New Movie Friday

"Green Lantern" - Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard
Perhaps one of the lesser-known superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the Green Lanterns are a group of intergalactic guardians who are powered by mystical rings that allow them to bring forth anything they can imagine. In this film, hotshot pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is chosen by one of the rings just before earth is attacked by a dangerous foe. Oh, how I want this to be good. I'm even taking in a midnight showing. And yet, I'm almost certain it's going to let me down. The trailer is really, really awful and I'm losing more and more faith by the minute. Not good.

"Mr. Popper's Penguins" - Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Clark Gregg
Based on a beloved children's book, "Popper" centers around a grumpy businessman (Carrey) whose priorities are changed when he inherits a half dozen penguins. Hopefully there's a healthy amount of family fun involved here because the trailers and early press have been pretty bad. More importantly, if you're Jim Carrey's agent, isn't it time you put together a plan for how to get this guy back on top (or somewhere near it)? I believe in Carrey's talent and his comedic value but it seems like forever since he's done something that mattered. This probably won't change that.

"The Art of Getting By" - Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano (limited)
An intelligent high school slacker (Highmore) reassess his life when he befriends a popular coed (Roberts). I feel like I should be interested in this given my fondness for "It's Kind of a Funny Story"-type films but each time I've seen the trailer or read a blurb about this, I get less and less interested. I also have a hard time taking Highmore seriously as a high school senior even though he's 19 years old. He'll always be Charlie to Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka for me.