Title: Cars 2 Reviewed by: JM Willis Directed by: Brad Lewis Starring: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy and Michael Caine Running time: 106 minutes, Rated G, Available on standard DVD Lightning McQueen and his best bud Mader are back in the sequel to the Pixar blockbuster Cars. McQueen takes his friends from Radiator Springs with him to the World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car and try out a new earth friendly fuel called Allinol. Mader however gets mistaken for a spy, and unwittingly becomes involved in international espionage. Personally, I didn’t see the need to make a sequel to Cars, since I didn’t think the original…

DVD: Seven Days in Utopia Directed by: Matt Russell Starring: Robert Duvall, Jerry Ferrera, Lucas Black, Melissa Leo, Deborah Ann Woll, Brian Geraghty, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Dora Madison Burge and Kathy Baker. Running time: 99 minutes, Rated G Based on the best selling novel by David L. Cook is the story of young golfer Luke Chisolm who recently had a public embarrassing game while attempting to make it on the pro tour. He tries to escape his life and becomes stranded in the small town of Utopia Texas. He accepts the help of an eccentric rancher named Johnny Crawford who insists he can change his outlook on life and improve…

Relations between the countries of Iran and the United States may be ill at ease, but Iranian cinematic import “A Separation” — just off its Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film win and a Best Screenplay feting by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the first such honor from the organization for a foreign film — is capturing the hearts and minds of plenty of American cineastes. The movie is a multi-layered familial drama about a married couple (Peyman Moadi and Leila Hatami) attempting to resolve elder care issues, their teenage daughter’s needs and the potentiality of a divorce when a misunderstanding turned legal problem with their new maid renders these problems secondary. Sophisticated…

Title: Snowmen Directed by: Robert Kirbyson Starring: Bobby Coleman, Josh Flitter, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Doug E. Doug, Christopher Lloyd, and Ray Liotta Running time: 86 minutes, PG Three friends in a small town plan to break the Guinness World Record by building the most snowmen in a single day in order to be remembered forever. This is one of those DVD’s where you can’t look at the cover first, because it will give you the wrong impression. While this is a cute family movie, it’s got a darkness about it. The lead character Billy Kirkfield (Bobby Coleman) is in remission from cancer. He and his two friends Howard (Bobb’e J….

Title: Our Idiot Brother Directed by: Jesse Peretz Starring: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Adam Scott, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones and Zooey Deschanel Running time: 90 minutes, Rated R, Available on Blu-ray Ned (Paul Rudd)  is just a happy go lucky guy who is extremely naive and honest to a fault, so much that he unintentionally disrupts the lives of his three self-absorbed sisters.  There’s Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) the career-oriented journalist, Liz (Emily Mortimer) the overprotective earthy mother of a sheltered son who is married  to a slimy British documentarian (Steve Coogan), and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) an artistic, yet career directionally challenged bisexual. There is no question that Paul Rudd was…

Title: Connected Director: Tiffany Shlain A documentary snapshot of the blurry, ever-evolving intersection of the relationship between technology and human bonds and grander societal development, “Connected” is wonderfully emblematic of the ways that intelligent artists can use the medium of film to explore issues and ask questions in a manner that encourages and bolsters a pleasantly unsettled life of exploration and outreach in the minds and hearts of viewers. Self-touted as “an autobiography about love, death and technology,” Tiffany Shlain’s film is a deeply felt personal travelogue in the vein of Tom Shadyac’s similarly questioning “I Am,” in which the director set out (broadly speaking) to make sense of his feelings of emptiness…

Warner Bros. Pictures recently released this brand new teaser trailer from the upcoming family film “Shorts” by director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City 2, Planet Terror) and starring Kat Dennings (The House Bunny, End Zone), Leslie Mann (Funny People, Knocked Up) and James Spader (Boston Legal). Synopsis: Shorts is set in the suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated, whose Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX is the ultimate communication and do-it-all gadget that’s sweeping the nation. Other than keeping his parents employed, however, Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX has done nothing for 11-year-old Toe Thompson, who just wants to…

Pixar Animation has released another new movie poster from the upcoming animated film “Wall-E” by director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bugs Life) and starring Fred Willard (Cat Tale), Jeff Garlin (The Rocker) and Sigourney Weaver (Aliens). Synopsis: What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? Wall-E, a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for.

New console includes five games, wireless controller and storage to save games – all for the incredible value of $279.99 REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 22, 2007 – Just in time for holiday, Microsoft Corp. today released a new Xbox 360(R) console that delivers games and content to everyone in the family for an incredible value of $279.99 (U.S. estimated retail price)*. Available in stores beginning today, Xbox 360 Arcade console is the first Xbox 360 console to include five family-friendly games, a wireless controller, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connection to enable high-definition output if desired and 256 MB of memory useful for storing games and entertainment content. At $279.99,…

Check out another really cool movie poster from the upcoming animated film “Wall-E” by director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bugs Life) and starring Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin and Ben Burtt. Synopsis: The year is 2700. WALL*E, a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for.