RIP IT UP MOVIE CLUB: Jim Carey Returns To His Roots

Thursday , 11 Aug 2011

Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Returning to his Ace Ventura roots, Jim Carrey stars in this family comedy alongside a sextet of co-stars from the deep Antarctic.

Directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), Mr. Popper’s Penguins sees Carrey as the title character, a businessman who finds his world flipped upside down when he inherits six penguins. There is a likely reason you don’t see Donald Trump prancing around with penguins in his home and this fact isn’t lost on Popper, who quickly tries to find a new home for his aquatic acquaintances.

However, when his children fall for their new feathered friends, Popper reluctantly takes on the penguins, thus turning his apartment into a sort of Winter Wonderland.
With the parade of penguins in tow, Popper soon finds himself thawing out to them, which sees his professional side slip away and helps him reconnect with his kids.
With more than a hint of Liar Liar and the Ace Ventura series, this family comedy should be a great film for the kids, whilst reminding older audience members of Carrey’s films from the ‘90s.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins is out on August 18th.

Priest
Further enhancing his reputation as the go-to man for religious thrillers in Hollywood, Paul Bettany (Legion, The Da Vinci Code) stars in this sci-fi thriller, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, where the world has been ravaged by centuries of war between men and vampires.

Directed by Scott Charles Stewart (Legion), Priest features Bettany playing a legendary warrior priest, who having survived the last Vampire war, has opted for a life of obscurity among the other human inhabitants in a dystopian world run by the Church.

However, he is drawn out of seclusion when a gang of vampires abduct his niece. Setting out to rescue her and extract vengeance, the legendary warrior is joined by his niece’s boyfriend, played by rising Hollywood star Cam Gigandet (Burlesque).

Although Legion hardly set the box office alight (in fact the only flaming came form critics), you’d like to believe that Stewart will have learnt from past mistakes and put forward a decent adaptation of one of Korea’s most popular comics. If you enjoyed Daybreakers, 30 Days of Night or the Blade series, this might just be something for you to sink your fangs into.

Priest is out on August 25th.

The Change-Up
Ladies rejoice. Ryan Reynolds’ latest reason to take his shirt off is here. Fresh off Green Lantern, Reynolds plays Mitch, a carefree womanising bachelor living a stress-free life with absolutely no responsibilities. Opposite Reynolds is Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses), playing Mitch’s best friend Dave, an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three.

After a drunken night out (the set up for many a great comedy) the two best friends declare that each is jealous of the other’s life. Following that old adage “be careful what you wish for”, they then wake up the next morning to find that they have somehow switched bodies.

With David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) at the helm, combined with the comedic talents of Reynolds and Bateman and a great cast including the likes of Leslie Mann (Funny People), Olivia Wilde (Cowboys & Aliens) and Alan Arkin (Get Smart), The Change-Up promises to be one of the better comedies of the year.