FILM: New in Theaters - 8/15/08

Sorry for the delay. I have the flu. And what's the best way to forget about having the flu? Go to the movies!!!...and spread it to everyone in the theater. lol

I went for--what we in NYC refer to as--a "double feature." Four hours of R-rated comedy: Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder--two of the funniest movies I've seen in a long while. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black's war spoof slash industry mockumentary is definitely a must-see. While Tom Cruise's cameo has been hyped up for quite some time, trust me, you will forgive him of all his past crimes against sanity. He's one funny mothaf*cka, especially when he's dancing to Flo Rida's "Get Low."

But if you're interested in sheer action, yet another epic Jedi tale, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, will hit theaters. It's true that it's not written and/or directed by George Lucas, and that it's completely animated, but is there any doubt that the stunts will be killer? Plus, if you were not a fan of Hayden Christensen's performance or the abomination known as Jar Jar Binks (who I did not find that annoying), you won't have to worry about seeing them. The film takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and will chronicle "the on-going intragalactic battle involving the Jedis of the Republic and the battle droids of the Trade Federation." Comic Con fans everywhere are salivating.


If you're looking for something dramatically philosophical with a side of funny, then I'd suggest yet another Luke Wilson indie called Henry Poole is Here, which also stars George Lopez, Adriana Barraza (Babel), and Radha Mitchell (Melinda and Melinda). He plays a guy who thinks he's dying, so he sequesters himself in a house to spend his last days alone. Unfortunately, his neighbor spots a stain on his stucco wall that she believes to be the image of Christ. Could it be the miracle he needs?


And if you drop your kids off at the animated movie Fly Me to the Moon, which is about houseflies who hop on a space ship, you could indulge in the romantic drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The Woody Allen flick has been getting a lot of buzz because of its lesbian kissing scene and the sexy love triangle between Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem. But the film is actually about two friends (Starter for Ten's Rebecca Hall and Johansson) who go to Spain and fall in love with a painter (Bardem), who has romantic issues of his own with his ex-wife (Cruz). Think of it as the thinking woman's soap opera.