Written by Mitch Cyrus

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Last week was about as bad as I predicted.  But there is hope for this week as it’s 80’s Revival Week.

Also up for this weekend…the premier of Season 3 of True Blood, along with lots of World Cup action and Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Mini Review  - It’s Complicated

The really complicated thing about this movie is that it is a chick flick that I actually found enjoyable to watch.  I had lots of trepidation going in, as it is from director Nancy Meyers, who also gave us “What Women Want”, “Something’s Got to Give”, and “The Holiday”…not exactly macho fare.

And this isn’t either, but at least it didn’t totally insult either my intelligence nor my manhood.

Alec Baldwin steals the show as the bawdy, middle-aged philanderer who ends up cheating on his trophy wife with the ex-wife that he left 10 years earlier, played by Meryl Streep.  She has “just gotten” to the emotional point in her life where she was past her hurt from the divorce, but is now dealing with empty nest syndrome as the youngest of their three children is about to leave for college.

It’s all very predictable and formulaic, but it’s done in such a breezy, lighthearted way, with no real malice for anyone.  Streep is her usual consummate professional, and Steve Martin adds a nice touch as the nice-guy lonely architect attracted to Streep’s character as well.  But the funniest performance, other than from Baldwin, comes from John Krasinski (from “The Office”) as the fiancé of the couple’s oldest daughter.  His character Harley inadvertently discovers the details of this little fling, and his efforts to keep the other children from finding out is hilarious.

Mostly, I like the fact that they can have a movie about the love life of people over “a certain age”.  That part of it was handled well, and was a welcome relief from the domination of the 20 somethings on screen.

All in all, if you’re a guy over the age of 35, and your significant other demands some quality time watching one of “her movies”, this won’t leave you wanting to hang yourself.

My Rating – Bill Nelsen (2 ½ footballs)

News and Rumors

~ Here is my Big News of the Week:  Steven Spielberg is doing another war movie, “War Horse”.  It is set in World War I, concerning an extraordinary friendship between a boy and a horse, who find their fates linked as the conflict progresses.  Sounds a lot more like “Empire of the Sun” than “Saving Private Ryan”.

~ Confirmation of a previous rumor.  The final Twilight book “Breaking Dawn” will officially be split into two movies.  That news is almost as shocking as finding out that LeBron James loves attention.

~ Angelina Jolie is considering taking on the role of Cleopatra in a big budget biography.  Did she learn nothing after the flop that was “Alexander”?

~ We already know that Johnny Depp and Ian McShane are in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are not.  A third bit of good news (as you can tell, I’m all for the other news from the casting front), Geoffrey Rush is officially returning as Captain Barbossa.

~ So what all will Guillermo del Toro do now that he is no longer going to be directing “The Hobbit”?  One project will involve being the producer for a “Van Helsing” movie.  Now this alone should make me drop it to the stupid category…but note that I didn’t say “sequel”.  The Hugh Jackman movie was one of the worst films I have ever seen, so I personally welcome del Toro’s sure-to-be imaginative new take on the old vampire hunter.

~ A Les Grossman movie?  That’s what we hear after Tom Cruise’s hilariously foul creation from “Tropic Thunder” had such a rousing reception with his dance with Jennifer Lopez at the MTV Awards.  I thought Les was one of the best parts of Tropic Thunder…so we’ll see how this one goes.

Stupid Remakes and Sequels

~ The fourth Jason Bourne movie is officially moving forward with previous writer Tony Gilroy penning the script.  This will stay in the “Stupid” category until Matt Damon officially signs on…something he says he won’t do unless director Paul Greengrass is also on board.

~ A “Clash of the Titans” sequel is being put into motion.  You’ve got to be kidding me.

This week's new movie releases: 

The A-Team

Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel

Plot :  Framed for crime they didn't commit, a team of four former Special Forces soldiers looks to clear their name with the U.S. military.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: The early consensus on this is that it is a lot of fun, and well worth seeing…just don’t go in expecting anything like a great script or decent acting from anyone other than Liam Neeson, the casting of whom I still think is the best thing this movie has going for it.  I’m catching it this afternoon…so this time I really, really promise I’ll write a review (yeah…didn’t quite make it out to see “Splice” last week.  That’s OK, no one else did, either).

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The Karate Kid

Starring: Will and Jada Picket Smith’s ungodly lucky recipient in the genes department…and that old guy from Hong Kong who can’t speak English very well, but is very flexible.

Plot : A boy moves from Detroit to China with his hard-working mom, where his feelings for a girl in his class make him the target of a jealous bully who is trained in kung fu. Fortunately for him, his building's maintenance man reveals himself to be a master of the self-defense form and begins training the boy.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: Another one of those movies that I initially hated as an idea…but from reading things about it, and seeing the trailers; it’s kind of growing on me.  It seems that most of the critics are in the same boat, and it’s getting the same “not great, but very enjoyable” early reviews that “The A-Team” is seeing.

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New DVD Releases for Tuesday, June 15:

The Book of Eli  – Enjoyable movie that is all over the place; one minute a somber post-apocalypse downer like “The Road”, the next more like “Mad Max”, and then throw in Gary Oldman as the villain, borrowing somewhat from Dennis Hopper’s turn in “Waterworld”.  It leads to a very uneven movie, but the acting of Denzel Washington really lifts it, supported ably by Oldman and Mila Kunis. Complaints about the script aside, I’m wanting to watch this again as the last 30 minutes really surprised me.

When In Rome  – Absolutely atrocious romantic comedy with Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel mugging it up in Rome, aided by some sort of magic spell from a fountain. 

Youth in Revolt – It was more like “Audience in Revolt” as this Michael Cera custom made job (where Michael Cera plays Michael Cera for something like the 30^th time) that completely bombed at the box office.

Calendar Watch  

Next Week: Toy Story 3D, Jonah Hex

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

Grown Ups – June 25 – Another Adam Sandler summer comedy, with him teaming up with Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – July 2 – More Wussy Vampires!  I can’t wait! (sorry…sarcasmectomy isn’t scheduled for a few months yet).

The Last Airbender – July 2 – Can M. Knight Shyamalan continue his downward spiral of suck?  Or will this be the start of a redemption for him?

Predators – July 9 – Re-booting of the original Ah-nuld franchise.  Looks to be intriguing.

Inception – July 16 – Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in a Christopher Nolan sci-fi mind bender that looks to be in the mode of “Momento”

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – July 16 – Live action remake of the Disney classic short, starring Nicolas Cage.

Salt – July 23 – Angelina Jolie as a CIA operative accused of being a Russian spy.

Eat Pray Love – August 13 – Julia Roberts in this critically acclaimed ultimate chick-flick about a newly divorced woman’s journey of self-enlightenment.  Guys…get ready to get drug to this one.

The Expendables – August 13 – Sylvester Stallone, Jason Stratham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture, and Steve Austin in a movie about mercenaries.  With appearances from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  What more could any guy ask for?  

The American – September 1 –George Clooney as an assassin hiding out in an Italian village awaiting what he hopes is his last job.

Machete – September 3 – Yes, they made a full length film from the “trailer” shown in “Grindhouse” with Danny Trejo as the revenge minded blade wielder.

The Adjustment Bureau – September 17 – Matt Damon in a mind bender about a politician falling for a ballerina (Emily Blunt), only to be stymied by mysterious forces keeping the would-be lovers apart.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps – September 24 – Oliver Stone brings Michael Douglass back as Gordon Gecko, teaming him with Shia LaBeouf in a film that looks to be quite different in tone than the last one.

Secretariat – October 8 – Diane Lane in the story of possibly the greatest race horse ever.  Could this be another “Seabiscuit”?

Red – October 15 – Another Bruce Willis action vehicle.  This time he is a former black ops agent reassembling his old team to thwart an attack from a high-tech assassin.

Hereafter – October 22 – Clint Eastwood directs a supernatural thriller with Matt Damon.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I – November 19 – Part One of the final book about Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  This one (and I’m sure the last one) will be in 3-D.

Red Dawn – November 25 – Yes, they actually remade this semi-classic.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – December 10 – Third tale of the series…some people (like my wife) are still looking forward to it.

Tron Legacy – December 17 – Might be the most anticipated Holiday release of this year.

Gulliver’s Travels – December 22 – Jack Black takes on the iconic role.

True Grit – December 25 – The Coen Brothers remake the iconic John Wayne movie with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon.