Hit – Starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour

Womanizers, John and Jeremy, are professional wedding crashers. These crashers sneek into weddings to take advantage of young girls. But, when John meets Claire Cleary he finds himself falling in love.

Wedding Crashers has non-stop laughs from beginning to end. This raunchy comedy takes you on a hilarious journey that delivers excellent situational comedy that plays on comedic timing and execution. Wilson and Vaughn are a great team with Vaughn leading the duo as a somewhat neurotic babbling fool. Isla Fisher provides a great counterpart to Vaughns foolishness, as her character is also a crazy one. I really enjoyed seeing her in this role as she really knows how to heighten a scene. Rachel McAdams is the beautiful girl next door who plays up the role as a earth conscious debutante whose heart is conflicted. With a cast like this (including Seymour and Walken), it is no doubt that Wedding Crashers will be the surprise comedy hit of the summer. Also, a hilarious cameo is considered one of the films highlights.

Bottom Line: Crash this wedding tonight.

Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.

Comedy

Running Time: 1 hour 59 minutes.

Miss – Starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon

A team of astronauts obtain superpowers when a routine mission goes awry. Each person has a different power – the invisible woman, the human torch, Mr. Fantastic has the ability to stretch- think Elastigirl, and a man of super strength called The Thing. As a group they must overpower their enemy and former friend Mr. Doom.

There is nothing Fantastic about this four. I feel this movie was just another version of “The Incredibles.” And, yes, I do realize that Fantastic Four has been around longer than the Incredibles but why did they wait so long to bring it to the big screen?

Another drawback to the movie is the acting capabilities of its stars. Sadly no good acting is seen in this film from some of its well known actors and actresses. The best performance comes out of the cocky Johnny Storm played by Chris Evans, but eventually his performance falls flat and becomes horribly predictable. In consideration of bad acting, I really blame the script of the story and the linear plot line that contains essentially no interesting turn.

And another thing: No scientists are that good looking. Give me a break. Bottom Line: This movie fails fantastically.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content.

Action

Running Time: 1 hour 46 minutes.

Hit (with a caveat or 4) – Starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Justin Chatwin

Reviewed by Geoff Chandler

Steven Spielberg’s latest summer popcorn burner is worth the price of admission and delivers both thrills as well as chills, but has a few glaring problems that I feel weaken it overall.

I. The aliens having a biological weakness that is easily exploited by every organism on the planet by said organism’s mere existence. If they are so advanced don’t you think that they would have sent in a forward party or done a little recon work before the full-scale invasion? At the very least equipped themselves with some sorts of biohazard suit.
If you are going to go with the whole built in protection system of the Earth, I think that pollution is a better choice. With the pollution angle at least movie goers would have a built in excuse to tell their co-workers to sod off when they are given crap about not recycling by simply announcing that you are keeping extra terrestrial invasion forces at bay.

II. The father character played by Tom Cruise did not act towards his children in a way that demonstrates that he is indeed their father. At first glance of a threat to the safety of his progeny a father would take immediate action to insure their safety, it does not take a father several days to warm up to his children before he is going to take every action to keep them from harm. It is his innate biological imperative to guarantee the survival of his children.

III. A car with a transistorized ignition will be disabled by an EMP, replacing the starter solenoid will not fix this. A car with a points style ignition will not be disabled by an EMP, the same hold true for a diesel powered vehicle which uses the heat of compression to trigger ignition and does not require electricity.

IV. Longshoremen make very good money, especially a union crane operator.

Now that I have covered what I feel held the movie back, it is time for what was done right. The effects, score, performances, sets, dialog, Tim Robbins, etc were fantastic. Spielberg always gets the job done when it comes to putting together a solid film and this movie is no exception he even managed to resist adding on a 30 minute, rambling conclusion that leaves the viewer wishing that he had turned off his TV when the Ferris wheel falls on the blue fairy.

Bottom Line: Good action, great effects, to the point, explosions, human fertilizer, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Action / Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images.

Running Time: 1 hour 56 minutes.

To see what movies will be coming to a theatre near you this July, click here.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are “The Wedding Crashers.”

July 5, 2005

5 Children and It ( NR )

Alien 3000 ( R )

Bride and Prejudice ( PG-13 )

Dear Frankie ( PG-13 )

Hide and Seek ( R ) – Robert DeNiro, Dakota Fanning

In My Country ( R )

National Lampoon’s Going the Distance ( R )

Premonition ( R )

Prozac Nation ( R ) – Christina Ricci, Michelle Williams

Strange Bedfellows ( R )

July 12, 2005

Confessions of an American Bride ( NR ) – Shannon Elizabeth

Ichi-1 ( NR )

Killing Words ( NR )

Manna From Heaven ( PG )

Million Dollar Baby ( PG-13 ) – Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman
Winner of Best Picture

Mind the Gap ( R )

Mondovino ( PG-13 )

Paranoid ( NR )

State Property 2 ( R )

A Very Long Engagement ( R )

July 19, 2005

Blast ( R )

Charlie ( R )

Conspiracy of Silence ( NR )

Constantine ( R ) – Keanu Reeves (pushed back from June)
Hit or Miss: Miss

Dora The Explorer: Super Babies ( G )

Ice Princess ( G ) – Michelle Trachtenberg, Kim Cattrall
Hit or Miss: Hit

Man of the House ( PG-13 ) – Tommy Lee Jones
Hit or Miss: Hit, currently the home movie pick of the month

Red Serpent ( R )

Rottweiler ( R )

Tornado ( PG-13 )

Urban Legends: Bloody Mary ( R )

Wishing Stairs ( R )

July 26, 2005

Aussie Park Boyz ( R )

Fighting for Tommy Riley ( R )

Hollywood Flies ( NR )

King’s Ransom ( PG-13 )

No Witness ( R )

Sorum ( R )

Steamboy ( PG-13 )

They are among Us ( R )

Unreal ( NR )

The Upside of Anger ( R )

The Whole Shebang ( NR )

Wilder Days ( PG )

xXx: State of the Union ( PG-13 )