Written by Mitch Cyrus

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A couple good releases at the theaters this weekend, both of which we'll be lucky enough to get reviews from Mitch on. "Wanted", a flick about a secret society of assassins, starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman. And the kids movie "WALL-E", which is getting rave early reviews as potentially the best Pixar film ever made. Mitch hits on both releases, as well as this week's DVD releases and all the latest Hollywood rumors and buzz in this Friday's Crystal Ball.

As predicted last week, "Get Smart" ruled the Box Office, while Mike Myers' offensive and unfunny "The Love Guru" totally tanked, and is now considered the second bomb of the summer, after "Speed Racer".

No bombs coming out this week, that's for certain.

News and Rumors

~ Steven Spielberg is looking to direct "The 39 Clues", a multi-platformed childrens adventure series that's scheduled to start in September. It will be an adventure spanning 10 books, 355 collectible cards, an online game, and eventually coming to the silver screen. The plot involves the Cahills, the most powerful family in the world, the source of whose power is a mystery that can only be unraveled by assembling the 39 clues hidden around the world throughout history. The real mystery will be when Spielberg will find the time to do this with "Tintin", "Interstellar", "Lincoln", and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" already on his plate.

~ This is a rather unique collection of talent. Nicolas Cage, Tilda Swinton, and Pierce Brosnan will team up for a Roman Polanski directed movie entitled "The Ghost". Cage will play a ghostwriter hired by Brosnan, a former British Prime Minister. In doing so, Cage unlocks secrets that put his life in danger.

~ A little television blurb. It seems that Jeff Goldblum will be replacing Chris Noth on next season's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent". Insert your own "Mr. Big" joke here.

~ Got $400 laying around? That's what it'll cost you for the box set of "The Sopranos". Every episode from all seven seasons in a 30 disc set that weighs 10 pounds. Hmmm, should I get that, or fill up my Denali?

~ Pop Quiz regarding one of this week's releases. Any of you "Band of Brothers" fans (and I know there are a ton of them here) remember "Wanted" star James McAvoy being in the series? He wasn't there for long, as he was one of the young guys in the episode entitled "Replacements", playing Pvt Miller...who didn't survive until the next episode. However, McAvoy's career is surviving quite nicely lately.

~ And finally, we bid a sad farewell to George Carlin, truly one of the most original and important comics and social critics of our times. To me, he was never more funny than ripping on some of the absurdities of the English language. "Get ON the plane?!?! F&%# that! Let Evel Knieval get ON the plane...I'm getting IN the plane!"

This week's new movie releases:

Wanted

Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman

Plot: A bored out of his skull office drone is recruited into a secret society of assassins.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: I reserve the right to use this line in my review, but the early buzz has this movie as the one that "Shoot ‘Em Up" should have been. Starts out with the pedal to the floor, and does not let up the entire film. Look for McAvoy to shoot to the top of the celebrity list after this one. For Angelina, it looks to be her best role and highest box office money maker since "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". I'll be catching it on Sunday, so I'll let you know.

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WALL-E

Starring: A super-cute animated robot, whose toy likeness will be a required purchase for every parent of children under 10 before the summer ends.

Plot: After 700 years of cleaning up an abandoned, polluted Earth, a little robot develops a personality, and takes an adventure to the stars.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: A few months ago, I predicted that this might be the fifth highest grossing film of 2008. I'm correcting myself now, and saying it might very well be #1. The critics are going nuts over this film, with a 98% positive rating on rottentomatoes.com. Pixar has never had a flop, and this won't be this first, a film that is already being called the Best Ever from Pixar...and yes, that includes "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story". Once I get my action Jones taken care of by watching "Wanted" and "Hancock", I'll be checking this one out as well next week. It may take that long for the lines at the multiplex to thin out a bit.

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New DVD Releases for Tuesday, July 1^st

Vantage Point - Very mixed reviews on this political thriller shown from the vantage point of several different people after an assassination attempt. But from what I heard, it's a good risk to put on your Netflix Queue. Great cast with Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt.

Drillbit Taylor - Owen Wilson's sad decent continues. Another misfire from producer Judd Apatow in this story of a bum who convinces a bunch of nerdy, picked upon kids that he was a former mercenary, bodyguard, non-loser. A horrible waste of time.

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns - A single mom takes her family to Georgia for the funeral of her father - a man she never met. There she meets the crass, fun-loving Brown family. In other words, standard Tyler Perry fare...which is better than say, standard Wayans Brothers fare. If you liked some of Perry's other work, you'll like this as well.

Calendar Watch

Next week; Hancock (July 2^nd), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (expanding to nationwide).

Upcoming Biggies (click on the hyperlink to view the available trailers).

Hellboy II: The Golden Army - July 11^th - The big red cigar chomping demon with a bad attitude is back for more butt kicking.

The Dark Knight - July 18^th - Batman is back, and this time he's tracking the Joker, played by Heath Ledger. Most likely the box office champion of 2008.

Mamma Mia! - July 18^th - Something for the ladies to attend while the guys are busy watching Batman kick the Joker's ass. A musical featuring the songs of ABBA. And my wife wants us to go see it. Sigh.

X-Files 2: I Want to Believe - July 25^th - I want to believe this won't be as lame as the first X-Files movie. We'll see

Tropic Thunder - August 15^th - A group of actors shooting a big budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying in the film. Stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr, playing a white actor donning black make-up to "fit the part".

Star Wars: the Clone Wars - August 15^th - First ever animated Star Wars project from Lucasfilm Animation.

Righteous Kill - September 12^th - Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together again as NY detectives working on a case that may be related to both a serial killer and a man they might have wrongly imprisoned years before.

Burn After Reading - September 12^th - The latest Coen Brothers' movie, with Brad Pitt joining Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich in a dark comedy about missing memoirs of a CIA agent.

Eagle Eye - September 26^th - Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monoghan as a slacker and a single mother who become unwitting members of a terrorist cell plotting a political assassination.

House of Lies - October 10^th - Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio in Ridley Scott's spy tale of intrigue in the Middle East.

RocknRolla - October 31^st - Guy Ritchie hopefully back in form for another tale of London gangsters. Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkenson, and Jeremy Friggin' Piven star.

Quantum of Solace - November 13^th - The next James Bond film, picking up shortly after the events ending "Casino Royale"

Australia - November 14^th - Baz Luhrmann's epic tale set in WWII Australia. With Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Think "Gone with the Wind" with kangaroos.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - November 21^st - The sixth of J.K. Rowling's seven books, setting the stage for the two part conclusion in 2010 and 2011.

The Road - November 28^th - Viggo Mortensen as a man walking with his son for months across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic landscape in search of civilization. Charlize Theron co-stars.

Defiance - December 19^th - Daniel Craig and Live Schreiber as Jewish brothers in WWII Russian, leading a band of refuges in striking back at the Germans. A major early Oscar contender

Revolutionary Road - December 19^th - Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as a young couple raising a family in a Connecticut suburb during the mid 1950s. Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") directs the "Titanic" stars in their on-screen reunion.

The Spirit - December 25^th - Frank Miller's next comic book adaptation, done in the same style as "Sin City".

Blockbusters on the Distant Horizon (movies that would seem to be big hits...as soon as they get made or released).

Watchmen - March 6, 2009 - The screen version of what is arguably graphic novelist Alan Moore's greatest work.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1, 2009 - Hugh Jackman goes it alone as the adamentium enhanced anti-hero. With Live Schreiber as Sabertooth, and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool.

Star Trek - May 8, 2009 - J.J. Abrams and a young cast reboot the franchise, going back to Kirk and Spock's days at Starfleet Academy.

Angels and Demons - May 15, 2009 - Tom Hanks and Ron Howard follow-up to "The DaVinci Code"

Terminator 4 - May 22, 2009 - Christian Bale as John Conner as the franchise moves into the apocalyptic future.

Transformers 2 - June 26, 2009 - The next chapter of Robots In Disguise!

Public Enemy - July 1, 2009 - Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Co-staring Christian Bale, and directed by Michael Mann

The Taking of Pelham 123- August 7, 2009 - Denzel Washington, John Travolta, and James Gandolfini in a remake of the classic 1974 film about a hijacked subway car.

Shutter Island - October, 2009 - Martin Scorsese working once again with Leonardo DiCaprio in this mystery set in 1954.

Nottingham - November, 2009 - Ridley Scot and Russell Crowe together again in a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, this time through the eyes of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Crowe). With Sienna Miller as Maid Marion.

Avatar - December 18, 2009 - James Cameron's sci-fi/CGI extravaganza. The C.I.A. should take lessons about secrecy from Cameron, as he's keeping info about this film very much to himself at this time.

Iron Man 2 - May, 2010 - Right on the heels of the success of the first one, Marvel is quick to get Robert Downey Jr. back into his titanium suit.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - May, 2010 - The series goes off in a bit of a different direction, as those of you who love the books already know.

Thor - June 2010 - Another Marvel superhero...but the Nordic God is about as bland personality-wise as Superman, so we'll see how it goes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I - 2010 - The start of the End for the boy wizard and his battle against He-Who-Shall-not-Be-Named

Lincoln - 2010 - Steven Spielberg directs the biographical film of the 16^th President (Liam Neeson)

The Hobbit - 2010 - Guillermo del Toro directs and Peter Jackson will produce the prequel to "Lord of the Rings". Ian McKellen will return as Gandalf

Fantastic Voyage - 2010 - Roland Emmerich ("The Day After Tomorrow", "10,000 B.C.") remakes the classic 1967 movie about a miniaturized sub and crew operating on a scientist from inside his brain.

The Avengers - 2011 - Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America open up a can of whoopass on bad guys everywhere.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II - 2011 - The end of the line for what will be beyond doubt the most profitable series in the history of film making.

The Hobbit 2 - 2011 - del Toro and Jackson again, this time covering the time between the end of Tolkien's book, "The Hobbit" and the start of LOTR.