Confessions of a Shopaholic

Movie Info

Directed by: P. J. Hogan (Peter Pan)
Written by: Book: Sophie Kinsella; Screenplay: Tracey Jackson (The Guru), Tim Firth (Kinky Boots), & Kayla Alpert (film writing debut)
Starring: Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, The Lookout), High Dancy (King Arthur, Black Hawk Down), Krysten Ritter (What Happens in Vegas, 27 Dresses)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG - for some mild language and thematic elements
Runtime: N/A minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 17% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 39/100
IMDB Rating: N/A
My Response: This one looked good from far, as Isla Fisher is becoming a star in her own right, but it ended up far from good (I bet you didn't see that "far from good line comin'). Skip it.

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The Pink Panther 2

Movie Info

Directed by: Harald Zwart (One Night at McCool's, Agent Cody Banks)
Written by: Scott Neustadter (debut), Michael H. Wever (debut), & Steve Martin (The Pink Panther)
Starring: Steve Martin (The Jerk, Roxanne), Jean Reno (Leon, The Da Vinci Code), Emily Mortimer (Notting Hill, Match Point)
Genre: Comedy/Family
MPAA Rating: PG - for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action
Runtime: 92 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 14% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 37/100
IMDB Rating: 4.6/10
My Response: What the hell happened to Steve Martin? He used to be great, and now look at him. WTF Steve? WTF. Skip this one just like everyone skipped the first Pink Panther remake.

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Coraline

Movie Info

Directed by: Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and Giant Peach)
Written by: Book: Neil Gaiman (Stardust, MirrorMask), Screenplay: Henry Selick (writing debut)
Starring: Dakota Fanning (Man on Fire, War of the Worlds), Teri Hatcher (Tomorrow Never Dies, Desperate Housewives (TV)), John Hodgmen (Baby Mama)
Genre: Animated/Family
MPAA Rating: PG - for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor
Runtime: 101 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 88% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 80/100
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
My Response: Everyone is saying that Coraline is Henry Selick's chance to shine. He's worked on other similar projects, but other people usually get the credit (mainly Tim Burton). Coraline looks to be very entertaining, and Selick definitely has an established, imaginative, and very unique style that many people love. See it.

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Official Website

Inkheart

Movie Info

Directed by: Iain Softley (The Skeleton Key, K-PAX)
Written by: Novel: Cornelia Funke; Screenplay: David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots)
Starring: Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Journey to the Center of the Earth), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, 13 Going on 30), Eliza Bennett (Nanny McPhee)
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Family
MPAA Rating: PG - for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language
Runtime: 106 - minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 35% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 47/100
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
My Response: To be honest, I didn't get a great feeling about this one when I first heard about it, but it's been getting solid reviews (EDIT: reviews have since tanked!), and could be (EDIT: but is most likely not) a nice surprise. It definitely looks to be the best family friendly movie in months.

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Official Website

Hotel for Dogs

Movie Info

Directed by: Thor Freudenthal (Motel)
Written by: Lois Duncan (book), Jeff Lowell, Robert Schooley, & Mark McCorkle (screenplay)
Starring: Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew, Wild Child), Jake T. Austin (The Ant Bully, Everybody's Hero), Lisa Kudrow (Friends, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion)
Genre: Family/Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG - for brief mild thematic elements, language and some crude humor
Runtime: 100 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 44% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 51/100
IMDB Rating: 4.2/10
My Response: I will start off by telling you the absolute best thing about this movie: the director's name is Thor. Thor?!? Really Thor's parents? You're going to do that to him?? Oh well, skip his movie.

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Official Website

Bride Wars

Movie Info

Directed by: Gary Winick (13 Going On 30, Charlotte's Web)
Written by: Greg DePaul (Saving Silverman), Casey Wilson (film writing debut), and June Diane Raphael (film writing debut)
Starring: Kate Hudson (How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, Almost Famous), Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, Rachel Getting Married), Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown, Miss Congeniality)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG - for suggestive content, language and some rude behavior
Runtime: # minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 12% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 25/100
IMDB Rating: N/A
My Response: Some movies are made to win awards and some are made to have a good time. This one definitely falls into the latter category, and while I don't have many hopes for this one, I do hope that Anne Hathaway wins the war. Skip it.

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Official Website

Marley & Me

Movie Info

Directed by: David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada)
Written by: John Grogan (book), Scott Frank (Get Shorty) & Don Ross (Happy Endings)
Starring: Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, Bottle Rocket), Jennifer Aniston (Friends, The Break-Up)
Genre: Comedy/Family
MPAA Rating: PG - for thematic material, some suggestive content and language
Runtime: 120 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 51% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 53/100
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
My Response: This is the kind of movie that a certain group (dog lovers) will love no matter what, and most other people will think it's sub par. See it if you are the former, skip it if you're a cat person.

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Official Website

Bedtime Stories

Movie Info

Directed by: Adam Shankman (The Pacifier, Bringing Down the House)
Written by: Matt Lopez (The Wild) & Tim Herlihy (Little Nicky)
Starring: Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy), Keri Russell (Felicity, Eight Days a Week), Courtney Cox (Friends, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective)
Genre: Comedy/Family/Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG - for some mild rude humor and mild language
Runtime: # minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 15% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 34/100
IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
My Response: Remember when Adam Sandler made good movies? You know, movies that were enjoyable to watch? Well, I miss those times. It seems like they happened in the long long ago. Skip this one.

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Official Website

Delgo

Movie Info

Directed by: Marc F. Adler & Jason Maurer (directorial debuts)
Written by: Marc F. Adler, Jason Maurer et all
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr. (Scooby Doo, She's All That), Val Kimer (The Saint, Willow), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Can't Hardly Wait, The Tuxedo)
Genre: Family/Animation/Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG - for sequences of fantasy action violence
Runtime: 90 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 14% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 28/100
IMDB Rating: 4.9/10
My Response: Apparently, this movie has been in the works since 1999. It had six people help write it (more is definitely not merrier when writing a movie). It's had many delays, setbacks, and dried-up actors. The animation is laughably bad, as there's better stuff on Nickelodeon these days. Sounds great, doesn't it? Skip it.

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Official Website

Bolt

Movie Info

Directed by: Byron Howard (directorial debut) & Chris Williams (Galgo's Quest)
Written by: Dan Fogelman & Chris Williams (screenplay)
Starring: John Travolta (Broken Arrow, Grease), Miley Cirus (Hannah Montana), Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Man)
Genre: Family/Animation/Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG - for some mild action and peril
Runtime: 96 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 84% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 67/100
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
My Response: I am admittedly bias when it comes to animated movies these days, as I feel nothing out there is up to par with what comes out of the Pixar studio (Wall-E, Ratatouille). But Bolt has been getting pretty good reviews and it looks to be the best of the rest when it comes to animated movies these days. Rent it.

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Official Website

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Movie Info

Directed by: Eric Darnell (Madagascar, Antz) & Tom McGrath (Madagascar, Ren and Stimpy)
Written by: Etan Cohen (screenplay)
Starring: Ben Stiller (Madagascar, Night at the Museum), Chris Rock (Madagascar, Dogma), David Schwimmer (Madagascar, Friends)
Genre: Family
MPAA Rating: PG - for some mild crude humor
Runtime: 89 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 67% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 61/100
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
My Response: This one looks pretty easy to review. If you liked the original Madagascar, you'll like this one. If you didn't like the original (or didn't see it), you can probably skip this one and not miss too much. Same exact cast. Same exact staff. Same exact movie.

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Official Website

City of Ember

Movie Info

Directed by: Gil Kenan (Moster House)
Written by: Jeanne Duprau (book), Caroline Thompson (screenplay)
Starring: Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, Garfield 1 & 2), Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption, Top Gun)
Genre: Children's
MPAA Rating: PG - for mild peril and some thematic elements
Runtime: 95 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 8.0/10
MetaCritic Score: 58/100
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
My Response: City of Ember has been delayed a few times, as I remember first seeing the trailer quite a while ago. Delays never bode well for a movie, but I don't think this one will be completely ruined by them. The cast is still good, they story has some environmental overtones (which is so hot right now), and director Kenan has already directed a solid family film in Monster House. Take the kids and enjoy it. Wait for it to be on TV if you don't have kids.

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Official Website