I had every intention of recapping Thursday night’s episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation; alas, “94 Meetings” wasn’t much fun for me and so I didn’t care to write a column about how the rest of this season has been awesome. I would attribute most of Parks and Recreation’s awesome to two men, Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari. While I’m still trying to get Mr. Offerman a woodworking program on PBS, Aziz Ansari can be seen Sunday June 6th hosting the nineteenth annual MTV MOVIE AWARDS. Indeed Aziz can be seen anywhere these days, from Human Giant to Funny People (Adam Sandler), Observe and Report (Seth Rogen), I Love You, Man (Jason Segal) and the soon-to-be-released Get Him to the Greek (Russell Brand). Can’t wait until June for some MTV and Aziz comedy? Enjoy.

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) and Ed Helms (The Office) are joining the Duplass Brothers’ stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives At Home. Helms most recently made the successful jump from the small screen to the big screen in last Summer’s hit comedy The Hangover while Segel starred in I Love You, Man as well as the Judd Apatow comedies Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The Duplass Brothers’ directed the indie thriller Baghead and  soon to be released Cyrus starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei. Jeff Who Lives At Home is being produced byJohn Malkovich’s company Mr. Mudd and Jason Reitman’s Right of Way Films. I believe in jinxes but I also believe this movie can’t miss. Since we’re talking about the Duplass Brothers and television actors I have to say that The League on FX starring Mark Duplass is in my opinion one of the great new sitcoms joining the likes of Modern Family, Glee and Community.

What say you?

DreamWorks has debuted the trailer for Paul Rudd’s newest comedy I Love You, Man. I love you, Man stars the likes of Andy Samberg, Jason Segel, and Thomas Lennon. With Role Models not far removed, we see Rudd bringing the laughs once again in his unique way.

One of the guys at the office is calling this the funniest movies of ’09 already. He claims his sides literally hurt after leaving the screening. While this trailer didn’t actually make me laugh that much, it could lend itself to a very funny film.

You can also watch the I Love You, Man trailer in HD over at Yahoo.

I Love You, Man opens nationwide on March 20, 2009.

What do you think? Talkback and let us know!

Well it’s that time of the year when things are dying down and folks are off for the Holidays. Or depending on your family, it may not be the time of year you look forward to. The Hustle and Bustle of Holiday shopping, years end reports due at work, long hours put in at the paper mill….oh wait no one uses paper anymore. In this time of the internet, lists can be a winner for sure. So I figured why not start us off with a bang for the New Year.

So let’s get on with the list of upcoming movies in 09 that at least a few of us are excited about. By the way this is in no order besides that of which I think of them.

Monsters vs. Aliens

Why I am excited: I am always up for a solid movie with a company very well known for awesome animation. While I don’t see this breaking any records, I would say this may be the Wall-E of 2009.

Summary: When a meteorite from outer space hits a young California girl named Susan Murphy and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years. As a last resort, under the guidance of General W.R. Monger, on a desperate order from The President, the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to combat the aliens and save the world from imminent destruction!

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd

Release: March 27, 2009

Watchmen

Why I am excited: Have you seen the freaking Trailers for this thing??? This movie looks awesome, comic book adaptation done well, what more can you say. I am ready for this one to hit IMAX now!!

Summary: In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so discover a deeper and far more diabolical plot.

Cast: Carla Gugino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Patrick and

Wilson

Release: March 6^th, 2009

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Why I am excited: I am a true Harry Potter fanboy, read the books and have enjoyed them all including the films. Can’t wait for this one, it seems so much more mature than the previous films.

Summary: Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts turns out to be quite the exciting year. First off is the arrival of a new teacher at Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn, who is a bit more useful to Harry than he realizes. Next, Harry obtains a Potions book which used to be belong to the very mysterious Half-Blood Prince. Harry finds that the Half-Blood Prince’s ancient scribbles are written along the margins of almost every page, giving Harry advice on how to improve greatly on his Potions work, and also teaching him a few helpful (and dangerous) spells along the way.

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman,

Helena Bonham Carter, and Tom Felton

Release: July17th, 2009

I Love You, Man

Why I am excited: I have been told this is the movie for guys of 2009. After seeing a sneak peak of it out west, a buddy of mine couldn’t stop talking about it. Word of mouth is sometimes the best way to advertise something good.

Summary: A newly engaged guy sets out to find the perfect “Best Man” for his wedding.

Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressly

Release: March 20, 2009

The Soloist

Why I am excited: A story based upon real life events featuring big named actors. What happened last time Foxx was portraying someone we knew in real life? Look for this one.

Summary: A schizophrenic (Jamie Foxx), is a homeless musician from Skid Row, Los Angeles who dreams of playing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Through “chance,” he meets a journalist (Robert Downey Jr.), who tries to help this mentally disturbed man get “back on his feet” and make his dreams come true.

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr,Catherine Keener

Release: April 24th, 2009

Star Trek

Why I am excited: Finally a Star Trek movie that will actually be good. Yes I said it, all of the other movies and even the show sucked horribly. This looks to be a solid reboot along the lines of The Dark Knight. And anything with J.J. Abrams attached usually is pretty solid work

Summary: A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

Cast: John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy

Release: May 8th, 2009

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Why I am excited: I don’t know why this is on the list besides it’s related to Transformers. The first movie was a so-so recreation of a fond childhood memory. The imagination is always better than the movie! This may be worth my pass though.

Summary: A new threat arrives from times of old…a threat that must be stopped… no matter what the cost.

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas and John Turturro

Release: June 26th, 2009

G.I. Joe:  The Rise of the Cobra

Why I am excited: Another childhood memory looking to be squashed/ruined, but anything with Rachel Nichols in it is a must watch.

Summary: An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

Cast: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Byung Hun Lee, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Saïd Taghmaoui, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans and Dennis Quaid

Release: August 7th, 2009

The Lovely Bones

Why I am excited: A movie with heart. Need I say more? I like the actors involved, the story and the premise. Why not put it on here.

Summary: A young girl who was brutally raped and murdered, watches the effects of her death on her family from Heaven, as her parents drift apart, her father becomes obsessed with vengeance and her sister grows into the woman she would never be.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Saoirse Ronan

Release: Fourth Quarter, 2009

Defiance

Why I am excited: Daniel Craig and Live Schreiber kicking ass in the forest. What more can I say about that.

Summary: Three Jewish brothers escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others in danger.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Allan Corduner and Mark Feurstein

Release: January 16, 2009/December 31, 2008 (NY/LA)

I am sure that I have missed a ton of solid movies that are coming out but I didn’t want to break this up into 4 different articles for you folks.

This list in an opinion piece so if something I said offended you, well, build a bridge and get over it!