Marty Bronson (Jonathan Pryce) who raises his son and daughter on his own has to sell his homey motel to clever Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths) who promises to make Marty’s son manager, when he’s grown up and has proven himself. Nottingham pulls down the motel to raise a pricey hotel. Although grown up, Marty’s son Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) works as a janitor and general servant, but unlikely as it seems, he still dreams of becoming the manager. When Nottingham announces a brand-new gigantic hotel project, he makes his future son-in-law, base Kendall (Guy Pierce), manager, shattering Skeeter’s dream. At the same time Skeeter’s sister Wendy (Courtney Cox) has to leave town for a job interview and asks him to alternate looking after her two children Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) and Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) with Wendy’s responsible-minded colleague Jill (Keri Russell). He doesn’t get along with either Jill or the children, but his easy-goingness loosens them all up and once he starts telling his bedtime stories, the children grow fond of him and begin to bring in their ideas about how the stories should go. When the stories turn out to become true in real life, Skeeter tries to manoeuver the stories into a direction which will make his dream come true, too.

Softly doth Adam Sandler step into family-friendly territory under the chopless direction of Adam Shankman. Ooh, will there be dance sequences with co-stars Courteney Cox and Russell Brand? I’m digging for the dirt on this one.

Rated PG for some mild rude humor and mild language.

Director: Adam Shankman
Stars: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Courteney Cox, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Lucy Lawless
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Banished from his home for being more man than mouse, Despereaux (Broderick) is befriended by Princess Pea (Watson) who teaches him the value of reading books (instead of eating them) as well as a fellow outcast, Roscuro the Rat (Hoffman), who is interested in hearing the stories Despereaux has learned. When Roscuro is shunned by the princess, however, he plots her kidnapping, putting Desperaux’s human-sized bravery to the test.

Triplets of Belleville director Sylvain Chomet first began work on Despereaux, though he eventually left the project to continue development on a Jacques Tati-scripted project that may or may not be his next film. Chomet was temporarily replaced by Corpse Bride co-director Mike Johnson, though the giant mouse ears wound up being handled by veteran animator Robert Stevenhagen and Flushed Away’s Sam Fell. This is definitely the second most-interesting animated project of the year (nothing is beating WALL·E) and it’s cool to see Chomet’s influence lingering in the trailer. Given the derth of family films this holiday season, Despereaux is the champion by default — even if the marketing and promotion for this one seemed to peter out early.

In an exotic divided land, Delgo, an adventurous dreamer but naive teenager, must rally his group of troubled youth and some unlikely friends to protect their world from conflict between the terrestrial Lockni people, who harness the mysteries of the land. And the winged Nohrin people, who rule the skies. They live – segregated – in an uneasy peace until Delgo was framed for a crime he did not commit. After enlisting the help of a unlikely friend to escape a Nohri prison, Delgo discovers Imhoff is in danger so he must unite the two races against a common foe.

For a moment there, we thought this animated offering had already come and gone, but then we remembered: It’s been around since 2003, back when co-star Val Kilmer missed out on a role in Collateral. With a murky premise and a look that might remind you of the old Dungeons & Dragons arcade game, Delgo should perform as well as Fly Me to the Moon, at best …

Rated PG for sequences of fantasy action violence.

Bolt (voice of Travolta) is a celebrity dog and the star of a hit TV show where his amazing feats and powers draw big ratings. But when a mail-room mix-up finds him roaming free on the streets of New York City, the wonder dog will have to learn to rely on his actual strengths — as well as his new friends, an abandoned housecat and a starry-eyed hamster — in order to find his way back home to his owner and co-star, Penny (voice of Cyrus).

Disney’s latest morality tale sort of sounds heaps better than, say, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, but way less interesting as the Monsters Vs. Aliens teaser trailer that popped up online earlier this week. Hmm, what else to say? Well, Travolta is nowhere near as creepy to look at here than he was in Wild Hogs and Hairspray. Good luck to Ms. Miley Cyrus in her voice-role debut; she might be barely audible among the presence of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” standout Sussie Essman — listen for her to steal as many scenes as she’s in, though she’ll have to keep her language family-friendly here.

Rated PG for some mild action and peril.

A worldwide epidemic encourages a biotech company to launch an organ-financing program similar in nature to a standard car loan. The repossession clause is a killer, however. An epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet. Panic erupts and scientists feverishly make plans for a massive organ harvest.

Out of the tragedy, GeneCo, a multi-billion dollar biotech company, emerges. GeneCo provides organ transplantation for a profit. In addition to financing options, GeneCo reserves the right to implement default remedies, including repossession. For those who can’t keep up with their organ payments, collection is the responsibility of “organ repo men”, skilled assassins contracted by GeneCo, ordered to recover GeneCo’s property by any means necessary.

Repo! The Genetic Opera … read more »