The Big Year

Drive

Ryan Gosling plays the strong, silent type in this action-packed thriller about a stunt driver who moonlights driving getaway cars for thieves. He's thrown for a loop when he falls for his next-door neighbor (Carey Mulligan), and agrees to help her husband with a robbery that goes horribly awry. The film is engaging, impossibly stylish, and boasts a killer soundtrack, as well as top-notch performances from Gosling and Albert Brooks. DVD extras include featurettes.

93%

In Time

This futuristic flick takes us to a world where time is currency, and once you hit 25, you need your minutes to stay alive. Unfortunately, the rich keep getting richer and the poor, like Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), are fighting for survival. Will becomes a target when he's gifted an eyebrow-raising number of minutes, and sets out on a moral crusade against the elite to help himself and others who are in his situation. Though the idea of the film is promising, the dialogue and convoluted plot don't live up to expectations. DVD extras include deleted scenes and extended scenes.

37%

One more release when you read more

It took fancy footwork to win the box office this weekend, but it was boxing and not dancing that got the victory. Real Steel got to the top of the box office for the second week in a row with $16.3 million. It just barely edged ahead of dance reboot Footloose, which earned $16.1 million in its first weekend out. Fellow new release and remake The Thing came in third with $8.7 million. Political drama The Ides of March stayed in the game at the No. 4 spot with $7.5 million, followed by Dolphin Tale with $6.3 million. Unfortunately, the Steve Martin/Jack Black/Owen Wilson comedy The Big Year didn't crack the top five; it came in ninth with a meager $3.3 million dollars.

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks

I have to give The Big Year some credit for straying from the idea that comedies either need to be raunchy, romantic, or dumbed down for kids these days. The film feels more like an old-fashioned comedy, before the genre became overrun with fart jokes and one actor playing every role himself. Though it won't make you roll your eyes, the downside is that The Big Year won't really make you laugh, either.

As three very different birders (that's "bird-watchers" for you amateurs) determined to see the most species in the span of a year — aka, a "big year" — Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin turn in genuine and likable performances. The film has heart and a feel-good message, but watching three dudes check out woodpeckers through their binoculars is about as boring as it sounds.

To find out why The Big Year never really gets off the ground, just read more

Steve Martin chatted about The Big Year at a recent press day in NYC along with his costars Owen Wilson and Jack Black. The trio, who play birders competing for a world record in the film, have great comic chemistry, and they joked about their antics on set and even confessed to a night of debauchery. The Big Year trailer gives a peek of what's to come when the movie is out on Oct. 14. The three get along great, but Steve in particular was happy their on-set time didn't include any out-there pranks. They said:

What was it like on set – were there any pranks?

Steve Martin: I’m not much of a prankster.

Owen Wilson: Oh come on, April Fool's Day — you wait for that to come around like nobody’s business.

SM: On April Fool’s Day, I change people’s calendar to April 2nd.

OW: It wasn’t really a prank-filled set

SM: When I hear about a prank-filled set, I think, "Ugh, I’m so glad I’m not on that movie."

Jack Black: Every time I do a press junket I always regret that I didn’t pull a George Clooney prank, so that I would have a prank to talk about later. We really missed an opportunity there, guys.

SM: We should have hired a writer to come up with some pranks that we could have said we played. We did have fun and we hung out on the set.

To read what else the guys joked about, just keep reading.

• Here are the first photos of Hank Azaria as Gargamel in the Smurfs movie! — Coming Soon
• Lynn Redgrave has passed away at 67 — Vulture
• Daria is finally coming out on DVD! — PopWatch
• Proceed with caution: the Piranha 3D trailer is here — MTV Movies Blog
• Rose Byrne joins Kristen Wiig's bridesmaid comedy — The Wrap
• Watch The Simpsons do Ke$ha's Tik Tok — HitFix
• You can hear but not see Ryan Reynolds in this new Buried teaser trailer — Deadline Hollywood
• Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, and Jim Parsons join Owen Wilson in The Big Year — Inside Movies
• Betty White talks SNL on The Today Show — TresSugar
• Zoolander 2 runs into financial problems, may not be happening — Cinematical

• Clint Eastwood is eyeing a J. Edgar Hoover biopic with producer Brian Grazer. Oscars 2012, anyone? — HitFix
• Betty White will host SNL on May 8 — People
• The CW takes on two new reality shows: One Mass Dance and Shed to Wed (both are just like they sound) — EW.com
• And the next action star is . . . Leonardo da Vinci?! — MTV Movies Blog
• This new Robin Hood trailer makes the film look so much better — Cinematical
• Elisha Cuthbert gets a comedy pilot for ABC — Inside TV
• Found it! Pam's hospital room painting on The Office — CasaSugar
• Malin Akerman, Milo Ventimiglia, and Gary Oldman build A Criminal Empire For Dummys — Collider
• Steve Martin joins Jack Black and Owen Wilson in The Big Year — Inside Movies
• File this under WTF: Amy Winehouse to create a clothing line — E! Online