Amreeka

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Palestinian woman (Nisreen Faour) and her son (Melkar Muallem) move to America to escape the oppression of being held prisoners in their own land, only to encounter a new level of racism in their new country, which has just overthrown Saddam Hussein and declared war on Iraq.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Jenna Kawar, Selena Haddad, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, Andrew Sannie, Daniel Boiteau, Brodie Sanderson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's a decent depiction of anti-Arab sentiment in America, and it almost manages to draw you in.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Culture Clash is always a little bit funny... Especially when it involves White Castle Burgers.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: What these people are going through, just based on the color of their skin, is heartbreaking and it should make you cry. But the film never goes for any real tear-jerking moments, and so, it doesn't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which had a lot to do with why I wanted to see it. Now that I have, I understand why it didn't win.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Oh, those people were actors? If it hadn't been for the presence of Maeby from Arrested Development, I never would have known.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Very simple and very fine.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's an interesting story, and it's done very well, but I've seen it done in more gut-wrenching ways.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/amreeka/

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17 Again

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: If you don't know what this movie is about from looking at the title, you're an idiot.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry, Sterling Knight, Michelle Tractenberg, Hunter Parrish, Melora Hardin, Jim Gaffigan, Brian Doyle-Murray, Nicole Sullivan

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It's been done before, it'll be done again, but I don't think it will ever stop being a good time for all. Anyway, you can't really go wrong with a premise about suddenly changing ages, and getting mixed up in weird sexual situations like having to avoid your daughter's come-ons and resist your own attraction to your currently age-inappropriate wife.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not guaranteed, but it will definitely make you smile.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Zac Efron is like porn for the 16 and under crowd. And since the movie opens on shots of his shirtless 6 pack abs, some girls will be screaming and crying by the end of the first scene.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I'll bet Matthew Perry would give it an award for Movie I Most Wish Were My Real Life and Not some Made-up Story. Can you imagine if every time his life fell apart, he got to turn into a mature version of Zac Efron? Those hard times he fell on during the height of Friends never would've happened.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: All Zac Efron has to do to get the ladies screaming is walk to the beat of the soundtrack, looking cool. It's a good thing for him, too, cuz that's kind of what he does best. And I'm so glad that Leslie Mann married Judd Apatow, so that he could put her in his movies, so that Hollywood could get a chance to recognize how funny she is, and let her be a star in her own right.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: You can tell this director comes from an indy background, because he takes a story that is an otherwise standard example of what comes out of the studio machine, and tries to add some art to it. Sure it draws attention to itself as being totally on the nose, but if you didn't know from the actor's expression that he was going through a difficult time, at least the blatant lighting shift from bright and cheery to dark and dismal telegraphs that for you at every phase. The good news is, it's no longer important for an actor to convey his own feelings, when the dramatic shift in lighting and music can do most of it for him. And that means we can cast more really good-looking, totally talentless people in stuff!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The set up is really heavy handed, with lines like, "You're my best friend"-- as if we couldn't tell. And, "If your wife hadn't kicked you out and your kids didn't hate you, etc."-- in case we weren't going to catch on to the family dynamic depicted in the very next scene... But once Matthew Perry turns into Zac Efron the fun begins, and the clunky exposition takes a rest.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/17-again/33126/trailers

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The Class (Entre les Murs)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on a book that's based on a true story, this movie about a French teacher (François Begaudeau) who  struggles to get through to his upstart students, in an underprivileged upper school in Paris, is entirely improvised.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: François Begaudeau (writer of the book, teacher of French, and now bona fide movie star), Franck Keita, Rachel Regulier, Wey Huang, Boubacar Tour, Carl Nanor, Louise Grinberg, Esmeralda Ouertani,

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The film holds your attention over the course of the school year, even though it is more like a string of interesting moments than an over-arching story. The banter and impromptu dialogue between the teacher and the students is witty and engrossing, as we watch these kids try to bully their teacher into losing complete control of the situation.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you speak French you will laugh a little. If you don't, you will laugh a little less. What I'm trying to tell you is the subtitles are terrible. Some of the most hack-job translation I've ever seen.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you've ever been a kid who's been accused of being bad, when you know in your heart that you're good, or if you've ever been a teacher who's been accused of trying to make a difference, when you know in your heart that it's not possible.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated today for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film (France). Allons enfants de la patrie le jour de gloire est arrivé! (Sorry, I'm just getting a little patriotic on my French side-- Hi, Mom!)

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The teacher, François Begaudeau, who plays himself, and the students, who are also non-actors, are unreasonably comfortable and natural in front of the camera.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Between the hand held camera and the shakiness of the teacher's hold on his students, you will definitely feel the squirm factor, as you worry that at any moment, he could go too far and misspeak, with that fast talking mouth of his, or his students could waft him a verbal blow so severe that he might never recover.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: As I watched it, I kept thinking the story would build to something. When it didn't, I left the theater feeling cold. But as the days have gone by, since I left the theater, I've found myself thinking about it more and more, and bringing it up with passion in conversations. So if you're planning to see me anytime soon, be warned.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/the%20class/trailers

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Bedtime Stories

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) babysits his estranged niece and nephew for a week, and the bedtime stories he tells them start coming true.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Richard Griffiths, Teresa Palmer, Lucy Lawless, Courteney Cox, Jonathan Morgan Heit, Laura Ann Kesling, Jonathan Pryce, Nick Swardson, Allen Covert, Carmen Electra, Rob Schneider, Aisha Tyler

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. As far as children's fantasies go, this one is rather pleasant. And it's not boring for adults either, so long as those adults don't require too much edge in their entertainment.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Welcome to the softer side of Sandler. But don't worry, Adam Sandler light still comes with a fair amount of jokes that hit.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The drama in the love story is the one place where the tension isn't quite built up enough to summon much-- well, really, any-- emotion.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Somebody's gonna get slimed! (If you don't know what that means, you're probably older than a Nickelodeon.)

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Nothing too remarkable amongst the human actors, but the computer generated guinea pig with bug eyes is pretty talented.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: With fantasy scenes that range from Greco-Roman Gladiator shows to zero gravity outer space battles, director Adam Shankman gets a chance to show that he can do more with special effects than you'd expect from the director of Bringing Down the House and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Although the CG shot where the camera POV enters the Roman Colosseum is so vivacious that I almost threw up from the velocity.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: While the bedtime stories told are fantastical, the ways in which they come to life and play out in the real world setting are always very plausible, and that's what makes this film imaginative and clever.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/bedtime-stories/29706/trailers

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