The Game Plan
So, The Rock plays Joe Kingman, a star quarterback delighting in money and game. Then he gets some big news -- a long-ago fling resulted in a cute daughter who is now 7 years old. Now he's got to trade in partying for play dates and ballet to become a good dad. It might sound a bit hokey, but as James Rocchi says: "it works as a pretty solid example of how the skillful execution of some of the oldest plays in the book can still get the ball to the end zone." Besides, it might be the perfect thing for families to pop in before the Superbowl. The kids should be happy, and then you can wait and see who will come out on top -- the Giants or the Patriots.

The DVD includes a good collection of features: bloopers with Marv Albert, deleted scenes, ESPN exclusives, behind-the-scenes featurette, controlling the mood lighting in Joe's apartment (I've no idea.. check it out and see...), "Peyton's Makeover Madness Set-Top Activity," and a "unique" commentary by The Rock and director Andy Fickman.

Check out James' Review | Buy the DVD

Sydney White
It's family day on New DVD Picks of the Week! If your kids are a bit older, Sydney White might be more your style, or rather, theirs. A teen spoof on Snow White (once called Sydney White and the Seven Dorks), this flick stars Amanda Bynes as a girl who decides to change the social hierarchy of her college after getting banished from her late-mother's sorority. She winds up at a condemned house with a bunch of awkward frat boys and begins to shake up the system, and bring down the bitchy blonde girls. It's got Danny Strong going for it (Gilmore Girls & Buffy), but watch out for some wild stereotyping.

The special features, well, they're what you'd expect from this sort of movie -- deleted scenes, gag reel, a bunch of featurettes like "The Skooze" and "Kappa's Forever," something on the Rubix Cube, and meeting the dorks.

Check out Kim's Review | Buy the DVD


Other New DVD Releases (January 22)

Saw IV
Adrift in Manhattan
This Sporting Life -- Criterion
Sex and Breakfast
Blonde Ambition

Check out Peter Martin's Indies on DVD for even more new releases.

Teens are a pain in the butt at the movies. I'll be the first to admit this. As a theater manager, one of my non-described job requirements was babysitting. But this is a task that sounds easier than it is. For many kids that we would kick out of an auditorium, or have removed from the lobby or parking lot, we would have to deal with angry parents who don't like other people disciplining their sons and daughters. No father wants to hear that his 15-year-old daughter was involved in sexual activity in a movie theater, but if he holds it against the people who discovered her, or against the theater in general, then it's no longer worth the trouble and the complaints. At that point it becomes easier to just let the kids have a run of the place.

Unless you have a laid-out, documented policy against certain activities in your cinema, there exists a problem of how to handle situations. This is probably the reason that some theater chains are in fact making new rules and regulations in order to properly deal with teenagers, who tend to go to the movies just to have a place to hang out, whether they're inside or out. One chain in particular, Kerasotes Theatres, made headlines recently for its controversial ban on teens, who are no longer permitted at late-night shows on Fridays and Saturdays (they call it "Adult Friendly Shows"). Unless they are with a parent and have a special Kerasotes-issued ID card, kids 16 and younger can't attend movies showing after 9pm.

Wow, we got a better response to last week's Sydney White contest than we anticipated. That must mean one of two things: You really are big Amanda Bynes fans, and celebrate her entire catalog. Or maybe you're hurting for beer money and think a Bynes-autographed poster will score you some cheddar on eBay. On second thought, highly doubt it's the latter. So congrats to our Bynes maniacs below.

1. "...And then he totally gave me an A!" -- Gregory R.

2. "I can't feel my hands!"
-- Aaron L.

3. "I know! I got my Prozac perscription refilled!" -- Kayla W.

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This week we're stepping it up a little, with three copies of the special one-disc edition of the Knocked Up DVD to give away. So free the inner-Apatow within you and make us "cackle" -- not only will we send you the DVD, but you'll get a Knocked Up dartboard, door hanger and bumper sticker as well. Sorry, no clothing this week. And a special heads up for next week: We'll be giving away our BIGGEST prize yet (and you know I don't use Caps Lock lightly). Bigger than the Eragon snowboard. Bigger than the guitar. Bigger than the HD DVD player. Yes, even bigger than the Mr. Woodcock hats! Good luck, and come back next Thursday at 4 PM to see this week's winners and find out what all the fuss is about...

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

Yesterday, Sydney White director Joe Nussbaum left the following comment on our review of his film:

Ms. Voynar, my name is Joe Nussbaum and I directed Sydney White. I fully respect your opinions about the film. I just wanted to let you know one thing. As a novel approach, the extras casting directors on the movie used real student groups as extras. The marching band is a real college marching band, the ROTC real ROTC, the a capella group, etc. One of the groups of college kids who did a wonderful job helping us out was the University of Central Florida Jewish Student Union. Granted, they were not Hasidic Jews, but they were a Jewish group who I chose to wardrobe as Hasidim in order for the quick identification. I totally respect that you thought this was a bad choice. What I don't appreciate is your attack on the women of the UCF JSU as being "fat and uniformly unattractive." I hope that none of them read this blog. They are who they are (I happen to think they were neither fat nor unattractive - I also spent more time with them than you have as my wife and I had our Passover Seder with them). Perhaps you would have preferred that I had cast models.

I decided to respond to Mr. Nussbaum here on the site, in the hopes of opening up some debate on the issue of stereotyping in films. My response is after the jump ... feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.

Apologies for the late posting this week. All I'll say is that it was due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray. Or maybe that's just something I stole from an upcoming movie synopsis. Guess you'll never know, unless you're big into synopses. Either way, congratulations to our Mr. Woodcock winners from last week's contest listed below. Being so congratulatory all the time is boring, though, so I'd like to call out last week's worst caption as well: "These captions are never funny." Not only was it totally non-constructive, but the captioner didn't even use double quotes around it (I added for effect).

1. "Have you heard of The Shins? Listen to this song, it'll change your life." -- Philip G.

2. "Jock itch. You?" -- Todd G.

3. "So... still got that Bull Durham/Nuts About Sports thing going on or am I twenty years too late?" -- Matthew K.

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This week we've got a photo featuring your favorite actress (no matter what you say), Amanda Bynes, in your new favorite sorority comedy (ditto) Sydney White. Not your cup of tea? Than have some fun with it, be funny, and prove last week's worst caption winner wrong. Our three favorite caption writers will win Amanda Bynes-autographed posters and a mini mirror (to look at yourself in front of your new autographed poster, obviously). Good luck!

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

Once upon a time, there was a film called Sydney White and the Seven Dorks, which was a snappy little title that told folks immediately pretty much what the film was about: a modern-day retelling of the Snow White story (kinda like that Hilary Duff Cinderella film a couple years ago) with a dork element. You can practically hear the pitch meeting, can't you? "See, it's a modern Snow White, plus kind of a Revenge of the Nerds remake ... with a cute girl in the lead ... and it will take advantage of the currently popular 'dork' factor, too!" Sure, you can see why the idea got the greenlight, can't you? It has potential, if you have solid writing and just the right twist -- think more Clueless, and less -- way less -- of Duff's A Cinderella Story. Aim for smart instead of sappy, subtle and maybe a wee bit subversive. Unfortunately, that's not the movie director Joe Nussbaum made, so instead what we end up with is a mildly appealing teen comedy that could have been a lot better.

The film we end up with is Sydney White -- for some reason the studio decided to take off the "and the Seven Dorks" bit, a mistake, in my opinion, because the film's title is now so generic that a lot of people at the screening I attended were wondering before it started just what this movie was supposed to be about. By the end of the film, if you haven't figured out that the film is supposed to be a remake of a fairy tale, the film has walloped you about the head and shoulders with that point so frequently you'd have to be willfully not paying attention to miss it.

No huge surprises in last weekend's box office returns. Jodie Foster's new thriller took the lead with slithery CGI serpents bringing up the rear at number five. Superbad is definitely getting some McLovin' after being in the top five for five weeks now. Here are the numbers from last weekend:

The Brave One: $13.4 million
3:10 to Yuma: $8.9 million
Mr. Woodcock: $8.7 million
Superbad: $5.1 million
Dragon Wars: $5 million

This weekend we've got three new releases, plus two more flicks going into wider release. Check it out:

Good Luck Chuck
What's It All About: Dane Cook plays a man cursed. Every woman he has ever slept with has found true love with the next person they meet after dumping him. Now that he's in love with a woman played by Jessica Alba he has to find a way to break the curse.
Why It Might Do Well: Judging from the trailer, Ms. Alba spends at least part of the film in her underwear. Not a bad thing.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The plot synopsis and all the pratfalls in the trailer remind me way too much of Three's Company.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $10 million

Resident Evil: Extinction
What's It All About: Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, kicking zombie butt in the Nevada desert and taking on the evil Umbrella Corporation in this third installment of the video game-based franchise.
Why It Might Do Well: Halloween's success at the box office showed that people are up for a good scare, and for my money I'll take a zombie flick over a slasher movie any day of the week. I'm even willing to overlook my lukewarm feelings about Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The list of crappy movies based on video games is a long and sad one.
Number of Theaters: 2,700
Prediction: $22 million

Sydney White
What's It All About: Amanda Bynes stars in this modern take on Snow White, playing a college student who after being rejected by the sorority she hoped to join is taken in by seven dorks.
Why It Might Do Well: Bynes has a great sense of comedic timing. If you thought The Amanda Show was just for kids, you might be surprised at how intelligent the humor was.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's basically a teen comedy, and Superbad is a tough act to follow.
Number of Theaters: 1,900
Prediction: $7 million

And, although these next two opened last weekend, they're both spreading out into a greater number of theaters:

Across the Universe
What's It All About: A musical love story that takes place in the turbulent 1960s set to the music of The Beatles.
Why It MIght Do Well: It looks downright trippy, and it's got Beatles tunes. What's not to love?
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's not a huge release so this won't make the top five.
Number of Theaters: 400
Prediction: $2.5 million

Eastern Promises
What's It All About: David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen, the director and star of A History of Violence, re-team for this thriller. Naomi Watts plays a London midwife who comes into possession of a diary that could be dangerous for Russian mobsters.
Why It MIght Do Well: After their last collaboration, I'm dying to see what Mortensen and Cronenberg come up with.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Oh, don't be so negative.
Number of Theaters: 1,325
Prediction: $8 million


Here's how I'm betting things will go this coming weekend:
1. Resident Evil: Extinction
2. Good Luck Chuck
3. The Brave One
4. Eastern Promises
5. Sydney White

And here's how our little competition went last week:
1. Josh: 13
2. Matt: 11
2. Anna07: 11
2. Porcalina: 11
3. Ness265: 9
3. drklrdbill: 9
4. Lee: 8
4. Max: 8
4. Brad: 8
5. Ray: 7
6. peter: 6
7. ABIRD0006: 4
7. MikeJM79: 4

Here's how the competition works:
Please post your prediction in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

Following a long tradition of movie titles based on songs, the previously named House Bunny is now called I Know What Boys Like. And yeah, it's a good bet we'll be hearing the hit tune by The Waitresses in it, probably during the opening credits. Maybe a second time, too. Personally, I prefer for studios to exclusively attach song titles to biopics, but this time I find the new name so much better than the old, that I don't mind. Anyway, the comedy, starring Anna Faris as a former Playboy Bunny, has begun filming in Los Angeles. Recently some hot photos of Faris from the set hit the web, and before that we heard about the rest of the cast, which includes children to the stars Colin Hanks and Rumer Wilson Willis -- get Dakota Johnson and we've got "Spawn of the Bonfire of the Vanities" here -- and real-life Bunnies Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.

Written by Legally Blonde scribes Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, I Know What Boys Like follows Faris' ex-Bunny as she gets kicked out of the Playboy Mansion and is taken in by a Sorority comprised of "socially clueless" girls who are about to lose their housing. Guessing by the new title, Faris' character will teach these young women what boys like, how to attract them and other valuable bits of information for females with only a concern for acquiring a husband. But I'm sure the girls also help their new sexy sister learn about more practical things, which don't involve looking like a Playmate. Since the movie has just begun production, it should be at least a year before it hits theaters, giving us plenty of time to forget the similar story of Sydney White, the Amanda Bynes vehicle opening in a few weeks. Of course, the upcoming college comedy is about a hot girl living in a Frat House full of dorks, after she's kicked out of a Sorority, so I guess they aren't too similar.

I see in my future another guilty pleasure starring Amanda Bynes (do I consider her a celebrity crush if all I want to do is squeeze her cheeks like an annoying relative?). Myspace has the trailer up for the young actress' latest, which is titled Sydney White (formerly Sydney White and the Seven Dorks), and I can't deny that I think I'll enjoy it. A teen college comedy apparently loosely adapted from the Snow White story, it is basically the same direction Bynes went in with last year's Shakespeare remake She's the Man. And yes, I kinda liked that one. This time around she doesn't have to pretend to be a boy, but she does become one of the boys -- or dorks -- when she befriends a house full of losers (including Freaks and Geeks' Samm Levine). The movie's equivalent of the evil queen is Sara Paxton, pretty much recycling her role from Sleepover (both that film and this were directed by Joe Nussbaum) as a prissy sorority diva who makes enemies with Byne's S. White. In the trailer, she's shown as the butt of a cheap but great gag involving a nod to the "Heigh-Ho" song from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

As for the movie's Prince, a guy appropriately named Tyler Prince, the role belongs to Matt Long, who was last seen as a young Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider. He doesn't get much screen time in the trailer, which concentrates more on the social awkwardness of the dorks (some of which are very un-dwarf-like in height). Speaking of the dorks, they may be my only issue with the otherwise innocent, cute little movie. I'll just never buy the idea that geeks are really that amazed to see a girl's underwear. I didn't believe it 20 years ago in Sixteen Candles and I don't believe it now. Real dorks may be socially awkward, sure, but they aren't morons. After seeing modern dorks done right in Knocked Up, I don't know if I could accept them as portrayed in Sydney White. But I do like watching Bynes' facial comedy, so there's still a chance I'm interested. Now that the actress has received more exposure recently via Hairspray, a lot more people may be interested, too.