The story involves a seven year old girl who misspells “Santa” and the letter goes to Satan instead, who she wants to give her a toy for Christmas. Ewen came up with the script after babysitting a child who did the same thing when writing a letter to Santa. 

What a journey it’s been for Peter and Bobby Farrelly, huh?  Their careers began in the early 90′s with a string of hits that have since become comedic staples – Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There’s Something About Mary.  What came after was… well… not so hot.

• Me, Myself, and Irene 
• Osmosis Jones
• Shallow Hall
• Stuck on You
• Fever Pitch
• The Heartbreak Kid
• Hall Pass
• The Three Stooges

ummm…. I think this is going to be great.  Just like any other movie, it’s all in who you cast, but the time is right for this movie to get the ol’ reboot.  Here’s why:

• Chicago – Won best picture in 2002 and got musicals back on the Hollywood map in a big way.
• Glee – one of the biggest shows on the planet and a cultural phenomenon
• The Muppets – a bit of a stretch, but same time frame, used puppets, and lots of musical numbers one of which one the Oscar this year.
• It’s Everywhere – American Idol, Duets, The Voice, America’s Got Talent, etc.  People love singing.
• Rock of Ages – Modern musical coming to the big screen this summer and will most likely kill it.

Since Joseph Gordon-Levitt is involved and seemingly calling the shots, the cast surrounding him is going to be of his ilk – i.e. really good actors and actresses that aren’t flash in the pan pop-tarts and starlets.

Here’s the original cast with the dreamcast for the reboot:

• Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn, a nerdy florist who loves “strange and interesting” plants.  Most likely this will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Ellen Greene as Audrey, a sweet, quiet, ditsy and insecure coworker; the object of Seymour’s affections, but dating the sadistic Orin Scrivello.  If JGL is involved and they want this to work, this is going to be Zoey Deschanael.  Alternate pick – Alison Brie.
• Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik, the grouchy, penny-pinching owner of Mushnik’s Flower Shop.  John C. Riley.  No if’s and’s or but’s.  Just give it to Riley.  
• Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, DDS, an abusive, sadistic and nitrous oxide-huffing dentist, and Audrey’s boyfriend.  It’s going to be next to impossible to try to outcast Steve Martin in this or in any other role, so you gotta take a different direction – charming but evil.  My pick… Jon Hamm.  Alternate Pick – Donald Glover
• Levi Stubbs as the voice of Audrey II, an evil and profane flytrap-like extraterrestrial plant with plans to take over the world.  Voice only, but this still needs to steal the show… With the number 5 pick, Cinema Smash selects… Jack Black.

In an absolutely perfect world, this wouldn’t be coming to the big screen, this would just be an extended episode of Community.  But since JGL is involved… I guess I can let it slide.

Kurtzman and Orci have the pedigree to pull this off.  Here’s a look at some highlights from their career:

• Alias
• Mission Impossible III
• Star Trek
• Star Trek II
• Transformers
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

There’s no doubt in my mind that the team of Kurtzman and Orci will do a great job.  THAT BEING SAID do we need another crack at Van Helsing?  What questions were left from the last Van Helsing movie other than “can I get my money back” #ZING!

Since the Stephen Somers/Hugh Jackman Van Helsing was released, two very important trends have run wild over Hollywood – Vampires and Reboots.  True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, a little franchise called Twilight, have taken vampires out of the dark and rather than reducing them to ash, we’ve covered them in glitter.  If anything were to end the vampire trend in pop culture, it might as well be a movie about a dude who hunts and kills Vampires (I’m casually looking past you Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter).

As far as reboots go, if a studio thinks it’s a good idea and it doesn’t perform at the box office (i.e. Ang Lee’s Hulk, Daredevil, Fantastic Four 1 & 2) that doesn’t mean it’s over… it means it’s going to get rebooted down the line.  Enter Kurtzman and Orci – the team that made Star Trek cool for the masses.

It was only a matter of time before we get reboots to all the classic Universal monster movies and it makes total sense to start with the original vampire slayer.

…yowza.  Well, Machete Kills just went from “yea, I’ll wait for Netflix” to take the day off of work and see the midnight show for every male in America.  When I set up my search terms for this article (and every article hence forth) as “Sofia Vergara” and “Leather Clad” and watch traffic to www.cinemasmash.com explode.

Fighting out of the Red Corner – Will Ferrell’s Cam Brady.  His opponent – fighting out of the… other Red Corner – Zach Galifianakis’ Marty Huggins.

The Campaign has all the potential in the world to steal the show in August.  Ferrell is back in a role similar to what launched him as a household name – a parody political character.  Cam Brady is part “Dubya” and part Ricky Bobby with some Ashley Schaeffer sprinkled on top.  This is Ferrell’s greatest hits album, so if nothing else, expect some quotable one liners.

Galifianakis’ Marty Huggins is going to look at lot like this.  ZG has been performing as his brother, Seth Galifianakis, for years, so I’d expect Marty Huggins to look a lot like Seth Galifianakis in a blazer.

In a summer jam packed with action movies (Avengers, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, Prometheus, The Expendables 2) and big budget comedies (The Dictator, What To Expect When You’re Expecting, That’s My Boy), The Campaign, if nothing else, will be a nice cathartic release for the nation who by August should be pretty sick of actual politics.

Gut Reaction:  I watched the trailer three times and I’m still not exactly sure what I just saw.  I did see the word “Uncomfortable” flash across that screen and that just about sums it up.

So if I’ve got this straight, the girl from Hugo teams up with the girl from Gossip Girl, Juliette Lewis, the preacher from Deadwood, and Alec Baldwin for some middle America version of the Oddessey full of guns, sugar-daddy fishing, and a trip to Vegas?  Did I get that right, team who is has brought Hick to life?

Judging by the wardrobe of Chloe Moretz, I’d say Hick is drawing it’s plot from elements from Lolita and Jody Foster’s character from Taxi Driver.  Based on the trailer, I’d say the themes and influence go far beyond her daisy dukes.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say this movie is BLEAK.

Chloe Moretz is a very talented actress no matter what her box office record says.  She’s made some bold choices in her young career (Let Me In and the upcoming remaining of Carrie) and I believe it will all pay off.  Probably not in Hick, but eventually, yes.

It’s Kinda Like: If Jody Foster’s character from Taxi Driver had her own movie and it was set in a very dusty place.

Target Audience: Indie film fans 18+.  I’d be willing to be that this will wind up on Video on Demand through most cable providers, so it will probably hook some people based on the fact that Blake Lively is in it.

Bold Prediction: $5M

Gut Reaction: It’s like any other movie you’ll see this summer… BUT WITH BALLS!  Wow!  Just dripping with testosterone.  Oozing Machismo.  The long awaited return of THE EXPENDABLES hits theaters this summer to blow August straight to hell.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – The Expendables “gets it” in the same way that Shaun of the Dead, The Lonely Island, and the team who writes/directs/produces Community get it.  They’re taking the most cliche aspects of a genre and running with it… TO THE EXTREME!

Here’s my case:

1. The Cast – you have the biggest action stars of all time in a “greatest hits” action movie all together on one screen.  The Expendables is to action movies what The Avengers are to comic book movies.

2. The Premise – the bad guys are after plutonium and The Expendables are the only people on earth who can stop him.  Not the President.  Not the Marines.  Nope – just a team of rag tag soldiers armed with their wits and a shit ton of ammo.  Why does he want the plutonium?  Who is he going to sell it to?  No idea!  Who cares?!  We get a Stallone vs. Van Dam fight on scaffolding!  NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

3. One liners galore – “I KNOW PRONOUNCE YOU MAN AND KNIFE.”  Do yourself a favor and take the day off of work now.  You’re going to see this movie.

4. Chuck Norris.  For the better part of a decade, Chuck Norris has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue and NOW he’s back in all of his bearded glory to kick ass and chew bubble gum and not swear on screen.  Prepare the Walker Texas Ranger lever… TO THE EXTREME.

It’s Kinda Like:   Imagine Eric Clapton, The Gallagher Brothers, and Sting got together to play the entire soundtrack from Spinal Tap.  Get it?  A group of English rock icons playing real songs originally written and performed to parody English heavy metal.

Target Audience: Men.  Men… WITH BALLS!

Bold Prediction: 100M easy.

JGL is EVERYWHERE!  Who saw this coming?  Did anyone watch 3rd Rock from the Sun and think that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was going to dominate Hollywood just a few years later?

This kid doesn’t miss.  Even if he’s not the lead guy in the movie (and pretty soon he’s going to be) he chooses his projects extremely well.  Here’s a quick cherry picked list that proves my point:

10 Things I Hate About You – The best high school comedy of the 90′s.  For real.

• Brick – 9/10.  This movie will launch the Cinema Smash Hall of Fame when I get around to writing it.  I’ll also come up with a better name for it.
• (500) Days of Summer – Indie movie insta-cred.  Starring JGL, Zooey Deschenal, and a soundtrack by The Smiths.
• Inception – big box office mind bender co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, and directed by Chris Nolan
• 50/50 – One of the best comedies of 2011 despite what the box office said.  Written by Seth Rogen
• Looper – This is going to be this year’s Drive.  Co-starring Bruce Willis, directed by Rian Johnson (who wrote Brick).
• The Dark Knight Rises – this is going to break just about every box office record known to man and he’s in it.

Here’s his IMDB page for further proof.

Now he’s making his directorial debut with a movie that sounds pretty hilarious AND stars Tony Danza?!  Sign me up.

The story follows a group of guys that “are laid off from an auto dealership, and one reluctantly becomes an Avon salesman. He survives the emasculation, relies on his charm and becomes a top seller. He then tries to save his town and help his struggling family by pulling in his macho unemployed pals to hawk beauty products so they can win a regional contest.”

Let’s review Marky Mark’s recent (cherry picked) track record:

• The Departed – Oscar nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
• The Fighter – a passion project of Mark’s that kept him in shape for 10 years AND was nominated for Best Picture.
• The Other Guys – an R-Rated Summer comedy that quietly made over $100M
• Ted – Have you seen the trailer?  This is going to make a bajillion dollars.
• Pain and Gain – Co-starring The Rock.  And the Oscar Goes To…

Everything Wahlberg touches turns to absolute gold.  Despite focusing on mostly dramatic roles, his comedic timing is off the charts good (for example Boogie Nights and The Departed).  Avon Men will be no different.  Depending on who signs up as his “macho unemployed pals” this has potential to be Old School good (funny premise pushed over the top by a dynamite supporting cast).