FILM: New in Theaters - 02/22/08

I've been watching a lot of films in theaters lately, squeezing Step Up 2 the Streets, In Bruges, and Definitely, Maybe into a weekend. This week I've narrowed down my new release choices to Vantage Point and Charlie Bartlett.

Vantage Point is an action/political/thriller with an ensemble cast of Matthew Fox, Forest Whittaker, Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Zoe Saldana (Guess Who?), and my personal favorite sexy Latino Edgar Ramirez (Domino). The film is about the attempted assassination of the U.S. president in Spain. Agents scour the square where it occurred to find the perfect vantage point that would reveal who the attempted murderer is. So it's a mystery, a conspiracy, and a guaranteed good time.

After watching that trailer you can see why I'm psyched about all the Bourne Identity-like action in that movie, but I've actually been waiting on Charlie Bartlett for a while. It premiered at a film festival last year and then just dropped off the map. It stars Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog) as the Ferris Bueller of our pill-popping generation, playing a kid who has had so many psychiatrists he's decided to hold sessions in the boy's bathroom and medicate his entire high school. Also starring are Robert Downey Jr., Kat Dennings (4o Year Old Virgin), and singer Tyler Hilton.

I've ironically chosen Be Kind Rewind as a future DVD rental. Jack Black and rapper Mos Def participate in a twist on the spoof genre by recreating classic movies of the last few decades because they accidentally erased all of the tapes in their video store. They'll be humiliating themselves in everything from Driving Miss Daisy to RoboCop to The Ghostbusters. I guess as a nod towards the Daisy film, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow are also starring. And rounding out the doofy trio is Melonie Diaz (A Guide to Recognizing your Saints).

And if you plan on staying in--because of this ridiculous snow storm (in NYC)--you could always test the post office's rain-sleet-or-snow motto and Netflix Michael Clayton, American Gangster, Rendition, In the Valley of Elah, Gone Baby Gone, We Own the Night, Martian Child, Why did we get married? or Lust, Caution which are all out on DVD this week. I, however, will be Netflixing the first season of Showtime's "Dexter" and "Weeds."

Keep those toes warm.