The Book of Eli is an overly stylized movie that takes itself way too seriously, features hammy acting and laughable dialogue.  You could drive an eighteen-wheeler through its gaping plot holes, but despite all this, I rather enjoyed the film. If I’m going to have to eat some cheese, this is the type of movie I prefer to dole out my rations.

Brothers Allen and Arthur Hughes (From Hell, Menace II Society) are the directors of the post-apocalyptic tale of Eli (Denzel Washington), who traverses a bombed out tundra while traveling westward with a precious undisclosed cargo. For the first 20 minutes or so, The Book of Eli looked to be an exact retread of The Road, which was just out in theaters a few months ago.

The movies share the exact same vision of a dystopian future. Color is bleached from the scenery, light ash appears to constantly fall, and all humans are bedraggled, filthy, and desperate. Both films feature cannibalism as a major threat to their protagonists, and both show how precious throw-away commodities from modern society become in this world.

Cigarette lighters and individual wet wipes from KFC are bartering fare, not money. If you are a shoe whore, you should be set, because apparently shoes are one of the most valuable and hard to come by possessions when everyone has to walk everywhere.

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Fans of comedy and episodic TV have nothing but good thoughts come to mind when they hear the names Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Both The Office and 30 Rock have dominated comedy on network TV for quite some time now, so it would only make sense that a film showcasing both of them together would be epic, no? Probably not, after seeing the trailer for their newest film, Date Night.

The film is about a bored and boring married couple who decide to spice things up by lying to a hostess at a restaurant about their reservations, thus taking another couple’s name and table. One crazy happenstance after another then occurs, and our beloved couple is now on the run from gangsters. Add to that premise the reluctant hero from Get Smart and the neurotic lead from Baby Mama and you’ve got this 90-minute comedy.

The film is padded with a pretty big supporting cast, hoping to drag the audiences in. Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Ray Liotta, Mark Ruffalo, Mila Kunis, Leighton Meester, and even Olivia Munn are all in the film, with Shawn Levy, director of the Night At The Museum films, sitting in the director’s chair.

Check out the first theatrical trailer after the jump, Be sure to catch Date Night in theaters on April 9th, 2010.

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Mike Judge’s new movie, essentially an almost direct followup to Office Space, is a quirky and well-meaning comedy that strikes many of the right notes but in the end falls a bit flat and ends up with very little to show for it’s efforts. The film covers pretty familiar territory for Judge and as such doesn’t seem quite as fresh as perhaps it did when Office Space was released. The cast, with the notable exceptions of David Millgan as the male gigolo hired by Jason Bateman’s character to seduce his wife, the always awesome J.K. Simmons and, surprisingly, Ben Affleck as a helpful bartender and friend to Bateman’s character, are mostly relegated to sitcom level schtick and not given much else to do. And in the case of Mila Kunis, are simply the eye-candy — a role she plays very well, however.

Sure, many of the lines and situations in the film elicit a chuckle and in some cases, cause the viewer to laugh out loud, but those moment a few and far between. Instead, we’re left with many attempts at humor that fall flat and leave me to wonder what Judge was thinking. Some gags in the film are particularly overused — the “pushy neighbor” comes to mind — and result in not only being unfuny but annoying to the audience as well.

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With all the praise and cult status bestowed on Mike Judge’s film Office Space, sometimes people forget he’s also responsible for creating two of the most popular and recognizable animated characters of the 90s. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about Beavis and Butt-head.

Fortunately, even though they’ve been in retirement for several years, they’ve decided to make an appearance this week to help promote their old pal Mike Judge’s brand new movie Extract. And, because we’re cool like that, we’ve got that new Beavis and Butt-head video right here to share with you. In the video, our old friends talk a little about the movie and introduce some clips, paying for sex and the humor in star Jason Bateman’s name. In other words, its pretty much busines as usual for these two characters.

Mike Judge’s Extract, which stars Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons and Ben Affleck, hits theaters on Friday. Until then, check out all the Beavis and Butt-head action after the jump.

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Over at USA Today they’ve posted the first pictures from the Denzel Washington starrer The Book of Eli. In case you’re not familiar, the film, which is directed by The Hughes Brothers and co-stars Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, Ray Stephenson and Jennifer Beals, concerns a man who’s fighting his way across a post-apocalyptic America to protect a book that hold the key to saving humanity.

In addition to the photos, USA Today also posted some questions and answers with the film’s directors. Some of the tidbits that the brothers reveal include the fact that Washington shed 55 pounds for his role in the film and that shooting conditions in Albuquerque, New Mexico were less than ideal, but did provide a great location that really helped enhance the depiction of post-apocalyptic America.

“You occasionally ask yourself why you’re shooting a movie in these conditions,” says Allen Hughes, who co-directs the film with his brother Albert, in the article. “When the wind is really blowing, it looks like the earth is meeting the sky. It looks like the end of the world.”

The desolate landscape also helped set the mood of the film as well. “We had one scene where Denzel had to kill off one of his enemies,” said Albert Hughes in the article. “Right after he kills the guy, a little dust storm picks up and blows right over them. It was eerie. We’re going to have people thinking an effect was computer-generated, when really it was just from shooting out here.”

The Book of Eli hits theaters January 15, 2010. Check out the larger version of all the pictures after the jump.

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