Miss (only two decades off) - Starring Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, Rainn Wilson, Anna Faris

Matt Saunders (Wilson) doesn’t know how to escape the wrath of this super hero ex-girlfriend.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is not the best comedy of the summer but it does have some laughable moments. Unfortunately the plotline is too campy and simple that it doesn’t create a memorable comedy.

This movie is about 20 years behind itself. It would have been better received if it was made in the 1980’s era. During this time, movies like Date with an Angel, and Mannequin were crowd pleasers, and this movie would have fit in perfectly. If Ivan Reitman could have stuck this movie in-between his directing of Ghostbusters (1984) and Twins (1988) it would have been fantastic.

Interesting Trivia: Ivan Reitman’s daughter Catherine Reitman makes an apperance in this film as the news reporter covering the missle story. Cat is charismatic in this role and HOMM hopes to see her in more films.

Comedy

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, crude humor, language and brief nudity.

Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

Hit - Starring Steve Buscemi, Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Spencer Locke

Three tweens discover that their neighbor’s house is not just scary looking. It is actually a living monster.

Monster House is Robert Zemeckis’ second CG animated produced films and it is true that things (CG) get better with time. Monster House contains the essential elements of an animated child’s scary movie. These elements include: A great cast of characters including a clown (Chowder), events circling around an especially scary night - Halloween, and a mystery that can only be solved by the three teens who no one will believe.

While this movie is entertaining and short, it may scare younger children. It also has some inappropriate situations and verbage that may not be appropriate for the little ones. If there was an MPAA rating that was in-between PG and PG-13, this movie would fit perfectly into that rating category.

Overall: Great fun at the movies!

Animation

Rated PG for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language.

Running Time: 1 hour 31 minutes (including previews).

Miss Starring Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas

Dupree (Wilson) is down on his luck, so Carl (Dillon) decides to let him move in with him, much to his wife’s dismay.

Dupree is a crowd in this comedy. While Wilson is the best part of the film, the few comedic moments are mainly based on crude humor. There is nothing left to say except if you have to see Wilson in action, please wait for video.

Comedy

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity, crude humor, language and a drug reference.

Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes.

Hit - Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightly

Jack owes an unpaid debt to Davy Jones and his army of sea-phantoms. Unfortunately, the debt is his soul. Now, he must find a way to save himself from becoming one of them.

I personally liked this movie better than the first film. There was more action, more adventure, and more special effects. Sometimes, more is not always a good thing but in this case it worked. I really enjoyed seeing the different settings of the movie. Some settings include the deck of the pirate ship, on the island with the natives, and traveling to see Tia Dalma. The place in which Tia Dalma lives is taken directly from the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland.

The action sequences in this movie were packed with endless fun. Especially interesting is the scene involving a water wheel that comes off it’s base.

One element of a trilogy that does stink is the idea of the middle movie having no real beginning, and no real ending. This is the only area where the movie failed to deliver. Bottom Line: There is a reason this movie has broken box office records, see it in theatres while you still can.

Adventure

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.

Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Hit - Starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanely Tucci, Adrian Grenier

A recent college graduate comes to New York to persue avenues of becoming a serious journalist. In order to get the job she wants, she will first have to work as the assistant to one of New York city’s biggest magazine editors - Miranda Priestly.

This movie is enjoyable from start to finish. Not only did this movie include a great cast of characters, it also included some of the greatest wardrobe outfits on screen this year. I particularly liked watching Andrea (Hathaway) transform from the new unstylish assistant to the trend setting right hand woman of Miranda Priestly (Streep).
As I have said before, I believe Anne Hathaway is the next Julia Roberts. Unfortunately, others have not come to this realization as quickly as I have. This is an actress that will be around for years and I believe she fit this character like a glove.
Meryl Streep plays the ruthless boss so well that I believe it has been her best work in the last 5 years. Not only does she play the part well, but she looks absolutely stunning. I think she should continue to wear her hair like Miranda’s.
Another great addition to the cast is the lesser known Emily Blunt who is the first assistant to Miranda. She is sassy and snippy and always has something cold to say whenever Andrea opens her mouth that is simply hysterical. I am sure we will see more of Blunt in the future. Bottom Line: I would wear Prada for this devil (translation- go see it).

Comedy

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality.

Running Time: 1 hour 49 minutes

Mit - Starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey

The synopsis of the movie is basically the title itself. Superman Returns and he has come to save the world from the wrath of Lex Luthor.

This film is visually stimulating with spectacular special effects. The director of photography really worked hard to bring us the vibrant contrasts between Smallville, Kansas and Metropolis. The special effects were well executed and added a lot of “wow” moments to the film.

Unfortunately the sight of the film was the only part that held it together. Character work is missing in this epic with little focus on depth and range of characters and acting abilities. The Lex Luthor seen in this movie is pure evil whereas the Lex Luthor seen in previous Superman films has had a charm about him. Lex on the television show “Smallville” turns the character into a conflict of good and evil.
Lois Lane is dull and this character may have been better suited for Rachel McAdams, although I think the writing was more to blame than personal performance.
Clark Kent is his usual bumbling self, but there lacks a feeling of manliness when he changes from Clark to Superman. In a sense, Routh is too pretty for this part.
Bottom Line: Although not so “Super,” it’s a movie to be seen at the theaters.

***This movie is Miss Movies first “Mit” - a combination of a hit and a miss.

Comic Book / Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence.

Running Time: 2 hours 34 minutes

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

To see what movies are coming to your video store, click here.

Review brought to you by Driftlive.com
DriftLive.com was recently invited to Universal Studios for a first look at The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. The third installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise had its world premiere today; this film is going to bring a lot of attention and fresh excitement to the world of drifting in the United States.

In The Fast and the Furious:Tokyo Drift numerous professional drifters and drift personalities lent their skills and experience to the film crew to help make the actual drifting sequences as authentic as possible. Several professional drifters were on hand at the Premiere, including Rhys Millen, Rich Rutherford, Samuel Hubinette, Tanner Foust, and Daijiro Yoshihara.

Before the screening of the film the drivers were drifting a course set up in a large parking lot near Universal City Walk and taking numerous media for rides. It was a nice opportunity to see the drivers out having a good time on the track in a non-competition environment.

The Plot:
The basic Plot of the film has the audience following Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) as he is sent by his mother to live with his US Military father after a street racing accident has placed him in a tenuous legal situation. Director Justing Lin does a reasonable job of presenting Sean as a gaijin, or outsider in a foreign land, and creating a sense of disorientation and isolation. I only question whether this is entirely appropriate for a summer blockbuster style of film. Lucas quickly finds a new group of car enthusiasts to hang out with, and is quickly introduced to the “hottest underground motorsport� of drifting. At this point Sean has to learn to drift to save the day and get the girl. Pretty basic plot, but that is not why audiences flock to see this sort of film.

Ramblings about the film:
The movie overall palatable, the outright campyness that the preview portrays is not really found in the movie itself. In fact I would say that this film went the other direction and maybe got a bit too serious at times. I tend to like movies on the The Big Lebowski end of the scale as opposed to the Manchurian Candidate.

There are some really nice camera angles, and some well executed stunt-driving segments, kudos to Rhys, Samuel, Tanner, Rich, and the other stunt drivers who worked on this film. Justin Lin plays homage to several memorable car films, such as Bullit, The French Connection, and Ronin while managing to keep the Nitrous Oxide induced warp speed effects from the previous two films to a bare minimum. A car movie aficionado would be justified in putting down $10 simply to see what this film adds to the genre.

Little Bow Wow:
Don’t let this actor’s fame (or infamy) prevent you from going to see this film. He plays a small roll, and serves a comic relief, not as a prototype of what it means to be a drifter.

Bottom Line:
If you want to see a good movie about drifting go and get Pete Varley’s “BAD AS HELL,” if you want to see a stylized automotive movie with the occasional piece of ass, then take a look at The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.