1. Larry Crowne (Universal, 2,972 Theaters, 99 Minutes, Rated PG-13): So, my question is, why is a summer film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts getting so little promotion. I have seen maybe two ads for this on TV. Granted, a lot of that might have to do with my TV watching habits, but still…

I did not even know that Tom Hanks directed and co-wrote the film (co-writing it with Nia Vardalos, most famous from writing & starring in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a film Hanks co-produced with his wife Rita Wilson). Maybe that’s why the film is keep such a low profile–Hanks doesn’t want to come off like a complete egotist.

Regardless, it tells the story of a middle aged man (Hanks) who returns to college after losing his job. While there, he develops a crush on his teacher (Roberts).

I loved Hanks last writer/dirctor/star turn, 1996′s That Thing You Do!, and I like both Roberts and Hanks as actors. So this should be right up my alley.

2. Monte Carlo (Fox, 2,472 Theaters, 109 Minutes, Rated PG): If I heard little about Larry Crowne, I’ve heard even less about this one. Not that I’m complaining, because this film seem awful.

The film appears to be a gender-switching updating of “The Prince and the Pauper” starring Selena Gomez as an American whose boring Paris vacation (Flaw #1 of the film, because if you are bored by Paris, you’re doing something wrong.) gets more exciting when she is mistaken for a look-a-like member of British royalty. I’m sure a romance

This appears to be a way for Gomez to reach a older audience while still keeping her tween fanbase along for the ride. I’m saying this not just because of the creepy, if poorly photoshopped, upskirt poster to the left, but also because her film BFF’s (or at least the actresses who play them) are six years older than her.

Tom Hanks will be writing, directing and starring in the film Larry Crowne, the story of “a man forced to reinvent himself and find a new career as he navigates the second act of his life.” According to Deadline Hollywood, the comedy will begin shooting in April and reunite Hanks with his Charlie Wilson’s War co-star Julia Roberts.

Outside of a few television episodes, Larry Crowne will only mark Hanks’s second feature film in the director’s chair. Previously, he wrote and directed the 1996 rock and roll film That Thing You Do!. Although it did moderate business at the box office, Hanks has never seen too ambitious to following it up until now. Which has been a shame, as I’ve found That Thing You Do! to be an amazingly confidently well directed film, capturing the innocence and excitement of the rock and roll music scene in the early 1960s before the assination of President Kennedy and the social and cultural upheaval that followed. I’ve watched the film (both theatrical and director’s cuts) several times and have found it energetic and engaging., leaving me wishingthat Hanks would direct more. Given that the chemistry that Hanks and Roberts shared on screen in Charlie Wilson’s War was one of the highlights of that film, early indications look good for this one.