In the realm of movies inspired by video games such as Streetfighter, Mortal Kombat and Super Mario Bros, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an amazing movie. When comparing it to other adventure themed movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy or any of the Indiana Jones films (yes even Crystal Skull), Persia falls way short of the mark. It’s not terrible in an offensive way, but there is absolutely nothing magical about the film at all. It is merely mediocre at best.

The Hollywood Reporter recently ran a story about the casting of Peter Parker for the Spider-Man reboot. According to them, director Mark Webb (could he have a more appropriate last name for this project?) has narrowed the field down to a handful of young actors, although there have been no screen tests as of yet. 

Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest box office weekends of the year and there are two major releases contending for your dollars.  Sex and the City 2 which is actually opening today and Disney hopes to launch a new franchise with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. There are also some holdovers that should still perform well this weekend; look for Shrek Forever After to have a good hold over the 4 day frame and Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood should round out the top 5. Take a look. 

The finale for Lost has left some fans completely satisfied while others feel ripped off by the conclusion of the show. They feel that the answers given weren’t enough and that the series on a whole was a complete waste of time. Many theories have sprung up about what it all means. Some of those theories are ridiculous (the castaways all died on flight 815 and the island was a construct of Jack’s mind in his last few minutes of life) and some are spot on (the island was real and the flash sideways was a version of purgatory). There are plenty of questions that went seemingly unanswered, but the truth is, every answer you need has been imbedded throughout the entire series. Some answers are hard and fast while others are meant to be interpreted from clues and hints sprinkled throughout episodes. 

Shrek Forever After is an adventure filled and amusing film that the whole family will enjoy. Sure it’s not quite as magical as the first film, but I think it was an improvement over parts 2 and 3. The story was fun and imaginative and gave the audience a chance to meet the familiar characters all over again. As always for me, Eddie Murphy’s Donkey steals the show. The character has the funniest lines in the film and I truly get a kick out of him. As much as I enjoyed the movie and believe other adults will as well, I realize that Shrek is predominantly meant for kids and therefore their opinion is more important. With that in mind, I’ve interviewed both my nine year old daughter and my six year old son to see what they thought of the movie. 

It’s a good thing that Shrek Forever After is the last film in the series because it didn’t even come close to matching the opening of its predecessors signaling that audiences are tired of the character. Shrek 4 will still attain box office heights that will make most other films green with envy, but for the series it will be viewed as a box office disappointment. The only other wide release of the weekend, MacGruber inspired by the SNL skit of the same name, proved to be yet another box office dud for the venerable sketch show. Take a look. 

This weekend two new releases hit multiplexes; the fourth and final (?) chapter of the most successful animated franchise of all time, Shrek Forever After and Will Forte stars in MacGruber based on the SNL sketch. Shrek will clearly have an ogre-sized opening weekend, but how big is big? Will Shrek 4 be able to live up to the gigantic opening weekends of parts 2 and 3? Take a look.

Tony Stark fended off Robin Hood as Iron Man 2 remained the #1 movie at the box office this weekend. The Armored Avenger has spent the first two weeks of the summer movie season on top but will be smacked down by big, green ogre, Shrek next weekend. Robin Hood opened in second place and is off to a decent if not solid start. Letters to Juliet and Just Wright both did moderately well, coming in at third and fourth respectively. 

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood. I was extremely skeptical of this film for quite a few reasons and sat down to watch it with low expectations at best. From the time I heard about this project I thought that Crowe was woefully miscast as everyone’s favorite arrow slinger. Russell Crowe as Robin Hood!? Ten years ago I would’ve been psyched about that but Mr. Crowe seems a tad too old now to be playing the champion of Sherwood Forest. The trailer didn’t help either. It made the film look like a rehash of Scott and Crowe’s Gladiator set in Sherwood Forest, lacking any of the humor or the warmth the character is so well known for. I was expecting a long, tedious film with endless battle scenes devoid of any emotion but I was wrong. Instead Robin Hood is a well paced, action filled film that is jam packed with political intrigue and anchored by terrific performances from a solid cast. It’s not perfect; there are a few things lacking, but overall I enjoyed the rebooted version of Robin of the Hood very much.

After a tremendous start to the summer season with Iron Man 2, things slow down considerably this weekend with three new releases that don’t really have much in the way of box office potential. Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up once again to bring us yet another version of Robin Hood. Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave take a road trip through Italy in Letters to Juliet and Queen Latifah falls in love with Common in sports themed romantic comedy, Just Wright. Will Robin Hood be able to take on Iron Man? It’s not very likely. I’m fairly sure that Tny Stark's armor is arrow-proof.