Jason Sedeikis, Jason Bateman and Charlie Day in "Horrible Bosses"

America’s Sweetheart Shows Us Her Dark Side

When quitting your job is not an option, something’s got to give. For Nick (Jason Bateman, “The Switch” 2010), Dale (Charlie Day, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” 2005-2010) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis “Hall Pass” 2011 and “Saturday Night Live” 2003-2011), they don’t just challenge their imaginations; they put those thoughts into action. While sipping on a few brewskies after a long day at the office, the three stooges concoct a “hypothetical” plan to kill their bosses, but the “hypothetical” part of the plan was quickly dropped. Next thing we know, these geniuses dish out five grand to have an experienced ex-con (Academy Award winner, Jamie Foxx, “Due Date” 2010) do the their dirty work. Once they hand over the money, they find out he’s only their murder “consultant.” These fools now need to come up with their own foolproof plan. This is where the chaos ensues for the desperate employees and the fun begins for the audience.

Kevin Spacey hits the nail on the head playing Harken, Nick’s condescending, narcissistic boss. Bateman is the laid back, practical and sarcastic guy we’ve seen him play many-a-times (“Couples Retreat” 2009, “Juno” 2007,” and “Arrested Development” 2003-2006) but we’re not sick of him just yet. Like the saying goes, if it’s not broke, why fix it?

Kurt, played by the ever amusing, Sudeikis, is actually the only one of the three musketeers who loves his boss - until he dies of a sudden heart attack that is. Now, Kurt is at the mercy of his old boss’ crack-head/pimp of a son, Bobby (Colin Farrell, “Crazy Heart” 2009).

Shia LeBeouf as 'hero' Sam Witwicky in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

When The Third Time Isn’t The Charm

Director Michael Bay is at it again, (supposedly) completing his trilogy series with “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” This time, Bay takes a different approach in kicking off the action with a combination of 1960s archived footage and recreated scenes showing the U.S. space program’s mission to expose a massive, unusual object that just crashed on the dark side of the moon. Once radio contact is officially lost, the astronauts uncover an alien spaceship - and mission ‘save the world’ commences.

Audiences watch real footage of President Kennedy making demands from the oval office while Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (who actually makes a cameo) plant the first steps on the moon. This real footage is ruined by the terrible CGI renderings of Kennedy, Nixon and Obama, however. I found myself chuckling, along with several other critics, in disbelief at their lack of resemblance. This is one of many instances where I laughed during scenes that probably weren’t intended to be comical. I can certainly say I wasn’t alone on this either.

One small step for man and a few dreadfully recreated former presidents later, the movie actually starts – with a zoomed in shot of a girl’s backside, slowly walking up stairs in her underwear…

Wait, did I mistakenly walk into, “No Strings Attached?” If those thoughts cross your mind you’re probably not alone. Give it about a minute (too long) before you realize you’re still in “Transformers.” This is affirmed when we see the infamous Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf, “Wall Street Money Never Sleeps” 2010) wake up to his partially clad, completely-out-of-his-league-girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), standing over him with a large, plush bunny in her arms.

Left to right: Kyle Chandler plays Jackson Lamb, Joel Courtney plays Joe Lamb, Elle Fanning plays Alice Dainard, and Ron Eldard plays Louis Dainard in SUPER 8, from Paramount Pictures. Photo credit: François Duhamel © 2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Super (Gr)8!

J.J. Abrams as writer and director; Steven Spielberg as producer. As far as the movie industry goes, it’s the stuff that dreams are made of. Between the two of them, the successes add up very quickly. For Abrams, “Cloverfield” (2008), “Star Trek” (2009) and “Morning Glory” (2010) on the big screen; ABC’s “Alias” and “Lost,” and Fox’s “Fringe” on the small screen. For Spielberg, the list is long, but perhaps most familiar, “Jaws,” “E.T. The Etra-Terrestrial,” “Jurassic Park,” and the “Indiana Jones” films. It is time to add “Super 8” to these lists.

Imagine a magic movie making pot in which you could throw in a mixture of old movies, TV shows and books, then pull out a blockbuster summer movie. If this were how “Super 8” was created, its contents might have included “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Stephen King’s “IT,” ABC’s “Lost,” and perhaps a dash of “Scooby Doo” (as in meddling kids), to name but a few.

Serving as both writer and director, Abrams has melded a magical mix. “Super 8” includes certain similarities (some more subtle than others) to all the aforementioned works and then some (although I'm kidding a little bit about "Scooby Doo") and the outcome is one that works on many levels. It has thrills, mystery, humor and most importantly, heart. And, of course, special effects. Really good ones. As you may know from viewing the trailer, there is a huge train wreck early in the movie and this scene alone is enough to please anyone who appreciates extraordinary crashes, explosions or just all around general chaos. Not that the visuals are limited to this scene, not by a long shot, but this one will not be soon forgotten.

Owen Wilson stars in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris"

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Ah…Paris, the city of love, and the backdrop for Woody Allen’s new romantic comedy. He presents viewers with a picture-perfect postcard of the fairy-tale, breathtakingly beautiful city, as well as its world-renowned historical authors, artists and poets. To say that Allen’s film is a love letter to Paris and its people, (he wrote the screenplay) is a fairly close assumption. Fasten your seat belt for a delightful cultural sight seeing tour of the city and its past luminaries that shaped our world. You’ll meet Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody), and more. You might be wondering, how does this work? Well, that’s a secret you’ll discover on your own by viewing the film, but what I will tell you is that this film works.

Gil (Owen Wilson, “Marley and Me” 2009) and his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams, “The Time Traveler’s Wife” 2009) decide to accompany Inez’s father John (Kurt Fuller) and mother, Helen (Mimi Kennedy) on a business trip to Paris. Upon arrival in Paris, Gil, a successful Hollywood screenwriter laments upon his professional life choices. His main regret centers on a missed opportunity. He never took advantage of his first visit to Paris in his early twenties and begins to fantasize about a new life, a rather − avant-garde lifestyle. Living among Parisians' as a burgeoning novelist in a small flat begins to overtake his thoughts. On the other hand, Inez is caught up in Parisian antique shopping, Chanel and Hermes, and she envisions a new life in Beverly Hills complete with an outdoor swimming pool and large estate.

Woody Allen, writer and director, presents a major conflict between the engaged couple from the get-go. Midway through the first quarter of the film, Gil begins to walk the streets at night alone. During these walks not only does he take in Paris’s intoxicating lights and city sounds, he’s magically transformed back into the early 1920s. When he returns to 2011, he doesn’t know how the occurrence happened nor does he seem to care. All we know is that he can’t wait to go back again and for that matter, neither can we. These time travel expeditions also start to crystallize his notion of staying in Paris and not returning to Beverly Hills.

Allen’s script is witty, clever, fast-paced and, of course, filled with self-doubt. It also touches on neurotic behaviors that typically encompass his main character, which onscreen is a reflection of Woody Allen himself. Wilson is a perfect Woody Allen leading man, his timing and mannerism are spot on. Simply stated, the role fits him like a glove.

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“Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer” is a movie filled with fun adventure and silliness that, while making the adults smile, will make the most importance audience members (children) laugh.

If you know anything at all about books for elementary and middle school aged children (especially girls), then you are familiar with the very popular “Judy Moody” series written by Megan McDonald. The movie, “Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer,” is not adapted from one of the books, but is a screenplay based on the series. Co written by McDonald with Kathy Waugh, the film parallels the book series quite nicely is likely to please fans of the written work.

Judy Moody, played by the adorable Jordana Beatty, is a third grade girl who has big plans for an adventure filled summer to be shared with her friends. Unfortunately, those plans soon go up in smoke when she finds out that one friend is headed off to circus camp and another is taking the trip of a lifetime to Borneo. Judy consults her Magic 8 Ball, asking, “Could this summer get any worse?” The answer: “Without a doubt.” Vowing to spend the rest of the bummer summer in her bedroom, Judy’s plan is soon interrupted, first by a minor mishap in the kitchen, then by a major change of luck with the arrival of her aunt. Heather Graham (“The Hangover” 2009) is suited beautifully to play optimistic, free spirited Aunt Opal.

Jack Black returns to voice Po.

That lovable panda is back and in a big way! The first film, “Kung Fu Panda” was nominated for Best Animated Motion Picture during the 2009 Academy Award® season and I predict the sequel will be nominated as well. It’s rare that a sequel can be as good as the first or in this case slightly better. DreamWorks Animation studio, who brought us the outstanding film “How to Train Your Dragon,” gets it. They get that children deserve a quality film, one that not only entertains but also takes the opportunity to teach a slight lesson on the side. The message in the film is loud and clear, ‘what you choose to be, is the only thing that matters’.

The film can be viewed in 3D or 2D, I prefer the 2D as I like bright colors and the 3D lens dulls them. Anyway, the film has excellent animation, an outstanding score, comical clever moments and creative story telling. China’s beautiful landscapes are transposed into breath-taking backdrops for our hero Po the panda, voiced by (Jack Black). Basically you don’t need to see the first one, as much is explained from the beginning of this tale. Jennifer Yuh Nelson directs, as she also worked on the first film.

Po’s dad is a goose, and while that is never clear in “Kung Fu Panda”, explanations are offered in the sequel. The original gang is back, Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Lui). Together they offer a tight knit group that works well together against all evil. And evil that appears as Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) who is not too frightening to look at; by all appearances he’s a rare but normal looking peacock wearing white and red feathers. Although his bad side is revealed when your eyes adjust to view his feet, they are menacing steel claws. He also has a few magic powers – when one stares at an emblem on his feathers for too long, you might grow weak. Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is the cool, calm Kung Fu master who teaches Po his life lessons. Other characters have been added but most are part of Lord Shen’s evil pack.

'The Wolfpack' - Bradley Cooper, Zack Galifianakis and Ed Helms star in "The Hangover Part II"

What Happened in Vegas Sure Stayed In Vegas… Take Us Back to Sin City

Todd Philllips’, original masterpiece, “The Hangover” (2009) set a record as the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time. As if that wasn’t enough, this movie - featuring a roaming tiger, a missing tooth and a sunglass-wearing baby topped itself when it went on to set the record for best selling comedy DVD of all time, outpacing the previous record holder, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (2002).

Unfortunately, Phillips was unable to raise the bar from there in, “The Hangover Part II.” While this highly anticipated sequel is certainly humorous, we hoped for more the second time around. We see nothing new here, certainly no fresh plot lines.

Nevertheless, the wolf pack is back at it again. The stellar threesome, Bradley Cooper (“Limitless” 2011), Ed Helms (“Cedar Rapids” 2011) and Zach Galifianakis (“Due Date” 2010) take their shenanigans to the breathtaking country of Thailand (or “Thigh-land” as Alan [Galifianakis] pronounces it) as well as the rugged (understatement) streets of Bangkok. Stu (Helms) is getting married (yes, again) to the love of his life, Lauren (Jamie Chung, “Sucker Punch” 2011) but must convince his buds to take a “quick trip” over to Thailand as Lauren’s parents insist the wedding be held in their native country. Throughout the film, Stu gets ripped apart left and right, especially by Lauren’s father who, let’s just say, isn’t a fan of his future son-in-law.

“The Hangover Part II” is certainly darker and more desperate than the original. It almost felt as though the script was pieced together. Many of the laughs from the audience seemed to be more out of disbelief than hilarity and some scenes just dragged on for too long. The product placement couldn’t have been more obvious. Alan purposely mispronounces the designer name of his carry on, “Louis Vuitton” (“Lew-is”) and shouts, “I’d love a SmartWater” through the airport. This was another distraction. While the birds’ eye views of Thailand are magnificent, let’s just say I don’t have an urgency to visit the overcrowded, dirty and rundown streets of Bangkok anytime soon.

The Cast of "Bridesmaids," Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph & Kristen Wiig Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios

Bring Your Tissues...For Tears of Laughter

I must admit this review is difficult for me to write because I honestly don’t even know where to begin. This film makes you want to send a mass text message out to all of your friends, raving about the movie you just saw...not after the movie but before you even exit the theatre.

After screening this film, I immediately wanted to watch it all over again. I cannot remember the last time I’ve felt this way. I even tried to find out when the DVD would be released.

As I gather my notes to write this review, I cannot stop laughing to myself. This is the kind of film you will find yourself continually quoting. I could go on for days raving about this film. In fact, Universal should probably hire me as a promoter at this point.

From producer Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up,” 2007 and “Superbad,” 2007) “Bridesmaids” certainly proves that women can be funny, too – actually, hilarious. Annie, played by Kristen Wiig (best known for her work on “Saturday Night Live”) finds out that her longtime best friend, Lillian, (Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live”) is engaged and wants her to be her maid of honor. Well, Annie is certainly “honored” but we see how she really feels when we watch her begin to chug a bottle of wine. We now commence the journey of Anne’s life unraveling while Lillian’s is just beginning...