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Everyone's had the situation come up where you're excited to see a movie, and you've been looking forward to it for quite a while, and...then you see it and your hopes are shattered. That happened to me last night with Be Kind Rewind. Everything about this movie seemed to be right, at least in theory. All the pieces of the puzzle were there, great director, talented cast, creative story, but nothing came together.

The movie begins with 3 likable guys: Jack Black, Mos Def, and Danny Glover. All live in Passaic, NJ and are connected to a VHS video store named Be Kind Rewind. The store is not doing well and it's building is facing demolishment by the city to make way for a new development. Danny Glover, the store's owner, goes away and leaves it to his only employee, Mos Def, to keep it running smoothly. Things don't go so well however when his best friend played by Jack Black becomes magnetized (long and not interesting story) and erases all the tapes in the store. They then hatch a last minute plan to re film Ghostbusters for a customer thinking she won't know the difference (since she hasn't seen the original). Well, her son sees the film and knows it's not the original (and is only like 20 minutes long) but likes it anyways. And so their businesses new found success begins. Other people begin to flood the store to request remakes of other movies (a process they refer to as sweding the film). Everything seems to be turning around for them until the movie business sues them and abruptly brings their success to an end. They then have to try and make things work again to save the store.

Michael Gondry, the film's writer and director, has some pretty impressive credits to his name. He teamed with Charlie Kaufman on both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Human Nature both of which were quirky and unique and totally awesome. Then he made The Science of Sleep which he also wrote. Now, it was quite weird and I didn't totally love it, but I loved the idea of it and it was definitely different from other movies out there and had something to say. Then comes Be Kind Rewind with a great premise but Gondry really fails to deliver here. He tries to make this movie unique and put his stamp on it and at times he succeeds but mostly just falls flat.

The movie is a mess from start to finish. There's potential for this to be very charming story but there's more focus on the comedy which doesn't seem to cut it the majority of the time. It seems disjointed in terms of the flow of the main story and the only parts of the movie that seem to work are the 'sweded' parts. The sequences of the friends sweding the movies are hilarious especially with the Ghostbusters remake. This is not only the first movie they swede but also the one that we get to witness the most in depth. This part of the movie is a homerun. It's charming to watch these two friends earnestly try to remake this classic so that one of their customers has a movie to watch (mostly so she won't tell the boss that all the movies are screwed up). This scene of the movie had me laughing my ass off...if only the rest of the film had the same effect.

Jack Black is stale. He and Will Ferrell are in the same boat except for the fact that Ferrell is more charming and has wider appeal. That's not to say that Black hasn't been great in some movies, High Fidelity was great as was The School of Rock, but his performance in this movie is absolutely predictable. He doesn't give any more than what we've seen before so it just ends up feeling familiar (and not in the good way). Mos Def is probably the highlight of the movie. He plays the main protagonist, a very lovable loser who's never had anything but nevertheless has a perpetually optimistic attitude. Mos Def becomes his character and that's the difference between him and Black - one is playing a part in the movie and one is playing himself.

All in all, Be Kind Rewind had tremendous potential but wastes most of it and just leaves the viewer with a so-so taste in their mouth. There's nothing at all outstanding about this movie and in fact ends up pretty boring except for the scenes with the friends sweding the movies. The movie's not all bad but it just pales in comparison to what it could/should be.

What can I say about Semi-Pro? It's not a bad movie - at all. It's actually quite funny as all of Will Ferrell's movies have been. Don't get me wrong, it's no Talladega Nights or Old School, but it's good - along the lines of Blades of Glory.

The plot is totally predictable, but who really goes to see a Will Ferrell movie for the plot. The movie is set in the mid seventies and revolves around Ferrell's character, a one-hit wonder named Jackie Moon who used the profits from his hit single to buy an ABA basketball team in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. The ABA is being absorbed by the NBA and Moon gets the idea that the leagues 4 best teams should be the ones to join - this is somewhat of a bad idea given that Moon's team, the Tropics, have the worst record in the league. The remainder of the movie sees that Tropics trying to win out to be one of the top 4 teams all the while trying to boost attendance via some pretty wacky schemes.

So, to first state the obvious: Will Ferrell always plays the same character. He's totally lovable and goofy and really funny, but he doesn't have any range whatsoever. Even Stranger Than Fiction which was his somewhat dramatic departure was just a variation of himself. That's not to say Hollywood doesn't need him. He has something that really no one else in the industry has right now, but he's totally wearing his welcome thin at this point. He kinda needs to go away for a while and then come back once people aren't so used to his schtick.

The rest of the cast is pretty good. Andre Benjamin plays the star of the team athletically speaking. He's the typical cocky athlete with a heart of gold. His is one of the most likable characters by the end of the film. Woody Harrelson is the washed-up basketball star who's brought onto the team to lend some much needed experience and ends up becoming the team's emotional center. One thing that is a real shame though is the fact that some of the supporting talent was wasted. Andy Richter who might be one of the funniest men alive was totally squandered - he still hasn't really found a forum to showcase his hilarity since he left Conan O'Brian. Will Arnett's talent was also wasted here - he was genius on Arrested Development but falls flat in this role. Both men were given tiny roles that left no room for their talents to shine through.

What more is there to say about this movie that makes a point of being pointless. It relishes in the fact that it's ultimately going nowhere and recycles gags from every underdog sports movie ever adding Will Ferrell's signature style - for better or worse.

It's not often that an independent movie comes along and becomes a really huge success.  Little Miss Sunshine is probably the last independent film to really capture audiences the way Juno appears to be.  And it really is no surprise.  It's cute and lovable and thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.

The movie follows a 16 year old, intellectually precocious, smart-aleck-y, emo girl who finds out at the beginning of the film that she's pregnant.  She soon confides in her best friend and after a short lived flirtation with the idea of abortion, they cook up a scheme to find a couple to adopt the unborn child.  This leads Juno to the doorstep of a couple desperate for a child.  Through the course of the movie there are ups and downs as you can imagine but in the end, everything works out.

This movie was fantastic.  It was a revelation.  There's very little that can be criticized about this movie.  The only real gripe is that everyone seems a bit too quick witted and intelligent - not very true to life obviously.  This really however doesn't detract from the movie and provides some great one-liners along the way.

The break-out star here is Ellen Page as Juno.  She's had roles in several great movies, notably Hard Candy and the X-Men franchise, but this movie shows that she's got what it takes to carry a film.  She is absolutely perfect at conveying the right mix of teen angst, pregnant mood swings, and immaturity that the role demanded.  Absolutely nothing bad to say here.  Michael Cera, bless his heart, is great but he plays the same role as everything he's ever done (don't get me wrong...I've loved the guy since Arrested Development,  and he does play that character well).  As far as the supporting cast goes, Jennifer Garner is amazing as the desperate (and I do mean DESPERATE) wife who wants to adopt Juno's unborn child.  She totally inhabits the character and becomes probably the most sympathetic person in the film.  The rest of the supporting cast is great too, especially Allison Janney who delivers some of the best one liners in the film ("Doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch other people scream" - that's totally gonna become my tag-line!).

Jason Reitman, the director, who's other mainstream film Thank You For Smoking shares some of Juno's charm, does a really solid job of bringing the cast together and creating a story that flows seamlessly and never drags.

Overall, Juno is a win.  The whole movie is just rock solid with little or no criticisms.  The other great thing about this film is it's wide appeal.  Teens will love it, but so will their folks.   Everyone should see this movie.  More than once.

There's been much talk about the historical accuracy of this movie and evidently the filmmakers took some liberties in regards to some of the details and even made up the odd character here or there. The bottom line is that this movie is based on real events and the movie does a really good job of telling a very compelling story...so what if they had to embellish some points for the sake of entertainment.  

The movie follows the exploits of Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson.  He's a single, womanizing, hard-partying member of the U.S. House of Representatives who happens across the story of Afghani refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their home country into Pakistan.  Upon hearing of this "war" in which the people of Afghanistan are being out muscled and basically massacred, he begins funneling congressional funds to aid the Afghanistan fight against the Russians...eventually appropriating hundreds of millions of dollars which led to the defeat of the Communists.

First of all, the acting in this movie is truly exceptional.  It's not every day where you watch a movie and every major character is played so convincingly that you forget that these are actors playing roles.  That's exactly how this movie is.  Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman are all superb in their respective roles.  They all do a great job embodying their characters.  Hoffman is especially convincing as Gust Avrokotos, the CIA officer who worked with Wilson to aid the Afghanis against the Russians.

This type of film has the tendency to become tedious and boring by the end, but Charlie Wilson's War does a really good job of injecting just the right amount of humor into each scene to keep the plot moving effortlessly along.  The movie offers an interesting perspective on the events surrounding the largest covert war ever funded by the United States government. Mike Nichols can really be credited with pulling together so many great performances and telling such a compelling story.  His direction is spot on in this film as it has been in previous films such as Angels in America and Closer.

This is a really great movie.  There are so many components that make it attractive to many different people.  It has big name stars, a track-proven director, drama, comedy, and a slightly flawed history lesson.  Overall, it's a movie that's well worth seeing.

When I first saw the previews for this movie, I wasn't particularly excited.  In fact, it wasn't until I watched the first 10 minutes of the movie on-line that I really got pumped about it.  That clip was super funny and really prepared me for what was to come in the rest of the movie.

The movie is a sort of "Behind the Music"-esque take on the life of this fictional rock/country star.  The movie obviously takes cues from recent music biopics like Walk the Line and Ray and really milks that source material for some really great laughs.  The movie centers on Dewey Cox, a Johnny Cash-like figure who takes his life's biggest tragedy and turns it into a lucrative music career. 

John C. Reilly is one of my favorite actors.  I don't think I've disliked him a single movie he's ever been in (I especially loved him in Boogie Nights and Chicago).  He definitely didn't disappoint me in this movie either.  He basically plays Dewey Cox from the time he was 14 (I know, but it makes for a good laugh) until his death in his 70's.   Now, like I've said before, I don't really know what an "award-worthy" performance is, but he's been nominated for a Golden Globe for best actor in a Musical/Comedy.

John C. Reilly again in this movie shows that he can sing and I think the songs are probably the best part of this movie.  The hihglights music-wise are Walk Hard (which is nominated for a Golden Globe) and Let's Duet which are both really funny and very well done. I personally thought that Let's Duet was the better and funnier song and should have been the one nominated but oh well, no one asks me.

On a side-note, Tim Meadows was freakin' awesome in this movie. He plays the drummer in Dewey's band and is the one responsible for introducing him to the various drugs he becomes addicted to over the years.  Those are probably the best scenes in the whole movie.

Overall, I thought this movie was well worth the price of admission and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good satire (yes Justin, I do think this is a well-done satire).  The music is solid and the jokes really funny.

I have been sort of reticent to see this movie.  Not totally sure why, but I wasn't just busting at the seams to see this one.  I finally went and saw it this week during some free time. 

In some ways, I really liked this movie.  It was sweet and funny and entertaining the whole way through.  I find myself sort of indifferent to it in the end though.  Like I said, I can't really put my finger on exactly why.

Lets start this with a discussion on Amy Adams.  Everyone is really heralding this performance as "Oscar-worthy" but I just don't get it.  Don't get me wrong...I think she did a bang up job with the role but I just didn't see anything truly amazing about the role itself.  She does have a nice voice and she suited the character very well but like I said the role itself doesn't seem like the type of performance that should be honored by the Academy. 

Now, the other main characters.  Patrick Dempsey's character kind of annoyed me for some reason.  I couldn't find myself totally getting behind him as the romantic lead in this film.  That's surprising because I usually like him.  Susan Sarandon was great in this movie though!  She was a great villain...truly the embodiment of the great Disney villainesses and witches from the old animated classics like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.  I enjoyed her tremendously and in my opinion she stole every scene she was in.

I really enjoyed the musical numbers in this movie.  They were classic Disney and just a lot of fun.  They were probably the most entertaining part of the movie (aside from that freakin' chipmunk who just had me rollin' a couple of times).  The only thing "musically" that was really disappointing to me was that they had Idina Menzel (from Wicked on Broadway, the movie Rent, and lots more) in a supporting role and she didn't do any singing at all.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Overall, I left the theater entertained but realizing that I was not the intended audience.  The movie is really meant for children but does have elements to keep the parents entertained.