Movie: Semi-Pro (R)
Released: February 29th, 2008
Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.
Ticket Price: $7.50 Matinee
Refreshments: None
Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Will Arnett & Rob Corddry
Director: Kent Alterman

Rating: Check it Out When it Hits the Likes of HBO or Showtime

Synopsis: Jackie Moon had one hit song in the 1970s and used the money he made from that to become the owner-coach-player of the Flint Michigan Tropics of the ABA. He finds out that the ABA and NBA are going to merge, but only four teams will be making the move to the other league. The rest will fold. He gets them to agree to the best four teams in the league being the teams that make the move and tries to motivate his team to shoot for fourth-place and a chance at the NBA.

Review: Semi-Pro isn’t even semi-funny. While it isn’t as bad as the terrible Strange Wilderness from a few weeks ago, it isn’t much better. If it weren’t for the great costuming and the occasional humorous bit, it would be much the same, as it is as poorly put together as that was.

If you are looking to laugh, keep looking. Better yet, if you are looking to laugh at Will Ferrell, go rent Anchorman or last year’s Blades of Glory. Those bring enough of the funny to go along with the bits that bomb big-time. Semi-Pro only seems to have the latter and not very much of the former.

This is Will Ferrell’s worst movie to date, and remember, he starred in Bewitched. Maybe his shtick is wearing thin. He plays roughly the same character in every movie. As per usual, some of his funnier stuff is what they used in the commercials and trailers to entice you into the theater, so you have already seen it and it isn’t funny anymore. Usually, you just need to wind him up and let him go, but here he doesn’t go anywhere, well at least not any place funny.

There are a lot of funny people that pop up throughout, like Will Arnett (TV’s Arrested Development), Rob Corddry (TV’s The Daily Show), Ed Helms (TV’s The Office) Tim Meadows (TV’s Saturday Night Live), Andy Richter (TV’s Quintuplets), Jason Sudeikis, (TV’s Saturday Night Live), Kristen Wiig (TV’s Saturday Night Live), but unfortunately, none of them are all that funny either. Well, the exception might be Arnett, as one of the TV commentators, who has a few good lines.

You should wait to check Semi-Pro out one day when it hits the likes of HBO or Showtime. Seeing this at a theater is a waste of your hard earned cash. Will Ferrell and his compatriots should have to actually try and not just coast on their past accomplishments.

Well, what did you think of Semi-Pro?

This week there are six new movies opening. There are three opening everywhere and three in limited release.

Opening Nationwide on Friday, February 29th:

Movie: The Other Boleyn Girl (PG-13)
Starring: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson & Eric Bana
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: An ambitious father pushes his two daughters along with their uncle to enlarge the family’s power and status by seeking the affections of the king of England. They leave their simple life behind and end up in the dangerous, but thrilling, world of court life. At first they are just attempting to court the king, but end up in a battle between the two for the love of the king. Mary wins at first and bears the king to illegitimate kids. But, Anne pushes both her sisters and the king’s wife aside in pursuit of becoming queen. England is torn apart as the two sisters battle it out.
First Thoughts: May be the greatest movie ever, but this fictional story holds no interest to me what so ever.

Movie: Penelope (PG)
Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O’Hara, Peter Dinklage & Richard E. Grant
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Synopsis: A young girl that was born with a nose shaped like a pig’s snout has spent most of her life as virtual prisoner by staying at home. It is believed that to break the curse she is under that she must marry one of her own kind. She starts meeting many a suitor, but all of them reject her. Two men that have a grudge against the family hire a man to pretend to be interested in her, but things don’t work out well for them when he actually starts to fall for her and this could lead to her freedom.
First Thoughts: James McAvoy seems to be everywhere right now. Will definitely go see him later this year in Wanted, but not so sure about another sub 90-minute movie this week.

Movie: Semi-Pro (R) (Read Review)
Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Will Arnett & Rob Corddry
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: It is 1976 and singer Jackie Moon as turned his one and only hit song into fulfilling his lifetime dream of owning a basketball franchise. The Flint Michigan Tropics is that team, but they are the worst the ABA has to offer. He finds out that the ABA and NBA are about to merge and tries to implement a plan to make sure his team is one of the teams that gets absorbed by the other league.
First Thoughts: Sounds like the 1970s version of Mark Cuban, but hopefully at least semi-funny. Yet, the 90-minute runtime worries me again. What is the deal with all the short movies hitting the big screen in the last few weeks? Maybe I should go see The Other Boleyn Girl, at least it runs for almost two hours.

Movies in Limited Release:

• Bonneville – Road dramedy starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen and Christine Baranski about three women on a road trip from Idaho to California to take the ashes of one-of-them’s husband to her step-daughter for burial, but she has promised him that she would scatter.
• Chicago 10 - Footage of the clash between the police and demonstrators at the 1968 Democratic convention are interweaved with some 3-D animated sequences that reenact the trial that followed.
• City of Men – Coming of age drama where to life long friends end up on opposite sides of a gang war.

For New Movie Friday there are four new movies to choose from this week. They are City of Men, The Other Boleyn Girl, Penelope and Semi-Pro. What new movie will you be heading out to see this week?

Movie: Vantage Point (PG-13)
Released: February 22nd, 2008
Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.
Ticket Price: $7.50 Matinee
Refreshments: None
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver & William Hurt
Director: Pete Travis

Rating: Worth a Rental

Synopsis: Over the period of 23 minutes a plot is unfolding, a plot to get the President of the United States by a group of terrorists. Pieces of those 23 minutes are shown from six different points of view, the media, the secret service agent, the local cop, the tourist and then the bad guys. Can you figure out what is going on before they show it to you?

Review: Vantage Point is the same story told from six points of view with a large and recognizable cast. When it is finished showing you one vantage point, it rewinds and shows you the next one. This storytelling device is used well for the most part.

But, it has three major problems, one because you know too much going in, if you have seen the trailer, two because something is too obvious too soon and lastly, the way things come together at the end. If you haven’t seen the trailer, or the movie, you may not want to continue reading, as a clean viewing would’ve made this movie better.

The first problem is that you know there is a presidential double going in, as it is given away in the trailer. That could’ve been a great reveal, but it doesn’t do much when you already know. The presidential segment is very anti-climatic, for the most part.

Two, one of the good guys is obviously in on the plot and you know who it is long before you should. While the reasoning behind the involvement is left until later, you still already know. When it is revealed during the final point of view, it falls a bit flat.

Lastly, when they rewind for the last time and show the sixth point of view, it departs from the formula used up until that point. You get a multi-person perspective all at once, where you see it from the ringleader and the rest of the people in on the plot and a few others. But, once you get used to that and things start to converge to the ultimate conclusion, it ends on a sort of bizarre happenstance. You would’ve liked it to be more solid, where one of the good guys actually did something to end the threat.

Even with those problems though, it’s still a good time and worth a rental down the road.

Well, that’s the view from my vantage point, what did you think?

A little late posting this, again, but this week there are seven new movies opening. There are four opening everywhere and three in limited release.

Opening Nationwide on Thursday, February 22nd:

Movie: Be Kind Rewind (PG-13)
Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow & Melonie Diaz
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: A guy thinks his local power plant is melting his brain, so he decides to sabotage it. In doing so, he creates a magnetic field that erases all the videotapes at the movie rental place his best friend works at. He doesn’t want his friend to loose his job, so he and his friend set out to re-film every movie the stores only real customer wants to rent. In doing so, they become stars in their neighborhood by starring in their own versions of some of the biggest movies ever made, like Back to the Future, Driving Miss Daisy and Robocop.
First Thoughts: It is an interesting and different way to go about making a movie that looks to basically spoof well-known movies. Couldn’t be worse than movies like Epic Movie or the recent Meet the Spartans.

Movie: Charlie Bartlett (R)
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey, Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton, Mark Rendall & Megan Park
Genre: Teen Dramedy
Synopsis: A young man that has been kicked out of private school after private school gets sent to public school. At first, things are not good, but he quickly realizes that many of his fellow students are in need of help. He starts up his own business, where he becomes an underground shrink and listens to his fellow students problems. He then takes them as his own to his therapist and returns with the solutions offered, including prescriptions. While doing so, he falls for the alcoholic principal’s daughter, who just happens to be trying to track down who is behind things at his school. Things start to go downhill, but he finds that there is more to helping people than giving out pills to solve their problems.
First Thoughts: This might actually be the best option this weekend, but I will be heading out to see Vantage Point.

Movie: Vantage Point (PG-13) (Read Review)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver & William Hurt
Genre: Action Thriller
Synopsis: The president is shot, but has he. Two secret service agents assigned to protect the president try to piece together what is going on. Others in the crowd, the media and the agents all hold a piece o the puzzle. The story is told from each of their perspectives and with each piece the truth behind the assassination is revealed.
First Thoughts: This is the movie that I have been looking forward to seeing for quite some time, as the trailer and commercial have been running forever. Again, as with last week, the 90-minute runtime worries me. Another big cast, but small runtime. I must be a glutton for punishment, as I will be at the theater tomorrow to watch this.

Movie: Witless Protection (PG-13)
Starring: Larry the Cable Guy, Ivana Milicevic, Yaphet Kotto, Peter Stormare, Joe Mantegna, Eric Roberts & Jenny McCarthy
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: A small town sheriff sees a beautiful and classy woman seemingly being held hostage by four men in black suits. He sets out to save the day and kidnaps her. It turns out that she is actually under witness protection and on her way to testify in Chicago. But, when he finds out, he still thinks the agents protecting her are dirty and sets out to get her to Chicago himself. Comedy is supposed to ensue.
First Thoughts: On stage, Larry the Cable Guy is hilarious, in movies, not so much.

Movies in Limited Release:

• The Counterfeiters – War drama based on a true story about the German Reich turning two concentration camps into counterfeiting operations to flood their enemies economies with fake currency. The people at the camps had to decide between going along with the plan and possible survival and sabotage and certain death. This one looks really good.
• The Duchess of Langeais – Romantic period drama set in 1820s Paris.
• The Signal – A sci-fi horror thriller about two lovers that must go on the run when a mysterious signal starts turning people into murderous maniacs.

U2 3D expands to more theaters this week.

For New Movie Friday there are five new movies this week to choose from. They are Be Kind Rewind, Charlie Bartlett, The Signal, Vantage Point and Witless Protection. What new movie will you be heading out to see this week?