In Theaters Now: Love Happens, Jennifer’s Body, The Informant! & More!

The Informant!
directed by Steven Soderbergh

I’m not going to lie, I love that the title of this movie has an exclamation point in it. How much better would Gone With the Wind have been if it was Gone With the Wind! (or Gone! With the Wind)? After all, a movie based around a corporate whistle-blower sounds incredibly dull (even after the great Michael Clayton), but that one little bit of punctuation coupled with a laugh-out-loud trailer gives me hope that the movie could be really amusing.

Splice
directed by Vincenzo Natali

Another example of the “Science Gone Wrong” genre, Splice is about two scientists, played by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, who combine human and animal DNA to create a hybrid creature named Dren (played by Delphine Chanéac) who turns evil and violent. Wow, who saw that last part coming? Though I guess it wouldn’t be much of a horror movie if Dren decided to volunteer at the local soup kitchen. Judging from early information, the movie seems predictable and unoriginal, but strong performances by the talented Brody and Polley could outshine any problems.

Love Happens
directed by Brandon Camp

Aaron Eckhart’s last role before playing self-help guru Burke Ryan in the romantic drama Love Happens was as Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. It’s probably good that Eckhart is going for a change of pace, opting against another dark and cynical action movie. Instead, Love Happens is about Ryan trying to connect romantically with Jennifer Aniston’s Eloise, despite the fact that he’s still grieving over the death of his wife. It sounds a bit depressing, but how down in the dumps can a Jennifer Aniston movie really be? Let’s ignore Rumor Has It, which was unintentionally depressing, after all.

Jennifer’s Body
directed by Karyn Kusama

It’s been years that I’ve been waiting to see a movie about a cannibal cheerleader! It’s a totally unexplored genre! Now, with Jennifer’s Body, my dream has finally come true, and I can spend an hour and a half watching Megan Fox eat her male classmates. True, Bring it On had cheerleaders, but were they cannibal cheerleaders? I think not! And with a script by Juno scribe (and Oscar winner) Diablo Cody, the dialogue is sure to be zingy and fresh.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

In the theoretical grudge match between upcoming movies based on classic kid’s books, there are three contenders: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are (release date October 16), and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (March 5, 2010). It’s hard to say which movie will come out on top financially, but Cloudy has a lot going for it. It’s colorful, animated and heavily geared towards kids. Plus, there’s a stellar cast, including Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell and Neil Patrick Harris. More importantly, Wild Things and Alice don’t have Mr. T on their cast list, now do they? I rest my case.