1. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sony/ Screen Gems, 2,942 Theaters, 93 Minutes, Rated R): It’s not often that you have an actor with two films hitting wide release in the same day. It’s even rarer still when it’s two films as diametrically opposed as Michaels Sheen’s two films this week. His portray of David Frost in Frost/Nixon opens in wider release this week, and he reprises his role as Lucien in this third installment of the Underworld franchise. Don’t try to take both in on the same day or your head might explode.

Yes, the franchise returns. Gone are Kate Beckinsale and her leather pantsuit (but we get fellow Brit Rhona Mitra as a replacement, if you are interested in that sort of thing). But what we get is the origin of the vampire/werewolf war which was the driving force in the film series to this point.

It appears that the vampires play were aristocrats who treated the werewolves, a.k.a. Lycans, as slaves until one day the Lycans decided to revolt. That process is on display in this film. This might be of interest to fans of the franchise, but will anybody else want to see this?

2. Inkheart (Warner Brothers (New Line), 2,655 Theaters, 106 Minutes, Rated PG): Yet another kid-friendly book being adapted for the big screen. Times have been tough for these types of movies but this film has more going for it than the other did.

First off, the adaptation was done by David Lindsay-Abaire. He is a relative screenwriting novice–Robots, this film, and a take on Spider-Man 4 are his only credits. But he’s a stunningly brilliant playwright, known for plays such as Fuddy Meers, Wonder of the World, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole.

And you can’t discount a cast that features Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly. The plot revolves around a man who can make characters from novels come true. Chaos ensues when he releases some evil characters. Now, he and his family must collect the bad guys before they do any permanent damage in the real world.

Opening in wider release:

1. Frost/Nixon (Universal, 1,097 Theaters, 122 Minutes, Rated R): This excellent film hits a wider release. If it is coming to a theater near you, make sure you make an effort to go see it.

We reviewed this film, which you can read here, but let’s briefly tell you what you need to know.

Adapted from the West End and Broadway play, this film is set up more like a boxing film than a bio pic, and it absolutely excells with that structure. The acting is great from top to bottom. Sheen and Langella reprise their stage roles as the titular characters, and are given able support by Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and especially Kevin Bacon.

Again, well worth your film going money, if it is opening near you.

2. Revolutionary Road (Paramount/ Vantage, 1,058 Theaters, 119 Minutes, Rated R): This film got a lot of attention being that it was the first time Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunited since Titanic. But anybody expecting a romantic reunion is bound to be disappointed, because, if the preview is any indication, they spend  most of the movie shouting at each other.

They play a young couple with common interests and dreams of Paris who fall in love and get married. Paris is replaced by suburbia, the dreams by obligations, and their share interests are soon forgotten in the monotony of a 9 to 5 life. The fact that their lives turn out to be not what they intended cause them to grow distant, and affairs and discord soon follow.

This film is rumored to score poorly in test screenings, but can any film by Sam Mendes and with this cast be all that bad? That being said, two hours of Leo screaming at Kate and vice versa could be too much to bear.

3. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight, 1,411 Theaters, 120 Minutes, Rated R): It might not be completely accurate to call this film this year’s feel-good flick, because the film shows in brutal detail the caste system in Mumbai (a.k.a. Bombay), India. But it definitely holds the title of the little indie film that could.

The film, adapted from a short story by Vikas Swarup, deal with a boy from the slums of Mumbai who goes on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and gets one question away from the million dollars.  This rises questions with the producers and the authorities as to how a poor, uneducated slum-dwelling teenager can know answers even educated higher class citizens cannot. Suspected of cheating, he must go through how he learned the answers or else face serious trouble.

This film has been a critical darling and won many major awards, including the Golden Globe.

1. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Rated PG-13): I don’t know about this one. There’s a new director, a new setting, and Rachel Weisz is replaced by Maria Bello. And It’s a third installment. Usually, these facts add up for bad things for a franchise.

But, darn, that trailer looks kind of good.

I like the first two movies. They had an hypercaffinated Indiana Jones feel to them, but in an over-the-top CGI sort of way.

Brendan Frasier is back and out to save his son from a cursed ancient Chinese Mummy. Lucky he has experience doing just that.

I was going to crack wise on the fact that the kid in these movies grew up fast before I realized it was seven years since the last Mummy film. The kid in the Mummy returns was 10, which make him age appropriate in this film.

2. Swing Vote (Rated PG-13): Kevin Costner get ragged on a lot. It’s like Waterworld not only tainted everything he done since but also everything he did prior.

But he was excellent in Field of Dreams, great in Bull Durham, and awesome in No Way Out.

I don’t think he’ll ever get out of the hole Waterworld put him in. This film might not be enough. But it does seem pretty good.

The concept is far fetched. The national election comes down to one vote. Kevin Costner plays the one person in the entire United States whose vote didn’t register. Therefore, the Presidental race comes down to his, and only his, vote.

I want to see this just to see what party Dennis Hopper’s candidate is associated with. If they have a good sense of humor, they’d make him a Republican.

1. Step-Brothers (3,094 Theaters, 95 Minutes, Rated R): Will Ferrell excels at one thing–playing an overgrown man child. And now he has the perfect venue for it.

He stars with John C. Reilly as a pair of step-brothers, united as adults when their parents marry. They go through the typical growing pains newly formed sibilings do: Space issues, jealousy, trying to bury each other in the backyard. You know, the usual stuff.

It gives Ferrell a chance to act as infantile as he wants to. I have have a higher tolerance for Ferrell than most people, so that might be a good thing. But if the movie is half as funny as that poster, it should be hilarious.

 2. The X-Files: I Want to Believe (3,185 Theaters, Rated PG): I was never a big fan of The X-Files. A part of me thinks I should be, but I always found it a bit to stuffy for my tastes.

But I was in the minority. It had a big and devoted fan base. The kind that knows each episode down to the most minute detail–it had a cult following.

And I had heard that some fans weren’t happy with the way the series ended. There were too many unanswered questions for their liking.

Lucky for them. Scully and Mulder are reunited for this movie. Unlucky for them, there doesn’t appear to be any answers in this film. I could be wrong, like I said, I wasn’t a fan, but I didn’t see any “big reveal” moments in the trailer.

1. The Dark Knight (4,366 Theaters, 142 Minutes, Rated PG-13): The accidental death of Heath Ledger has cast a pall over this movie for me. It has put me in the same mind set I had just before I saw another comic book adaptation.

The Crow was supposed to be Brandon Lee’s breakout film. It was supposed to catapult him into superstardom. However, a horrible freak accident during filming took his life. His potential was never satisfied.

Lee’s death cast a shroud of melancholy over the film. Some people might consider Lee to be not inthe same class as Ledger. But I say they were both actors whose future was wide open and who left us far too soon.  

Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker is supposed to be awesome to behold. It is supposed to be award caliber and a fresh take on one of the world’s most well known characters. Forgive me for saying this, but I almost hope that the performance is not that good. It will make the loss of Ledger’s talent that much harder to bear.

2. Mamma Mia! (2,976 Theaters, 108 Minutes, Rated PG-13): At one time, musicals ruled Hollywood. During the 50s and 60s, you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a theater showing a musical. Singin’ In The Rain, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, On the Town, one after another, a great musical after great musical.

But in the 70s and 80s, they fell out of favor. Only with the success of Chicago has the movie musical made a quasi comeback.

Of course, the Broadway musicals arent what they used to be. Mamma Mia! was one for the first “jukebox” musicals. You take a popular band with a lot of hit songs, in this case, ABBA, and then try to build a story around said songs.

This one is supposed to the be the best of the bunch. It details a young woman who wants to invite her father to her wedding. Only problem is, there are three potential candidates and Mom’s not telling who the real dad is. The girl decides to invite all three. Hilarity ensues.

3. Space Chimps (2,511 Theaters, 81 Minutes, Rated G): You get the impression that the powers that be behind this film, just kind of gave up on it. I mean, opening it the same day as The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!? If this makes five bucks, it will be lucky.

This is the story of the grandson of the first monkey in space get a chance to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. Of course, he doesn’t really have the “Right Stuff”. Hilarity ensues as he tries to “get with the program”.

This would be the part where I post the trailer for the film. Unfortunately, no such trailer exists, at least not on iFilm. So, lucky you.

1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: (2,950+ Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated PG-13): The summer of comic book movies continues, as we get another Hellboy movie.

I happened to like the first Hellboy flick. But then again, I liked what I’ve read of the comic book. Guillermo del Toro obviously is a comic reader and his love for the four-color medium ensured that he would do a faithful adaptation.

I love the marketing for the film. Hellboy doesn’t appear in the trailer until half way in, with all the emphasis put on del Toro and trying to make the film seem as much like Pan’s Labyrinth as possible, yet Universal creates special commercials for all their networks featuring Hellboy interacting with James Lipton, Chuck Bartowski and the guys from Ghost Hunters. Weird.

It almost like the powers that be were ashamed of Hellboy to start with, but eventually came around. Or maybe it has to do with demographics. I just thought that was weird.

2. Journey to the Center of the Earth-3D (2,700 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated PG): Do you know what’s depressing? The fact that Brendan Fraser is playing an uncle. It will be even more depressing when Mummy III comes out and he plays a 20-year olds DAD. Fraser is much too young to be playing these kind of roles. If he is old than that means I’m old and that can’t happen!

Well, at least they didn’t have to pay a lot of money for the rights. This is like the eleventy billionth adaptation of the Jules Verne novel, which firmly resides in the public domain.

When you think about it,  this movie is like a time travel experiment. It is a decades old story, done with the latest computer effects, with the 3-D gimmick from the 1950s.

The 3-D effects is what is puzzling. Every few years, movie makers try to bring the effect back but it never goes farther than being a novelty. That’s too bad, because thing of how much better Sex and the City would have been in 3-D.

Or, maybe not.

3. Meet Dave (2,950+Theaters, 90 Minutes, Rated PG): Is this how far Eddie Murphy has fallen? At one time, he was daring, and on the edge comedian. Now, he’s doing gimmick comedy.

Apparently, this is a comedy about a group of tiny space aliens who ride in a human sized spaceship to observe human behavior. It is any wonder that Eddie Murphy wants to do Beverly Hills Cop IV?

This concept could get annoying quick. “Look! Eddie bot is confused at how humans greet one another! Look! Eddie bot is confused to discover how humans eat! Look! Another failed attempt of him to fit in!”

Yeah, an hour and a half of that would be way too long.

One thing about the trailer that makes me extra wary is the fact that they do not go into the aliens motivations. Are they here to conquer Earth? There could be comedy there, aliens the size of an action figure trying to conquer Earth. Are they just here to study our planet? Not as funny.

1. Hancock (3,900 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated PG-13): So powerful is the combination of Will Smith and Fourth of July weekend that when the two come together, every other studio stays away. Yes, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is expanding it release, but no other new movies are challenging this movie this week.

Everyone is expecting this film to be huge, bigger than big. But will it really be that much of a success? I wonder.

What puts doubt in my mind is how the film is being marketed.  Hancock is the story of a superhero who has fallen on hard times. Sort of like “What if Superman became an alcoholic and started sleeping on a park bench?”

The trailer and the Best Buy tie-in ads make this movie seem like it is a Bad Santa-esque comedy. But recent TV ads make it out to be a serious examination of the difficult life of a superhero.

So, which is it? A drama? A comedy? I know what some of you are saying, “Duh, stupid! It’s a dramedy!”

Yeah, well, if it is a dramedy, why not market it as one? Even the trailer below seems to be bipolar when it comes to the comedy/drama.

But, if the producers are playing a shell game here, trying to bring fans in for a serious film and hitting them with a comedy, that might lead to bad word of mouth. Nobody likes to be fooled. And the whole marketing smells desperate. So, yeah, it might make a lot of money, but it might not be all that good.

Hancock – Theatrical Trailer

1.Wall*E (3,992 Theaters, 103 Minutes, Rated G): It’s going to be a tough weekend for movies in the Gatevackes household. While we each want to see both of the movies opening this weekend, my wife wants to see this film more and I want to see Wanted more. Top that off by us going out of town to see friends this weekend, and might not be able to see any. Ach, such is life.

This is the story set almost 700 years in earth’s future. All the humans are gone, having colonized the stars. They left behind a robot to clean up the planet named Wall*E. But the years of solitude and tedious work have done something to the little guy–they’ve made him develop a personality.

This sounds charming, and since the Pixar name is attached to the film, you can pretty much guarantee that it is. Pixar holds a place with me where they can’t lose. Their films have all been of such a high quality and so good that I can’t see them doing any wrong. Or, at the least, their failures are ten times as interesting and entertaining as anybody else’s good stuff.

There have been a few naysayers who have been critical of this film ahead of time, especially the fact that there is no dialogue for the first 30 minutes of the movie (and rumor has it earlier versions of the film had no dialogue at all). But don’t listen to them. Go see it and be charmed.

2. Wanted (3,175 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated R): Now we come to a comic book movie that bares little resemblance to the comic book that inspired it. Instead of superpowered bad guys, we have a fraternity of less-colorful assassins.

This time, it might not be the fault of the producers. Mark Millar, writer of the comic this movie is based on, said that when he was shopping projects around to producers, it was an early version of the script and the characters were assassins, not supervillains. Yes, this project was shopped around way before the comic book even came out.

If you flip through the trade paperback the next time you are in the book store or comic shop, you can tell how desperately Millar and artist J.G. Jones wanted this film to become a movie. They did pre-casting in the comic. Wesley was drawn to look like rap star Eminem, who was hot off his 8 Mile film. Fox was drawn to look like Hallie Berry, and Wesley’s dad was drawn to look like Tommy Lee Jones.

Hollywood being what it is, Wesley is now James McAvoy, Fox is now Angelina Jolie, and while I’m not sure who is playing Wesley’s dad, Morgan Freeman has become Wesley’s boss/mentor in the film. I think that casting is a slight improvement over the casting.

Another thing that has changed from the comic is the motivations of the characters. In the comic, they are evil through and through. There is no redeeming quality about them. As a matter of fact, that was the point. But since it is hard to market a film chock full of evil jerks, the characters become that rare breed of assassin who only kills to make the world better. See, even though they are cold-blooded murderers, they are good cold-blooded murderers.

1. Get Smart (3,911 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Sometimes, Hollywood just mystifies me. The summer movie season is four months long, yet two of the biggest comedies of the season are opening on the same week.

Yes, instead of separating them by a week or two, where they won’t take audiences away from one another, they have them fight it out on the same weekend.

Of the two, I am leaning towards this one. It just has higher concentration of my favorite things. It has Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Terrence Stamp, Masi Oka, Bill Murray, Alan Arkin and Maxwell Smart. How can anything compare with that combo?

Of course, having a great cast (or at least one where I like almost all of the actors) doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be good. You have to take it for granted that it won’t compare to the original TV show. But I am going in realizing that so my mind is slightly more open. But I have liked all the trailers I have seen. So, if I can see only one of the two movies opening this week, it’s going to be this one.

2. The Love Guru (3,012 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Which isn’t to say I am opposed to this movie. There has been a whole lot of snark aimed at this film. Everything to mean comments about the trailer and the released footage to Mike Myers reputation. But I’m not a hater of either Myers or this film.

As a matter of fact, I was getting the same vibe from this film’s trailer as I did from the ones for the Austin Powers films. It appears to be a good mix of silly slapstick and weird humor.

So, I do want to see this movie, but Get Smart gets precedence this week. I wonder if I will be the only one who feels this way? And will that and the lower theater count equal up to bad box office for this flick?

The film is about an American child raised in an ashram and who eventually becomes a guru specializing in romance. He comes to the States to make his name as a self-help guru. His first task is to help a star Hockey player whose play is suffering because his wife left him.

1. The Incredible Hulk (3,505 Screens, 114 Minutes, Rated PG-13): As we all know, certain writers for entertainment weekly magazines think this movie is rather superfluous. After all, 2003′s Hulk was directed by Ang Lee, who had just received an Oscar nomination for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, starred up-and-comer Eric Bana and then-recent Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly (she won the award for 2001′s A Beautiful Mind), and still ended up being a box office disappointment (Not an out and out flop. Yes, it’s $132 Million domestic box office came short of its $137 Million budget, but its $113 Million worldwide grosses put it out of flop territory).

But no matter what accolades the creators of the film held, Hulk wasn’t that good of a movie. It was an example of style over substance and lacked emotional weight. And the ending was marred by an really bad CGI and over-the-top hammy acting by Nick Nolte.

But worst of all, Hulk missed out on what made the concept so great. Bruce Banner is a tortured soul, hunted for who he is, cursed by what he’s become. The Incredible Hulk TV series, campy as it might seem today, understood these elements and used them to great effect.

If this film is a sequel/remake of anything, it is that Bill Bixby TV show rather than Ang Lee’s movie. This is a Bruce Banner who is on the run, yet desperately searching for a cure for his ailment. It is the type of pathos that granted immortality to the stories of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein.

This film should be judged on its own merits. Ang Lee’s Hulk might have damaged the Jade Giant to such a degree that any adaptation would be viewed as damaged goods. But this film seems to skew more towards the heart of the concept. If audiences go in with an open mind and still don’t like the film, then I’ll say that they shouldn’t make another.

We will be able to find out what Film Buff Online editor Rich Drees thought of the movie later tonight or tomorrow. He saw a preview screening and will post his review sometime before the weekend. Be sure to check back regularly to see when it gets posted.

Update: The review has been posted.

2. The Happening (2,987 Theaters, 91 Minutes, Rated R): If The Incredible Hulk got some bad pre-release buzz, it was nothing compared to what this movie got. Having a critical paragraph in a snotty EW article doesn’t really compare to having vandals change the name of your movie on public posters to The Crappening (as happened to some posters in NYC).

The backlash against M. Night Shyamalan is massive, vicious and brutal. But is it deserved?

I though The Sixth Sense was a jaw-droppingly good film. Unbreakable was the 2nd best comic book movie not to be based on a comic book (The first would be The Matrix). And Signs was effectively spooky, if flawed.

However, I found The Village to be somewhat idiotic and while The Lady in the Water‘s plot wasn’t as offensive to me, Shyamalan boosting his usual cameo up to a pivotal, plot-important role left a bad taste in my mouth.

That being said, I think most people are a little harsh on him. Sure, if you are a director known for your twists, you are only as good as you last one. And the promotion for this movie is mock-worthy, from the dorky tagline (“We’ve Sensed It. We’ve Seen the Signs. And Now…It’s Happening”) to the cringe-inducing scene in the trailer when Mark Wahlberg yells out “It’s Happening” right before the title card pops up on screen.

But, at least in my opinion, he’s over 50% in the good movie/bad movie ratio. The slamming he’s been taking seems to be meanness for meanness’ sake. Give the guy a break already.

Of course, this opinion may change after I see this film.

1. Kung Fu Panda (4,114 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated PG): Dreamworks has been the Rolling Stones to the Pixar’s Beatles. Even though they have been making computer animated kiddie flicks for well over seven years now, they still appear to be second class to the CGI golden child.

Not in terms of grosses, of course. Shrek 2 ranks highly on the top ten highest grossing movies of all time. So, in putting butts in the seats, they might be as good as Pixar if not better.

It’s in quality where Dreamworks lacks behind. The conventional wisdom is that whatever movie Pixar puts out will be great, but Dreamworks doesn’t get the same treatment.

This movie might change all that. The advance reviews for this movie have been overwhelmingly positive. Maybe the perceptions about Dreamworks are about the change.

The story revolves around a panda who inadvertently is chosen champion of the Valley of Peace. Good luck to him.

2. You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (3, 462 Theaters, 113 Minutes, Rated PG-13): I am completely bi-polar about Adam Sandler movies. Films where he acts like a moron, like Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison, I really can’t stand. Films where he acts relatively normal, like in Wedding Singer or 50 First Dates, I really enjoy.

So, in what category does this fall? Well, since Sandler plays Mossad agent who fakes his own death so he can persue his dream of being a hairdresser in New York City, I think it might fall into the “goofy Sandler” category.

However, this film is co-written by Judd Apatow. I am a big fan of Judd Apatow and he hasn’t disappointed me yet. And while the premise is a bit goofy, Sandler appears to be playing it serious. So maybe that will help.

And this might be a fun fact for no one else but myself, but keep and eye out for Dave Matthews. The rock star plays “James” in this movie. It is a reuniting with Sandler, having played a salesman in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.