Plot:
Detectives Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) might not be New York City's finest, but when they discover a path that leads directly to one the city's biggest criminals, they seize the opportunity to become supercops.
Buzz:
Will Ferrell looks to put Land of the Lost behind him with a can't-miss late-summer comedy directed by his best handler, Adam McKay. Though New York City wasn't so kind to Ferrell the last time around. Funny that this will be the movie to topple Inception from its position atop the box-office.
THE OTHER GUYS
Plot:
Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a thief who specializes in the art of extraction, the stealing of secrets from a target's subconscious. Though his profession cost him everything he has ever loved and has turned him into a fugitive, an offer for a final job -- one that requires him to plant an idea instead of pilfering it -- could be his chance at redemption.
Buzz:
Our founder has already called this "the movie of the decade".
INCEPTION
Plot:
The kids from the Maryland School of the Arts head to Paris for an international dance competition, but when Moose (Sevani) misses the flight home, he is inducted into the city's underground dance scene, which is about to have its own contest. The case of a stolen routine finds Moose looking to bring some of his friends back to the City of Lights for the event.
Buzz:
The thing about the first two Step Up movies? They're aren't so bad, especially if you zone out whenever anyone talks instead of dances. I love how this outbreak is heading to Paris -- just like in 28 Weeks Later! -- and I have to imagine this is going to look primo in 3D, with or without a Channing Tatum cameo.
STEP UP 3D
Plot:
When CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is accused of being a spy by a Russian defector, she goes on the run, putting all of her experience and skills to use to elude capture, learn the truth of her identity, and hopefully clear her name.
Buzz:
With Angelina Jolie in front of the camera and sensitive guy Phillip Noyce behind it, I have to stop and recall the point in time when this movie was almost made by Tom Cruise and director Michael Mann. We're thinking this could be the best one-off spy story since The Long Kiss Goodnight (a 90's fave), and the real-life outing of Russian spies in the U.S. couldn't have been more timely! Did you see Angelina in the newest issue of Vanity Fair? She (still) has it.
SALT
Plot:
Tim (Rudd) is a rising executive who "succeeds" in finding the perfect guest, IRS employee Barry (Carell), for his boss's monthly event, a so-called "dinner for idiots," which offers certain advantages to the exec who shows up with the biggest buffoon.
Buzz:
We're wondering how PG-13 director Jay Roach will handle himself in the post-Hangover world, where the mainstream has embraced bawdy language and behavior. Meanwhile, there have been *a lot* of writers attached to this story during its development and production. Maybe that industry expression "this is a high-concept comedy" is more like a distant-early warning of a tough sell?
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS
Plot:
A trio of orphan girls cause the normally deplorable Gru to rethink his plan to steal the moon.
Buzz:
Universal is still looking for its first animated hit, and we think its gutsy for them to push an original story out into the summer's box-office waters. Initially annoying, Gru and those orphan girls have grown on us (the minions? um, no.), and we're hoping that families, still smiling from Toy Story 3, will be attracted to this tale.
DESPICABLE ME
Plot:
The ongoing war between the canine and feline species is put on hold when they join forces to thwart a rogue cat spy with her own sinister plans for conquest.
Buzz:
So much time between the original movie and this sequel -- it's like the TRON: Legacy of anthropomorphic talking animal movies. Why can't the LOLCats get involved here?
CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE
Plot:
After his younger brother Sam passes away, Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) finds a way to deal with his grief by working as caretaker at the cemetery where Sam is buried. Charlie and Sam keep their bond with nightly conversations and playing catch, however, when a girl enters Charlie's life, he struggles between remaining with Sam or pursuing real-world love.
Buzz:
By the end of this decade, Zac Efron might pull a Joseph Gordon-Levitt and put his cheesy TV origins fully behind him. For his next drama, Efron reteams with his 17 Again director, Burr Steers, for a project that seems like it has more in common with Steers' first film, Igby Goes Down. Originally set for a summer release, Universal made the smart decision to movie Charlie to the fall. Oops!
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD
Plot:
Woody (Hanks), Buzz (Allen), and the rest of their toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college.
Buzz:
Easily one of the biggest movies of 2010, the secret weapon here is screenwriter Michael Arndt, who wrote Little Miss Sunshine; his sentimentality is evident in the trailer, which causes Rex-sized lumps in our throat.
TOY STORY 3
Plot:
An alternative-family drama centered on lesbian parents Nic (Benning) and Jules (Moore), who each conceived a child through artificial insemination. The family's dynamics are tested when their youngest child, 15-year-old Laser (Josh Hutcherson), convinces college-bound Joni (Mia Wasikowska), to look up their donor.
Buzz:
We loved this one at Sundance. Seriously, best actual-real drama of the year.
