Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

There's a certain kooky irresistibility to Doug Liman. By many accounts, he's virtually impossible to work with and yet the movies he turns out are often very good (Swingers, The Bourne Identity), and one is even great (Go). That said, I'm hesitant to sign on for Jumper. I'm what some would call the opposite of a fan of Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson looks like she has encephalitis. Plus, Sam Jackson is slowly losing his edge, the CGI looks very CGI-ish and the story seems silly. Still, I'll probably see it and enjoy it more than I should.

Last year I led a failed crusade against the career of Freddie Highmore. Yeah, some say he's an extraordinarily talented child actor, but to me he's just a male iteration of the annoying Dakota Fanning. His latest vehicle is The Spiderwick Chronicles, a film about children who discover real faeries in their backyard. As the dramatic failure of The Golden Compass showed, the appetite for fantasy is not as broad nor as deep as the Lord of the Rings trilogy led some studios to believe. We'll see on Monday if Spiderwick bucks that trend.

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Disney

I'll say this about Step Up 2 the Streets--that Briana Evigan sure can sex-dance! What's kind of weird is that she's the daughter of former B.J. and the Bear star Greg Evigan. I hadn't thought of Greg Evigan in years before reading the press notes for Step Up 2. Channing Tatum is back as Tyler Gage. I'm not sure why that's such a big deal, but my teenage niece is very excited about it. I wish my name was Tyler Gage!

I like Ryan Reynolds. There--I said it! I thought he was great in The Nines, and I'm even one of the 413 confirmed fans of Just Friends (though, to be fair, that has more to do with Amy Smart than Mr. Reynolds). Unfortunately, his new romantic comedy, Definitely, Maybe, looks pretty drab (No Reservations drab). I like Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and Rachel Weisz but Abigail Breslin is close to rousing my Frankie Highmore bile.

I love that George Romero is still making films. It would be interesting to see him try something different than zombies (I think Danny Boyle has taken over that niche), but I get that when you think about Romero, you think about zombies. Diary of the Dead is his latest. It has your typical post-2000 meta-twist--kids making a horror movie are overrun by zombies. I can't imagine being scared by any of it, but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is such a fascinating mix of actual history, acute drama and droll comedy that I just know I'm going to love it. A young boy is left with his Jewish grandfather as his parents flee from political persecution in Brazil during the legendary 1970 World Cup. What his parents don't realize is that the grandfather has recently died and they've just inadvertently left their child completely alone.

Tickets & Showtimes

Jumper
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Step Up 2 the Streets
Definitely, Maybe
Diary of the Dead
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

Reviews

Jumper
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Step Up 2 the Streets
Definitely, Maybe
Diary of the Dead
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

Previews

Jumper

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Step Up 2 the Streets

Definitely, Maybe

Diary of the Dead

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation