Zack and Miri are best friends. They'd do anything for each other, even bang one another on film for a paying masturbating public. That's the premise for the latest from the foul and twisted mind of Kevin Smith (Mallrats, Clerks, Dogma). Zack and Miri Make a Porno follows the story of two cohabiting, down on their luck roommates, who, in a bind, decide making a porno film is the easiest way to snag some cash and solve all of their problems. Sounds pretty funny, basic, and simple, but underneath all the controversy, titties, and drooping ball sacks is a lovingly crafted mature piece of work from our independent sultan of filth, Kevin Smith.

Smith seems to have finally grabbed hold of a full cast of actors that best utilize the kinds of scripts he writes. That's not to say I'm not an Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, or Jason Lee fan. I am. But the fit of Seth Rogen in a Kevin Smith film is so natural that it's kind of weird. Smith seems to have finally found that bridge he has been so desperately searching for: the bridge to financial success. His films always seem to cater to a very specific audience, and, with Zack and Miri, he seems to be readying himself to crossover. He has fused the sentimentality of Jersey Girl with the vulgarity of Clerks, and it works like a charm. His direction has never been anything to write home about visually, but he really pulls his ensemble together. Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, and longtime cohort Jason Mewes all deliver the funny. As you know we at the Movie Press have a soft spot for Craig Ferguson, and I'd say he steals the entire show if it weren't for how funny Mewes is, or truly legendary turns from the Man of Steel, Brandon Routh and from Justin Long as a gay porn star at Zack and Miri's high school reunion.

It's difficult to review without ruining, so I'll only warn those who are easily offended. (And if you are, chances are you aren't reading this site). This film contains some filthy and foul moments. You will see people get naked, fornicate, and other things that actually made me cover my mouth and slightly avert my eyes. The humor is disgusting, and the heart is twice as big to compensate. There's a difference between fucking and making love, and Kevin Smith clearly loved making this thing.

Review by: Greg MacLennan

Charlie Kaufman is an evil, mad genius. During his time as a screenwriter, he has crafted some of the most wacky and original story ideas and some of the most out there yet still spectacularly sympathetic characters of our time. He's taught us what it would be like to climb inside of John Malkovich, how to adapt the un-adaptable, and why we should cherish each and every memory with a loved one.

With Synecdoche, New York, Kaufman has had the reigns let loose as he takes to the directors chair for the first time with his own material, and the results couldn't be much more...shall we say...Kaufman-esque.

The story kicks off with Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) on a successful run directing the stage version of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Upon his completion of that, he is awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant, and sets out to take on a theatre project so ambitious, it will take him the rest of his life to complete. Caden's wife leaves to pursue her painting career in Europe with their daughter and never returns.  Undeterred, Caden continues on his quest, finds a performance warehouse, and begins recreating a mock up of the city around him within the space, and begins to cast actors in the roles of regular everyday people, including one as himself. Things frequently spiral out of control, and the viewers grip on reality is threatened from the get go.

Synecdoche was a script Kaufman took two years to write, and what he has thrown up on the screen looks like an ambitious piece of overworked genius. Kaufman introduces so many ideas, themes, and feelings to the audience without ever really elaborating or exploring any of them. He seems to have a lot to say about life, art, death, relationships, illness, anonymity, but seems to have overstretched himself with this picture. He has crafted some interesting characters and storylines, and so many scenes are wonderful on their own. Unfortunately, the synergy of his direction and screenwriting never really add up to anything, and many times, it seems like Kaufman is being absurd just for the sake of being absurd. This is the kind of film you want to love, but really end up only loving the conversations trying to analyze the film with friends. It's as though Charlie Kaufman made a movie for Charlie Kaufman in a language only he understands. Kaufman is a master of method in his madness, but with this film it appears as though the madness has won out.  It's overly convoluted and becomes so difficult to follow, the audiences is taken aback and left not caring.

But there is so much to love in this film despite it's story. Kaufman has written some excellent roles and cast phenomenal actors in their shoes. Catherine Keener, Diane Weist, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Emily Watson all bring wonderful layers to the story, while Phillip Seymour Hoffman holds the weight of the picture around him to keep us interested in Caden until  til the bitter end.  Tom Noonan as Sammy, playing Caden, does such a magnificent job with his character, and it is easily the best performance of this Robocop 2 alum's career.  Jon Brion has again crafted another download-worthy score with some great songs with lyrics written by Charlie Kaufman. The set design and cinematography will humble you with how impressive they are, but, unfortunately in the end, audiences will be left wondering what this film would look like had it been directed by its intended director, Spike Jonze. Kaufman works with directors who understand his stuff, and they then create these amazing movies that are accessible. Kaufman's directors seem to translate his material--or censor parts of Kaufman--in order to create a successful movie, and he certainly lacked this accessible translation in his own direction.

While this film certainly isn't a waste of your time, Synecdoche, New York is a town you will not hurriedly revisit. It's a sprawling piece of ambitious filmmaking, and that alone is difficult to dismiss as a failure, but unfortunately Kaufman has pulled this film too much from his head and not enough from his heart.

Review by: Greg MacLennan

The U.S. is a melting pot of different cultures, and in modern times, people hardly bat an eye at couples who mix these cultures and ethnicities, but what if you had a problem with your own culture? And, better yet, what if you had multiple cultures and didn't know exactly where you belong? This is the problem with Ray Rehem (Zachary Levi from NBC's Chuck), who must come to terms with his Pakistani dad and his white mom while finding his place in the world in the film Shades of Ray.

While this film has similar themes as The Namesake, which deals with an Indian American son trying to relate with his dad and ignore his heritage by assimilating into the white world, Shades of Ray takes on these themes with a large dose of humor.

The film centers on the day when Ray's dad shows up on his steps after Ray's mom kicks him out. His dad immediately ignores the fact that Ray isn't the traditional Pakistani son (he's an actor/bartender, a fact he hides from his dad) and tries to set him up with a half-Pakistani girl, even though Ray has proposed to his white bread girlfriend who has left on a vacay with her super white fam without giving Ray an answer. Ray begins to question his feelings for his lady and the years he has ignored his culture when he begins to fall for his fellow half-Pakistani-half-white friend.

Greg and I walked into this film with very low expectations (except I love Chuck and knew of Levi's winning charm and comedy chops), and we walked away with a belly full of laughs. The film isn't incredibly funny the whole way through, but it is charming with a relatively well-regonized cast of Kathy Baker, Brian George, Bonnie Sommerville, and Mama Petrelli from Heroes.

The film works because of Levi, who shines, even through his fake tan. And his chemistry with both his parents is touching. Although he works well with his comedic buddy (Fran Kanz), he downplays the too-big jokes that Kanz tries to drive home so blatantly and desperately. And, though, the plot is a smidgeon cliche and feels incredibly autobiographical, it plays with tough themes as race, religion, culture, acting, and love with a touch of humor and lots of heart. There are no shades of gray here, only Shades of Ray.

(check out the trailer below!)

Review by: Darcie Duttweiler

With their blond, perky marriage, Dax (Cy Carter) and Olive (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) are the picture of happiness. They have dinner parties, they live in a cute house, but oh, wait? What's that? That would be the looming of conflict.

In A Quiet Little Marriage, Dax and Olive battle over the decision to have a baby. Dax, who had an implied fucked up childhood, puts his foot down on the thought of bringing a baby into this cruel world and expects Olive to do the same. What ensues is a film of a couple who try to see who can out passive aggressive each other. Along for the ride are their complicated confidants, Dax's troubled drug-addict brother (Jimmi Simpson) and Olive's Alzheimered dad.

Written (with some help from the leads) and directed by newcomer Mo Perkins, A Quiet Little Marriage has minimal character development and plot advancement other than the baby drama and burdensome relatives.  While we know that Dax and Olive are indeed happy and love each other, we don't see it much except for the rampant amount of sexing.

The plot is a bit formulaic and unsurprising, but the flick has some wonderful performances. Carter is perhaps not the strongest of leading men, but Ellis is a delight and surprise. Known mostly for her stint as the Waitress on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (in fact, a great deal of the cast has roots on the show too, including Ellis's hubby, Charlie Day), Ellis worked her dramatic chops to full effect. She illuminates the screen, which is rare in a film who's cinematographer seems to hate lighting the scenes, and the audience feels for her the most in the film's journey. Simpson plays his part well, and Danny DeVito's daughter even makes an appearance as his mute, drug addict GF.

All-in-all, A Quiet Little Marriage is a contemplative and fairly authentic look at the minutiae of marriage. It's at times quiet and soft, and at others, it's messy and full of conflict. The film itself can be described as just that: quiet and a little bit messy.

Written by: Darcie Duttweiler

Danny (Paul Rudd) hates life. Wheeler (Sean William Scott) loves it. Danny hates his job and is an asshole to everyone. Wheeler loves his job and...is an asshole to everyone. These two superstars are the center of the latest David Wain (The Ten, Wet Hot American Summer) directed comedy, Role Models.

Danny and Wheeler are reps for Minotaur, an energy drink company where their jobs are to basically go around, drink a ton of Minotaur, and tell kids to keep off the drugs. Sounds simple right? Well, catch these guys over-juiced and on a bad day, and you might find their Minotaur truck on the wrong end of your horse statue. There's no cleverness at play here, these two literally crash their truck into a bronze equine sculpture outside of a school. Danny's girlfriend saves the day and helps them avoid prison time by getting them community service enrolled in a big/little brother program.

The movie may seem like it's setting itself up for a run-of-the-mill, been there/done that kind of story, and guess what? It basically is, except what this film lacks in storytelling creativity, it makes up for with heaping piles of laughs. Scott and Rudd play our two leads with improvisational joy and enthusiasm. Supporting player Jane Lynch throws us her usual curve ball of a wholesome and good woman peppered with a dark and seedy past involving cocaine and body sales. And our two lil's Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb'e Thompson deliver all the humor they promised us from the trailer. David Wain has branched out into mainstream filmmaking by making a significantly less wacky film story-wise, but keeping most of his particular brand of humor intact.

Now I don't want to seem too praising of the picture, because it does suffer its slow parts, and not all the jokes hit the nail on the head. The story is very paint by numbers, but after you get past that, you don't care much and you just enjoy the film for its humor. It's nice to see Wain embracing the studio system and bringing his films to a wider audience, and pretty much anything with Rudd and Scott warrants a watch from this reviewer. So yeah, that's my bias. That and I have a soft spot for small black children who say, "Fuck you, Miss Daisy", to Caucasian grownups. It's the little things that keep you going.

Review by: Greg MacLennan

Impoverished Indian teen Jamal has had a rough life. Just as things finally start to turn a corner for our young protagonist as he gets to the last question on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, he is accused of cheating. Jamal is then forced through a grueling interrogation, where we learn how he came upon each answer and what his true motivations are for appearing on the show. I'll leave the synopsis at that, as part of the joy that comes from watching Danny Boyle's (28 Days Later, Trainspotting) latest is watching the story unfold.

Boyle has crafted one of his best films from a truly excellent script from Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty). As I said, the way we are told of Jamal's past via flashback and seeing how the answers to the questions are hidden throughout his life experiences is one of the many joys found in the film. That, coupled with excellent performances across the board, a heavily M.I.A'ed soundtrack, and some spectacular direction and visuals combine to create one of the best cinematic outings of the year. I'm sure we will be hearing something about Slumdog come awards season o'clock. Now some might argue the film manipulates emotion or plays with your sympathy, and I'd argue that Boyle has such a way of crafting his films that it all comes out organically. You never feel forced to feel, you just do, despite some of the scenes clearly being some of the most depressing shit (pun intended for those in the know) you could think of.

Boyle has managed to reinvent himself many a time by always trying out different genres while, at the same time, nailing each and every one of them. This is the film that almost wasn't, and it definitely warrants your attention. So many studios were afraid of this film, and Boyle has been pretty public of how the festival circuit kept this film alive when he thought it was over and done with. Do yourself a favor and check this one out when it hits a screen near you.

Review by: Greg MacLennan

The IMDb synopsis for Max Payne goes like this:

Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent, Max Payne, whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin, out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

Now anyone should be able to gleam at least this much from watching the film. I'm not sure how it happened, or what I was expecting, but between the films apt video game reference via the posters, or the surprisingly visual rich trailers, I half expected something from Max Payne. The video game utilized the bullet time effect seen in movies like the Matrix, and the story of a renegade cop hunting down the people who killed his family seems like an idea beamed straight from the heavens for Jason Statham. But alas, the stars could not align. I'm not sure when, perhaps it was somewhere around minute ten was when I realized I was in for one of the worst films of the year.

You see it's not that it's from The Omen and Flight of the Phoenix director John Moore, although I'm sure he is definitely at least partially to blame. But first time writer Beau Thorne has crafted one of the shallowest, most confusing scripts ever. I think the confusion mainly arises from the lack of any character development or story explanation. The film is basically Max Payne wandering around from place to place, boring you, and then as time rolls on, actually making you giggle. You never care about anyone or anything going in, and even if you did know who these people were or what was going on, I doubt you'd care then either.

The performances don't help much, Mark Walhberg does what he can, but with a supporting cast that include laughable performances from Beau Bridges, Chris O'Donnell, and Mila Kunis, you're left trying to swim with concrete flippers. Also please let this serve as an open letter to Chris "Ludacris" Bridges (No relation to Beau or Jeff), please stop making movies. You were annoying in 2Fast2Furious, you freaked us out in that Vince Vaughn Fred Claus movie, and here you were the first to let the audience know it's okay to laugh at this supposed action drama. Also John Moore, when you have Donal Logue in a movie, please use him.

There are problems beyond all these things, but at this point it's like kicking a dead horse. If you have a morbid curiosity to see just how bad this movie is, don't. Send me $8, and I'll slap you in the face. At least I'll be saving you 100 minutes of your life.

PS - if you stay through the end credits, you get an epilogue that delivers promises of a Max Payne 2, but frankly, that's like making it through a minefield only to be shot in the face by a most pointless bullet.

Review by: Greg MacLennan

I'm a big fan here at The Movie Press of the raunchy R-rated comedy. Why the fuck not? I giggle at things that would embarrass most people. Whatever. I also have no shame when it comes to liking shitty movies. That said, I liked Sex Drive...sorta.

Now, don't go judging me. I did say sorta. Sex Drive has some really amazing elements that surprised me, but also has some pretty lame, cliche elements too. But, I always like to give credit to little films that make me go "hmmmm" every once and a while.

Sex Drive is the tale of one young man's (Josh Zuckerman) quest to lose his virginity to his cyber lass and decides to "borrow" his older, homophobic bro's (James Marsden) '69 GTO to go meet the lucky lady who promises she'll go "all the way" if he drives across country. Throw in his ladykiller buddy (Clark Duke) and his "let's just be friends" lady friend (Amanda Crew), and you got yourself a good ole fashioned road trip flick mixed in with American Pie and some wannabe-Superbad moves.

Okay, so been there done that, right? Well, okay so it does feel a lot like The Sure Thing, a great, fluffy film with the Cusack, and it is pretty much like that movie, but this one has something going for it, and I can't believe I'm gonna say it...Seth Green. Holy shit, right? Green makes an awesome extended cameo as a helpful Amish dude who knows a thing or two about Pontiacs. And he's so sassy. Seriously, I laughed real hard when he was on screen. Honestly, who knew?

Other pleasant surprises include our hero's job uniform of Senor Donut, a giant, Mexican donut with a moving mouth. The trailer gives away one of the funniest scenes where a cop tries to tazor Senor Donut and fails. In fact, if you're feeling stingy, maybe just watch that scene over and over again and laugh and laugh and laugh. Just me? Didn't think so.  Also, at the end of the flick, there is a themed motel that involves a fireman decor that makes me wish I had the money to recreate in my bedroom.

So, all in all, Sex Drive is a simple film about sex, friendship, sex, cars, and fireman motels. Sure that Clark dude is annoying as balls, but this little film gave me some unexpected chuckles.

Review by: Darcie Duttweiler

The white sickness has struck, and everyone around you is going blind. For some strange reason you have yet to succumb to the sickness. If your significant other were to fall ill, would you play blind to stay with them in a quarantine camp, or would you proclaim your immunity and be free? Such is the case for Julianne Moore in Fernando Meirelles's (City of God, The Constant Gardener) latest, Blindness. There would be no heart wrenching story if she didn't go and that's where our story begins to unfold. The few people at the beginning of this epidemic are separated and put up in an old military compound to fend for themselves. Everyone is blind, they are given minimal supplies on a non-regular basis, their only hope is the one person who can see who refuses to tell anyone about it.

Sounds interesting doesn't it? Sounds like it could be a wonderful setup for spectacular social commentary from one of the best up and coming directors? Well it's not. For lack of a better pun, Blindness lacks vision. If Meirelles was a boxer, he'd be the kind who was constantly winding up but never delivering the one-two combination to actually do anything. The film trudges through the mud of it's story line from one location to the next. Many times we find ourselves stuck in one area for far too long, and the story just lacks focus and cohesion.

Also don't bother looking for any answers or logic, because this film doesn't have them for you. You won't find out why anyone is sick, and you will constantly be frustrated by characters decisions that seem to defy all kinds of logic.

But I'm being a bit harsh aren't I? The film isn't a total waste of time, the microcosm of the people in the quarantine camp is interesting, and though blind people are portrayed like zombie retards (maybe the blind protest for the film is valid), some of the characterization and personal dynamics are interesting. The acting is also pretty top notch, except for the aforementioned ineptitude with which everyone plays blind. Meirelles visuals are as usual pretty spectacular and do add quite a bit to the entire experience of the film. It's just a shame the script wasn't sharper.

Review by: Greg MacLennan

Jerry Shaw is a loser. He's a smooth talker amongst his friends and full of unfulfilled potential according to his parents. He works at Copy Cabana, and is frequently behind on his rent. This is your everyman, played with a maturing skill by Shia LaBeouf, with a dreadful patch of facial hair.

Rachel, Michelle Monaghan, is a single mom dealing with her dead beat ex. She seems to have it relatively together with her priorities clearly in check. How could a hot milf like this get mixed up with our scruffy protagonist? A strange phone call from a mysterious woman. You see Jerry's twin brother has just died, and peculiar things are starting to happen to him. His bank account is full of money, and some seriously crazy shit has just been delivered to his apartment. Is he being set up? Who's behind it all? Well that's part of the fun of watching Eagle Eye now isn't it?

D.J. Caruso knows what he's doing. He handled last year's surprisingly enjoyable teen thriller throwaway Disturbia, and helmed the criminally underseen Val Kilmer starrer The Salton Sea. He has a way of elevating material, and doing it with flash and style. Here Caruso is taking his first foray into action/suspense film making and he couldn't seem more at home. Eagle Eye takes exactly fifteen minutes to hit the ground running and from then on it's like a turbo boost of adrenaline that doesn't let up until the final credits roll. The action scenes are inventive, edge of your seat fun, and even if you don't enjoy the film on a whole, it's hard to deny the thrills you can have from simply watching these scenes.

LaBeouf is growing up before our eyes and he seems to be transitioning into his role as leading man quite nicely, he carries the film on his shoulders and he does it very well. Monaghan is very passable in her role, while Rosario Dawson and Michael Chiklis are both severely underutilized. Billy Bob Thornton is the only other standout, besides our schlubby hero, who brings a third dimension to his character with his own personal charm.

The film does have it's problems though, and it's best to enjoy without being too critical. Let's just say there are points in the film where you are either with it or you aren't. If you don't buy into the whole world/situation within the first 20 minutes, you aren't going to enjoy yourself. Things are ridiculous, and I'll be the first to admit it, but when its coupled with such flair and enjoyment it's hard to nitpick. 

This is also one of those films that has politics in it without being political, and, if anyone is so inclined to notice, it does raise some interesting questions. It's difficult to go into without treading into some spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, there's action for the fellas, LaBeouf for the ladies, and some conversation to be had over tea for the oldies. Eagle Eye is fun-time film making that taps into the same vein as Enemy of the State and North by Northwest (that Caruso sure does love to rip off the Hitchcock). It's what Disturbia was to Rear Window; it's more stylized, more action packed, and significantly less intelligent.

Review by: Greg MacLennan