There’s a moment in Radio Days when a young Allen and his parents have a chance encounter with a “Whiz Kid,” one of those freakish adolescents who spend every moment of their day memorizing trivia. Allen’s parents are in awe of the kid’s diction and “intelligence” while to Allen and ourselves he comes off as a stuffy automaton.

That single scene exemplifies the theme of Midnight in Paris: (and I take this line from Tyler Cowen’s excellent summation) “if we somehow managed to meet the cultural titans of previous eras, how many of them would come across as blowhard hacks, if only because their own subsequent work has made their personae obsolete?”

The Allen surrogate is Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), an American Hollywood hack in Paris with his shrewish fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her disapproving parents John (Kurt Fuller) and Wendy (Mimi Kennedy). Gil, currently engaged in his novel, longs for the Paris of the 1920s and, after a walk one night, meets a cab that whisks him back in time to a party with F. Scott (Tom Hiddleston) and Zelda (Alison Pill) Fitzgerald.

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It is remarkable to think just how long and varied of a career Woody Allen has had.  His decades long body of work has already earned him the status of a legendary filmmaker, yet that has hardly slowed him down from constantly pushing himself to be a better writer and director.  And recently, we are seeing a freshness in his work that only reaffirms his true talent as a filmmaker.

To be honest, it use to be that Woody Allen was kind of hit-or-miss.  Of course, he has his classic films like Annie Hall and Manhattan, but more recently, for every Match Point or Vicky Christina Barcelona we would find films like Whatever Works which, despite starring Larry David, seemed to fall flat and felt more like an off-Broadway play than a feature film.

Luckily, Allen seems to be on a roll recently.  Midnight in Paris is one of his films that is able to achieve that rare combination of brilliant dialogue and strong performances that we have come to know and love.

It is here that I would normally give a quick plot recap of the film to give context to the review, but I really do think this film is most enjoyable if you go in knowing nothing more than what was given in the trailer.  I know some people don’t like going into films completely blind, but I do suggest that you skip the next paragraph if you want the full experience.

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“You get what you get, now don’t throw a fit”-Ancient kindergarten teacher proverb.

I am constantly amused when people attend a Farrelly Brothers film and are SHOCKED to find out that it is filled with bathroom humor and precious little in the way of plot. What do you expect people?  When you go to a Farrelly Brothers film, you know exactly what you are going to get.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly carved out a new niche for comedy in 1998 when they released Something About Mary. The film’s raunchy humor was dubbed “gross-out humor”, and though they have replicated the formula many times, they have never really duplicated the level of success they had with that first film.

It’s doubtful that this will be the film to do that, though it is a nice departure from their usual fare. Don’t worry, you’ll still find male protagonists suffering from man-child syndrome, plenty of tits, dirty jokes, poop humor, and the like. Not that I’m complaining. I’d be disappointed if those things were missing.

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It is hard to believe James Brooks, the man who brought us the modern day classics Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News, thought this meandering mess of a movie would appeal to the masses. Even more puzzling is the staggering price tag of $120 Million, which Sony managed to whittle down to a mere $100 Million.  That’s not big money for an action drama, but it is big money indeed for a romantic comedy.

Reese Witherspoon plays professional softball player Lisa, who is perky and popular, but has just lost her job due to her advanced age of thirty. She is dating Matty (Owen Wilson), a dimwitted professional baseball player who never shies away from the perks of the profession.

Paul Rudd plays George, the guy next door whose world is imploding around him due to a federal investigation into his dealings at his father’s (Jack Nicholson) business. Lisa finds herself caught between the rich, successful Matty, and George, who has downsized to a crappy apartment and seems destined for the big house.

The performances are certainly pleasant.  Witherspoon has grown into a beautiful young woman, and she is just adorable throughout the whole movie. Rudd plays within his comfort zone, being the guy who is slightly out of his element, but is so charming and sincere that the ladies eventually come around to him.

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A few weeks ago, we brought you the very first teaser trailer for Disney and Pixar’s upcoming sequel, Cars 2. Now, things are getting a bit more exciting with a brand new, full-length trailer.

We know that we’ve lost Paul Newman, George Carlin, and Joe Ranft since the last film, who all voiced main characters. With that, the team at Pixar and Disney has helped by introducing some great new characters, including a James Bond-esque spy car voiced by Michael Caine.

Cars 2 is set to hit theaters in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, and standard 2D on June 24th of 2011. In the meantime, check out the new trailer after the jump.

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Say what you want about Ben Stiller or his talent, the man still manages to turn out some pretty entertaining and often successful films. Sure, his brand of humor may not be for everyone or his choice of films might not seem all that inspired, but he still keeps going and still often brings the funny.

This time around Still is back with another chapter in the “Fockers” family comedy series. This new one, called Little Fockers, takes the story of Greg the male nurse (Stiller) and his obsessive father-in-law Jack (Robert De Niro) to the next level: children. Of course, once that happens hilarity and the associated sight gags, misunderstandings and people getting hit in the eye with something ensues.

For more of an explanation of the story, here’s the official synopsis from Universal:

It has taken 10 years, two little Fockers with wife Pam (Polo) and countless hurdles for Greg to finally get “in” with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack. After the cash-strapped dad takes a job moonlighting for a drug company, however, Jack’s suspicions about his favorite male nurse come roaring back.

When Greg and Pam’s entire clan-including Pam’s lovelorn ex, Kevin (Owen Wilson)-descends for the twins’ birthday party, Greg must prove to the skeptical Jack that he’s fully capable as the man of the house.

Check out all the hijinks in this new trailer after the jump, courtesy of our pals at Yahoo. Look for Little Fockers to invade a theater near you on December 22.

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Who doesn’t love a good Farrelly brothers comedy? Let’s leave out a few small films like Heartbreak Kid, Fever Pitch, and Stuck On You. But outside of those, they’ve got some pretty great comedies under their belts. Now, they’re teaming up with Owen Wilson and SNL funnyman Jason Sudeikis for a brand new comedy called Hall Pass.

Basically, the film features Sudeikis and Wilson as two married men who can’t help but look at the sea of attractive women before them. Here’s the breakdown:

Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are best friends who have a lot in common, including the fact that they have each been married for many years. But when the two men begin to show signs of restlessness at home, their wives (Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate) take a bold approach to revitalizing their individual marriages: granting them a “hall pass,” one week of freedom to do whatever they want…no questions asked.

At first, it sounds like a dream come true for Rick and Fred. But it isn’t long before they discover that their expectations of the single life-and themselves-are completely, and hilariously, out of sync with reality.

Of course, the phrase “hilarity ensues” isn’t used here, but you can imagine that it’s necessary. Check out the full trailer after the jump and be sure to catch Hall Pass in theaters next February 25.

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It seems to be a distant memory now, but there was a period in time when Pixar and Disney has split up over financial and creative differences. Obviously, Disney didn’t suffer all that much, and went on to do less-than-Pixar quality films like Meet the Robinsons and Chicken Little. The megastudio finally came to their senses and acquired Pixar in 2006, leading up to it’s first feature film after the purchase, Cars.

The lack in preparation on the marketing side of things hurt the film in the long run, leaving it to get beaten by Ice Age: The Meltdown back in 2006. Now, it’s time to change all of that with a brand new film in the works.

From what we gathered in the teaser after the jump, we know that Owen Wilson an Larry the Cable Guy are returning. Sadly, three of the voice actors from the first film have died since it’s original release, which means we won’t get Paul Newman, George Carlin, or voice actor Joe Ranft in the upcoming sequel.

Check out the new teaser after the jump, as well as some great concept art showing us that the whole gang is making a world tour in this story. Be sure to catch Cars 2 in 3D and 2D, in theaters on June 24th.

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It’s interesting how many films never make it to a second sequel. There are a few that sneak under the radar, such as Critters or Home Alone, but for the most part, many of the films that get trilogies are big budget films. That rule apparently doesn’t apply to the upcoming third film from the Meet The Parents franchise.

Many remember 2004′s Meet the Fockers, which was one of the first films to put Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman in the same frame. The film kept interest piqued enough to garner a second sequel, which will be hitting the silver screen this winter.

From what we picked up in the trailer, Greg and Pam (Ben Stiller & Teri Polo) get an unexpected visit from the Byrnes (Blythe Danner & Robert De Niro) and, much like in the previous films, things get a little wacky. Owen Wilson and Barbara Streisand rejoin the cast, alongside newcomers Jessica Alba, Harvey Keitel, and Laura Dern.

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump, and chase after the Little Fockers in theaters on December 22nd.

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Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. seemed to strike gold when they had actor Justin Theroux co-write Tropic Thunder. The film got rave reviews from the critics and even took in a large chunk of change at the box office. To repay him, Downey decided to step up to the plate for Theroux by having him pen the script for the soon-to-be released Iron Man 2 for Paramount.

Now it seems that Stiller is taking interest in the young actor/writer/director by having him write and direct the sequel to 2001 comedy Zoolander, also with Paramount. From Deadline Hollywood:

I’ve learned that Ben and Justin are working on the script together, and Theroux is going to Fashion Week in Paris to “immerse himself on what is current in fashion”. ”It’s got momentum,” a studio source just told me. Everyone’s hoping Owen Wilson co-stars again but no deal is set. The villain likely will be Jonah Hill who’s in negotiations.

No word yet on who or what else they have planned for the sequel, but with names like Will Farrell, Billy Zane, Jon Voight, Milla Jovovich, David Duchovny, and dozens of others in the first film, you can expect to see some of Stiller’s new on-screen companions such as Jack Black, Tom Cruise, and Matthew McConaughey pop up in between glances of Blue Steel.

Wes Anderson’s highly anticipated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, has been kept quiet and under wraps. But as the film’s release date creeps closer, it seems like we’ve been getting nothing on this film… until right now! Ain’t It Cool News posted the first photos from the movie we’ve seen! They look absolutely amazing. In case you’re not familiar with the book, the story follows Mr. Fox and his family who are targeted by wealthy, angry farmers after the fox steals their chickens, ducks and turkeys.

Hopefully some more photos, and maybe even a trailer (fingers crossed!) will be revealed at Comic-Con next week. The Fantastic Mr. Fox, featuring the voice of Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Bill Murray and George Clooney as Mr. Fox, creeps into theaters November 15.

Funny People, this summer’s collaboration between Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler, looks to be shaping up into quite the film. As of late, it looks like the marketing team has taken a few tips from last year’s Tropic Thunder as the website George-Simmons.com goes live.

George Simmons is the pseudo-biographical main character that Sandler is playing in Funny People, who has done a string of bad comedies over the years. With the launch of the site, we now get a peak at some of the very bad comedies…and they’re actually pretty funny. Of course, the clips are meant to be bad on purpose, but it’s nice to see Hollywood turn a mirror on some of the bad stories that have been in recent films.

For example, here’s the synopsis for the fake film Re-Do:

Craig, a workaholic lawyer, never made time for his relationships. Alone and depressed on his 40th birthday, he wonders about the life he could have lead. But be careful what you wish for…you might just find yourself in diapers! When a wizard gives Craig a second chance at his youth, he discovers that sometimes it takes becoming a baby to learn how to be a man.

Check out a clip from the fake film, also starring Drag Me to Hell’s Justin Long, after the jump. Also rolled out on the site are clips for Sayonara Dave and Dog’s Best Friend. Funny People hits theaters July 31.

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