NOW PLAYING: THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, THE CALL, & UPSIDE DOWN.

Hey cinemagoers! Yours truly hasn't seen a movie on the big screen in a few weeks because cash is tight, but that won't stop me blogging about all the new stuff hitting theaters! This weekend you can check out Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as a pair of washed-up magicians who have to combat the street-magic of Jim Carrey in order to reignite their careers, or you could watch Halle Berry get someone killed thanks to a 911 callback, which haunts her until she can finally avenge the victim and bring the killer to justice, OR you could be lucky enough to catch a limited theatrical release for UPSIDE DOWN which is a sci-fi, fantasy, romance! Watch some trailers below and make up your mind on what you'll catch before the weekend is through. First up is THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE:


It's probably terrible, but I just can't help but want to check out this new comedy. Carell and Buscemi look like a low rent version of Sigfried and Roy, and Alan Arkin knocks it out of the park as a washed up old school magician. Also, Olivia Wilde is never hard on the eyes, and Jim Carrey seems to be giving a funny and rather subdued performance. It's cliched as all hell, but dammit, I want to see it! (Don't judge me!)


I've heard a few good things about this one, but it looks so damned cliched (even more so than BURT WONDERSTONE), and anything produced by WWE Films makes me leery. (Though I have to admit that SEE NO EVIL and THE MARINE were pretty decent.) Methinks it'll probably be a decent thriller, but will probably fall apart towards the end, when it leads to a one-on-one battle between Halle Berry and the film's villain. I'm skipping it for now but may give it a rental down the road.


Aside from the icky love aspect of it, UPSIDE DOWN looks interesting. Not sure if it's supposed to be Earth or an Earth-like planet, but regardless, there are two mirror worlds with the lower one being normal (though destitute) and the upper one being upside down (and wealthy) and looking down upon it's neighbor. (SYMBOLISM!) No one from below is allowed to communicate with anyone above, but naturally two kids from the opposite landscapes find each other upon a mountain peak and form a bond, that eventually turns into an all out romantical yearning for one another.

Naturally this is frowned upon so lover boy must escape from authorities and somehow find a way to spend his life with Kirstin Dunst, or die trying. This is something that appeals to me on a visual level, but will also keep my fiancee's interest because there's that whole romantic angle. It's not playing anywhere around here, so I'll be waiting for the eventual DVD release to scope it out.

Also, there's a new film from Goro Miyazaki (son of the famous Hayao Miyazaki) called FROM UP ON POPPY HILL in select theaters this weekend. Just thought I'd throw that out there in case you were looking for something good and different.