7. Meet Dave – $5.3M

July 17th, 2008
Eddie Murphy stars in this sci-fi comedy about a spaceship that looks like a normal human being and its crew of microscopic humanoids. The script for MEET DAVE is co-written by MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 actor-scribe Bill Corbett.

8. Kung Fu Panda – $4.4M

July 17th, 2008
With 2008's KUNG FU PANDA, the talking-animal CGI film enters a new era, one that makes room for both painterly artwork and fierce martial-arts action. Po (voiced by Jack Black), a clumsy and ever-hungry panda, is a huge kung fu fan, but seems destined to sell noodles like his father, Mr. Ping (James Hong), who inexplicably happens to be a goose. When Po literally crashes a ceremony involving martial-arts masters Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) and their pupils, the Furious Five--which includes Tigress (Angelina Jolie, in a surprisingly small part) and Crane (David Cross)--he ends up being selected by the latter elder as the revered Dragon Warrior. As the skeptical Shifu reluctantly trains the hapless Po, his former star pupil, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), escapes from a high-security prison, setting up a collision course between the bumbling bear and the powerful villain. One of the finest animated films released under the Dreamworks banner, KUNG FU PANDA deftly avoids many of the pitfalls of the genre (i.e. cheesy musical sequences), juggling action, heart, and humor in a highly entertaining way. While Black (in endearingly restrained mode), Hoffman, Kim, and McShane voice their characters with verve, the real stars of PANDA are directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson and their animators, who lovingly depict ornate Chinese chambers and vast mountainous vistas, as well as blazing kung fu battles. A movie with remarkably wide appeal, KUNG FU PANDA delivers on its quirky, high-concept title with gleeful aplomb.

9. The Incredible Hulk – $2.3M

July 17th, 2008
Dr. Bruce Banner continues to find a cure for his gamma-radiation induced affliction where anger causes him to become the giant, green-skinned Incredible Hulk.

10. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl – $2.3M

July 17th, 2008
A favorite from the American Girl historical doll collection, Kit Kittredge makes her big-screen debut with this feature. Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) brings the doll to life and lights up the story's Depression-era setting with her precocious charm. Kit is aware that the Great Depression is under way, but she feels lucky it hasn't directly touched her. While other people in the country struggle to find work and food, the 10-year-old plays comfortably in her tree house and writes articles she hopes will be published by the Cincinnati Register. But everything changes when Kit's dad (Chris O'Donnell) loses his job, forcing Kit and her mother (Julia Ormond) to turn their home into a boarding house while he goes to Chicago in search of work. As a colorful assortment of characters fill Kit's home, Kit learns how to be resourceful. When she gets to know a pair of child hobos, she realizes how kind and friendly homeless people can be. With her journalistic mind in overdrive, she sets out to clear their name in print, dispelling rumor with hard fact and a child's fresh perspective. But when her house is burglarized and all fingers point to her trusted new friends, Kit doesn't know where to turn. Will her investigative skills be able to save her family from the poorhouse? Only time will tell. KIT KITTREDGE offers something for young viewers and adults alike, and boasts an all-star cast (including Stanley Tucci, Jane Krakowski, and Joan Cusack) in addition to its likable young star. Little girls and American Girl fans should delight in the film's faithful recreation of the character's beloved period costumes. Children may even learn a thing or two about history as they watch Kit's thrilling adventures unfold.

DVD Review: Batman Begins (Limited Edition Gift Set)

July 16th, 2008

It?s a very good movie, but is the double-dip worth it?
Just in time for The Dark Knight marketing onslaught, Warner Brothers has re-released a Limited Edition Gift Set of Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the franchise. It’s a very good movie, but is the double-dip worth it?Eight years after the damage done to Batman from the one-two combination of Batman Forever and Batman &…

Andy Dick Arrested for Being a Perv

July 16th, 2008

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Years ago, Andy Dick was part of the Ben Stiller crew, showing up on the guy's show and in movies like Reality Bites and Permanent Midnight. Now, while one gears up for an excellent new comedy, the other just adds another notch to his pervert bedpost, according to AOL.

Dick (an apt last name, if I ever heard one) was arrested early today for drug use and sexual battery. He was being a drunken fool at the Buffalo Wild wings in Murrieta at about 1 AM when he peed on the building and then, when a 17-year-old girl walked by, he "grabbed her tank top and bra and pulled them down and exposed her breasts." Real classy, Dick.

Not surprisingly, cops found pot and Xanax in his pants during a search, and he's been booked on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor sexual battery, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana." And if he wasn't creepy enough, I think that mugshot up there seals the deal.

Tip, Mr. Dick: Keep your drunken hands to yourself, and stop urinating in public.

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July 16th, 2008

DVD Review: Mama’s Boy

July 16th, 2008

Is this really what it’s like to live a sheltered life?
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July 16th, 2008

Stimulating and easy to watch.
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Movie Review: Lady in the Water

July 16th, 2008

Pretentious, ridiculous and downright terrible.
With things like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable on his resume you have to hope that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, when given basically a blank slate to create a movie, could come up with something inspiring and enthralling. Unfortunately the descriptions that apply to the mess that is Lady in the Water are more along the lines of…