Ananas

Mission Impossible III - 6/10 With J.J. Abrams at the helm, M:I:III is less a Tom Cruise/John Woo vanity piece and more of an action film, imagine that. It captures the same sort of energy that the Bourne series has had through two films, with a reasonably plausible storyline and energetic performances. Sure Abrams lifts from other action movies/series (the third act plot twist is eerily similar to one that has been used several times on 24) as well has his own works (Alias obviously, but a bit of Lost as well), but in the context of these characters and in this series it works. And on the bright side, Tom Cruise wasn't a dick at any point during the promotion of this film, so that's one in a row.

Over The Hedge - 6/10 I suppose this is "The Lion King" for suburbia, with rats, hamsters and turtles substituted for the wild animals of the African jungle. It doesn't have the heart of some of the other animation releases of 2006, nor does it have a very well crafted storyline. What it does have is fantastic voice work by the cast, characters created really well for those performers and a soundtrack provided by Ben Folds. It won't set the movie world on fire, but it's another example of why animation films are really having a great year.

Cars - 7/10 Insert review of any Pixar film here. They're all good, they all combine juvenile humour with more interesting material for the parents. Only this one has music from John Mayer and James Taylor. That's awesome enough on its own.

The academy has a history of looking at the WB and UPN as lesser-networks and they rarely ever get any nominations.

X-Men: The Last Stand - 6/10 Everyone's favorite comic movie franchise reaches its third installment in this film, and with it comes a directorial change. Bryan Singer dropped out to do Superman Returns, and with him went the writing staff that was behind the first two films. As it is, The Last Stand is not on a level with the first two features, but with all the payoff they had for this one, it would have been a near impossibility to not come out with something that is at least watchable. Brett Ratner is nothing if not a blockbuster director, and he delivers the goods with big fights, big explosions and little talking, which for him is probably the right direction to go in. X3 doesn't have the heart of its predecessors, but the shear impressiveness of the special effects as well as the strength of the source material make this one worth checking out. But please, for the fourth can we get either Joss Whedon or Bryan Singer?

She's The Man - 4/10 Sort of like Bend It Like Beckham for those who don't actually know who Beckham is. Amanda Bynes actually isn't bad as far as young actresses go, although the same can't be said for the rest of the cast. Even David Cross is annoying in his small role. Bad logic, juvenile humour and too much generic chick flick fare make what was an average comedy into a bad comedy that's hard to enjoy. Unless you're 12 year's old and without a Y chomosome.

Click - 8/10 You know, I've always wondered how some of the classic films of the 40's and 50's would do if they were released today. Click, directed by Frank Coraci and starring Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken, might be a good gauge. If Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life were to be mixed with Back To The Future and The Twilight Zone, this might have been the result. It is a mix of sci-fi intrigue, comedy and life affirming drama that comes close to matching the magic known as "Capracorn". Whereas the film it clearly takes liberties from originally had the great James Stewart, this one has Adam Sandler and although there's no comparing the two talent wise, Sandler is not without his charm. It takes him about 20 minutes, but he eventually ditches the stupid nice guy schtick for this one, and by the end is giving a performance even better than the one he gave in Punch Drunk Love. Of course, like It's A Wonderful Life before it, the film has been met with mixed reactions from film critics, who find its mix of sentimentality and humour to be unconsistent and corny. Well folks, that was Frank Capra in a nutshell. I love him then, and I love this now. Happy Madison really struck out with their first two films of the year, but at least they're honing it in well for the Sandler picture. This may be his best work yet.

So I just heard the single. It sounds like something that would play at an Amsterdam sex club. It basically sounds like the near tuneless sequel to Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous". Not a completely awful song or anything, but why is Timbaland constantly taking people with decent voices and turning them into wannabe rapper posers? For those curious, it's now on his MySpace.

Okay, this one's not during anybody's summer break or anything, but it comes out September 8th so I'm classifying it as summer. This one looks really good, and may put Affleck's career back on track.

So Lost falls off the face of the earth, 24's mediocre supporting cast gets some obligatory nods and John C. STILL doesn't get his fucking nomination? The verdict is in, the new voting system sucks as bad as the old one. You know what they need to do? Drop everyone over the age of 49 off the voting list. If you're not in the target audience, you don't have any say. It's not like people make TV for these people anyway, why the hell do they have any say in what's considered the best? So Kevin James is better in King Of Queens than Zach Braff? Sean Hayes was more effective on that turd Will & Grace than John C. McGinley? Fuck the Academy.

Okay, here's your can't miss summer showstopper. Well it'll be better than that Bjork movie at least.

As much as I'm not particularly a fan of the Italians, I was happy to see del Piero in top form today. He was fucking brilliant in his day, and maybe we'll see more of this carrying into next year, even if Juve gets dropped from Serie A.

Gotta be My Lunch, as it was top 5 of all Scrubs episodes.

I've only seen Nacho Libre and The Breakup. I liked the Breakup (6/10), didn't like Nacho (4/10). I gotta go with Superman Returns, because it's Bryan Singer. It automatically warrants attention.

The album title sounds like the name of an Amsterdam sex club. No wonder he wanted to be single when he went on tour.

The Pink Panther - 6/10 I am not a Steve Martin fan by any means. I hadn't seen him do anything worthy of mention in the 21st century yet, and although he was great in the nineties, it's hard not to get the feeling that his schtick is just about dead. Neither am I any kind of loyalist to the original "Pink Panther" films, which I thought were brainless and formulaic, only mildly assisted by the spirited performance of Peter Sellers, which was far from enough to justify the ridiculous hype time has given it. Truthfully, that may help me in enjoying this remake, which is definitely a North American mainstream update of the originals. We're not going to look back in 5 years and have a lot to say about this version of "The Pink Panther", but I can't think of a great deal of serious negatives. The humour is nothing groundbreaking, but it's passable, and with a cast including Jean Reno and Kevin Kline, it's not entirely reliant on the lead. Steve Martin actually gives his best comedic performance in years; you could even make the argument that his is the more likeable Jacques Clouseau. Don't expect a classic, but don't believe the hype; "The Pink Panther" is a worthy rental.

Ice Age: The Meltdown - 6.5/10 Any film that manages to keep Dennis Leary cool despite him voicing an animal character is okay in my books. This is really cute, smart kids comedy that delivers as much if not more than 2004's "Shrek" sequel. There are bits that do move slowly, but once it gets going it's the kind of movie that's hard not to like. And in 2006 (at least my 2006 of 14 movies so far), that's not something to ignore.

Nacho Libre - 4/10 Jack Black and the director of "Napoleon Dynamite"; that's a combination that can't miss right? Apparently, they can. This is a movie that is a perfect example of style over substance. It's that same quirky manner of storytelling director Jared Hess used on "Napoleon", but whereas the titular character from that film was one for the ages, "Nacho" is just the PG-13 version of something out of a Robert Rodriguez film. I wanted to like this film, I really did. But by the hour mark I was just annoyed at how miserably they failed at what was so promising a concept, especially for Jack Black.

The Benchwarmers - 3/10 This is a film that quite often ranks on an intellectual level with Tom Green's magnum opus "Freddy Got Fingered". It stars a bunch of SNL rejects and of course, Napoleon Dynamite. To say the humour is juvenile is to say that the Queen likes her tea. The film is rated PG-13, but I can't understand anyone over the age of 10 actually appreciating the humour. I'd say that Adam Sandler needs to learn to say "no" every once in a while, but why? This film did almost $60 million at the box office. Maybe it's just the filmgoing public that needs to say "no". Seriously. And while you're at it, demand more Norm MacDonald, who was supposed to have a cameo in this movie and seemingly doesn't (well not to my now mercifully hazy recollection). That's two strikeouts (it's almost 5 in the morning so no, the pun is not intended) in a row for Allen Covert and Nick Swardson as writers riding Adam Sandler's jock. Let's hope that if there is another disaster (and knowing Mr. Sandler's forgiving nature, there probably will be), it'll be the last. Avoid, avoid, avoid. And keep others away too. It's the best public service you could possibly perform. Better than giving blood even.

The Breakup - 6/10 Refreshing for a mainstream romantic comedy, "The Breakup" manages to be at points viciously funny, heartwarming and heartbreaking. Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston give great dramedic (if that isn't a word yet, I'm inventing it) performances, and it's clear that the on-set chemistry that lead to their off-screen romance bled through into this film. The ending left much to be desired, and there is a bit of an identity problem at times, but all in all this is a very funny comedy, and that's all I suppose you can ask from it.

Man, I wouldn't want to be Argentinian, Portuguese, German, or walking the streets tonight in Germany. >_>