I was excited at the prospect of Kevin Smith directing a buddy cop movie. The original title, A Couple of Dicks, hinted at some of the irreverence that made Smith famous. Warner Bros. changed the title to Cop Out for marketing purposes then proceeded to market it to death, oddly leaving mention of Smith out of the campaign. Even though he didn’t write it, I had hopes that Smith’s presence would have at least helped fill in the cracks or stretch the funny if needed.

Well it was sorely needed and sadly, it didn’t work. It was almost like Kevin Smith directing a movie written by someone not as talented trying to write a Kevin Smith movie. Wait, that’s actually exactly what it was. It was supposed to pay homage to this type of movie but it was just a lazy, uninspired copy. Of a copy. For what it’s worth, everyone else in the theatre where I saw it was at least 20 years older than me and they couldn’t stop laughing. I guess that’s something.

Time for a little SPOILER TALK. Below are some of my random, non-sequential spoiler-filled thoughts and rants about the movie. Leave your comments about the movie below.

Just got out of an early morning showing of The Crazies here on the West Coast and I’m ready to talk some spoilers!

A reinvention loosely based on the George Romero classic of the same name, The Crazies is about the inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply. The Breck Eisner film stars Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker, and Joe Anderson.

I had a lot of fun with The Crazies. It was tense, had good suspense, had great pacing, was shot well and most certainly looked better than the $20 million budget would lead you to believe. The film definitely deserves its place among the ranks of well made horror/suspense films.

If you have seen The Crazies, then, it’s time for SPOILER TALK! Below are some of my spoiler-filled thoughts on the film, and as always, remember to leave your thoughts about the movie here below in the Comments section.

Two weeks ago, MTV began their 7-week “Home is Where the Horror Is“ movie series, where a different horror movie will air on MTV every Saturday night at 10pm.

We just wanted to give you all a head’s up that there’s still five more movies to be shown in the coming weeks: Land Of The Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, Slither, Deep Blue Sea, and House Of The Devil.

Watch the trailer for MTV’s limited movie series and check out the complete schedule here below.

Saturday Horror Movies Schedule

27-Feb LAND OF THE DEAD
06-Mar THE HILLS HAVE EYES
13-Mar SLITHER
20-Mar DEEP BLUE SEA
27-Mar HOUSE OF THE DEVIL

[Note, the first two weeks, the network showed HOUSE OF WAX (13-Feb) and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (20-Feb).]

Cop Out
Directed by Kevin Smith
Starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jason Lee, Seann William Scott, Adam Brody, Fred Armisen
Rated R
Release date: February 26, 2010

Cop out — an idiom meaning to avoid taking responsibility for an action or to avoid fulfilling a duty.

Kevin Smith has probably been guilty of “copping out” many times in his life. The question is, “Was the title of his latest film a self-fulfilling prophecy?”

I’m a huge Kevin Smith fan. I’ve seen all of his films, purchased every Evening With DVD, and salivate every time a new episode of his popular podcast (SModcast) is released. That being said I don’t think he’s without his flaws. As an actor/director he leaves much to be desired. On the flip side, as a writer/speaker he is tremendous.

Knowing this, I went into Cop Out with some reservations. This was the first film he’s directed that he hasn’t also written. It’s also the first time working without long-time collaborator/SModcast co-host/producer Scott Mosier and his presence seems to be the heart and soul of a Kevin Smith film. So it was an uphill battle from the start with this movie.

Let me get thing clear right off the go: I have a significant religious background. For eight years or so, I went to church three times a week or more, was part of a Christian drama group that performed all over the country, and even taught Sunday School to kids ages 6-12 for a couple of years.

With that said: those days have long since past for me now, and I’ve made a long and slow transition from happily optimistic to cautiously agnostic (forgive me, I watched Woody Allen’s Manhattan the other night). Nonetheless, when I see and hear things like this story that you’re about to read, it absolutely infuriates me.

Founder and Pastor of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, Mark Driscoll has been making quite a name for himself as of late. With his young, hip, and energetic appearance, and his grasp on what’s “cool,” he’s custom built to attract the multitudes of young people who seek guidance and answers in their life, and he and his church have been gaining popularity at an amazing rate. In this, there is absolutely nothing wrong; if these kids seek guidance and he offers them some hope, all power to him.

Continue reading on for a lot more and to watch a video clip.