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Paranormal Activity 2 Director: Tod Williams Writers: Oren Peli (characters), Michael R. Perry (screenplay) Stars: Katie Featherston MPAA Rating: Rated R for some language and brief violent material. Synopsis: A family sets up security cameras around their house believing they have been the victim of several break-ins, only to discover that the cause of their problems is actually supernatural.

Lars’ take: Studios love movies like this because they have relatively no budget and they end up being a great success. And in this particular genre, having a lower budget will help you because it makes it more real to see a shitty hand-held video camera taping really scary stuff. So if this sticks to it’s grassroots, I think it will be a solid scary movie.

Joel’s take: So they made a little indie movie and it blew up and made a ton of money. What I give them credit for with the sequel is that, unlike something like the Blair Witch series, they are staying true to their low tech roots and trying to give the film the same feel as the original. Still, it will be tough to recapture that same magic a second time around. Not that it matters though, this movie will make it’s entire budget back on opening night.

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Hereafter Director: Clint Eastwood Writer: Peter Morgan Stars: Matt Damon, Cécile De France, Bryce Dallas Howard MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images, and for brief strong language. Synopsis: The movie focuses on three intersecting stories dealing with death and loss.

Lars’ take: When you see a trailer for a movie and they reveal almost none of the plot, chances are they are doing that to save all the good stuff so that when you go see it, you can see it in context. With Clint Eastwood, who has proven again and again that he is a magician behind the camera, directing and Matt Damon in front of the camera, it’s going to be good. Then there’s also Cécile De France, who you could just put her picture in the bottom corner of the screen and I would be happy. It looks really interesting and I’m really excited about it.

Joel’s take: I’m definitely finding myself wondering what this movie is all about, but with Clint Eastwood directing and Matt Damon starring in it, does it really matter? They are two of the best in the business right now. so regardless of the plot, you know you are in good hands.

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Inhale (limited release) Director: Baltasar Kormákur Writers: Walter A. Doty III and John Claflin (screenplay), Christian Escario (story) Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Diane Kruger, Sam Shepard MPAA Rating: Unrated Synopsis: A desperate father travels to Mexico in search of a transplant for his daughter, but the lengths he has to go to to save her life may be more than his conscience can bare.

Lars’ take: It seems like they’ve taken an all star list of character actors that play the same character in every movie they’re in. While I enjoy that, it seems like this is going to be predictable, not only with the story but with the corners these characters are going to turn. I don’t hold out a lot of hope for this one, but I think it will be entertaining enough to see.

Joel’s take: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – don’t go to Mexico to harvest organs. It might seem like a good idea at the time, but it’s not going to turn out well. Also, I don’t like Dermot Mulroney. I’m just going to go ahead and say it. I can’t imagine watching a movie where I’m supposed to sympathize with his character for two hours. It just doesn’t work for me.

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Jackass 3D Director: Jeff Tremaine Writer: Preston Lacy Stars: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera MPAA Rating: Rated R for male nudity, extremely crude and dangerous stunts throughout, and for language. Synopsis: All of the crazy hijinks and disgusting stunts you’ve come to expect from the Jackass crew, but in 3D this time.

Lars’ take: It’s a Jackass movie. You’re going to laugh at it. It’s hysterical. They act like morons and they get hurt a lot. But why 3D? The other movies are nothing but a bunch of penises and poop, so why 3D? I’d rather not see that in 3D. I actually walk through my daily life trying to avoid that in 3D.

Joel’s take: I hate 3D. I think it is a cheap gimmick. But that’s actually what makes the use of 3D in this film perfect. It adds a new dynamic to the Jackass stunts and from what I’ve heard the crew they hired to film in 3D knows their stuff. You know what you are getting with this film and it won’t disappoint, even if the combination of the 3D glasses and the onscreen gross out moments might have you feeling nauseous by the end of the film.

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Red Director: Robert Schwentke Writers: Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (screenplay), Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner (graphic novel) Stars: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Ernest Borgnine MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language. Synopsis: A former black-ops operative reassembles his aged team in order to thwart the high tech assassin who is trying to kill him.

Lars’ take: It’s everything a movie should be. What else can I say? Stop reading this and go see the movie. It’s going to be awesome.

Joel’s take: I don’t think it’s possible to make me more excited for a movie. This is the perfect combination – a cast I love acting in a film with a great action movie premise. It looks awesome and funny and weird and quirky. I really have high hopes for it.

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Life As We Know It Director: Greg Berlanti Writers: Ian Deitchman, Kristin Rusk Robinson Stars: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual material, language and some drug content. Synopsis: An orphaned child is used as a plot device to force Heigl’s character and Duhamel’s character to spend time together.

Lars’ take: Aww, Jesus Christ. I bet they get together at the end. What a piece of crap. Don’t go see this thing.

Joel’s take: The continued success of Katerine Heigl baffles me. By all accounts, Heigl is horrible to work with and she throws everyone around her under the bus to boost her own reputation. On top of that, she plays the same character in these cookie-cutter romantic comedies that just feel like they were made on autopilot. And yet, people will go see this and it will make money. Baffling.

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My Soul to Take Director: Wes Craven Writer: Wes Craven Stars: Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Denzel Whitaker MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, and pervasive language including sexual references. Synopsis: Sixteen years after he was sentenced to death, a serial killer returns to murder a group of teenagers who were born on the day he was put to rest.

Lars’ take: This is the season. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, scary movies will continue to come out so teens can go to see them and sit in the back row and giggle and make out with each other. None of them are really worth a damn, but Wes Craven can still put out a decent horror flick. It will be good for what it is.

Joel’s take: He kills people who were born on the same day he was killed? That’s kind of a dick move. That’s not even taking revenge on those who wronged you, it’s just exploiting a strange coincidence. But it’s Wes Craven, it’s in 3D (which, as much as I loathe 3D, this is exactly the kind of movie that should be using the technology) and it looks like a decent popcorn movie. There are worse movies to feel your date up to this weekend than this one.

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Secretariat Director: Randall Wallace Writers: Mike Rich, William Nack (book) Stars: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Dylan Walsh, Fred Dalton Thompson MPAA Rating: Rated PG for brief mild language. Synopsis: It’s the story of Secretariat, the 1973 horse racing Triple Crown winner.

Lars’ take: They made Seabiscuit, so of course this was going to happen. I’m sure it will be quite uplifting and the characters will be rich and have their troubles, but in the end, we all know what happens.

Joel’s take: If you liked Seabiscuit, you will like Secretariat … because it’s the exact same movie.

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The Social Network Director: David Fincher Writers: Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (book) Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language. Synopsis: The story centers around Mark Zuckerberg’s days at Harvard when he created the incredibly popular social networking site Facebook and the allegations that soon began to surface that Zuckerberg stole the idea for the site from his classmates.

Lars’ take: They couldn’t put enough money into the project to make me want to go see it. It could be a perfectly good, entertaining movie, but I don’t care about the subject matter. I don’t want to see a bratty college kid and his rich friends make a billion dollars.

Joel’s take: I’m a huge fan of David Fincher and I think Aaron Sorkin is a fantastic writer. Having the two of them collaborate on a film is very exciting to me, but I can’t say I’m overly excited for a movie about the Facebook guy. Because of the talent level of the people involved, I’m sure it’s a good film but I find myself wishing they had collaborated on a different story instead.

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Let Me In Director: Matt Reeves Writers: Matt Reeves (screenplay), John Ajvide Lindqvist (screenplay and novel Låt den rätte komma in) Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Cara Buono, Elias Koteas MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, language and a brief sexual situation. Synopsis: An unpopular 12-year-old boy befriends the girl who moves in next door to him, who he soon discovers is a vampire.

Lars’ take: If you are standing at the ticket booth about to purchase a ticket for Let Me In, turn around and go get a copy of Let The Right One In, the original Swedish version of this great story. Let Me In is going to be watered down for an American audience. It was made exactly how it should have been made the first time. Save your money.

Joel’s take: It won’t be better than the original, so the best case scenario for this movie is that it’s a shot for shot remake of Let The Right One In. And the last time someone tried a shot for shot remake of a great film, we ended up with the Vince Vaughn/Anne Heche version of Psycho. The most likely outcome is that they have completely changed and Americanized the film and that everything that made it unique and memorable in the first place has been edited out to appeal to a wider audience. That being said, it’s nice to see Elias Koteas is still getting work.

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Case 39 Director: Christian Alvart Writer: Ray Wright Stars: Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence and terror including disturbing images. Synopsis: A scrunchy-faced social worker brings a 10-year-old girl into her home to protect her, but soon discovers that supernatural forces threaten anyone who gets close to the girl.

Lars’ take: This actually looks like it could be a decent supernatural/suspense thriller. Unfortunately, they showed you the whole movie in the trailer. So all the suspense and thrills are gone. It’s also really reminiscent of The Ring – a little girl brings harm to everyone around her unbeknownst to her.

Joel’s take: Can we stop making horror movies about creepy kids? It’s so overdone these days. I never liked kids much to begin with and the abundance of creepy and evil kids in horror movies really isn’t doing anything to help all that. On top of that, there are definitely a lot of similarities between this film and The Ring, both in the plot and the overall look and feel of the movie.

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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Director: Oliver Stone Writers: Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff (written by); Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone (characters) Stars: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic elements. Synopsis: Gordon Gekko and Co. return to confront our nation’s current economic crisis and to find out who was responsible for the death of a young trader’s mentor.

Lars’ take: Why make a sequel to a movie that didn’t need to be made in the first place? For some reason, Oliver Stone just feels like he needs to make a movie. How can you expand any more on this boring story? None of it matters. It seems like a waste of time.

Joel’s take: Absolutely nothing about this movie appeals to me. It’s as if they are trying to make a movie I would hate. Oliver Stone is awful these days, Shia LaBeouf is annoying and it’s a pointless sequel to a film I’m not really fond of in the first place.

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You Again Director: Andy Fickman Writer: Moe Jelline Stars: Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis MPAA Rating: Rated PG for brief mild language and rude behavior. Synopsis: Three generations of ladies with high school baggage must confront their rivals as a wedding brings them all face to face once again.

Lars’ take: If you take two good actresses who are also good looking for their age and you put them in a movie and it still looks like a piece of crap, then it’s going to be a piece of crap.

Joel’s take: Betty White can’t save everything. I know there is a Betty White resurgence going on right now, but you can’t just put her in your movie and expect it to be good. The previews for this don’t even look funny and they are supposed to have the best parts in them. And, as a side note: what the hell happened to Kristen Bell’s career?

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Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole Director: Zack Snyder Writers: John Orloff and Emil Stern (screenplay), Kathryn Lasky (Guardians of Ga’Hoole novels) Stars: Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Emily Barclay MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some sequences of scary action. Synopsis: When a young barn owl is recruited by a military training program that turns young owls into soldiers, he and his new pals escape to join a revolution against the military.

Lars’ take: I’ve got nothing.

Joel’s take: The owls look cool. That’s all I’ve got.

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