I Love You, Man — Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel. Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Jane Curtain
Hilarious. Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is a hard-working real estate agent… so hard working he’s never developed male friends. That’s not anything he’s given a thought to, until he and his finance, Zooey (Rashida Jones) are planning The Big Wedding. “Who’s going to be your best man and groomsmen?” she asks.
He’s clueless. So he begins a search for male friends (man-dates) — via the Internet, fix-ups through friends and relatives (including his gay brother, Robbie — Andy Samberg of SNL) He finally meets Sydney Fife (Jason Segel), who’s busily freeloading at an open house Peter is holding. They’re total opposites — Peter is responsible to the max, while Sydney is a total slacker. Nothing is more evident of that than when it comes to “cleaning up after his dog” at Venus Beach — creating some very funny incidents. A- (Linda Hollar)

Watchmen — Starring Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Robert Downey, Jr. Directed by Zack Snyder. Adapted from the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon.
If you’re into blockbuster, over-the-top, sci-fi-ish movies, there are a few heading your way (Watchmen, Wolverine, Terminator and the Star Trek reboot). The first one (Watchmen) has a whole lot of the source material, though it is missing a lot of key little things that made the graphic novel great. If you’re a fan of this type novel (comic book), you’ll be cussing, discussing and/or praising the movie for its “brilliant” or “lacking” adaptation.
Watchmen is set in the 80’s in an alternate world where masked vigilantes have been running around for decades affecting world events. They’re just like you and me, only well trained and capable of doing things no human beings can do. (Some of the action pretty much screams superhero.) They’ve played a vital role in shaping our common history. Helped in Vietnam. Nixon is still president. Oh, and they’re banned from doing their thing. That’s the history.
The plot is set off by the murder of one of said superheroes. The Comedian (Downey, Jr.) gets tossed out of a high-rise window, which sets Rorschach (Haley) on a mission to find out who, how and why.
This movie does some things really well AND some really poorly. They all pretty much revolve around this — it’s pretty faithful to the source material. C+ (Joe Allison)

Knowing — Starring Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne and Lara Robinson
Fifty years ago a wee lassie is troubled. She hears voices. They tell her to write down a VERY long string of numbers, which get dumped into a time capsule. When John’s (Cage) son gets a hand on them, things heat up. He’s a man of science to a fault. It’s all about tangible, evidence, proof truth and scientifically provable constants.
In pouring over the numbers, John finds a pattern predicting dates and locations of major tragedies. Slight snag, though — they’re almost to the end of the numbers.
Save Nicolas Cage’s constant mugging, it’s actually a pretty good piece of sci fi. A few intense scenes make Independence Day look like a high school project, though they’re few and far between. That poses a bit of a problem, and the ending is not particularly satisfying. In spite of its flaws, I got a lot of enjoyment out of this movie. B- (Joe Allison)

Phoebe in Wonderland — Starring Felicity Huffman, Elle Fanning (Dakota’s sister), Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman and Campbell Scott.
Judging from the trailers, you’d think Phoebe in Wonderland is about an awkward girl — one who barely finds the strength to bring herself to sign up for the school play. One who finds the courage to overcome her awkwardness, be in the school play and have a triumphant end as Alice (the whole Wonderland part of the title). But that would be a totally different film. EVERYTHING has been misleading. It’s like opening up a can of peanuts to find almonds. The inhumanity!
Wonderland is really about the troubled mind of young Phoebe (Fanning) She’s spiraling downward, having progressively worse outbursts and has a drive to do things she knows are wrong but can’t keep from doing.
It’s very much an actor’s film, and there are more than a couple of “Look how awesome of an actor I am!” moments. Monologues and mugging aside, Wonderland is effective at showing the agony a family can go through with a truly, chemically, mentally teetering child. B (Joe Allison)