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 | What are the odds of this one being entertaining? Truly, 2007 is shaping up to be the "summer of sequels". It’s barely June and we’ve seen [b]Shrek 3[/b], [b]Spiderman 3[/b], [b]Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End[/b], and now we have yet another installment of the adventures of the 21st century’s ratpack, [b]Ocean’s Thirteen[/b]. An lucky number? Perhaps. But, with a cast including the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon at the very least we’ve got some good eye candy if nothing else. Fortunately, this one delivers a little bit more than just eye candy.More |  | Where Babies Come From In 2005, we were blessed with one of the most brilliantly conceived comedies ever in writer/director Judd Apatow’s [b]The 40 Year Old Virgin[/b]. Two years later and Apatow is back with [b]Knocked Up[/b]. The premise of Apatow’s latest is perhaps as absurd as his directorial debut 2 years ago. In short, a deadbeat stoner somehow manages a one night stand with a driven, gorgeous blonde and naturally, she ends up "knocked up".More |  | Captain Jack is Back! Admittedly, [b]Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End[/b] is a film that will receive all kinds of criticism for being too long, convoluted, and over the top. These are somewhat valid criticisms of the "[b]Citizen Kane[/b]" of pirate films. But, there is something to be said for a film that is flawed yet still manages to entertain and engage.More |  | Nothing Burns Like An Old Flame Tom (Zach Braff) and Sofia (Amanda Peet) are two newlyweds with a baby on the way. Sofia has given up her job as a high-powered attorney to be a fulltime stay at home mom. Fortunately, Tom’s career as a chef is on the rise. Unfortunately, Tom’s low tolerance for bullshit and tendency to open his mouth at the wrong time gets him shitcanned in short order. In a desperate move, Tom and Sofia move to Ohio where Tom gets a job at the ad agency where Sofia’s father works. It is here where Tom has the misfortune to run afoul of [b]The Ex[/b].More |  | The Rage Returns Director Danny Boyle injected new life into the zombie genre with 2002’s [b]28 Days Later[/b]. The zombies in that film were far from the slow, doddering undead from previous zombie films. In fact, they were quite the contrary. Boyle’s zombies were wicked fast, unrelenting, and insatiable. Nearly five years later and zombies are STILL box office gold. With this in mind we get the follow up to [b]28 Days Later[/b], the appropriately named [b]28 Weeks Later[/b].More |  | Spider, Spider Burning Bright Everyone’s favorite, friendly, neighborhood Spiderman is back for a third installment of webcrawling, wisecracking, and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) lusting. This is director Sam Raimi’s third installment of the franchise and without question the darkest of all the Spiderman films. Additionally, this is undoubtedly the most narratively complex of the Spiderman films. You’re looking at the introduction of two new villains, multiple story threads to follow, and some dark twists for good measure.More |  | 50 Years of Celluloid Celebration Fifty years and thousands of films later, the San Francisco International Film Festival is alive and kicking. This year’s line up reflects the same kind of depth, breadth, and diversity of artistic voices that SFIFF has been known for from the very beginning. Specifically, you’re looking at 200 films and industry guests expected, 54 countries represented, 75 narrative features, 33 documentary features, and the list goes on. In short, you’re looking at simply the best film festival in Northern California in SFIFF 50.More |  | Released on Red Ink, 5/1/07 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has been compared to Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets, The White Stripes, and a myriad of artists in between. By and large, BRMC’s previous albums have received favorable reviews despite the somewhat open question of whether or not there is anything unique or distinctive about BRMC’s sound. BRMC’s latest album, [b]Baby 81[/b] may not necessarily answer this question, but there’s no question that it’s a fairly consistent effort and doesn’t fail to entertain.More |  | Released on Virgin Records, 4/3/2007 It was with no small amount of irony that Fountains of Wayne received a "Best New Artist" Grammy in 2003 for [b]Welcome Interstate Managers[/b]. The aforementioned album was in fact Fountains of Wayne’s third album. Buoyed by the ode to horny, pubescent MILF lusting, "Stacy’s Mom" put Fountains of Wayne on the map. Four years later, we’ve got [b]Traffic and Weather[/b], a decidedly boring album title, but the Fountains have not lost their gift for taking the mundane and turning it into something hilarious.More |  | Super Size Me? I don’t think so [b]Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters[/b] is one of those rare celluloid gems that just about defies description. Nevertheless, I’ll give it a shot. Hold on tight. The film primarily revolves around the bizarre misadventures of three supersized, animated fast food items.More |
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