rent-a-cop Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is tasked with keeping the peace at the Forest Ridge Mall, but when a flasher strikes, Ronnie has no gun — and no power to stop the exhibitionist. A rivalry ensues when the police send in Det. Harrison (Ray Liotta) to crack the case. Can Ronnie bring the flasher to justice before the well-armed Harrison does? Anna Faris also stars in this darkly comic effort from writer-director Jody Hill.

(500) Days of Summer: When his girlfriend, Summer (Zooey Deschanel), unceremoniously dumps him, greeting-card copywriter and hopeless romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) begins sifting through the year-plus worth of days they spent together, looking for clues to what went awry. As he recalls the good and bad times he spent with the commitment-phobic girl, his heart reawakens to what it cherishes most. Marc Webb directs this uncommon love story.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto: Mexican wrestler El Superbeasto (voiced by Tom Papa) may be well past his prime, but that won’t stop him and his sultry sister, Suzi-X (Sheri Moon), from saving the world from the greedy and evil clutches of Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti). Rob Zombie adapts his own comic book series into this gleefully filthy monster adventure, which also features the voice talents of Brian Posehn as Murray the Robot and Rosario Dawson as Velvet Von Black.

Knowing: Fifty years after a time capsule was buried at a local school, teacher John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) examines its contents and discovers that it holds many shockingly true predictions. Soon, John is convinced that his family will play a role in an impending apocalypse. Rose Byrne co-stars as Diane Wayland, the daughter of the woman who first buried the capsule, in this tense blockbuster thriller from ace sci-fi auteur Alex Proyas.

Angels & Demons: After the murder of Italian physicist Leonardo Vetra, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon’s (Tom Hanks) investigation with Vetra’s daughter (Ayelet Zurer) leads to a secret society, the Illuminati, and a quest for the world’s most potent — and deadly — energy source. Ron Howard directed the crime thriller, which is based on The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s novel and co-stars Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård.

State of Play: When his mistress is found dead, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) tries desperately to protect his name and career. As journalists Cal (Russell Crowe) and Della (Rachel McAdams) investigate further, they uncover an intricate web of lies that stretches to the highest levels of power. Based on the critically acclaimed BBC miniseries, this intriguing political thriller co-stars Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman.