Click here to view the embedded video.

The movie is a bit pretentious with some narration, but overall succeeds as a story of teenage love, finding oneself, and overcoming adversity. It’s not the typical teen comedy and does not have the re-watchability of some classics like The Breakfast Club, Election, and Rushmore. Even so, you should go see it if you are lucky to have it playing near you. And, if not, then write it down and make sure it makes it into your Netflix queue.

My rating: 3.75 out of 5

Here’s the trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The movie also has a great soundtrack featuring the Violent Femmes and Eef Barzelay, who wrote many original tracks including my favorite, “I Love the Unknown.”

Once is described as a “modern day musical” and is the the story of a guy and a girl that are both musicians. The two meet on the streets of Dublin, fall in love, and eventually record music together. In real life, the two actually met in Prague and recorded an album together called The Swell Season. You can listen to some of the songs on their MySpace. Glen Hansard is also the lead singer for The Frames, who are currently opening for Bob Dylan on his tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Overall, a good movie and a great start to the summer movie season. I might not pick this one up on DVD, but I am going to pick up the soundtrack and/or some of the music played in the movie.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Watch the trailer for Once:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The stars of Idiocracy are Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph. The film is set in the present day, and the premise is that the the US Army is experimenting with a hibernation device. Wilson and Rudolph, who are average intelligence human beings, are chosen to be put into hibernation for one year. Unfortunately, after they are put into hibernation, they are forgotten about. They awake 500 years in the future, when human beings are much stupider. This is because only the hicks have been reproducing; the intelligent people chose not to have children. Wilson and Rudolph are the smartest people alive in 2505.

Overall, the film is incredibly funny and very clever. John C. Dvorak recommended it on TWiT episode 90. He says to make sure to watch Office Space first, which is good advice because that movie is even better (Note: There is no connection between the two movies other than the fact Mike Judge wrote their stories and screenplays). Dvorak also says that Mike Judge should be making movies every year, and I wish he did. He is a comedic genius that deserves more credit.

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mahir became an Internet celebrity in 1999 with his homepage full of broken English and photos of himself. The original version was hosted on Xoom (an extinct free Web host), and today can be seen here. His fame ignited a series of parodies and the site ikissyou.org (which is unreachable as I type this).

Now, the world will once again be introduced to the a Mahir-like character in the motion picture Borat. The movie stars Sacha Baron Cohen, who has been portraying Borat on HBO’s Da Ali G Show. I don’t have HBO, and I am sure that a lot of other people do not either. So, I am looking forward to the wide release of Borat on November 3rd!

Here is the trailer for Borat:

The Hoover’s are a family full of a dream team of funny actors featuring Greg Kinnear (Richard) in the driver seat (literally), with Steve Carell (Uncle Frank) behind him and Toni Collete (Sheryl) beside him. The star of the movie is Abigail Breslin (Olive). The rest of the family is played by Paul Dano (Olive’s brother Dwayne) and Alan Arkin (Grandpa). The Hoover’s live in Albuquerque, New Mexico and have financial trouble. When Olive gets invited to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California, the family can’t afford to fly; so, the family packs into their old Volkswagen bus.

This film marks the big screen directorial debuts for renowned music video directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. It started out with showings at film festivals (including Sundance), and then earned a $10 million deal for Fox Searchlight distribution. So, the movie should be in a select theater near you through the end of the summer. I saw it at the famous Cape Cinema, and the audience applauded at the end of the movie.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Unlike the other documentaries I mentioned, Wordplay takes advantage of some famous connections to the crossword puzzle world including comedian Jon Stewart, former president Bill Clinton, former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bob Dole, director Ken Burns, the Indigo Girls, and New York Yankees starting pitcher Mike Mussina. These guest appearances help give the movie mass appeal. However, the movie mostly tells the story of five men and women that are competing in the 28th annual tournament, including 20-year RPI college student Tyler Hinman that is trying to become the youngest champion of the tournament in history.

The documentary peers into the lives of each of the contestants and does a great job explaining the appeal of crossword puzzles. After seeing the film, I was encouraged to try (and fail miserably at) some of the New York Times crossword puzzles.

Similar to Word Wars and Spellbound, Wordplay will take you into a territory you probably aren’t familiar with and it will make you smile, laugh, and sympathize for the contestants, Director Patrick Creadon did a great job, and I hope that he continues to make documentaries like this. Great film.

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Unlike the first Clerks, the sequel actually has a plot (imagine that)! Also, the sequel is shot in color (with a genius transition to color in the beginning akin to The Wizard Of Oz). Clerks II earns it’s R rating with explicit language and sexual references. In other words, don’t bring your kid to see this with you—like some people in the theater I saw this in decided to do.

The basic plot, which is no secret from the trailer, is that the Quick Stop burns down and Dante and Randal start working in the fast-food industry at Mooby’s. Their manager is Becky (Rosario Dawson) and their younger Hobbit-loving co-worker is Elias (Trevor Fehrman). Jay and Silent Bob make a triumphant return outside Mooby’s. And, as usual, Ben Affleck makes a guest appearance.

It is hard to imagine someone seeing this movie without seeing the original Clerks, but I suppose it is possible. There are quite a few references to the original movie, but there are a lot of new characters that gives this movie the ability to stand on its own.

For me, I was a little put off by the some of the predictable slapstick comedy. But, I found myself laughing more as the movie progressed. The acting was definitely a huge step up from the original, and Kevin Smith didn’t go too crazy with his presumably much larger budget. Overall, I was pleased with Clerks II and I think the doors are open for Clerks III in another 10 years.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5

One of the most cunning details of this movie is that no one is ever seen smoking in the entire movie. Tobacco leaves, cigarette cartons, and nicotine patches are all shown, but never once is a cigarette smoked.

When exiting the theater, I picked up several postcards promoting the movie. Each has one of the “Great Moments in Spin” ranging from the Ashlee Simpson lip sync incident (“My band played the wrong song”) to the Rafael Palmeiro steroid scandal (“I haver never intentionally taken steroids”). And the postcards are in essence what the theme of the movie is all about. If one says the right things and crafts one’s message right, one can convince someone else of anything. Even if the truth is blatantly obvious or if it’s something that will kill them. One needs to step back and look at all sides of every argument and make an intelligent decision for oneself.

I’ve heard that the book is better than the movie (as is true in most cases). So, you might want to check that out first. Otherwise, I highly recommend seeing this, and it’s nice to see a good movie this spring. Very refreshing.

UPDATE: Thank You For Smoking is set for a Friday, April 14th wide release!

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I feel guilty giving this movie a mediocre review, because it conveys a strong message and has powerful acting by co-stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. The two play a couple of cowboys who are both assigned a job on Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 1963. Love finds a way between them, and they are met with a lifelong struggle to maintain an unconventional relationship.

At 134 minutes, however, the movie drags at times. This is especially true if one is not swooned by the movie’s atmosphere and emotional storyline. The movie, obviously, did not manage to capture me, and I felt as though some of the screenplay’s dialog was forced and laughable at times. The best part of the movie is actually the score, which fits the movie very well and truly deserves its Oscar nomination.

Don’t be afraid to wait for this one on DVD.

My Rating: 3.25 out of 5