Archive for May, 2008

9. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay – $1.2M

Friday, May 30th, 2008
Perpetually stoned pals Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn) are back in this sequel to the 2004 cult favorite HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. While on route to Amsterdam, the pair is mistaken for terrorists, leading to a series of misadventures that include another run-in with Neil Patrick Harris.

8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall – $2.3M

Friday, May 30th, 2008
Nicholas Stoller\'s FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is a romantic disaster comedy produced by the same team that made such hits as THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP, headed by writer, director, and producer Judd Apatow. When he gets suddenly and unceremoniously dumped by his longtime girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (VERONICA MARS lead Kristen Bell), composer Peter Bretter (FREAKS AND GEEKS alum Jason Segel) is devastated. Miserably depressed, he seeks solace in tawdry one-night stands, but he is desperate to win Sarah back. On the advice of his stepbrother, Brian (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE\'s Bill Hader), Peter heads off to Hawaii for a much-needed vacation, but he gets even more freaked out when he discovers that Sarah and her new beau, wild and wacky British singing sensation Aldous Snow (comedian Russell Brand), are staying there as well. Mired in sadness, Peter is befriended by hotel employee Rachel Jansen (THAT \'70S SHOW\'s Mila Kunis), who encourages him to get back his life and pursue his own dreams, which include staging a Dracula musical with puppets. But Peter is blinded by his desire for Sarah even as he grows closer to Rachel and starts hanging out with some of the hotel\'s odder personalities, including Chuck (Paul Rudd), a drug-addled surf instructor, and Matthew (SUPERBAD\'s Jonah Hill), a drug-dealing restaurant worker obsessed with Snow. Segel, who gets fully naked several times in the film, wrote the screenplay, a sharp blend of comedy and drama, and is solid in his first major starring role. Stoller, making his feature-film directorial debut, gets the most out of his diverse cast and beautiful setting, especially Jack McBrayer and Maria Thayer as a newlywed couple having some bizarre sexual problems, and Billy Baldwin as Sarah\'s costar in the television show CRIME SCENE: SCENE OF THE CRIME. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is an outrageously funny yet touchingly sweet movie.

7. Baby Mama – $4.2M

Friday, May 30th, 2008
Most romantic couples--onscreen or otherwise--would kill for the type of chemistry that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler share in the gyno-centric comedy BABY MAMA, even though the women are only playing friends. Fey stars as Kate, a 37-year-old vice president at an organic foods company whose womb starts a-kickin\' every time she sees a baby. Though her career has kept her from marriage and children, she has decided that it\'s time for her to get pregnant. But multiple tries with in vitro fertilization leave her disappointed, and Kate turns to a surrogate mother. Enter Angie (Poehler), a high-school dropout desperate for the large check that comes with carrying someone\'s child. Though she agrees to be Kate\'s surrogate, it\'s clear that the women disagree on everything from music to the type of food Angie should be eating. When Angie leaves her apartment after a fight with her obnoxious common-law husband (Dax Shepard, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH), she moves into Kate\'s posh Philadelphia apartment, and the women spend the rest of BABY MAMA alternately battling and bonding.<br><br>Steve Martin appears in a small but enjoyable role as Kate\'s oily boss, and Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear gets good mileage out of playing her love interest. WEEDS star Romany Malco earns a bit more screen time--and plenty of laughs--as her over-involved doorman, but this is clearly Fey and Poehler\'s film. After several seasons of co-anchoring SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE\'s "Weekend Update" together, the pair is reunited, and it feels good--for both the talented actresses and the audience. BABY MAMA pays less attention to the serious issues of pregnancy and motherhood than its baby-driven contemporaries--JUNO, WAITRESS, and KNOCKED UP--but this is simply a comedy, and a very funny one, that succeeds on the merits of its two lead actresses and their comedic talents.

6. Made of Honor – $4.2M

Friday, May 30th, 2008
Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey leads this big-budget romantic comedy, making optimal use of his many swoon-inducing charms. Dempsey is Tom, a wealthy womanizer living the high life in New York City. He happily hops from bed to bed, living by a firm set of rules that keeps him from becoming romantically entangled with anyone. The only woman he makes time for is his dear college friend, Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), whom he sees weekly, and whom he adores. When Hannah suddenly takes off for Scotland on a job assignment, Tom misses her terribly, and has a dramatic realization about their relationship. He makes a plan to tell her about it as soon as she gets back, but of course she returns with a handsome Scottish fiancé (Kevin McKidd) in tow. To make matters worse, she informs Tom that she must make wedding plans rather quickly, and would he please, please, please be her Maid of Honor? <br><br>In typical rom-com fashion, the tale quickly escalates into over-the-top, barely believable plot twists, forcing the viewer to turn a blind eye to any holes in the story and instead focus on the pretty clothes and Dempsey\'s dimples. It shifts into full-on fantasy mode, with rugged lads on horseback, Scottish castles, and gargantuan New York apartments that only Bill Gates himself could afford. Monaghan is likeable and lovely in her role as the confused bride, but the star here is undoubtedly Dempsey. Despite being cast as a slick Casanova, he still manages to exude the fumbling charm from his CAN\'T BUY ME LOVE days. His non-threatening grin will likely be put on repeat at slumber parties everywhere, charming yet another generation of teenage girls.

5. Speed Racer – $5.3M

Friday, May 30th, 2008
Born to race cars, Speed Racer is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized - the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer, the designer of Speed\'s thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company\'s maniacal owner but uncovers a terrible secret - some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won\'t drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family\'s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie, Speed teams with his one-time rival - the mysterious Racer X - to win the race that had taken his brother\'s life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

DVD Review: Cory In The House: Newt and Improved Edition

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Cory is in the House. The White House, that is. And Washinton, DC will NEVER be the same.
This week, Disney released Cory In The House: Newt and Improved Edition. If you haven't seen Cory In The House before, the premise is simple. Chef Victor Baxter goes from obscure chef to White House Chief Chef, and takes son Cory with him. Hijinx ensue, usually tied somehow to Cory's pursuit of profit. And of course, his plans always…

Sarah McLachlan in a bikini (It’s not the drugs. You really just read that.)

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Coming in from so far out of left-field I thought it was a football is Sarah McLachlan in a bikini. I gotta admit I fostered a secret crush on Ms. McLachlan seen here vacationing in Maui. In college my computer was loaded with MP3's of her songs in case I ever tricked seduced a girl into my dorm room for some makin' out. Sadly, that dream never transpired. It would've been better than ice cream! See? I even remember the words. Now, what's it take for me to touch a boob? I'll even be romantic about it. (Read: Not yell "Yippee!" then immediately write in my online journal.)
Photos: Splash News

Heidi Montag in her bikini/only useful form

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Honest Injun, heeding your cries, I've been exercising a moratorium on Heidi and Spencer's horribly retarded candid (but really posed) shots. However, drastic times call for drastic measures. And I'd like to point you to the two drastic measures above. I'm going to step away from my keyboard now because I never type angry/aroused. *SMASH!* Shiiiit, I just knocked over my cubicle. Geekologist, are you alright? I was editing Heidi photos and- Hey! Eyes up here, bud. Nothing technological going on down there. That's simply nature. And, okay, plutonium.

Mariah Carey is really really good at throwing

Thursday, May 29th, 2008
Mariah Carey threw out the opening pitch at the Yomiuri Giants vs Rakuten Eagles match at the Tokyo Dome yesterday, and let's just say it was the most impressive display of baseball I've ever seen in my life. Lord knows why she became a singer and not a professional pitcher. Seriously though, you'd think she would've prepared a little before showing up. It's like instead of practicing throwing balls, she decided to just break both her arms to make sure they wouldn't function correctly. She could've dropped the ball and sort of nudged it with her foot and it would've been just as impressive.

Movie Review: Sex and the City

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

The story of four women, one city, and a superfluous two-and-a-half-hour long movie.
Four years after it came to an end, Sex and the City is back, and the clothes and New York are as big a part of it as they've ever been, while the women the world grew to know so well over the course of six seasons seem to be exactly where we left them.This is, of course, the story of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), her slutty friend…