TGITDNMAR (7/30/10)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

Just two more weeks until the geek-spasm that is Scott Pilgrim hits a theater near you; until then, more dreck.

Dinner for Schmucks
Has anyone not had a bad feeling about this one from the moment that the first (unfunny) trailer dropped?

I'll admit, I've been itching to see it just a bit more as time has passed, as first I learned that Jemaine Clement had a decent-sized role, and he is pure awesome rolled up into lanky New Zealand form, and then I saw took notice of the underrated Larry Willmore (The Office, The Daily Show). The Soon-To-Be-Overexposed Zach G. looks pretty funny as well; so much so that I'd have much rather seen him as the lead Schmuck than Steve Carrell, who I find less and less funny by the day (currently sitting at a solid 'meh').

But Paul Rudd is nothing if not appealing, even if the film ends up painting he and his sharper-minded, possibly cruel co-workers as the "bad guys" in this comedy about the underdogs and oddballs.

Looks better than the other stuff coming out this weekend, anyway...
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 53%

Cats & Dogs: Some Long-Ass Title That No One Cares About
Believe it or not, we actually own the first Cats & Dogs on DVD, but that's only because Mrs. Fletch is a hardcore animal lover. We sat down and watched it once, but as is customary for me, I fell asleep halfway through (this happened again last night with In the Loop; I swear I've seen the first halves of hundreds of movies, always with the intention to finish watching, but never the follow-through).

But I digress (a lot) - fact is, I barely remember the first one, even though it's not as though I saw it way back when it was released in 1967, leading (as we all know) to one of the longest waits between original and sequel for a film that no one was asking for a sequel to. And as such, I have zero interest in this one, however cute the fuzzles in it may be.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 3%

Charlie St. Cloud
Unless you were looking (like me) or were told by someone who was looking (like me), you'd probably never know that this Zac Efron vehicle actually had a solid supporting cast, including the corpse of Kim Basinger, Ray Liotta, and Donal Logue. So props to Charlie for that.

Unfortunately, as much as I applaud Efron for making something a bit challenging (either a smart or terribly stupid decision, depending on your viewpoint), this flick has "loser" stamped all over it - not so much in terms of the quality of it, which is still up for debate, but in terms of the subject matter. Some downer about a teen who kills his kid brother and then spends his days playing baseball with his ghost? Unless this was made in 1986 and/or has some kind of wacky charm to it, I'm just not feeling it. It appears to be playing it straight as an arrow, i.e. dull and/or sappy. Super pass.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 0%