Drew looks incredible, Justin transitions from comic side-kick to a leading man.  Filled with pungent wit, voracious dry humping, and a truly plausible relationship progression, Going The Distance has me smitten.

It’s not easy to craft a romantic comedy these days.  The audiences have not only gotten smarter, but every possible turn a relationship can take has been tried.  Watching romcom’s these days the resounding thought as we hunker down is how artfully and enjoyably can the filmmakers get us to the ending that we know is inevitable.   Going The Distance delivers a great route.  It doesn’t feel forced by the running time of the movie nor does the relationship transition from happy to sad and back for the sake of a joyous ending – it just moves fluidly and better so, believably.  If it weren’t for its’ R rating, this films box office haul could be much bigger.  Interestingly, the R rating is not wasted on gratuitous nudity, but more utilized for the films pervasive showing of drug use and its language.  It’ll be interesting to see how the box office plays out on this one – I’d love to see a 15M+ opening though, it certainly deserves it.

Drew Barrymore (Firestarter) and Justin Long (Galaxy Quest) portray distance lovers Erin and Garrett respectively.  Erin’s a harried and driven writer, scrapping away as an intern at an NYC newspaper.   Garrett lives in the same city and toils away at a music label – peddling the latest wanna-be pop artists.  Erin’s a couple months away from moving back to California to finish her Master’s when she haphazardly meets Garrett, of all places…in a bar.  A definite kismet is formed and although they know the shelf life of their relationship is only weeks, they each submit to just lets things happen.   At the end of the summer, Erin moves back to California and her neurotic sister Corinne (Christina Applegate – TV’s Married With Children).  Garrett stays behind in NYC and pines to return them to their same-city blissfull ways.  The two make the normal promises you’d expect in carrying a long distance relationship but the execution is where the film finds it strides.   Phone sex, quick surprise flights, and the temptation of the opposite sex in your own zip code – things are challenging for them both to say the least.  Even I got a little misty eyed at the storybook ending which resounded in my mind thanks to the music of the films fictitious rising band Boxer Rebellion, who in real-life, are a band of the same name.

Supporting the cast are a couple solid performances.  Dan, one of Garrett’s two best buds portrayed by Charlie Day (TV’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) is a riot.  An oddball with a lack of convention and wearing his emotions on his sleeve, he solidly supports the film and Garrett.  Christina Applegate transcends her 90’s alter ego with this spot on hilarious performance as a germaphobe life inhibited house Mommy.   I must devote a sentence or two for Catherine Marie Thomas.  Who is she you might ask?  She’s the films costume designer.  I was mesmerized by the wardrobe choices for Erin.  Loose backless tops, halters, even a great bikini, she looked fantastic.  It was chic at times, fresh and bold at others.  Cooly casual sass while thumping in the club, and airy vogue in the summer months.  Hats off to you Catherine for a super job, Drew looked fantastic!  When consulting the film bible IMDB, it turned out Catherine’s needling skills were used in the Kill Bill films as well.

Going The Distance is a great date movie.  You’ll have a great time as you laugh and grow with these characters.  There’s real emotion in their plight, and Long & Barrymore do a great job of pulling that out.  Their on screen chemistry is undeniable and Long delivers a realistic and poignant performance as a romantic lead.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Going The Distance is rated R for sexual content including dialogue, language throughout, some drug use, and brief nudity.

Atomic Popcorn is pleased to invite you all to the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film GOING THE DISTANCE, which will open on Friday, September 3rd. Make sure you grab a date and show up early for this one!

Just in case you don’t scour the internet for trailers and news daily like I do, the synopsis is below for you!

Synopsis:

Erin’s (Drew Barrymore) wry wit and unfiltered frankness charm newly single Garrett (Justin Long) over beer, bar trivia and breakfast the next morning.  Their chemistry sparks a full-fledged summer fling, but neither expects it to last once Erin heads home to San Francisco and Garrett stays behind for his job in New York City.  But when six weeks of romping through the city inadvertently become meaningful, neither is sure they want it to end.  And while Garrett’s friends, Box (Jason Sudeikis) and Dan (Charlie Day), joke about his pre-flight calorie-cutting and his full-time relationship with his cell phone, they don’t like losing their best drinking buddy to yet another rocky romance.  At the same time, Erin’s high-strung, overprotective married sister, Corrine (Christina Applegate), wants to keep Erin from heading down an all-too-familiar road.

But despite the opposite coasts, the nay-saying friends and family, and a few unexpected temptations, the couple just might have found something like love, and with the help of a lot of texting, sexting and late-night phone calls, they might actually go the distance.

Academy Award®-nominated documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein (“On the Ropes”) makes her feature film directorial debut with “Going the Distance.”  The film is written by Geoff LaTulippe and stars Golden Globe Award winner Drew Barrymore (“Grey Gardens”), Justin Long (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), Charlie Day (TV’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Jason Sudeikis (TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), Jim Gaffigan (“17 Again”) and Golden Globe Award nominee Christina Applegate (TV’s “Samantha Who?” and “Jesse”).

The film is produced by Adam Shankman (“17 Again”), Jennifer Gibgot (“The Last Song”) and Garrett Grant (“Hairspray”).  Dave Neustadter, Richard Brener and Michael Disco serve as executive producers.

Trailer:

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR PASS: and enter

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As a reminder, screening tickets do not guarantee admittance.  Seating is first come, first served and this should be enough for you all to be there early!

“When my days are over will this soul of mine actually leave this body?… Or is the funeral home guy plotting on me?”

Synopsis: After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn’t believe she’s dead, despite the funeral directors reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna’s grief-stricken boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) still can’t shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn’t what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over to the other side.

Hard to believe that After.Life ended up the way it did. What seemed like a strong cast of actors turned into a devastating upset. Nobody benefits from watching this film except maybe adolescent males. The combo of being naked and Christina Ricci seem to go hand in hand these days. Someone loves to add a few more camera minutes of her bare body to each new film she stars in. No complaints from the adolescent male in me but the lady of the flesh was the innocent little girl from Casper. Wardrobe must have been simple. With all the extra time they still went out and cast the Mac computer guy as her boyfriend. I must admit his acting has improved (a smidge) since his eye-grabbing performance in Jeepers Creepers but the lad’s talents are much better suited to selling computers.

If there was one actor that shone slightly brighter than the many dull sparkles in After.Life it would be Mr. Unstoppable, Liam Neeson. As a deeply disturbed funeral director with his own sick motives, he weaves thoughts of death into the body of his work. He never once dropped the calm, cool and collected persona of a man that stitches up dead carcasses for a living. After seeing him play the desperate father in Taken, I did not enjoy watching him weasel his way through 90-plus minutes of fraudulent acting hoping to catch another glimpse of Ricci in the nude.

Honestly, if you plan on going to see this film to get scared you will be deeply disappointed. If they are showing this film in the afterlife, I’m going to have to demand an express ticket to hell.

Rating: ★½☆☆☆ 

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Slowly but surely my childhood continues to die with the sequel of the surprise 2007 Twentieth Century Fox hit, Alvin and the Chipmunks with their ‘Squeakquel’. This time around, Alvin, Simon and Theodore are not alone in their tiny world with the arrival of the Chipettes who are voiced by Christina Applegate, Anna Faris and Amy Poehler.

In the sequel, David Seville (Jason Lee) sends Alvin, Simon, and Theodore off to school, saying “it’s good for them.” Little did he know, the Chipmunks feel like “Chipmunks Out of Water” because of all the (human) kids around. Meanwhile, Ian Hawke (David Cross (after the loss of the Chipmunks dealt him a serious blow) is freed from jail and searches the world for animals who can sing and dance. He happens upon the Chipettes and cannot wait to make them famous and get revenge on the Chipmunks.

Watch the trailer below and thank the lord they’re not soul-crushingly dressed odd just like the teaser poster of the first movie, or you can cuddle up to your diamond-filled chipette dolls in horror if you don’t like this:

Check out the trailer below:

Jump scares have become staple of horror films for a long while now. Usually they crop up when a scene is quiet and sets the mood, only to surprise with a scary image and a loud noise. They’re used to make a woman jump into the arms of the male courting her around on that night, or a child cover his eyes in fear. Above all, they’re supposed to be fun and make the horror movie going experience a treat when used effectively. Directors such as Sam Raimi have used this tactic amidst his career starting with Evil Dead, but that film didn’t rely on them as at the end of the day it’s more comedy than horror. Many will make the argument for Drag Me to Hell, a film that wants to throw as many jump scares as it can at the viewer.

To it’s credit, the story of Drag Me to Hell is pretty intriguing. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is having one of the worst day’s that’s ever happened to her as she’s trying to fight for an assistant manager’s position at her bank. Adding to this is her beau’s mother doesn’t feel she’s up to snuff with the standards they’ve set before their child. It’s heartbreaking due to the film presenting Christine as a genuinely kind person who always wants to “do right” rather than get ahead. Unlike most horror films of recent, Drag Me to Hell makes it’s lead character interesting and someone to root for. That is, until she does decide to stray from her nice path and deny Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver) another extension on her house. One curse and a really fun cat fight later, Christine is cursed and will be dragged to hell three days later. The opening scene and credits do a solid job of establishing where the film is headed and both are a nice marriage of old and new Raimi. But it’s the story that by all accounts shouldn’t work and somehow does. It drives the film forward even when the wheels are slowly starting to come off and it’s nice to see filmmakers put actual thought into the characters in a horror film. Guaranteed you won’t find a more interesting and entertaining story than the one Raimi and brother Ivan concoct here.

Sam Raimi has a tendency to throw in “Three Stooges” humor into his films and it’s really hit and miss. It soars wonderfully in films like Army of Darkness but crashes and burns in flicks like Spider-Man 3. Here it’s somewhere in the middle as some scenes feel like they belong in a different film altogether. I understand this is style but that doesn’t mean it’s a ‘Get Out of A Bad Scene Free Card’. The anvil scene in this film is fun, and I did enjoy it, but it felt taken more out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon than it did a fun horror-comedy. That seems to be the films problem as it wants to be horror with some good laughs, which is fine. However it tends to go for laugh out loud comedy that falls flat. Drag Me to Hell also falters when tries to gross out horror, for instance when Sylvia accidentally crashes onto Christine and spews some liquid all over her. It’s gross and while Raimi is laughing, it makes the audience cringe in disgust. There are some solid scares, namely a scene toward the end involving a goat. It’s very Evil Dead-esque but nonetheless it’s still a trip to enjoy. Sam Raimi shows us that both the good and bad of his tricks  and while I’ve lamented on the bad, the good should be had by those who venture to this.

As mentioned, in Raimi’s bag of tricks are the aforementioned jump scares. Yes, it’s vintage Raimi but that doesn’t mean that it’s perfect or works. Some do, when Christine is being chased by the lamia to her house. The film then goes on to make just about every scare a jump one complete with a loud noise to follow it. Where in some films he uses it sparingly, here it becomes an endurance test to see if he can in fact make his audience deaf. If Raimi really is going for comedy, he should include Steve Carell on the Blu-ray shouting “LOUD NOISES” every time an unnecessary jump scare comes up. Likely Alison Lohman was chosen because she looks good screaming. It couldn’t be because she’s a well-trained actress as she’s something of a chore to swallow during the quieter scenes. Justin Long though, is the exact opposite and does a tremendous job creating a real character out of Christine’s boyfriend Clay rather than just a plot device. Lorna Raver is fine as Slyvia Ganush but the real stand out of the supporters was Dileep Rao as Rham Jas the spirit counselor. A role that could have easily came off as Miss Cleo becomes an actual character who wants to help Christine. But its Lohman who tries to bring these scenes down with her bland and confused look. She handles the screaming well, far better than Ellen Paige could have, but she’s dull when she’s doing everything else.

It may sound like I hated Drag Me to Hell when just the opposite occurred. I liked it and thought it was one of the best horror films of the decade and certainly the best of the year. Sam Raimi is back and the world is a better place for it, don’t get me wrong and I’m sure it’s going to provide a fun theater experience. However, there are some problems with the movie that people seem to be letting go because it’s Sam Raimi’s first horror trip in sixteen years. Yes he’s great at it, but let’s not forget he’s problematic at times and unfortunately those holes shine through in Drag Me to Hell. Horror fans should be thrilled with the movie on the whole, but for everyone else there is a good story with some decent scares in it. Even with it’s problems, it’s good to have you back Mr. Raimi.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Drew Barrymore just keeps on trucking along, keeping herself busy with role after role. The latest addition to the famed actress’ filmography will be Going The Distance, a New Line (you guessed it) romantic comedy. She will be co-starring alongside Justin Long (Zack and Miri), being part of a couple maintaining a long distance relationship when the female moves across the country to take up a teaching job in Chicago. The film will be directed by Nanette Burnstein (American Teen) and written by first-timer Geoff LaTulippe.

Barrymore recently shared the screen with actor Justin Long in the February released He’s Just Not That Into You. The movie raked in so far about $92.5 million overall. Including that with her last romantic comedy (Lucky You which made a measley 5 million), the actress/producer is quickly rising back to popularity box office wise. Barrymore and Long will appear together again on the big screen sometime in 2011. This will be her fifteenth accounted romantic comedy, if anyone is keeping count.

You know who they are. Three cute Chipmunks, that sing cute songs, and act all cute and shit (in this movie they took that last part a bit too literally) and their ever suffering writer/father figure. Add in an evil record mogul and you’ve got the latest incarnation of “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. They’ve been around nearly fifty years and had countless (at least I’m not bothering to count) albums, tv specials, a Saturday morning cartoon, an animated movie (or maybe two, what do I look like to you?) and now a “live action” movie. Of course the anthropomorphic rodents are CGI, but everyone else is a real person (though David Cross might be some type of sarcasm demon from the outer-rings of hell).

Jason Lee (“My Name is Earl”, “The Incredibles,”, “Chasing Amy”) stars as Dave Seville, a struggling song-writer (and a really bad one at that) who finds these three adorable Chipmunks eating his food one night. Rather than check himself in for some serious psychological evaluation (but hey, this is a kid’s movie) he gets them to sing and they become bigger than Hanna Montana over night. David Cross plays the evil record exec that wants to run them ragged and get them hooked on speed (coffee) to keep his pockets swelling. We get to see the birth of the infamous Chipmunk’s “Christmas Song” (which is now mercilessly stuck in my head) and we get to see the writer’s try desperately to dream up as many reasons as possible for Dave to scream “Alvin!” at the top of his lungs. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the little guys were pretty fucking cute. (Sorry, I had to throw that in there so I didn’t sound like a complete twat.) The animation was some of the better CGI of this type that I’ve seen and they didn’t seem to be floating in the environment at all. (See that George Lucas? Your turn.) Theodore is childlike and chubby, Simon is smart and Alvin is the cool one. Is there anything else about The Chipmunks themselves that I’m missing? I haven’t seen anything of the Chipmunks since I was so young that I thought the Maytag man really did diddle Dudley’s doodle on that “very special” episode of “Diff’ rent Strokes”. Sadly, there were no Chipettes, perhaps in the sequel.

I really like Jason Lee, and I think he is better than his performance in this movie. I don’t blame the movie, I really think he could have done a better job with the material. Maybe it’s the director, Tim Hill’s fault (and with “Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties” under his belt I have no problem placing any blame right at his feet). Lee has never come off as phony, like he did in some of these scenes, before. I’ve always thought he was a very natural actor, but he really overplayed this role. I guess he could have been going for that “live action cartoon” feel, but I think playing the straight man totally straight would have been more effective. David Cross (“Arrested Development”, “Mr. Show”) is Ian, the eeeeeeeevil record exec. He has sleazy down to a “T”, and he should, he does it a lot. I am a big fan of his and I think “Arrested Development” is one of the best sitcoms of all-time (partly due to him). I always loved “Mr. Show” as well, which succeeded despite it’s sometimes overbearing hipster irony. I really wish he could just get a role that he is perfectly suited for AND is a good movie. I’m sure he hates this movie. He bad mouths half of the projects that he works on it seems, and that is my biggest disconnect with him as a performer. I expect to hear him facetiously complaining about the shitty movies that he makes the next time I see him do stand-up, all the while knowing that he has no problem picking up the checks. That said, I would certainly sell out and do a shitty movie if I was offered one, I just wouldn’t bitch about it publicly.

At best I can say that “Alvin and the Chipmunks” wasn’t as bad as I was dreading it would be. I’m not saying it was good mind you, I’m just saying it wasn’t as horrible as I expected. But, when I see a movie like this I have to keep in mind that I am not the target audience. And I don’t mean that in the sense that I am not the target audience for an obvious “chick flick” like PS I Love You, or a movie like Good Luck Chuck (the target audience for which is functionally retarded, myspace-addicted, turd-eating Dane Cook fans – and is there any other kind?). Movies geared to grown-ups of any kind can be judged by grown-ups. But movies for kids, man, movies for kids are tough. This is not one of those great movies that looks like a movies for kids, but is really for everyone like “Ratatouille”, “The Incredibles” or “Iron Giant”. Those movies are good no matter how you look at them. Alvin and the Chipmunks is clearly a movie written for and targeted at children, and no one else. I don’t think the film makers gave the slightest consideration toward making this enjoyable for the parents that had to take their kids to it. It’s just easier to go low-brow, cram in some farts and a poop-eating joke and say it’s a kid’s movie. On second thought, Dane cook fans might like it too. The kids in the audience I saw it with loved it. They laughed (I cried), they even applauded at the end. So, if you (like me) just want your little darling to be happy, there is a good chance they’ll love it. And like I said, it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be, barely even painful.

RATING: 4/10

PS – There is no listing in the credits, or on IMDB but their Maid in the one scene looked disturbingly like Paris Hilton with a black wig and a vicious tan. If anyone can confirm that please let me know so I can drop my rating down three points.