Friday New Movie Releases - June 11

There are only 2 movies coming out today (Friday, June 11) - The A-Team and The Karate Kid. I'm actually looking forward to seeing both of these and they have been getting some good reviews.

The A-Team is an action film starring Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel and Patrick Wilson. It is based on the 1980s television show of the same name and promises to bring a lot of action and special effects. It received a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes which isn't great but is pretty solid. One reviewer calls it "a mindlessly entertaining blockbuster brimming with thrilling action sequences and delightfully zany characters that never take themselves too seriously." If you are interested in lots of action with a solid cast this movie will be right up your alley.

The Karate Kid is a remake of the 1984 movie of the same name and stars Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son) and Taraji P. Henson. If you have never seen the 1984 Karate Kid you didn't have a childhood. Seeing as that movie was perfect, I don't expect this one to live up the original but Jackie Chan looks like a damn good Mr. Miyagi (although his name is Mr. Han in this movie). The remake follows the plot of the first one almost exactly which is fine by me. It received a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and the consensus from critics states "it may not be as powerful as the 1984 edition, but the 2010 Karate Kid delivers a surprisingly satisfying update on the original".

My Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Movies

Everyone looks forward to summer movies. Hollywood rolls out huge blockbusters during the summer, many of which companies have sunk enormous budgets into. I thought I would provide my "Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Movies" list for you. The movies I chose might not be the biggest blockbusters, but they are the ones I am looking forward to seeing the most (the release time-line I am using is May 21-August 27).

10. The Other Guys (August 6)
    



Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in an action-comedy? Yes, please. The cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Eva Mendes, and Damon Wayans. Will Ferrell makes anything funny and Wahlberg/The Rock/Samuel L. provide a great bad-ass ensemble.


9. Shrek Forever After (May 21)
   



Everyone loves the Shrek movies and they always make bank at the box office. They are very well written with humor for all ages and the animation is always great. You know you'll end up seeing this before the summer is over.


8. Killers (June 4)
   
   
   
   Seeing a romantic "action" comedy makes me feel a tiny bit more manly than seeing a plain romantic comedy. That is what we have here. Katherine Heigl is the single blonde who falls for Ashton Kutcher, a CIA agent. She doesn't know he works for the CIA until one of their friends is contracted to kill them. It has a very Mr. & Mrs. Smith feel with a little more comedy and a little more romance. Fine by me.
   


7. Inception (July 16)
   



Inception is Christopher Nolan's follow-up to The Dark Knight. If that doesn't make you want to see this film then I don't know what will. How about the fact that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a thief who steals secrets from people while they are sleeping. The twist is that in his last job he must plant a secret instead of steal one. Other cast members include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine.


6. The A-Team (June 11)
   



The A-Team is based on the 1980s television series of the same name and stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Wilson (what is it with all these Patrick Wilson appearances) and Jessica Biel. Basically, it involves 4 special forces soldiers who are arrested for crimes they did not commit. They manage to escape from prison and do a bunch of bad-ass shit on a 165 million-dollar production budget.


5. MacGruber (May 21)
   



I never thought turning the MacGruber SNL sketches into a movie would be a good idea until I saw the trailer. It looks hilarious and action packed. Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer were interesting choices to pair with the SNL cast but I have no doubt the SNL people know how to make anything funny.


4. Toy Story 3 (June 18)
   



If you haven't seen the first 2 Toy Story movies, you didn't have a childhood. Simply put - they were incredible. Toy Story was released in 1995 and Toy Story 2 in 1999. I'd say a 10 year wait is quite the build-up for Toy Story 3. Considering that BOTH Toy Story and Toy Story 2 received 100% scores on Rotten Tomatoes, it might be hard for 3 to live up to the hype but it also tells you how great this film series is. Oh yeah, it's also in 3-D.


3. Get Him to the Greek (June 4)
   



"Get Him to the Greek is a spin-off from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, reuniting director Stoller with stars Hill and Brand. Brand reprises his character Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. 1) I loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall 2) The Aldous Snow character is hilarious 3) The trailer for this movie looks awesome


2. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30)
   



Considering that the last movie in the Twlight Saga, New Moon, ranks 3rd on the all-time biggest box office opening weekends ever ($142,839,137), it's pretty safe to say that there are more than a few people eager to see this movie. They might all be teenage girls and moms but that doesn't make me any less excited to see it. Does that last sentence need a "no homo"? Would it help if I told you they hired David Slade to direct it (he directed 30 Days of Night) - which means there will be much more violence and gore than the first two movies.


1. Grown Ups (June 25)
   



Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider? Hell yes this movie will be hilarious. Not to mention it includes Salma Hayek, Maria Bello and Maya Rudolph as the female leads. I might have to pre-order tickets to go see this.

Honorable Mentions: Predators, Twelve, The Switch, Knight and Day