Year One
directed by Harold Ramis
Genius writer-director-actor-producer Harold Ramis certainly knows what he’s doing when it comes to comedy, having written and directed some of the most influential comedies of all time (Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Vacation, etc). His newest film, Year One, stars Jack Black and Michael Cera—looking as hilarious as ever donning his famous absent-minded look plus a shaggy hairdo. Black and Cera star as two lazy hunter-gatherers who are finally exiled from their tribe after one too many displays of worthlessness. Ramis directed and co-wrote the movie, along with “The Office” writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Also starring David Cross, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (a.k.a. McLovin), Vinnie Jones, Hank Azaria and Ramis himself, Year One is poised to be one of the biggest comedy hits of the summer.
Whatever Works
directed by Woody Allen
Whatever Works marks Woody Allen’s highly anticipated return to the Big Apple after four years of directing foreign-set films. The film kicked off this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and has garnered some impressive reviews thus far. Allen didn’t stray far from his normal NYC-set romances with this one, but it looks intriguing nonetheless. Everyone’s favorite old grump, Larry David, stars as a neurotic Greenwich Village man who finds himself attracted to a beautiful Southern Belle (Evan Rachel Wood) who just so happens to be many, many years his junior. Festival-goers have given special praise to Wood’s performance, along with the work of Patricia Clarkson, who plays Wood’s mother. After last year’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, it seems like whatever Allen is doing to keep up his recent hot streak is most definitely working.
Food, Inc.
directed by Robert Kenner
This documentary provides an in-depth look at the dangers of America’s corporately-owned food industry and exposes some of the terrors of what we eat today. Basically, I wouldn’t recommend going if you ever plan on eating a burger again without feeling guilty or afraid for your life. The movie stars many food experts giving their two cents, such as Michael Pollan, acclaimed author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and Eric Schlosser, author of the infamous bestseller Fast Food Nation. The documentary is getting great reviews from film festival screenings, but if you’re of the “ignorance is bliss” breed, I suggest staying home and maybe grilling up a few of those death patties in your freezer.
The Proposal
directed by Anne Fletcher
The newest romantic-comedy to hit theaters, The Proposal is director Anne Fletcher’s third full feature, after 27 Dresses and Step Up. The movie stars Sandra Bullock as a powerful publishing executive who, when faced with a possible deportation to Canada, forces her much younger assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her. While this is clearly just another generic rom-com, at least it stars two of Hollywood’s most charming stars, with Reynolds easily holding his own as the target of Bullock’s cougar hunt. Be sure to check out the behind-the-scenes spoof starring Betty White (who plays Grandma Annie in the movie) on funnyordie.com.
Dead Snow
directed by Tommy Wirkola
Nazi zombies. If that phrase doesn’t have you up and running to the multiplex, what will? This Norwegian import follows a group of young people on a skiing vacation, forced to defend themselves against, you guessed it, Nazi zombies. The movie’s tone is apparently along the lines of tongue-in-blood-drenched-cheek fare like The Evil Dead series and Shaun of the Dead—gloriously gory movies that don’t take themselves too seriously. Whether Dead Snow could become a new splatterific cult classic remains to be seen, but armed with a legion of Nazi zombies, it certainly has a fighting chance.
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