movies: news • premieres • awards • star birthdays • new to DVD • coming soon
posters: just in • hottest selling • extravaganzas | capsules: previous next]
Most Recent Movie Reviews:
review archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008
(click a poster to purchase a poster)
Movie Review of Kung Fu Panda (2008) [PG] 92 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.00
With the anticipation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics building every day, there could be no more befitting release time than the present for Dreamworks Kung Fu Panda set in ancient China and featuring the voice talents of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, and Michael Clarke Duncan. The story, about an unlikely hero—a chubby panda named Po (Black) with a passion for eating food far more than preparing it as his father Mr. Ping (Hong) would like—coming to the aid of his peaceful valley at a time of grave need, may sound a bit unoriginal on the surface it packs a powerful punch beneath. …continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) [PG-13] 113 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $10.25
While clearly still being impacted by shades of the 'SNL Cast Curse', Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess with the Zohan (a needlessly verbose title) falls into the "other" in the "every other film is good" category--meaning this one is good while last summer's Chuck and Larry was not. Unfortunately, what will be referred to here simply as Zohan--for a savings in the economy of verbiage and not to be confused by the savvy reader as the main character's name--possesses a lingering, semi-bad-taste-in-your-mouth quality (do I smell the hand of Judd Apatow) reducing it to a "funny, but could have been so much better" position on the W.I.P. Scale.
…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of The Strangers (2008) [R] 90 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.00
The Strangers debuted the same weekend of 2008 as Sex and the City apparently with the marketing strategy, "If you cannot beat them, join them," meaning there's probably not a week in the year when The Strangers would be able to hold the number one spot for Box Office results, so why not just pick the thick of things, right after Chronicles of Narnia 2, Indiana Jones 4, and Sex and the City: the movie and hope for the best. If that doesn't sound brilliant to you, well, maybe there's a job for you at a major motion picture studio marketing department available on Monster.com (unsolicited plug). Worse, if you're a fan of the psycho horror drama genre and have seen all of these films before, well, you're going to scratch your head as you endure Bryan Bertino's writing / directing debut pondering how he got funding for this recycled film plot. His story, according to the opening sequence, is based on real events. Viewers of Funny Games (which had the superlative acting) and/or Vacancy (which had the superlative plot) will probably surmise the film is based rather on these two pre-existing films which share an astonishingly similar number of plot points. [editor's note: Imagine Kate Beckinsale's conversation with Underworld co-star Scott Speedman when he phones to tell her about the cool new movie he's been filming only to have her gasp and ask him to rent her film Vacancy. Scary stuff.] Being on the short side of both the plot and the acting versus the other two films would have to place The Strangers on bottom rung of this genre ladder, one would think. Actually, of the three films, though, it turns out that The Strangers—which, by the way, has to be one of the worst titles of the year when it comes to capturing what this film is—is by far the most scary and harrowing of the three films and probably the most psychologically terrifying from the long-lasting point of view. If you find yourself unable to sit in the dark theatre alone for the entire length of the ominous closing credits, well, don't consider it a black mark on your bravery chart as there are few people who could make it through. No film in recent or gradually fading long-term memory has really spooked me as deeply as this one. And it's simple, non-gory, mostly noise-oriented, pop-out from the closet type of scares. The soundtrack by tomandandy is half of what makes the film work when it comes to stirring up dramatic tension because, really, not that much happens.…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of Sex and the City (2008) [R] 148 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.25
Though it might be terribly difficult to believe, I never watched the show. Well, I possibly saw it once or twice maybe on the road in a hotel that had free HBO®. Nope, never watched a single episode of the "The Sopranos" either. If you don't have HBO®, you don't have HBO®. So, when it comes to "Sex and the City" which I always thought was called, "Sex in the City" until I started priming up for the film version and discovered, to a bit of admitted disillusionment, the error in my mind, I'm pretty close to being a virgin. Does that disqualify me from giving it its proper due via critique? Probably "yes" for some ardent fans, but maybe "no" to the many other millions of potential viewers of the film who, likewise, don't know much about the now infamous foursome of NYC self-obsessed gal pals, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), who might believe this review to be a more potent "see it or not" guide. What I cannot do, however, is let the astute aficionados of the acclaimed television series know if it closes loose ends (though I can predict at least one) and / or lives up to their expectations. One thing's for sure, I've not sat in a more entranced 12:01 a.m. audience since the last Star Trek film; and, indeed, the fans, maybe they're properly called 'Sexies' or 'Sexers', were out in full force, similarly costumed, and unapologetically prepared to worship what ever might splash up on the screen.…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) [PG-13] 124 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.50
On the heels of the success of what most believed would be the ending chapter of the 'ginormously' successful Indiana Jones trilogy, rumors and speculation began to circulate that producer / director Steven Spielberg and Indy Jones production partner George Lucas would be open to a fourth film. Yet, as time wore on and no news was not good news, a time clock was added to the mix suggesting they'd better make the film ASAP to ensure participation by Sean Connery. Well, the wait for the fourth film is now over, the speculation laid to rest, the rumor sites all quiet (except for speculation of a 5th film of course), and a detail that should be spoiled, Sean Connery appears only in a photograph on Henry Jones's desk despite being alive and well, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull roars on to the big screen at last with beguiling force and rampant nostalgia. Filmed to look and feel like the next chapter in the saga, it works in every way but one. How many books have you read where three chapters take place around the same approximate time continuum and then jump ahead some 20 years in the next without making any attempt, however small, to fill in the gap with something about what's been going on in the lives of those in the continuum? Well, it's a jolting lurch forward in this David Koepp screenplay right smack into the thick of a new Indiana Jones adventure. …continued…or read the spoiler points…
Other Recent Reviews:
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) [PG] 147 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Frontier(s) (2008) [NC-17] 108 minutes WIP™ Scale: $4.25
What Happens in Vegas (2008) [PG-13] 99 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Speed Racer (2008) [PG] 129 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.25
Made of Honor (2008) [PG-13] 101 minutes WIP™ Scale: $10.75
Iron Man (2008) [PG-13] 126 minutes WIP™ Scale: $14.00
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) [R] 102 minutesWIP™ Scale: $3.00
Baby Mama (2008) [PG-13] 96 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.25
Deception (2008) [R] 108 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.00
The Wackness (2008) [R] 108 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.50
88 Minutes (2008) [R] 108 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.00
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) [PG-13] 113 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Street Kings (2008) [R] 109 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.25
Film Premiere and Award Photo Sets
archive: 2008 • 2007 | Videos from the Latest Premieres
Listed in Order of Publication in the mEd database not necessarily chronologically...
Film Premiere Photo Sets
You Don't Mess with the Zohan Premiere • Kung Fu Panda Premiere • Sex and the City Premiere • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Premiere • What Happens in Vegas Premiere • Made of Honor Premiere • Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Premiere • Forgetting Sarah Marshall Premiere • The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Premiere • Speed Racer Premiere • Iron Man Premiere • Baby Mama Premiere • Street Kings Premiere • Prom Night Premiere • 88 Minutes Premiere • (continued)
Brand New Posters Just In:
New Poster Archive: 2007 • 2008 | TV Posters: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008
New as of 1-June-08
Recent Movie Star Birthdays:
birthdays: last month / this month / next month / by month / alphabetically
[click star names to see tribute pages]
| 8-Jun | 7-Jun | 6-Jun | ||||||||||||
| Julianna Margulies | Liam Neeson | Robert Englund | ||||||||||||
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| Also: Kathy Baker Keenen Ivory Wayans | ||||||||||||||
| 5-Jun | 4-Jun | 3-Jun | ||||||||||||
| Mark Wahlberg | Angelina Jolie | Tony Curtis | ||||||||||||
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| 2-Jun | ||||||||||||||
| Sally Kellerman | Related DVDs | Related DVDs | ||||||||||||
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Movies Now on DVD and Download:
DVD releases: Archive / This Week / Next Week
(click poster to purchase)
Meet the Spartans (2008) [PG-13]-- W.I.P. Scale™ Rating: $5.75
Review-lite: It's 300 from the guys who brought you Epic Movie, Date Movie, and Scary Movie 4. What more needs to be said? (click for full details and complete review) • (click to purchase Meet the Spartans)
Also This Week:
The Eye • Semi-Pro
Previously or Recently Announced Available for Pre-Order:
21 • 10,000 B.C. • August • The Bank Job • The Bucket List • Charlie Bartlett • College Road Trip • Definitely, Maybe • Doomsday • Drillbit Taylor • Fool's Gold • Hannah Montana And Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds Concert • Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay • In Bruges • Jumper • Meet Bill • Meet the Browns • Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day • Never Back Down • Sex and Death 101 • The Spiderwick Chronicles • Step Up 2 The Streets • Vantage Point • War, Inc. • Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins • Witless Protection
Movies Coming Soon:
Dynamic Calendar Jan 2007 - Jun 2009 with links to official sites, trailers, reviews & more
Plain Calendars: 2006 • 2007 • 2008-09
Friday, 6 June 2008
Kung Fu Panda • You Don't Mess with the Zohan
in limited release only: Miss Conception • Mongol • Mother of Tears • The Promotion • When Did You Last See Your Father?
Friday, 13 June 2008
The Happening • The Incredible Hulk
in limited release only: Baghead • Kicking It • My Winnepeg • Quid Pro Quo
Top 10 Hottest-Selling Movie Posters:
(source: our friends at
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
| The Dark Knight | Indiana Jones 4 | Sex and the City | Hancock |
| #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 |
| Wall-E | Iron Man | Twilight | Mummy 3 |
| #9 | #10 | ||
| Chronicles of Narnia 2 | Quantum of Solace |
Movie Poster Extravaganzas:
archive
Here we honor the George Lucas / Steven Spielberg collaboration, the Indiana Jones Quadrilogy with this movie poster extravaganza.
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