Mr. Popper's Penguins

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A high-powered, low-emotioned real estate tycoon (Jim Carrey) inherits 6 penguins from his now dead absentee dad, and right when he figures out how to get rid of them, his kids fall in love with them, forcing him to keep them in his exclusive Manhattan apartment.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino,Ophelia Lovibond, Madeline Carroll, Maxwell Perry Cotton, Clark Gregg, Angela Lansbury, Jeffrey Tambor, David Krumholtz, Philip Baker Hall, James Tupper, Dominic Chianese, William C. Mitchell

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The penguins are cute, but the adult love story is uninteresting to adults because it's obvious, and uninteresting to kids because it's an adult love story.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There are laughs for all ages... Although most ages won't remember any of them long enough to quote them to their friends later.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you're a kid, yabsolutely! Especially when you ask your parents to turn your living room into an ice rink and they say no. Your cry will probably go something like this, "But Mr. Popper got to do it!" To which your parents will say, "That was a movie. Mr. Popper isn't real." To which you will reply, "Sure it wasn't real. Next you'll probably try to convince me that Santa Claus doesn't exist!"

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Most winter-y movie to come out right in time for the 4th of July! Good job marketing team!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Jim Carrey doesn't annoy his audience with his usual wacky shtick... Then again, when you take away his shtick, you're left without a reason to cast Jim Carrey. Catch 22.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Mark Waters has consistently made me happy with movies like Mean Girls and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Despite its triteness, this movie maintains that dreamy look, that makes you wanna buy into what's happening, no matter how preposterous.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Particularly peculiar, but pointing to proficient penning, the personage of Pippi, pontificates primarily in "p" words, which is pleasant, playful, and praiseworthy.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Mr. Popper's Penguins Trailer

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When in Rome

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A workaholic curator (Kristen Bell), who doesn't believe in love, picks 5 coins out of a fountain of love, in Rome, and is surprised to find the previous owners of those coins (Danny DeVito, Will Arnett, Dax Shepard, Jon Heder, & Josh Duhamel) chasing her around New York, like crazy in love puppy dogs, who will do anything to impress her. Really? Not a single one of the coins that she picked was tossed in by a woman? I find that unlikely.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Danny DeVito, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Anjelica Huston, Alexis Dziena, Kate Micucci, Peggy Lipton, Bobby Moynihan, Luca Calvani, Keir O'Donnell, Kristen Schaal, Lee Pace, Judith Malina

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! I might almost have given this a yellow light, only because I know there are people, like my friend Stacy, who have less discriminating taste, and don't mind when a movie has glaring flaws, so long as it's cute. Thankfully, Stacy was with me at this screening, and she hated it. If Stacy doesn't like it, nobody will.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Mostly after you leave the theater, and you challenge yourself to think of a single thing about it that made any logical sense. Not only were the coin tossers all men, they were all American men, who happened to be in Italy that day, and in New York two days later, with a psychic knowledge of Bell's name and whereabouts at any given time.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you cry at cliches, this movie is one... only without the tear-jerking parts.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I'm going to go ahead and give it a Razzie for the hair department. I don't know if they give Razzies for hair, but someone on that set thought it was a good idea to put Kristen Bell's hair in a pony tail at a fancy Italian wedding. Yeah, the kind of pony tail you wear to go jogging, or to brush your teeth.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Kristen Bell acted like a girl who would turn away Josh Duhamel, so that probably took some heavy sense memory work. And Josh Duhamel acted like a wuss, who would come back to a fairly average girl like Bell, no matter how many different ways she rejected him and walked out on him. Since I'm pretty sure he's never experienced anything like that in his real life, I imagine he had to dig pretty deep to figure out what that might feel like, too.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: You almost feel sorry for the director on a piece like this, because where the script is lacking, he has to make it up. Like, for example, when the writers forget to put in the romance, the director has to make up for it with that old standby: the slow motion stare... "Oh," you will think to yourself, "They must be in love at first sight now!"

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It really would've been nice if there were even one single moment based in some kind of reality. One believable thing sprinkled in... Or maybe at least a joke once in while. Is that too much to ask?

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/when-in-rome/33121/trailers

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