The Scorecard Review

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Hi.

This is Jeff Bayer, and I don't update this site very often. If you'd like to listen to my current movie podcast you can find it at MovieBS.com.

Jun 26
Jun 26 Wanted

Plot: Based on the graphic novel, The Assassins, the Fraternity is a secret society of assassins who have been killing for years. They recruit a man who looks like a nobody on the surface, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), but just like them, he has the ability to bend bullets. Sloan (Morgan Freeman) and Fox (Angelina Jolie) need Wesley to help take down a rogue assassin before they're all dead. Who’s It For? It's violent, there's eye candy, and most of it has to do with guns, so it's most definitely a guy movie.

Expectations: I assumed McAvoy wasn't the right fit, Freeman hasn't made a good film in a while, and Jolie ... yeah, she's still got it. The previews gave me a hint of The Matrix and Fight Club and that's

Jun 26
Jun 26 Wall*E

Plot: Wall*E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is a robot stuck on what is left of Earth. It's a garbage planet and has been for nearly 700 years. His life suddenly takes a shift from beyond collecting junk when Eve, another robot, makes a trip to the planet. Suddenly Wall*E finds himself trying to save Earth, humanity and the love of his life. Who’s It For? It doesn't matter who you are, Wall*E is for everyone. The one thing you have to make sure of is that you can appreciate the concept of a musical. There are no song and dance numbers performed per se, but an ongoing theme does include Hello Dolly.

Expectations: Hmm... Short Circuit and a little E.T. in outer space didn't seem like much. Plus, I

Jun 26
Jun 26 He's Just Not that Into You - Opens 2/6/09

Jun 26
Jun 26 Update: Transformers - Rise of the Fallen

Are you foaming at the mouth for news on the Transformers sequel? Well here's some new stuff ...

Jun 23
Jun 23 Justin Long joins Michael Cera in "Youth to Revolt"

"Youth in Revolt" is the irreverent story about the wild adventures of a teenage boy named Nick Twisp who meets the girl of his dreams while on a family vacation and has to turn his life and the lives of all those around him upside down in order to be with her.

Jun 22
Jun 22 One-Scene Wonders - A.V. Club

Jun 22
Jun 22 Box Office Review - June 22, 2008

WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, JUNE 20-22, 2008 Rank. Movie Title (Distributor) Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week # 1. Get Smart (Warner Bros.) $39.2 million | 3,911 | $39.2 million | 1 2. Kung Fu Panda (Paramount (DreamWorks)) $21.7 million | 4,053 | $155.6 million | 3 3. The Incredible Hulk (Universal) $21.6 million | 3,508 | $96.5 million | 2 4. The Love Guru (Paramount) $14.0 million | 3,012 | $14.0 million | 1 5. The Happening (Fox) $10.0 million | 2,986 | $50.3 million | 2

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Wow. Mike Myers supposedly has an uncontrollable ego (EW article) and this beating can't help. A distant second for the "comedy event of the summer." Not likely. It will be curious if this kills more Austin Powers or makes him

Jun 20
Jun 20 When Indy Part 4 Went Wrong ...

Jun 20
Jun 20 Box Office Preview - June 20, 2008

Two big comedies are fighting it out this weekend, but one has more action than the other, and that should spell a victory (that and about 3000 more screens). Get Smart, the update of the TV series starring Steve Carrell will open on 6,500 screen and therefore, win the box office. Love Guru, starring Mike Myers will beg for your attention on 3,700 screens. Ignore it.

Weekend Predictions:

1. 'Get Smart' - $38.1 million 2. 'The Love Guru' - $23.5 million 3. 'The Incredible Hulk' - $22.0 million 4. 'Kung Fu Panda' - $21.5 million 5. 'The Happening' - $11.0 million

Jun 19
Jun 19 The Love Guru

Plot: Deepak Chopra, looks like you have company. Guru Pitka (Mike Myers) is the love guru and needs to work his magic on hockey all-star Darren Roanke (Romany Malco), but he also falls for the team owner, Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba). Who’s It For? It's a lowbrow comedy with many jokes consisting of a play on words, or someone getting punched in the nuts. Myers isn't a guarantee any more and he is most certainly front and center in this film.

Expectations: My favorite Myers film is still So I Married an Axe Murderer? with Austin Powers being a close second. Those films seem a long way off and Myers' charm has faded. I assumed I

Jun 16
Jun 16 The Happening

Plot: A science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife (Zooey Deschanel) leave Philadelphia and go on the run from an apocalyptic crisis that is killing everyone in its path, making its way through the Northeast. Who’s It For? If you are a die-hard M. Night Shyamalan fan, then no matter what I say, you’re seeing this flick. Even though this is a horror film, and there are some disturbing images, most of the violence and gore is left to the imagination.

Expectations: I was hoping. That’s all I could muster for M. after Lady in the Water and The Village.

SCORECARD (1-10)

Actors: Mark Wahlberg as Elliot Moore: It just didn’t fit. Elliot is a

Jun 13
Jun 13 The Incredible Hulk

Plot: Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is back and along with him is his angry green giant that lurches within. Bruce is on the run from the military who want to harvest him as a weapon, while all he wants to do is get rid of the beast. Who’s It For? Comic book fans should be a little more inclined with this version of Hulk compared with Ang Lee's 2003 adaptation. But ladies, the romance doesn't work, so if that's your only reason for going, you can stay at home.

Expectations: I love Norton. He's easily in my top 5 right now. But saying that, Hulk is a tough sell because of the CGI factor. Plus, rumors swirled about Norton refusing to do press for the film because they wouldn't agree to 10

May 1
May 1 The Lastest Trailers and Interviews

Trailers and Videos

Apr 27
Apr 27 In Bruges

In BrugesDirected by: Martin McDonagh Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes Time: 1 hr 47 mins Rating: R

Plot: When a targeted kill goes wrong and leads to an accidental death, a hitman (Farrell) and his partner (Gleeson) have to lie low in Bruges, Belgium.

Who’s It For? There's definitely some violence, but it is mainly the matter-of-fact conversations from Farrell that will have people talking.

Expectations: There was a strong buzz for this film, yet this was McDonagh's first feature film, so you never know. Plus, Farrell is either on or off, there's no in between.

SCORECARD (1-10)

Actors: Colin Farrell as Ray: Farrell is "on" with this role. He's able to be carry around some terrible stereotypes and be likeable. Farrell can act, as Tigerland, Cassandra's Dream, Minority Report and now In Bruges have proved, it's

Apr 7
Apr 7 Morgan Spurlock - Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?

Because of Morgan Spurlock’s film “Super Size Me” (and my wife), I’m off fast food almost entirely. Now comes his new film “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?” It’s the story of a documentarian attempting to find the most notorious terrorist in the eyes of the U.S. government. Considering you haven’t read any headlines about bin Laden being interviewed, or Spurlock collecting the $25 million reward, you can guess what happened. But Spurlock does give insight into how people from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Eygpt and Israel view Americans and what binds us all together.

I sat down with Spurlock and asked him if he was the skinny Michael Moore...

Mar 31
Mar 31 Doug Benson - Super High Me

Doug Benson had an idea. For a man who smokes pot, that’s nothing new. But he did something unique for a marijuana smoker… he followed through on that idea. “Super High Me” is a documentary/comedy inspired by Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” with one very big twist.

Benson smokes pot for 30 days straight to see what will happen. Morning, noon and night, Benson smokes. But first he goes completely sober (alcohol and pot) for a month and takes lung capacity tests, a physical and the SATs, which he then repeats during his pot month.

I first interviewed Benson at SXSW where his film made its premiere. But then everything was stolen (notes, recorder, computer). Benson was cool enough to do the whole thing all over again...

Mar 28
Mar 28 21

“21″ is a film about six MIT students learning how to count cards and then take down Vegas for millions at blackjack. The one thing you need for that is massive intelligence, yet that is the characteristic most absent from this film. It’s based on the true story and book “Bringing Down the House” and goes beyond the old standby that says the book is always better than the film. Changes were made, the least of which was making the main character white instead of Asian. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is an MIT student struggling for money. He needs $300,000 for medical school, yet never once considers a student loan. He’s also never heard of blackjack, which almost makes less sense.

Professor Micky (Kevin Spacey) tries to recruit Ben into the card counting club, but he resists until Jill (Kate Bosworth) flirts a little.

Mar 17
Mar 17 Sean Faris - Never Back Down

Sean Faris, star of the new mixed martial arts (MMA) flick Never Back Down might be a new face in Hollywood, but the 25-year-old got a jump on acting when he was just a kid. The Cleveland native, who bears a striking resemblance to Tom Cruise, used to tell people the Top Gun star was his dad.

But these days, Faris is making a name for himself.

Jeff Bayer talked with Faris about the Hollywood scene, Karate Kid and whipping himself into shape for his new film.

When you auditioned for the role of Jake Tyler, did you have to turn it on athletically? I had to do a fight test... I wasn't much of a kicker at all, but they saw enough to know that with the training I would be fine.

Mar 15
Mar 15 SXSW 2008 - Epilogue

Epilogue: I am happy to report dealing with my insurance company went smoothly. Mainly because my wife keeps receipts, so that's another reason to get married for all you unorganized guys out there. I only lost the last six months of my life as that was the last time I backed up my computer. Now it's just a matter of deciding if I should upgrade to the MacBook Air and iPhone or not. As for SXSW. It was a great first festival. There weren't as many stars walking the streets as I had expected, but I've decided that is a good thing. This film festival really is about the movie fan. Every person that sat down was really pumped to see a film. At first, this was disturbing when "21" kept

Mar 14
Mar 14 Never Back Down

You don’t sit down to a Britney Spears’ concert to hear great opera. That has to be the mind-set when you walk into the theater for “Never Back Down,” a story of an angry kid finding mixed martial arts and trying to turn his life around. First of all, I’m a fan of “The Karate Kid,” all of the “Rocky” flicks (except No. 5), “Diggstown” and even “Gladiator” (not the Oscar winner). That said, I still wasn’t expecting much of “Never Back Down.”

But here’s what I hoped for: someone to root for, someone to root against, an inspiring coach, some eye candy and, of course, some training montages.

For the most part, I got what I wanted.