Tuesday's With Movies: 8/28/12

Battleship: I know that this will be horrible - the trailers make it out to be a Transformers rip off without the Transformers. But, it does have Liam Neeson, so who knows? I will obviously check it out. I have to know.

The Lucky One: Not really sure about this one. Definitely not my type of me and I guess a lot of people that it was geared toward really didn't like it. And, Mrs. Kano hasn't asked me to get it yet, so as of now I will not be checking it out.

Think Like a Man: I remember during the basketball playoffs (or maybe it was the All-Star game) this movie as everywhere. The only reason I would even consider looking in on this is because Turtle from Entourage is in it. So, will be skipping this one too.

Pirates! Band of Misfits: I enjoy animated features, for the most part, but I have never really gotten excited about these claymation films. But, I think I may give this one a chance. My son is really into pirates and this looks like something he may enjoy - so yeah I will check it out.

Darling Companion: Wow, what the hell is Kevin Kline doing? I really enjoy most of what he does, but why in the heck is he in this movie? Diane Keaton I can sort of expect to do something like this as of late. A movie about a married couple - the wife likes her dog more than her husband, then the husband loses the dog. Craptastic.

Theater Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

I have to admit that when I first heard of the reboot I was pretty upset about it. What the heck is the point? The last Spider-Man films were decent, with the last one not being released all that long ago. I really had no intentions of ever seeing this film in the theater - I may have checked it out on DVD.

But, early reviews of word-of-mouth began to get me interested, and the trailer wasn't that horrible. Then, I found myself out of work early one night and decided to give it a chance. Plus, I got to see the movie with just one other person in the entire theater, which was amazing.

The Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot all the way through. What we get here in the first film is another origin story, and if I hadn't already seen this origin story 10 years earlier with Tobey Maguire, I would have been drooling over it.

There is no doubt it my mind, this one is a much better telling of the story. It's darker, but also supplies more humor if you can believe that. When Maguire was announced as Spider-Man I had my doubts, but then I couldn't see anyone else playing him. Now, I see I was wrong again. Andrew Garfield did a marvelous job playing both Spider-Man and Peter Parker.

Though in this first film of what will probably be many, Uncle Ben and Aunt May aren't much of a factor - I am happy that they went out and got some well-known actors for the parts. In the first trilogy the two of them had tons of screen time, and I had no idea who they were. Happy to see both Martin Sheen and Sally Field fill the roles.

Being about the same age as her, I have sort of grown up with Kirsten Dunst and had developed a crush on her at an early age - so I was very happy having her in the original trilogy. However, even I can admit she didn't really do much but complain and get kidnapped. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy looks like a much better yang to Spider-Man's ying. Already she was given much more to do than Dunst in any of the three films prior. Plus, she just has great screen presence and I liked her chemistry with Garfield.

Denis Leary plays Gwen's father and also happens to be the captain of the police force. He plays a sort of mix of J. Jonah Jameson (in that he feels Spider-Man is a menace to the city and needs to be captured) and Batman's Jim Gordon to Spider-Man.

Finally, we have the villain. With Doc Octopuss, Green Goblin, Sandman and Venom already having screen time in the first trilogy - they went with The Lizard for the big baddy in this film, which as a non-comic book reader I wasn't really that aware of, but looked like a Hulkish character (in that when he is The Lizard, Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans) really doesn't know what he is doing).

Overall, I really liked the movie. It had everything that a good superhero should have. A good leading man, a decent villain, a solid leading lady and a nice story (which for the most part had already been told). But, I am definitely excited for the films to come - every time a new superhero movie comes out we have to have this origin story and now it's over, but they better have newer and better stories in the films to come.

The Amazing Spider-Man suffered this year mainly due to the fact that it's a superhero film (a reboot nonetheless) that came out during the same summer that The Avengers was released, when we have been building up to it for so many years with its previous films, and the final installation of Christopher Nolan's trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. So, it already was coming out as the third best superhero film of the summer without even being released.

If you haven't seen it, I'd give it a shot. It has all of the makings of a great new franchise if they are able to make new and exciting stories in the next films that are released.

Grade: 

Quick Shots 16

Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Keith Richards.

Brief Synopsis: Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp) returns, and with the 'help' of Capt. Barbossa (Rush) heads out to find the fountain of youth. Former Sparrow flame, Angelica (Cruz) shows up and also has the fountain of youth in her site as well - mostly because she works for Blackbeard (McShane).

Opinion: I have always enjoyed the Pirates films, but here most of the main cast from the previous three films are gone - Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom being the two major ones - with Depp and Rush returning. Newcomers Cruz and McShane pickup the slack for the most part. The films, however, always belong to Depp and he continues to play the Sparrow character well. They don't catch lightning in a bottle twice here - Curse of the Black Pearl has yet to be topped - but it fits in nicely with the rest of the films.

Grade:

Title: Friends with Benefits.

Starring: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Richard Jenkins, Andy Samberg, Nolan Gould, Woody Harrelson.

Brief Synopsis: Dylan Harper (Timberlake) is an art director for a small internet company in LA and Jamie (Kunis) is a recruiter trying to lure Harper to NYC for a job at GQ magazine. Not really wanting to take the job and leave LA and his family, Jamie really plays up the city to Dylan - who ends up taking the job. Not knowing anyone in NY, he befriends Jamie and the two of them - having difficulty in the dating world - agree to sleep with each other, but remain friends.

Opinion: A film just like this one came out called No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. This one, however, is much better. As much as I like Portman, the chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake were just way better - and honestly the story itself was just better. Plus, Harrelson was amazing as a secondary character - stole every scene he was in.

Grade: 

Title: Monster House.

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Jason Lee, Kathleen Turner, Nick Cannon, Jon Heder.

Brief Synopsis: A kid's parents (O'Hara and Willard) leave for awhile on Halloween night and leave a babysitter in charge. Him and his friend, along with a girl they sort of know, begin to investigate the house across the street that appears to have a life of its own.

Opinion: My son loves this film and convinced me to watch it with him. I have no issues watching family films, and especially animated features. So, I gave it a shot - and it was a really decent story, along with a ton of great voices. However, the animation itself sort of freaked me out and wasn't that up to par. But, it did have a great story and a nice meaning/lesson at the conclusion.

Grade: 

Title: Dolphin Tale.

Starring: Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Morgan Freeman.

Brief Synopsis: Based on a true story, a young boy Sawyer Nelson (Gamble), whose father we are led to believe died in the military, has closed himself off for the most part from the world, except his cousin - who just so happens to be joining the military. On the way to a summer school class, Sawyer stumbles upon a washed up dolphin whose tail is stuck in a crab trap. The dolphin is taken to a local rehabilitation center, headed by Dr. Clay Haskett (Connick Jr.). The dolphin proves to be a miracle in many ways, including helping Sawyer out of his shell and possibly saving the struggling rehabilitation center.

Opinion: I caught a small bit of this a little awhile ago, and I probably would have watched the whole thing if I hadn't had to leave. It was a pretty remarkable story, and I thought it was put together very well. You never know what you are going to get with young actors being put in starring roles, but both Gamble and Zuehlsdorff did a nice job. Connick Jr., Judd and Freeman were also great in their roles. And, honestly, the dolphin did great. A heartwarming story and great to watch with your family.

Grade:

Tuesday's With Movies: 8/21/12

Bernie: There was once a time that I enjoyed Jack Black. I think the problem is, like a Jim Carrey, some of these actors sort of become caricatures of themselves and get pigeonholed into these roles. So, I have sort of stayed away from most of Black's films. Something here, though, is telling me it may be different, so I will give this one a shot.

The Dictator: When Cohen came out with Borat so many years ago I was interested in checking it out. Well, I still haven't looked at it yet, but I will. However, those that have come since, like Bruno and The Dictator, I have had zero interest in seeing. So, not checking this one out.

Chimpanzee: I am sure this is really good and most likely very good, but I don't think I could watch an entire movie about a monkey, sorry chimpanzee.

HOT: Saving Private Ryan

I have never been in an actual war. I have heard tales. I have had relatives fight in the war and for our country. But, even through those you never actually grasp what war is truly like.

Saving Private Ryan, from what I hear, is the best representation of what actual war looks and feels like as we have ever had on film. And, it's as close as I will ever, or ever want to, be.

During World War II, a mother is about to find out that three of her sons have all been killed in action. She has four sons, one is still missing somewhere in the war. Commands come down the chain for Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) to put together a small crew and find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) so that he can be sent home.

Captain Miller has just been part of the invasion of Normandy on Omaha Beach where a lot of men were killed or injured, including one of Ryan's brothers.

Miller puts together a team of Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Private Reiben (Edward Burns), Private Jackson (Barry Pepper), Private Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) and Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies).

Upham is a translator and typist who has never been in action until he is asked to join Miller's crew to head across the country tracking down Ryan. His fear and lack of experience ends up hurting many of the other members of the crew, at least in someway.

Though a bit hard to watch in some parts as it is so close to actual war and you find it hard to stomach what people had to go and live through, the film is brilliantly put together. A film about founding a 'needle in a haystack' probably doesn't sound that entertaining, but mixed within this war film it definitely was.

The acting is superb up and down the line. You begin to feel for all of these characters and it pulls at your heart strings if anything happens to them. Plus, the film is riddled with amazing actors in just very small parts - like Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, Dennis Farina, Dylan Bruno, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Hurst, Leland Orser and Nathan Fillion.

The film runs two hours, 49 minutes, but you can never tell. There isn't a dull moment in any of it. Even when there is a bit of time when the action has subsided and it's just the guys sitting around - the conversation and dialogue is so interesting and at times fun that you hang on every word.

Grade:

HOT: You've Got Mail

So, this movie is a remake of a film called The Shop Around the Corner, which I have not seen but the title of that film is used nicely here as a store.

You've Got Mail is the final of three films (so far) that Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks star in together, previously starring in Joe vs. the Volcano and Sleepless in Seattle. Here, I feel they were going to the Sleepless in Seattle well yet again - but with a little more comedy this time around.

Ryan stars as Kathleen Kelly, the owner of a small bookstore called The Shop Around the Corner. It was her mother's and she inherited it when her mother passed away. It has what all of the superstores tend to lack - a face and a heart.

Hanks stars as Joe Fox, who is part owner of Fox Books with his father and grandfather - which just so happens to be a book superstore. One, that slowly is taking out the other local bookstores just by being built. Kelly's store is one of the last to go under.

So, it goes without saying that Kelly hates Fox without really getting to know him.

That is where things sort of get twisted. Fox is currently seeing Patricia Eden (Parker Posey), while Kelly is in a long-term relationship with Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear). However, both Kelly and Fox have found a friend online that they enjoy chatting with.

This is where that updated version - is already sort of outdated. I am not sure how many people still use AOL out there, but I have not had it in years. Plus, not sure how many people are actually finding there soul mates in chat rooms (this could actually still be happening, but I am way out of the dating game so I am not sure). But, in the ever growing age of technology - the dial-up and iconic 'You've Got Mail' message have already gone the way of the dodo.

Anyway, their chatting at first is rather bland - just every day things and someone to rant to. Plus, they keep it anonymous - no names or jobs.

After the two of them break things off with their significant others, however, Fox asks to meet. And, he soon finds out that the person he has fallen in love with over the internet is in fact Kelly, the one woman who despises him.

With this knowledge, however, he stands her up and begins to make nice with her - he now knows who he is chatting to online, yet she is still clueless. And, he uses this to get her to fall in love with him - the real him, not the superstore guy that tanked her business.

Though it is already outdated for the most part, I actually liked this Ryan/Hanks feature the most out of all of them. I know a ton of people love Sleepless in Seattle, but I feel this one is the better of the two.

It also has a pretty solid cast with Dave Chappelle playing Kevin Jackson, Hanks' right-hand man; Dabney Coleman playing Hanks' father; Steve Zahn playing George Pappas, one of the workers in Kelly's bookstore

Again, already a pretty outdated movie in terms of technology - but a pretty fun rom-com if you ask me.

Grade:

45/50x2: Bronson

This will be a pretty quick review. I honestly have no idea what I just watched.

Bronson is a film about Charles Bronson, no not the film star but the notorious prisoner. Bronson's real name is Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy), but was renamed to something a little more badass by his fight promoter.

The film was, honestly, all over the place. I could not really understand what was happening for the most part. Hardy as Bronson introduces himself and talks to us through the camera - he also appears to be telling a story to an audience, which we see from time-to-time.

Though it is a biopic, it is a fictionalized biopic so some of what is shown is not exactly true. Bronson pretty much has an anger management problem and wants to make a name for himself - and the only way he knows how to do that is by kicking some serious ass in prison, whether that be other prisoners or guards.

The only reason I kept with this film was because it was on this 50 list and because of Hardy. He has earned some respect with some of the films he has come out with of late. I am sure he played this just the way he was supposed to - and he definitely was crazy, but even that couldn't save this film for me.

The last third of the film is still not great, but is better than the other parts, which is why it gets a little better grade than the worst I can give.

Grade:

Tuesday's With Movies: 8/14/12

The Hunger Games: Saw this in the theater when it came out and reviewed it here. I am really looking forward to the rest of this series. It was dark with just the right amount of humor, and the acting was amazing. Can't wait until the next one comes out.

Community - Season 3: Much like movies being released on blu-ray, I don't really announce television series being released on DVD. But, my infatuation with Community is so large and the fact that it is still not getting the credit and eyeballs that it deserves - I feel I must let the people know. Watch This Show!

44/50x2: Schindler's List

This film was not exactly what I was expecting. I can't believe such an epic film from so many years ago I hadn't really known what it was exactly about.

Schindler's List stars some amazing and talented actors. Liam Neeson stars as Oskar Schindler, Ben Kingsley as Itshak Stern and Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth.

Schindler and Goeth are both part of the Nazi party. Schindler's main concern, however, is finding a way to get richer during the war, while Goeth actually enjoys the killing of Jews.

Schindler comes up with an idea to start a business for pots and pans, fronted by some Jewish businessmen (because Jews at the time couldn't own a business) and led by Stern as the bookkeeper.

Schindler is first alone in Poland when coming up with this idea and grabs Jewish workers from the Krakow Ghetto where they are all being forced to live.

Goeth comes in later to set up a new concentration camp and ends up poaching a few of Schindler's workers, but soon Schindler bribes Goeth into allowing a sub-camp and is able to keep his workers and continue earning money. Stern, meanwhile, is the eyes and ears for Schindler and as he hears Goeth may execute some people, Schindler asks to use them at his camp - pretty much saving their lives.

Soon, Goeth receives orders to destroy all of the remains of the dead and ship everyone, including Schindler's workers, to Auschwitz.

Schindler, though, uses a lot of the money he has gained throughout the war in order to save his workers. In fact, Schindler and Stern draw up a list of over 1,000 Jews that he wants to keep for his new factory in his hometown of Czechoslovakia.

Though his original intent during this war was to become rich, Schindler's heart is changed and he becomes friends with his workers, especially Stern.

Much like Brian's Song, I feel the story that this film was based on is historic and what Schindler ended up doing for these people was amazing. The film itself wasn't as great as I was expecting. The main three actors are amazing, but I just felt it was far too long and really didn't get going quick enough for me.

I had to switch DVDs when watching this film, which is odd nowadays and shows how long this film is. The best part of the film for me was on DVD No. 2. When Schindler began to realize that all of his workers and people has grown to care about could be taken from him and murdered, he did all he could to act to save them - including giving up most of his fortune. And, in the end he felt he hadn't done enough.

One cool thing for me though, I didn't really notice that the film was in black and white. I am not a huge black and white fan, but this film really did work very well in that aspect - so much so that I hardly even noticed.

Grade:

43/50x2: Brian's Song

As a sports enthusiast and a football fan, I feel it was sacrilegious that I had not seen this film before. But, I pretty much knew everything about it even though I hadn't.

Brian's Song is the story of the friendship between two Chicago Bears rookies, Brian Piccolo (James Caan) and Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams).

Both players are coming in as running backs, but come to the team in completely different ways. Piccolo will need to work as hard as possible to even make the team, while Sayers is the team's new work-house back.

Two completely different players, Piccolo has a hard time shutting up and is white while Sayers doesn't talk much and is black. But, both players form an odd friendship and become the first mixed-raced roommates for the Bears.

After an injury to Sayers, Piccolo takes over as the featured back and shows off his talents. But, he remains close with Sayers and does all he can to get him to regain his strength to get him back on the team. When Sayers comes back he retakes his position, but the team keeps Piccolo on the field as fullback.

Soon, Piccolo isn't playing up to his standard and Sayers notices - but Piccolo blames it on allergies. After a trip to the doctor it is revealed that Piccolo has cancer.

As a story, this is an amazing one - and to know that it is true makes it even that much better. But, as a film this one doesn't really have all the bells and whistles. For one, I probably should have known this, but this was a made-for-tv movie, which makes the quality pretty shotty. They also use real game footage for the games, which is ok, but the voice over during it really drove me crazy.

As for the acting, superb. You can't really go wrong with iconic actors like Williams and Caan. Caan, though, really stood out for me. If I hadn't known it was him I wouldn't have recognized him at all - he transformed into Piccolo which was outstanding.

Glad I finally watched it. Again, as a story very remarkable, but the quality of the (tv) movie was just not strong, even for a film from the '70s.

Grade:

Tuesday's With Movies: 8/7/12

The Lorax: My son went and saw this in the theater what feels like ages ago. Well, it's finally coming out on DVD. For some reason I don't recall knowing this story as a child. I did, however, find out about it as an adult, though. Looking forward to finally checking it out.

Bel Ami: Robert Pattinson needs some good news as of late. But, he won't be getting it from me - I will not be checking this one out and I don't even know what it's about. I may check out his new film, but this one is out. Although having Christina Ricci in it almost pulled me in.

Clue: I don't usually post about older movies that have been on DVD when they get Blu-Ray release dates, but this is one of my all-time favorite films with lines that make me laugh every time I see it. The cast in this film is amazingly talented - definitely lightning in a bottle. If you don't have this grab it now.

Haterade: Glee

This probably won't be a regular feature, but possibly something I do every so often. I admit that I sometimes find a hatred for something without ever really giving it a try. I think it happens because I don't really love what everyone else loves - and if everyone loves it, I sometimes hate it for no real reason.

So, as I said, every so often I may give something a try that I think I am going to hate and then I will post about it - sometimes what I watch will maintain my hatred for it, but occasionally I may just find out that I was completely wrong - and I am not afraid to admit that.

My first experiment was with the television show Glee. I realize it became pretty popular when it first hit the airwaves in 2009. And, both my wife and son have watched the entire series to date - and my parents even purchase the CDs. Well, I have heard about it a ton and heard a lot of the music - and I had to give it a shot.

To give the show a little bit of a rundown, a high school Spanish teacher, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), looks to take over the school's glee club and look to rekindle his high school glory days.

The glee club, though, is pretty much considered off limits and the lowest of the low by all of the cool kids in the school. Only a few sign up initially, an uber-insane girl with a ton of talent but knows it, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), a born diva, Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), a girl with a stutter, Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), a guy in a wheelchair, Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), and a still-in-the-closet gay guy, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer).

Though all five kids are very talented, the group is definitely lacking in the cool department - and to even compete as a glee club in competitions they need 12 members. Will makes it his mission to recruit some of the cooler kids, and stumbles across star quarterback Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) singing in the shower. Once he gets him aboard, he is able to pull in three other football players - Noah Puckerman (Mark Salling), Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.), Matt Rutherford (Dijon Talton), and three cheerios - Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) - to round out the group.

Pretty much the show is a typical high school show with tons of drama, but this one also features a ton of singing.

Just to make things clear, I am currently in the middle of season two, but for the purpose of this post I am only speaking about season one.

First, the things that sort of drive me crazy about the show. I have never been in a glee club, but for a group that is getting ready for competition they sing an awful lot of different songs and are always looking for the perfect song for 'regionals' or 'sectionals' or whatever is coming up. Don't you think they should find this song and stick with it? And, spoiler alert, by the time they actually get to sectionals - they totally make up their choreography and their songs on the spot. Cool, yes, but what's the point of all the practice?

Next, Rachel. I think she extremely talented - that is obvious. But, wow what a bitch. Totally thinks she is so much better than everyone else in the club. And the problem is, Will way over uses her. She sings way too much. The rest of the group is so talented (with the possible exception of Mike who is more of a dancer than singer). The group needed to mix up the solos way more.

Finally, Will's wife. Couldn't stand her from the beginning and what she probably should have been crushed for what she did to her husband. He was way too nice to her.

But, those are small pieces of the show. For something I thought I would never even think of trying out - I am pretty addicted to it. Despite the issue I have with the process of glee club, I do realize why a television show does it - they need to mix up the music to keep us interested. And, they do it very well. Like I said, they all sing so well and the numbers they do are amazing.

Every member of the cast brings something great to the table - and because of my gripe about Rachel, I just feel everyone needed to be featured more (again this is my thoughts on season one).

So for my first batch of Haterade - my opinion has been changed. I will definitely continue to watch Glee and see how things play out. I admit my ignorance.

HOT: That Thing You Do

So, I have seen this movie a ton of times. In fact, I got a copy of it on DVD a few year's ago. But, it's on television so much that I had never opened it.

Well, for the Hanks-O-Thon it was time to watch the DVD. And, to my surprise, there was a Director's Cut available - and since I had seen the original version so many times I figured I'd give it a shot.

There wasn't too much more in the director's cut of That Thing You Do. A lot of the extra scenes involved the characters and gave them some extra depth. But, there were some scenes that really opened my eyes to a character, something I never saw in the original.

Anyway, a quick rundown of the film. A small band in Erie, Pennsylvania is about to play at a local talent contest. Jimmy Mattingly (Johnathan Schaech), Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn), T.B. Player (Ethan Embree) and Chad (Giovanni Ribisi) make up the band. Mattingly's girlfriend Faye (Liv Tyler) is also prominently featured as part of the band, even though she doesn't sing.

A few days before the contest, Chad tries to jump over a parking meter and falls and breaks his arm. In a bind the group goes to Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), a drummer who is being coached to take over his father's appliance store.

The song 'That Thing You Do' was written by Mattingly and was meant to be a ballad - but once Guy gets things rolling, the song becomes very upbeat and becomes a hit - and even nets them a job singing at a local restaurant.

After cutting an album on their own, the band is signed by a manager who promises to get their song on the radio and get them playing in larger cities - and he comes through. So much so that 'The Oneders' is soon signed by Playtone Records and Mr. White (Tom Hanks) - who changes their name to 'The Wonders'.

The song climbs the charts for months and the band plays state fairs with the rest of the Playtone galaxy. But, as things really begin to get good for the band - they also start to drift apart.

I really enjoy this movie. So simple, yet so fun.

The two main things in the director's cut that we get to see is Guy's girlfriend, Tina (Charlize Theron), fall in love with her dentist. In the original, we see her meet her dentist and see that there is something there - but here we see much more of the two of them interacting. The second thing we see - Mr. White is apparently gay. I never saw any really glimpse of this in the original, but there were a few scenes in the director's cut - including seeing his boyfriend, played by former NFL star Howie Long.

Doesn't change the movie all that much, but pretty interesting to see the whole picture now.

Hanks isn't in the movie a ton, more of a side character. The real star is Scott, Tyler and the other band members. But, his touches are all over it - including writing and directing it. Not to mention the slew of actors in bit parts throughout the movie from a lot of his other movies, including his wife, Rita Wilson.

Grade: