Movie Tarts: March 2011

The start of 2011 was pretty weak for movies, but it is getting better.  March has some good movies that, I think, could have done well during the summer movie craze.  It is refreshing to have some decent movies during these cold, winter months.

My most anticipated movie of March 2001 is:  The Adjustment Bureau (03/04) - This looks really good.  Matt Damon and Emily Blunt mesh well together and hopefully the story meshing well together in this movie. 



My second most anticipated movie of March 2011 is:  Cracks (03/18) - This movie looks like a quality psychological thrill.  I do not know much about it besides what the trailer shows, but the trailer does make me very excited about the movie.  I recommend watching it.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER

Rango (03/04) - Johnny Depp as a desert lizard?  Why not??  As the years and movies go by, it becomes more and more apparent that Johnny Depp can do no wrong.  Rango seems like a cute animated story that will appeal to children and adults at the same like.  Like Pixar movies.  If nothing else, the visual effects look amazing.  That alone would get me to the theaters.



Battle: Los Angeles (03/11) - It begins - The Year of the Alien.  It was ninjas for while, and then it was pirates.  Now it is aliens.  Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking, The Dark Knight) stars in an action/thriller about aliens attacking Los Angeles.  The trailer gives it a feel of a Deep Impact meets Cloverfield (minus the jarring cinematography).  I'm not sure how good this will end up being.



Jane Eyre (03/11) -I'm not sure what this movie is about.  Jane Austin meets Phantom of the Opera (minus the music) meets Atonement?  Maybe?



Paul (03/18) - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Seth Rogen.  I hope this mixes well.  It looks a little sillier than most of Simon Pegg's movies, but it might work.



Win Win (03/18) - I would dismiss this feel-good movie if it didn't have the great Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan (Holly from The Office). 



Limitless (03/18) - Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro?  A movie about a guy with ultra-human abilities? I'm in. 



Peep World (03/25) - The cast of this movie is the best of any this month.  Michael Hall (Dexter), Sarah Silverman (lots of stuff), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation), and Rainn Wilson (The Office and My Super Ex-Girlfriend) are a family with a book out about them.  And they don't like it.



Movies I'm NOT excited to see:


The Lincoln Lawyer (03/18) - Matthew McConaughey ruins every movie he's in.

Sucker Punch (03/25) - From the cover, Sucker Punch seems to have everything a guy would want in a movie, but I am not really excited to see it.  It is just too much.  It looks like it tries too hard.  I might be wrong (and I hope I am), but unless this movie brings a great story to the screen, I will not be excited.

Red Riding Hood (03/11) - Amanda Seyfriend has yet to be in a movie that's impressed me, (Mean Girls was funny, but that's her best movie) and I do not think Red Riding Hood will be any different.  Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke does another melo-dramatic, werewolf fantasy movie.  At first the trailer seemed okay, but when I heard Amanda Seyfriend say "Oh what big eyes you have," I almost threw up.  I'm about 80% sure this movie is going to suck.

Business Meeting with Rainn Wilson

A semi-funny SNL Digital Short with host Rainn Wilson from The Office and musical guest The Arcade Fire.

Galaxy Quest Gems

While doing a little movie research for another post I'm working on, I discovered something I thought was interesting and at least a little bit cool.

Do you remember the movie Galaxy Quest starring Tim Allen? It wasn't great but it had some pretty decent actors in it. My favorite actor in the movie was Rainn Wilson, most known as Dwight Schrute from the TV series The Office. He plays the role of Lahnk, one of the weird alien foursome. Another notable actor from that awkward foursome is Jed Rees. I know that name probably doesn't ring a bell; it didn't when I read it. But his face is one of those faces. I remembered it from somewhere, and after a couple minutes of thinking, I remembered. He is Glen from The Ringer starring Johnny Knoxville and Brian Cox. The Ringer was a movie worth seeing twice in your life, maybe. The only reason I remember it is because my cousin Jeremy is obsessed with it; and consequently, I've seen it over the twice-a-life limit.
Those were the first two actors I noticed, but then I saw more really good actors. A lot more. Here are the rest of the crop:

• Alan Rickman- Snape in the Harry Potter movie series, Love Actually, Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber on Fleet Street, and Dogma.

• Tony Shalhoub- Most popular recently for starring in the TV show "Monk." Also known for 1408, the voice of Luigi in Cars, Men in Black 1 and 2, and Spy Kids 1 and 2.

• Sam Rockwell- Assassination of Jesse James, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Matchstick Men, and he played the head thug in the 1990 original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

• Missi Pyle- To me, she seemed to be in every third movie I saw, but I don't think I'd ever heard her name before. She's in the Johnny Depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dodgeball, Along Came Polly and Big Fish. But you'll probably notice her more on TV since she has made appearances on Mad About You, The Drew Carey Show, Friends, Ally McBeal, Fraiser, Two and a Half Men, Heroes, Boston Legal, The Sarah Silverman Program, and My Name is Earl. whew!
• Justin Long- This is the guy from those PC vs. Mac commercials, but he is in so many other things, too. He's one of my favorite actors. You might know him from movies such as Live Free Die Hard, Idiocracy, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Accepted, The Break-Up, Herbie Fully Loaded, Dodgeball, Jeepers Creepers (and II), and Waiting.

• Corbin Bleu- The High School Musical sidekick. Besides being in the two HSM movies and the third one coming soon, Corbin can only claim a small role in Mystery Men.

• J. P. Manoux- I'd never heard of him either, until I saw what he'd been involved in, and then I recognized him. You might know him by his roles in Knocked Up as Dr. Angelo, the voice of Randall on Monsters, Inc., the voice of Scrappy Rex on Scooby-Doo, the voice of Kuzco on Emperor's New Groove, Meet the Fockers, The Day After Tomorrow, Eurotrip, and Malibu's Most Wanted. He is similar to Missi with his TV appearances, too. He's been in ER, Monk, Crossing Jordan, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Smallville, Reno 911, Charmed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Will and Grace, King of Queens, Angel, The Drew Carey Show, Just Shoot Me, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Goosebumps.
  
• Matt Winston- I remember him from the annoying MC guy on Little Miss Sunshine, and the insurance agent guy from I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. He was also in Zodiac, Kicking and Screaming, About Schmidt, Artificial Intelligence, and a small part in Fight Club. Matt is also a TV regular with appearances in JAG, That 70s Show, CSI, Monk, Scrubs, Reno 911, Medium, Bones, Friends and Grey's Anatomy.
  
• Isaac C. Singleton, Jr.- I only know him from two small roles: the US Marshall that tasers Adam Sandler on Anger Management and his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: curse of the Black Pearl.
  

This post started off as a little interesting discovery, but it turned into an effing web of film and TV relations. The point is: Galaxy Quest sucked, but had a lot of good actors that are making names for themselves currently.

My New Favorite Actress - Jenna Fischer

So someone asked me who I thought was the hottest actress right now, and I had a hard time coming up with an answer. Most people say Jessica Alba, or Jessica Simpson, or Kate Hudson, or Paris Hilton, but I think all those girls are stupid. I have a hard time thinking a girl is attractive when I can't get over how incredibly dumb they are. (I don't think Kate Hudson is that dumb; I kinda like her.)

This week I'm showcasing one of my all-time favorite actresses, Jenna Fischer; or should I say, Pam? Jenna is one of the main characters of the hit show The Office starring Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, B. J. Novak and Rainn Wilson. This is my most favorite TV show ever I think, and Pam is a big part of that.

Jenna grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Truman State University in Missouri. She made her acting debut with the film 1998 Born Champion. From there, Jenna wrote and co-directed Lollilove, a mock-documentary that I hear is surprisingly hilarious. It is near the top of my list of movies I need to see. Lollilove was co-directed with her now-separated husband James Gunn. He is most known for his writing of Slither, Dawn of the Dead, Scooby-Doo 1 and 2, and The Specials. In 2007 Jenna was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her cute role of Pam in The Office.


Here are some other interesting facts I found out about Jenna:

• Took her first acting class with Sean Gunn (who stars as Kirk on WB's "Gilmore Girls" (2000) at the age of six in St. Louis, Missouri. The class was taught by her mother, Anne Fischer. Jenna and Sean stayed in touch over the years and in October 2000 she married his brother, writer/director James Gunn.
• #37 in People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful, 2006 issue.
• Auditioned for the role of Sydney Bristow in "Alias" (2001), but was never called back. She later said, "They said they liked my acting but I wasn't hot enough.
• Worked as a receptionist in various offices. Types 85 WPM with 90% accuracy.
• Fractured her back in four places after falling down a set of stairs at the NYC bar, Baddakan, on May 15, 2007.

She is known for her roles in The Office, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Blades of Glory, Slither, The Brothers Solomon, and the June release of The Promotion starring Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly.