411 Movies Roundtable: July 2009

Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 07.01.2009

The 411 staff takes a look back at the month that was, and discusses the upcoming big releases in July!

Welcome to the monthly 411 Movies Roundtable. It's been a scorching summer, and the cinema has seen some particularly bright rays of sunshine too, even if they were all outshone by the juggernaut that is Michael Bay and his robots in disguise. Still, the blockbuster season ain't quite over yet. This month, Sacha Baron Cohen teaches the world that he has literally no shame, Harry Potter returns in something like his twenty-seventh movie outing of the decade, and Adam Sandler stands up for cancer.

This month's picture theme takes a historical approach that ties in with a certain three-dimensional release from this month. Let's get down to business...

Introducing this month's participants:

A tidal wave of furiousness...ness... it's Arnold Furious!

Gratuitous Bryan Kristopowitz!

Around the world in 24 frames with Len Archibald!

Fill-in king Steve Gustafson!

The new chief of the R's, Shawn S. Lealos!

Sssshhh, it's Jeremy Thomas!

...and I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield!

The Month That Was

Arnold Furious

Biggest Winner of the Month: The guys behind The Hangover. What a massive hit that turned out to be! I didn't see it racking in that kind of green but it's been huge. It's taken over $150M and the budget was only $35M. Massive hit. Yeah, Up is doing pretty good but it was supposed to and Transformers was always going to be big. So yeah, Todd Philips, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and the people at Warner Brothers are the big winners at the casino tonight.

Biggest Loser of the Month: Well Land of the Lost was a bit of a catastrophe but I'm going with Eddie Murphy. After the disastrous Meet Dave last year he needed to bounce back. Imagine That was a bad idea, poorly executed and got what it deserved; very little. I'm sure Will Ferrell will bounce back. Eddie Murphy might be reaching the end of the line as a star. And really he only has himself to blame. The lack of challenging projects since his great performance in Dreamgirls (a poor film but one he excelled in) has been hugely disappointing.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: It was sad to see Farrah Fawcett's unfortunate death get lost in the media frenzy around Michael Jackson's demise. In terms of cinematic goings on the announcement that the ‘best picture' Oscar will be extended to 10 nominees is quite the surprise. Hell, when the nominees go up NOW with it only being five you know that only 2 or maybe 3 films have a shot at actually winning. I guess it'll stop people bitching about stuff like Dark Knight and WALL-E not getting nominated and Up could well benefit and get nominated for best picture next year. Too late for the producers on those films last year though.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: Public Enemies. Not a big Michael Mann fan. I think he often prefers style over substance and makes pictures that look very ‘arty' without the art of content. But he can't fail with this cast. It should be terrific. Also check out the cast for Funny People. That should be good too.

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Watchmen. It was a very solid movie and the DVD is loaded with extra stuff that Zach Snyder shot.

Classic Movie of the Month: The Big Chill. I saw it the other day and it reminded me that several of the stars were great actors. Jeff Goldblum is seriously good in it. It's like The Breakfast Club for grown up's with 60's hippies realising they've grown up to be yuppies at Kevin Costner's funeral. The soundtrack is phenomenal.

Movie Quote of the Month: "I'm not supposed to be within two hundred feet of a school... or a Chuck E. Cheese." – Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover.

Bryan Kristopowitz

Biggest Winner of the Month: The people behind The Hangover. It ended up beating Will Ferrell's big summer movie Land of the Lost when they opened on the same weekend and has remained a force in the top ten the whole month. I'd count that as a big win, wouldn't you? Oh, and Michael Bay is a pretty big winner, too. Transformers 2, despite the many bad reviews, made a bunch of money anyway. I'd say that's a win.

Biggest Loser of the Month: A toss up between Will Ferrell and the people behind Land of the Lost and Jack Black and the people behind Year One, as both big name comedies tanked at the box office. That's not supposed to happen to big stars.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: The death of Michael Jackson. It'll probably end up being the biggest pop culture news item of the year. Even with all of his personal issues and the court cases that diminished his, for the lack of a better phrase, current appeal, he still mattered, and his sudden death will only enhance his legacy into the future. He never got his final curtain call and the world never got to see him perform again. That's all pretty sad and pretty dang big.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: Bruno is the only real definite must see this month. Public Enemies might be a close second. And I may be the only one saying this, but G-Force looks funny.

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: The big hooha Nicolas Cage movie Knowing comes out, Matlock Season 3 hits stores as does a new DVD of the vampire classic Near Dark, G.I. Joe: An American Hero Season 1.1 (whatever the heck that means), a bunch of different Watchmen DVD comes out, Pushing Daisies Season 2 and the Knight Rider reboot come out, How Bruce Lee Changed the World, which was a documentary that, I believe, aired on the History Channel earlier this year, Combat Shock gets a big 2-disc special edition, and two new B-movies hit, Streets of Blood starring Sharon Stone and Val Kilmer, and Angel of Death, an action movie starring the great Zoe Bell.

Classic Movie of the Month: Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986): Whoopi Goldberg is Terri Doolittle, a single, lowly computer terminal worker at a New York City bank that gets caught up in an international spy situation involving British intelligence, the CIA, and the KGB. Easily one of Goldberg's best movies, featuring great performances by Annie Potts, Stephen Collins, Carol Kane, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Tracey Ullman, Michael McKean, and a hilarious Garry Marshall. I wish Penny Marshall would make another movie as good as this one.

Movie Quote of the Month: Killian: "You bastard! Drop dead!"
Richards: "I don't do requests."
Richard Dawson (Killian) and Ahnold Schwarzenegger (Richards) - The Running Man (1987)

Len Archibald

Biggest Winner of the Month: The Hangover - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was expected to make big bucks, but Todd Phillips' little (big?) comedy with basically no A-List actors was a HUGE hit and made everyone, even the harshest of film critics believers. Hell, even I was skeptical about the movie – then I saw it. Now, I will be first in line when the unrated DVD is released.

Biggest Loser of the Month: Land of the Lost and Year One. If we took those bombs and dropped them on North Korea and parts of Iran, the world may actually be a better place.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: Death comes in threes – Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and MICHAEL JACKSON all met with the cold clammy hands of the grim reaper. Three ultra-talented individuals will live on forever in our memories. But I wonder, who will give me my $10 million Publisher's Clearance House check? Oh – the Oscars will do ten nominations instead of five. That's about 10 years too late, fellas.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: Public Enemies. Hells. Yes. If Mann is able to recapture anything resembling the absolute brilliance that was Heat, we actually may have an early contender for Best Picture (I mean, there ARE ten nominations, now).

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Knowing - I know a lot of people hate on Nicholas Cage, but this is actually the little gem of a movie that actually dares to ask some questions about the fundamentals of human existence and plays its genre true to the end.

Classic Movie of the Month: In celebration of Michael Mann's possible return to prominence, Heat starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Two of the greatest at the top of their games, along with an unbelievable supporting cast that includes Val Kilmer, Dennis Haysbert (the former President and Allstate guy), Tom Sizemore before he went crazy, Jon Voight, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Ted Levine, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman, Hank Azaria, the always awesome Danny Trejo and Henry F'N Rollins – Holy holy hell, how did they get away with this cast?!?!?!

Movie Quote of the Month: Vincent Hanna: "You know, we are sitting here, you and I, like a couple of regular fellas. You do what you do, and I do what I gotta do. And now that we've been face to face, if I'm there and I gotta put you away, I won't like it. But I tell you, if it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you're gonna turn into a widow, brother, you are going down."

Neil McCauley: "There is a flip side to that coin. What if you do got me boxed in and I gotta put you down? Cause no matter what, you will not get in my way. We've been face to face, yeah. But I will not hesitate. Not for a second."

- Al Pacino and Robert De Niro showing the acting world how it's done in a coffee shop in Heat

Steve Gustafson

Biggest Winner of the Month: Should I go with Transformers? Nah. How about the news that plans were announced for a massive 175-acre development in Thailand that will house a movie studio, animation facilities and special-effects labs, as well as a theme park, water park and residential units connected to the film facilities? Close, but no. I know. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis. The surprise hit that is The Hangover put three new stars on the Hollywood map. Welcome to the big time, boys!

Biggest Loser of the Month: Steven Soderbergh. Just days before it was to go into production, Sony/Columbia Pictures has halted work on Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and directed by Soderbergh. According to reports Columbia head Amy Pascal was miffed by a reading of the Soderbergh's revised script. It's like mom coming into your basement and taking away your laptop right before you were going to start playing World of Warcraft. Better luck next time, Steven.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: Sorry, not going with the obvious one. Yes, Transformers is doing beyond awesome but how is that going to effect the industry in positive way over the long haul? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that hands out the annual Oscar awards, touched off an industry-wide controversy when it announced that it is doubling the number of nominees for Best Picture to 10. I'm holding off my judgment until AFTER the Oscars, to see how they pull it off. This will sink or swim pretty fast.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: (500) Days of Summer. Call me crazy but I'm really interested in this. I'm a self-professed Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan and while this won't be his huge breakout hit (If he takes my advice and plays Bucky Barnes in Captain America he will!), it will get him some more critical attention.

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: This list begins and ends with The State coming out on DVD. If you don't know, now you know.

Classic Movie of the Month: Over the Top. Its greatness is in its simplicity. A long haul truck driver who tries to win back his alienated son while becoming a champion arm wrestler. Sylvester Stallone at the top of his game!

Movie Quote of the Month: Martin Daniels: "Here's the deal: Go to your room, write a confession that I'll take to the police, I will not send you back to your parents, and you tell Sarah that you and I are the best of friends."
Clifford: "And we are, aren't we?"
Martin Daniels: "Shut up."

- Clifford. Charles Grodin and Martin Short tearing it up! A Gustafson family favorite! My sisters and I quote it daily.

Shawn S. Lealos

Biggest Winner of the Month: The Hangover. This movie completely floored me. I was shocked at how brilliantly funny it is from start to finish. Bradley Cooper cemented his place in my mind as a star, and has me excited to know he is on the short list to play Face in the A-Team movie. Zack Galifianakis is the breakout star of the movie and I think he could be the next John Belushi. It also made great money for a hard R-rated comedy.

Biggest Loser of the Month: Tony Scott. The Taking of Pelham 123 sucked worse than anything I have seen this year. It is easily the worst blockbuster of the summer.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: It was announced in June that Tim Burton will be featured in a big time exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa to the cool kids). The dates of the exhibition will be November 22, 2009 through April 26, 2010. Check out what will be on display: artwork generated during the conception and production of his films, and highlights a number of unrealized projects and never-before-seen pieces, as well as student art, his earliest non-professional films, and examples of his work as a storyteller and graphic artist for non-film projects including drawings, paintings, storyboards, digital and moving-image formats, puppets and maquettes, props, costumes, ephemera, sketchbooks, and cartoons. Also showing will be a number of films that influenced him including Frankenstein, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: I really want to say Public Enemies, but I have to go with Harry Potter and the big ass spoiler that concludes this chapter of his story.

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: The State, July 14. Holy Freaking Crap!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna dip my balls in it!

Classic Movie of the Month: The Public Enemy (1931) - With Public Enemies coming out this week, check out the original film of the same name which stars James Cagney. Cagney portrays Tom Powers, a guy who grows up to be a big time gangster. Many films since owe a great deal of debt to this, one of the first gangster films. You can see The Godfather, Scarface and even Raging Bull in the frames of this great movie.

Movie Quote of the Month: "You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!" - Alan, The Hangover

Jeremy Thomas

Biggest Winner of the Month: Hard to pick for this one between The Hangover and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The R-rated comedy is certainly the bigger surprise of the two, having brought in $213 million on a $35 million budget, but I don't think anyone expected the Bay flick to match The Dark Knight's first five days. I'm going to go with The Hangover since I enjoyed myself a hell of a lot more with that movie, but you can't argue with the big robots' success either.

Biggest Loser of the Month: Prehistoric comedy in general, as Year One and Land of the Lost both deservedly bombed thanks to being shoddy films that failed to connect with audiences. The two projects are this summer's Don't Mess with the Zohan and Love Guru in terms of quality and financial success. And in this month's case at least, when prehistoric comedy loses, we all win.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: The Academy Awards is making some changes, and they include expanding the number of Best Picture nominees to 10, requiring that any potential Best Song nominee meet a minimum rating (which means that there could be no Best Song nominees in a particular month) and that most of the "testimonial" awards such as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will not be shown during the telecast. Lots of changes... one good, one bad, one "wait and see." We'll see how it all works out.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: I have to go with Public Enemies. Michael Mann directing Johnny Depp and Christian Bale with Tommy guns and Model T's. What more do you really need to know?

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: July 21st is gonna be a rough day for my pocketbook as both Watchmen and Coraline come out. You can damn well be sure that both are going to be in my collection - if not on the same day, then certainly by the time August rolls around.

Classic Movie of the Month: In honor of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I'm giving this spot to a "new classic" in the original film. When it came out, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was nothing less than a phenomenon; it's actually kind of disturbing to think that it's been eight years since then. The luster may have fallen off the wand for some with this series, but the first one will always be a smashing success and one hell of a first entry in what is in my book a great film series.

Movie Quote of the Month: "You're a wizard, Harry." - Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Owain J. Brimfield

Biggest Winner of the Month: I'm going with the guys behind The Hangover, despite Michael Bay rampaging all over the horizon destroying everything in sight. Todd Phillips' film was the right film at the time, earning big bucks, and not incidentally, somewhat paving the way for the upcoming adaptation of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, which will tread exactly the same sort of path. R-rated comedy is the new, er, well it's doing pretty well for itself, compared to...

Biggest Loser of the Month: ...Shitty prehistoric comedy like Year One and to a lesser extent Land of the Lost. How on earth the former turned out to be the bomb it was is completely befuddling given the talent involved, but if it finally makes Michael Cera realise he needs to learn how to play a different character to have any sort of long-lasting career in the movies, it'll have been totally worth it.

Biggest Movie News of the Month: What's all this shenanigans with the Oscars, like the Academy is somehow pretending they still mean something? I highly doubt the extending of the best picture nomination list is actually going to have any tangible effect (unlike the amendments to the best song award, which could well hamstring any songwriters hoping for Academy glory), but when the notably traditional Academy shakes things up to this extent, people still sit up and pay attention, even if the changes don't really mean anything in the long run.

Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: It's got to be Bruno, purely to see if Sacha Baron Cohen can outdo the naked wrestling scene from Borat. My money says yes, yes he can.

Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Looks like Knowing, the best film ever to feature a moose on fire, is making its debut on disc, and it's worth a watch if you're happy to accept a hokey turn of events way down the line.

Classic Movie of the Month: Since I've been rewatching it for 'Ten Deep', it's going to be 12 Angry Men, the Sidney Lumet original not the William Friedkin remake. Dramatic filmmaking at its most superior.

Movie Quote of the Month: "It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's SURE. We nine can't understand how you three are still so sure. Maybe you can tell us." - Henry Fonda lays it on the line in 12 Angry Men.

Coming Attractions

JULY 1ST

Public Enemies
Studio: Universal
Directed by: Michael Mann
Starring: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup
The plot: FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Bale) sets his sights on American gangster John Dillinger (Depp) and others in an attempt to curb a rampant Chicago crime spree during the 1930s.

Furious: Yes, yes, yes. Sold. I hope it's a hit because the cast is terrific. Early reviews are in and they're pretty strong. Pretty sure you'll get good entertainment for your hard earned cashola here. Concerns I have about Mann's directorial style look to be misplaced on this occasion. Perhaps he's been taking notes.

Kristopowitz: Director Michael Mann is always interesting, even when his movies are terrible (like Miami Vice), so this is a definite must see even if it ends up terrible. It looks like a decent enough period drama. Johnny Depp looks like he's having a ball in the trailers. Christian Bale, though, could be the guy that makes or breaks the movie. Will he be dour and super serious or will he be charismatic and interesting? I guess we'll see soon enough.

Archibald: Michael Mann – Check. Johnny Depp – Check. Christian Bale – Check. Yeah, I'm seeing this.

Gustafson: I've been excited about this since I heard about it. The reviews have been so-so and I'm curious if Bale will get any aftereffects from Terminator. Probably not, but you never know. Welcome back, Mr. Mann!

Lealos: Michael Mann can do no wrong. I know people don't like Miami Vice, but those people are dead wrong. While he is called style over substance, I disagree because he is all style and substance rolled into one perfect ball. Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Miami Vice, Collateral - this guy is a master filmmaker. Add three of my favorite actors in Christian Bale, Johnny Depp and Channing Tatum and this movie has can't miss written all over it.

Thomas: I've been giddy as hell about this movie since I saw the first shots of it. Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors between Manhunter, Heat, The Insider, Ali and Collateral all to his credit. (Miami Vice was far from great, but I think it was a fluke). With him in charge of a period crime piece I'm expecting big things. Add to that the efforts of Christian Bale and Johnny Depp as actors and my expectations have gone through the roof. The advance buzz has generally been quite good and if the film is successful enough, we could be looking at the first non-animated Oscar-buzz film of the year so far.

Brimfield: I'm just not as excited for this one as I should be, which is strange because all the right ingredients are there. Mind you, I didn't think Collateral was going to be that good and loved it, so I'll check this out just in case.

Ice Age 3D: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg
The plot: When Sid gets into some trouble, it's up to Manny, Ellie, Diego, and Scrat to save their friend. Their mission leads them to an underground world where encounter dinosaurs, flora, and fauna - as well as a one-eyed, dino-hunting weasel named Buck.

Furious: First one was ok-ish. Second one was slighter better but not a huge improvement. I'm not that into the characters that I'm interested in a third one. They're just not great movies! It's disappointing to me that franchises sometimes spring up around a weak film that has a big audience. The inclusion of dinosaurs might spice up the action a bit but it probably won't do much for the average characters, which were at fault for the first two films being so mediocre.

Kristopowitz: I haven't seen the first two Ice Age movies, but I imagine that since this is the third movie in the franchise it's got a great shot of being a big hit right out of the gate. The trailers have been funny.

Archibald: I'll be honest – I liked the first Ice Age movie. It was cute, had a good voice cast and told a good story. Scrat was by far the star of the show, IMO. The second one was an obvious cash-grabber and this one looks no different. I will probably end up watching this on DVD when I need to babysit one of my nieces or nephews, though.

Gustafson: Ice Age has just been... there... for me. I don't hate it. I don't love it. If it's on, cool. I can't see this one being any different than the others. Expect a healthy return since the kids need a nice movie geared for them during the summer season. I'm surprised they haven't made any direct-to-DVD spin-offs to capitalize off the movies.

Lealos: I really enjoyed the first movie. I don't remember much about the second one (I might have actually not even seen it???) so I don't know what to expect with this one. I do know that it is in 3D, so that is the only way I will watch it in theaters if I do so. I probably will for the one simple reason that I am completely addicted to 3D animation right now.

Thomas: I've never been too keen on these movies, but I actually watched them last night on one of the cable channels and enjoyed them more than I remember initially doing. Part of my lack of enthusiasm comes from Ray Romano, who I have never thought was particularly funny, but the rest of the cast is good and after re-watching those two I actually think this one could be good. It's not the kind of movie I'm obsessed with seeing, but I'll check it out and probably have a pretty decent time.

Brimfield: I'm honestly surprised that everyone hasn't just given up and left animated movies to Pixar. They're so far ahead of the bellcurve it's just not funny any more when we have to suffer through four or five second-rate films like this to get to the next WALL-E or Up.

JULY 10TH

Brüno
Studio: Universal
Directed by: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
The plot: Flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter Bruno (Cohen) travels the world in search of the latest style trends.

Furious: The trailers I've seen look hilarious and if Sacha Baron Cohen can hit the same highs he did with Borat then the film will deliver. Bruno is the least of Cohen's three characters, which is why it's had to wait until last to get made into a film. A pity that Cohen had to learn his mistakes doing the Ali G movie, a terrible film, and wasted that character's potential. Now he's run out of characters and will have to try something new. He's a funny guy though so he'll be ok.

Kristopowitz: The biggest movie of the month bar none. It's got major buzz and it's looking like star Sacha Baron Cohen is going to have the world laughing again. I just hope that GLAAD's complaint about the lack of a "tolerance message" at the end of the movie and the recent Michael Jackson scene cut thing don't kill that buzz. The movie looks hysterical.

Archibald: So Borat was groundbreaking in how it depicted not only crude humor, but small-town America as well. I hope (sincerely) that this isn't a rehash of that idea, but actually takes the humor and analysis of Americana on a whole different level. Baron, I'm trusting you with this one! Don't let me down (like he reads any of this stuff...)

Gustafson: The Brüno juggernaut is coming and there's nothing anyone can do about it! Expect the talking heads of TV and radio to use this as an arguing point over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Sacha Baron Cohen will be laughing so hard that he loses count of all the money he will be making off the controversy. I will say that it was nice of him to cut the Latoya Jackson section out for the premiere. Surprising. But nice.

Lealos: I never had the desire to see this movie. But I felt the same way about Borat. One thing this movie has going for it is I continuously repeat one line of dialogue already, without ever having seen it, to the annoyed stares of everyone who knows me. "I gave my baby a traditional African name - O.J."

Thomas: I admit, I've laughed at parts of this trailer. Also, Sacha Baron Cohen can be a very funny individual. That being said, this isn't my movie to see for this particular week. This kind of movie is an acquired taste and I've only barely acquired it; it took me a while to warm to Borat, for example. I'll end up seeing this and probably laugh, but not as much as Cohen is hoping I do.

Brimfield: Now this should be absolutely mint. Bruno never struck me as a character capable of carrying a whole film, but Cohen is so dedicated to his craft that this has already won me over and could well be the comedy of the year.

I Love You, Beth Cooper
Studio: Fox Atomic
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Alan Ruck
The plot: The last night of high school takes an unexpected turn after geeky grad Denis Cooverman declares his love for hottie cheerleader Beth Cooper in his valedictorian speech.

Furious: Fox Atomic got ditched recently after two years of failures aimed at the teen market. In particular The Rocker and Miss March both bombed horribly and a studio that loses money is completely worthless. Shame because this looks to be their best property to date. Casting Alan Ruck is a stroke of genius. Chris Columbus isn't a great director but this is his kind of thing. The kind of film he's usually quite good at (like Mrs Doubtfire or Adventures in Babysitting). I'm optimistic, for once, and might well catch this on DVD.

Kristopowitz: I like Chris Columbus as a director, but this movie looks terrible. How many movies can really be made about hip and edgy high school yahoos in the suburbs having big sex and drinking parties with lame alternative rock music soundtracks before the world says enough? Not soon enough if you ask me.

Archibald: I'll tell you... I love The Cheerleader. So, she's been a little bit on the annoying side in Heroes, but – yeah. This movie, though... I'm still on the fence. Chris Columbus has his hits and misses.

Gustafson: Every time I see the trailer I'm like, "Eh." But the audience loves this, so what do I know. It's hitting at a good time, but will it be enough to face all the other heavy hitting movies coming our way? As far as the movie itself, looks inoffensive.

Lealos: Fox Atomic is now dead and this will be the last movie released under their banner. I really, really wanted to see Miss March because of my insane love of The Whitest Kids U Know, but missed it. If I missed that great movie, don't expect me to see this one. It looks kind of generic.

Thomas: This is my movie to see for this week. I've heard some good things about both the story this is based on and the movie itself... and in addition, it has Hayden Panettiere, who I think has a definite future. She's cute, she's charming and she's actually a pretty decent actress on top of it. This is supposed to be a little bit of a dark comedy, although the trailers and previews suggest otherwise. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to get here, but I know I'll be going and will probably enjoy myself.

Brimfield: For some reason, I still associate Chris Columbus with good films, but then I realise he hasn't made any in almost twenty years. I somehow doubt this will be the one to break the streak.

Humpday
Studio: HD Net
Directed by: Lynn Shelton
Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore
The plot: Andrew (Leonard) reunites with Ben (Duplass), his college pal who has become, in Andrew's mind, too domesticated. Offering him an alternative, the two guys hit a party at a sex-positive commune, where they are inspired to consider taking on a boundary-pushing art project: a gay sex film, starring them both.

Furious: This sounds awful. Reading the plot outline makes me want to avoid it and I don't know anyone that's in it or the director. It got decent, but not dazzling, reviews at Sundance. I can't see it making any money because I don't think it has an audience.

Kristopowitz: Is this meant to be some kind of counter programming to Bruno? Is it meant to be a comedy or some kind of pseudo drama?

Archibald: Wow... I saw the trailer for this... Well, I'll put it like this: if you don't mind a comedy that makes fun of guy-on-guy action (fans of Borat, I'm looking at you) this should be a decent little... romp. I'm sorry, I had to do it. Throw tomatoes at your will.

Gustafson: This sounds right up the alley for the 411mania universe. I know several of our commenters who will be all over this one! Some of the writers too! As for me, maybe a rent. The premise sounds... ok. But not enough to get my theater dollar.

Lealos: I don't know what to think about this film. It is a quirky indie drama (ala Juno) about two guys who decide to make a gay porn movie, even though both are very much not gay. It's gotten great reviews all saying the same thing, there is a lot going on under the hood of this film and it's truly a story of the true inner working of being a guy. It sounds interesting and I guarantee it won't show in Oklahoma.

Thomas: As intriguing as this sounds, it's one I'll catch on DVD if at all. The buzz sounds decent and the premise could play out very well, but it's the kind of film that's practically designed to get lost in a summer crowd. The studio should have pushed this off to September and it might have gotten a little more success, but really this is a film that will find its success - if there is any to be had - on DVD.

Brimfield: I'm pretty intrigued by this, and festival buzz suggests it's worthy of this summer's "quirky independent comedy breakout". The premise sounds daft, but the material looks strong.

JULY 17TH

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Studio: Warner Bros.
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon
The plot: In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter discovers even more about the evil Lord Voldemort's past, thanks to his mentor Dumbledore and a mysterious textbook. By the end of the year, nothing will ever be the same.

Furious: David Yates is not an ideal director for Harry Potter. Order of the Phoenix was the worst in the series so far. Unfortunately he's now tied in to do the rest of the films. On the upside he probably can't do any worst with this chapter. I've enjoyed the Potter franchise but since Alfonso Cuaron left after one film it's been downhill. I'm still waiting for them to recapture that magic that Cuaron had with Prisoner of Azkaban. Here's hoping but I won't bother going to the cinema for this one.

Kristopowitz: I saw the first Harry Potter movie and loved it. For whatever reason, though, I haven't seen the other movies. I probably won't see this one, either. I'm probably just waiting for them all to come out on DVD so I can watch them all together at once. It does look kind of cool, though.

Archibald: I'll say this once and be done with it – the studio should have thrown every penny they had to keep Alfonso Cuaron at the helm. The movies have not had the same feeling of urgency since he left the project. I will see this, but The Prisoner of Azkaban will forever be the benchmark.

Gustafson: I really wish I was into Harry Potter. I feel left out. These movies and the books do nothing to me. It's like one of my friends who doesn't get excited going to a strip club. He knows who he is. And it's not that I'm anti-Potter. I'm happy for the success of the book. Anything getting kids excited about reading is a good thing. Same with the movies. I saw and watched the first one and nothing. Tried to get into a couple of the others... nothing. I remember when I managed a bookstore and was amazed when I lady started crying (CRYING!) while she was telling me about the books. And this was a professional, well-adjusted woman. I really feel like I'm missing out on something here.

Lealos: This is the movie where all hell finally breaks loose. The entire story arc of Harry Potter is to strip him of everything and force him to stand on his own (or at least with his two best friends) against the greatest evil the Earth has ever known. This movie is the pivotal turning point for his final push to his eventual destiny. I disagree that Yates is doing a bad job in his role as director. No, he is not Cuaron but no one is. It is not really fair to judge him on the masterpiece that was Prisoner of Azkaban. I don't think Order of the Phoenix was that bad. It is still better then the first two movies. The story is winding down, this book is a fantastic chapter in the journey and I am interested in seeing the extended flashback into the life of Tom Riddle. The last battle should be epic as well. I cannot wait (already have my tickets, as a matter of fact).

Thomas: I'm with Shawn on this one. In fact, I'll go one better and say that Order of the Phoenix was the best film in the series to date. No, it wasn't the joyously fantastical film that the past ones have been but it wasn't supposed to be. The films have been getting progressively darker as time goes on, matching the way the books have played, and this one will be the darkest. I'm very excited about this and I don't think Yates is going to let us down.

Brimfield: The franchise that will never end churns out another behemoth that will score big at the box office yet leave me cold and empty on the inside.

(500) Days of Summer
Studio: Fox Searchlight
Directed by: Marc Webb
Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The plot: Greeting-card writer Tom (Gordon-Leavitt), falls for his new colleague, Summer (Deschanel), on her first day of work. What comes next is a look at the subsequent year-and-a-half period the two lovers spend together.

Furious: I'm liking the improvement of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor. I really didn't expect him to be a breakout star but after seeing Brick I was ready to believe. Zooey Deschanel is a suitably kooky co-star for him. I'd watch this.

Kristopowitz: I've heard good things about this movie, so if it's playing near me I may make an effort to see it.

Archibald: This seems like a long-winded episode of Before Sunrise/Before Sunset. I'm sure it will be touching and heartwarming and poignant and all those other critical "buzzwords". Watching the trailer almost put me to sleep, though. Which is weird, because usually I'm into touching, heartwarming and poignant films.

Gustafson: YES! Do I need to say anything more? Hope it gets a healthy release and makes a little coin.

Lealos: My wife loves Deschanel and we both love Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so this one is a no-brainer. You want proof that Gordon-Levitt is great, watch Brick. I also can't wait to see him as Cobra Commander next month. I called Humpday an Indie sounding movie but this one appears to have the design down to an art. I want to see this movie very badly and I am afraid it won't be here for awhile. Hopefully I'm wrong, but Oklahoma does suck as far as movie releases.

Thomas: This got a lot of great buzz at Sundance. Len hit it right, this looks like a Before Sunrise/Before Sunset deal. Have I mentioned that those are two of my all-time favorite romance films? Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a favorite of mine and Deschanel is hit or miss, she looks very good here. I'm interested, certainly.

Brimfield: I know absolutely nothing about this except that Levitt and Deschanel should make a fantastic couple. Here's hoping their chemistry is as good as it promises to be.

JULY 24TH

G-Force
Studio: Walt Disney
Directed by: Hoyt Yeatman
Starring: Will Arnett, Penelope Cruz, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage
The plot: A specially trained squad of guinea pigs is dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire from taking over the world.

Furious: The cast is strong for an animated film. Not sure if the world needs another cute talking animal picture but this one looks to be slightly better than the average. Not Pixar or anything but cute. When Disney goes it alone their track record, since say The Lion King, has been a little disappointing (Meet the Robinsons, The Wild, Underdog for example).

Kristopowitz: I'm a sucker for talking animal comedies, so I'll definitely see this. The preview I saw for it was funny. I'm curious to see just how big a guy like Jerry Bruckheimer is willing to make a talking animal movie.

Archibald: Ice Age is all the cute, furry animation I will be able to take this summer. Again, I'll probably use this as a video babysitter while I do... what men do. That came out wrong. I AM NOT MICHAEL JACKSON!

Gustafson: Great cast... if only they weren't stuck doing voice work for this movie. I'm sure it will do ok on the big screen and be huge on DVD.

Lealos: This trailer makes my wife laugh every time. Our baby is due to be born this weekend so we won't be seeing it. That is too bad because it does look cute.

Thomas: I still say this would be a much more amusing film for adults if the G in G-Force stood for gerbils. Think of the jokes, people! Anyway, this looks like a fairly iffy animated movie that will do fairly well its first weekend and then quickly drop down the rankings. I'm not expecting much out of it and could still end up disappointed.

Brimfield: I'm honestly surprised that everyone hasn't just given up and left animated movies to Pixar... wait, just read what I said about Ice Age.

The Ugly Truth
Studio: Columbia
Directed by: Robert Luketic
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Nick Searcy
The plot: A macho morning TV show correspondent (Butler) makes a bet with his love-challenged producer (Heigl): If his tips on how to land and keep a guy don't work, he'll quit the business. But while he coaches her through a fledgling romance, can he avoid falling for her, and vice versa?

Furious: Robert Luketic makes very disposable movies. Heigl & Butler should make for a cute couple but both could do better. Heigl hasn't taken off like she should have after Knocked Up and Butler seems unable to find anything to suit his talents. This should be another forgettable Luketic effort.

Kristopowitz: The previews for this have been somewhat amusing, but I think I've had my fill of movies about morning coffee cup carrying professional women whining about how no one wants to go out with them or marry them. Because that's what this movie is really all about. And I'm oh so not looking forward to the endless "It's important for girls to see this movie because I play a strong, complicated woman, something you don't see much in entertainment" hooey that will come out of Katherine Heigl's mouth during the myriad interviews she'll do on television. Because that will happen.

Archibald: Katherine Heigl has not taken off the way she was supposed to after Knocked Up - it actually made Seth Rogen the über-star instead. Am I the only one that gets a Hugh Jackman-like vibe from Gerald Butler? Like it seems as if he's capable of taking his acting talents to the limit, but chooses to stay with the female demographic to make his money (not like there's anything wrong with that – make your paper how you need to make it). This is basically your safe "pretends he doesn't like her until he realizes he is in love with her" rom-com that has been made a million times over. It will probably make money because we as humans like to stay with what is familiar to us.

Gustafson: I was thinking of doing a 300 joke here, but couldn't think of anything other than, "This...is...STUPID!" It doesn't roll off the tongue right. Anyways, it's as if Hitch and 10 Things I Hate About You had a baby and left it on the street for a studio exec to find and claim it as his own. Watch at your own risk.

Lealos: On the other hand, I don't mind missing out on this one. I like Butler and I hate Heigl. It looks funny but I am still not interested.

Thomas: I actually tend to think Heigl's pretty funny in the right roles, and Gerard Butler has a definite charm to him that serves him well as a romantic leading man. Still, this looks--forgive the cutesy reference to the title - damn ugly. It seems mean-spirited and that's never a good way to go with romantic comedies. It could surprise me and be funny, but I am fairly doubtful.

Brimfield: Yawn? How on earth has Butler gone from 300 to fare like this? Dude needs to man up.

Orphan
Studio: Warner Bros.
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman
The plot: After their unborn baby dies, Kate and John Coleman (Farmiga and Sarsgaard) decide to adopt a child as a hopeful way to bring some joy and normalcy into their lives. Esther (Fuhrman), a 9-year-old orphan, captivates the couple, and comes home to live with them, though a strange sequence of events follows Esther's arrival.

Furious: Kids creep me out. Isabelle Fuhrman looks to be a creepy kid. Or at least playing one very well. I'm not big on the creepy kid market (outside of Japanese films) though. I guess whether I see it comes down to how hot Vera Farmiga looks in the trailer.

Kristopowitz: I'm all for kid killers and kids dying in horror movies and whatnot (or, as I like to call it, Kim Richards), but this movie looks awfully boring. The killer kid looks creepy and all, but I'm just not enthused by how lackluster this looks.

Archibald: "Yowza!" said Axl Rose. Scary kid with issues. Looks like a mix of every Japanese horror movie and The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin. Man, how many ties to Michael Jackson will I be able to make this month? Oh, yeah – the movie... It looks... clichéd.

Gustafson: Macaulay Culkin is like, "Hey, I remember when I did this movie!" Sorry, creepy kids don't do it for me. Now if they got Chris Kattan to play the role, then you might have something there! But I will say that Isabelle Fuhrman is one creepy looking kid.

Lealos: Hey look, it's The Bad Seed. The Good Son. Mikey. I've seen it before.

Thomas: I'd heard good things on advance buzz from this, but the trailers make it look like a pretty generic "bad seed" type movie. I'm not familiar with any of the cast outside of Sarsgaard, which can be a bad or a good thing. It would nice to have a solid horror/thriller film come along around this time as we've been bereft since the excellent Drag Me to Hell, but it remains to be seen if this will be one.

Brimfield: Looks like Spain is the new Japan when it comes to overdone horror movie setups. The similarly titled The Orphanage was decent so this will likely be derivative.

The Answer Man
Studio: Magnolia
Directed by: John Hindman
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci
The plot: After A reclusive author of a well-known spiritual guidance book falls for a sensible chiropractor and learns some important life lessons as he begins to face the public and his past.

Furious: This sounds very depressing but reviews have it pegged as funny and smart. I'll wait to see what the reviewers think before rushing into anything. But it is John Hindman's first film. Maybe he'll work out well. Good on Jeff Daniels for taking on another interesting role btw.

Kristopowitz: Jeff Daniels is a great actor, so this should be decent enough to watch at least once, but this sounds awfully pretentious.

Archibald: I'm all for little films that challenge an actor to see how far he can go. Jeff Daniels is underrated in regards to his acting ability (he played a great douchebag in State of Play), so I'm interested in seeing what he can do.

Gustafson: I'm always down for some Jeff Daniels. Outside of that, I don't see this movie making any waves. Seems like this and (500) Days of Summer will be in competition to get that romantic dramedy dollar.

Lealos: When did summer become the time of year for Indie flicks? This is the third one in as many weeks. Jeff Daniels has made an art form of quirky Indie characters and this one looks fantastic. He played the perfect detached asshole in The Squid and the Whale and it looks like his character here is what happens when that detached person tries to reintegrate himself into real life. Both he and Lauren Graham look great in this trailer and I really want to see if the movie can be as good as the trailer portrays it.

Thomas: Like my fellow staff members, I'm all about more Jeff Daniels on the big screen. This indy comedy looks like it could be good, but then I've seen a lot of indy comedies that could have been good but were in reality pretentious pieces of junk. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this one doesn't fall into that category.

Brimfield: There is precisely nothing about the synopsis of this film that doesn't make me feel nauseated. Pass!

JULY 31ST

Funny People
Studio: Universal
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana
The plot: When seasoned comedian George Simmons (Sandler) learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship inspires him to take a relatively green performer (Rogen) under his wing as his opening act.

Furious: I know some people are starting to sour on Apatow but I'm not included in that. I'll be seeing this and probably laughing my ass off in the process. Hell of a cast too! When someone like Apatow gets a reputation he starts to draw in bigger and better casts. Hopefully this will be a decent Adam Sandler movie too. God knows he needs one after the Zohan debacle.

Kristopowitz: I probably would have been interested in seeing this if I hadn't actually seen the preview for it. "The third movie from Judd Apatow..." Oh, really? I'll repeat what big, fat Stephen King said when he saw the "4th film from Quentin Tarantino" line in a "Kill Bill" trailer, "well la-dee-da." I'll change it up a bit and say "la-dee-fucking-da." And why do all people in movies end up singing a song to reaffirm their lives? Why can't they just go outside and take a deep breath?

Archibald: The real question I think this film will pose will be, "Which Adam Sandler shows up to act in this film?" Will it be zany man-child yelling Sandler from The Waterboy or actually talented actor who for some reason doesn't understand how truly talented he is from Punch Drunk Love? I really think Apatow is going to pull "talented Sandler" out and show mainstream audiences just how capable he is. I'm actually surprised at how it's being downplayed that SANDLER and ROGEN are in a movie together.

Gustafson: Thank you to whoever made the trailer and pretty much told me the whole movie. Seriously, why see this when you already know the twist that comes early. The first part of the premise has potential but they throw that out and it delves into well traveled territory. If I can sneak into this, I probably will, just because I still laugh at Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Waterboy... you see where I'm going.

Lealos: Judd Apatow is a perfect two-for-two in the director's chair. Yeah, his name is plastered all over everything these days but he has only directed The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, both great comedies. This one looks completely different than both of those as the movie seems to be taking a serious concept (death) and injecting humor into the situation. I have heard from people who attended the standup routines that are shown in the movie and all say the comedy in those scenes are fantastic. This is one of those Anti-Sandler movies, outside of his personal production zone (see: Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish). I always look forward to Sandler movies (I even loved Zohan) and get really excited when I see he is working on someone else's projects. This movie has all the ingredients to be really funny. I'll have to wait a bit to see it but I have great expectations.

Thomas: Leave it to Judd Apatow to try to make cancer funny. It's been done before, with Fanboys, although the cancer element was never treated as a joke. Sandler & Rogan could well be comic gold and I really like Leslie Mann as an actress. Eric Bana is odd casting, but it could work out well and generally I'm feeling optimistic here since Sandler did manage to rebound from Zohan with the cute if not spectacular Bedtime Stories.

Brimfield: Thanks Steve for supporting me and declaring the trailer for this movie to be the worst teaser for a motion picture in recent memory. Seriously, after watching the nearly 3-minute trailer, there seems precisely zero reason to choose this over some decent stand-up vids on YouTube. Rogen, oh ye of eternal ubiquity, it's time to break the cycle.

Adam
Studio: Fox Searchlight
Directed by: Max Mayer
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher
The plot: Soon after Beth (Byrne) moves into her new apartment, the beautiful, emotionally fragile writer is drawn to her downstairs neighbor, Adam, a handsome young guy who has Asperger's Syndrome.

Furious: I'm really very tired and I'm having trouble reading the screen right now. But I cared enough to look up Asperger's Syndrome on Wikipedia so I know what we're in for here. It's a form of autism. I think I'll wait on the reviews. And with that I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, everybody!

Kristopowitz: This will either be a surprisingly funny movie or a big, steaming pile of pretentious garbage. I'm thinking it'll be the second one, but, hey, it could be the first one. Maybe.

Archibald: My wife will cry. I will end up seeing this movie whether I want to or not. Thanks, married life!

Gustafson: What's up with all these quirky romantic comedies? Was there a half-off script sale or something? In case you were wondering, Asperger's Syndrome is like a mild, high-functional form of autism. Reading about it, Adam is very nice but extremely weird, socially awkward, prone to erratic behavior and a societal misfit (sounds like some people I know), and Beth is everything you'd want in a woman. Man, I can't see where THIS is going!

Lealos: Jesus, another Indie???? Hugh Dancy is Adam, a young man with Asperger's syndrome. For the uninitiated, that means he shows significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. In this film, he meets a woman and the two try to develop a relationship despite his issues. Rose Byrne plays the girl and Peter Gallagher also appears. It looks to be a chick flick but the trailer makes it look interesting for all audiences. July is the month of the Independent film.

Thomas: Of all the indy films coming out, this one enthuses me the least. I don't have a lot to say other then I'm simply not feeling this one.

Brimfield: I'm disappointed the rest of the guys apparently needed to look up Asperger's. Still, this will be mawkish and entirely yawnsome, and can only be saved by the Eyebrows of Gallagher. Seriously, those things could eat planets.



The votes are in... Public Enemies is the 411 staff's hit of the month, while The Ugly Truth is our shit of the month!


That's all for now, folks. Stay tuned next month for a look at G.I. Joe, Inglourious Basterds and a whole lot more!

All poster images courtesy of IMDB.