Cop Out

The Summer movie season just heated up with entrants like Inception, but there's still plenty of reason to stay in to catch a flick. Check out the new rentals out this week, and plan your air-conditioned sofa adventure accordingly.

The Runaways

Kristen Stewart forgoes Bella Swan's flowing locks in favor of a choppy black mullet to play Joan Jett in this biopic of '70s band The Runaways. Stewart is strong as the rocker, but more impressive is Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie as she goes from wide-eyed high schooler to drug-addled teen rock star. I enjoyed the flick a lot, even if it does rely on some common rock movie conventions.

The DVD extras include a commentary track with Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart, and Dakota Fanning and a behind-the-scenes feature.

65%

Cop Out

Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan team up in Kevin Smith's buddy cop movie, but the novelty of the two of them paired up is where the laughs end. The script is so full of flat, inane jokes that you don't get to appreciate the comedy that Morgan usually brings. I generally enjoy Kevin Smith movies, but I just couldn't get behind this one. Still, as a rental, it's worth it to watch Seann William Scott steal scenes as a petty criminal.

The DVD includes a few deleted scenes from the film.

19%

One more new release when you read more

Movie-goers shipped off of Shutter Island and headed down the rabbit hole instead this weekend, putting Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on top with an impressive $116.3 million. Newbie Brooklyn's Finest made a solid debut with $13.5 million, while Shutter Island nipped at its heels with $13.3 million.

Tracy Morgan's Cop Out slid to fourth with $9.1 million, with Avatar rounding out the top five and pulling in $7.7 million in its 12th week.

The weekend's new releases proved to be no match for Leonardo DiCaprio and the patients of Shutter Island. The film continued its reign of the box office over the weekend, raking in an additional $22.2 million in its second week in theaters.

Kevin Smith's Cop Out debuted to some mixed reviews, but managed $18.5 million for second place, while newcomer horror flick The Crazies followed close behind with $16.5 million for third. Avatar still placed strong with $14 million for No. 4, and rounding out the top five was Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway pop up in London for the premiere of Alice in Wonderland, where she gracefully composed herself after a wobbly moment. A Glee star gives us details about what's to come, and Maggie Gyllenhaal poses with fellow Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe in NYC. Plus, our review of Cop Out on the weekend edition of PopSugar Rush!

It's easy to cast an odd couple in a movie, counting on their unexpected pairing for the initial draw. For Cop Out, that couple is Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, a seasoned action vet and a live-wire comic. It's an inspired pair, and though there are some laughs in this caper, there's also a lot of laziness that makes this movie . . . wait for it . . . a total cop out.

As Jimmy and Paul, the straight man and goofy screw-up who have been police partners for nine long years, Willis and Morgan induce chuckles just by interacting in the beginning. Where director Kevin Smith goes wrong is relying too much on the sight gag of the polar opposites together.

To hear more of what I thought, just read more

Bruce Willis brought his wife Emma Heming to last night's premiere of Cop Out in NYC. Tracy Morgan coordinated his red outfit with the carpet, where the guys were joined by Seann William Scott and Michelle Trachtenberg. Their costar Adam Brody was fresh from LA, though he turned up without his female traveling companion, while Kevin Smith also made it despite his recent airplane difficulties. Tracy was excited to share all about the best part of working on the film, which opens on Friday. "Just to be able to star in a big action movie," he said. "[It was] the biggest thing that I've ever done in my career and it was with Bruce Willis."

To see more photos, just read more

There are a lot of things that please me about the preview for Cop Out (formerly known as the less SFW-sounding A Couple of Dicks): a return to form as a tough-talking officer for Bruce Willis, an always hilarious Tracy Morgan, and the fact that the movie is directed by Kevin Smith, but does not look like a Kevin Smith film.

Though I'll always have a soft spot for Mallrats and Clerks, it looks like the Smith-isms have been toned down for this raucous and fun buddy cop flick, instead playing to the actors' strengths rather than the director's. Morgan and Willis together is enough to get me excited, while the promise of Adam Brody's appearance in the movie (though not the trailer, boo) sweetens the pot. Brody's not the only rad actor who's been included, either; Rashida Jones, Jason Lee, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Fred Armisen are all in the cast list.

To see the trailer, just read more