“It’s MySpace Tom. It’s not actually MySpace Tom.”

Hellboy II, Journey to the Center of the Earth, August on the BPP. [Listen]

Director: Austin Chick
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Adam Scott, Naomie Harris
Rating: R
Grade: 3 globes

The August in “August” isn’t just any month — it’s the month just before September, 2001. Hitting that point hard and fast, the film opens with footage of that most unfortunate of Presidential inaugurations, with the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist swearing in the man who just a year earlier was still being called George Bush Jr. by confused campaign volunteers. We then cut to news footage of the Nicole Kidman-Tom Cruise divorce. Ah, the good old days. (more…)

Director: Eric Brevig
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem
Rating: PG
Grade: 3 globes

“Hey, you know that really old Jules Verne novel? Let’s make it into a kids’ movie … with Brendan Fraser … in 3-D!” When you start with such a mediocre idea, you set the bar low. That “Journey to the Center of the Earth” clears said bar isn’t cause for celebration, but it should relieve parents desperate for an alternative to a third viewing of “Wall-E.” (He’s cute, but he’s not that damn cute.) (more…)

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor
Rating: PG-13
Grade: 3 globes

To use a technical term, Guillermo Del Toro is “hot” right now. His “Pan’s Labyrinth” achieved the impossible for a foreign language film, winning critical claim and broad audience approval (and no doubt helped him get tapped as director to the two upcoming “Lord of the Rings” prequels). While a sequel to his 2004 “Hellboy” likely didn’t look like a sure thing, there are worse directors to take a chance on right now than Del Toro. (more…)

“The biggest one is Hancock … ”
“Lots of puns there!”

Talking The Wackness, Gonzo: The Life and Times of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and, yes, Hancock on the BPP. [Listen]

Director: Jonathan Levine
Cast: Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby
Rating: R
Grade: 4 globes

Most kids don’t talk like Juno MacGuff. They struggle constantly to find the right words and often fail. They can be as funny as any adult, as quick-witted, but they’re no more likely to wield their emoticon-informed slang like Kate Hepburn on Ritalin than their elders are — no matter what Diablo Cody would have you believe. (more…)