What sounds like an excellent set-up for a movie turns out to be just another run of the mill, disappointingly mediocre comedy. Directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Stay) and starring Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman, Stranger Than Fiction takes the idea of a man facing his impending death at the whim of a British writer and instead of running with it, casually swaggers to a predictable finish.

Traveling raccoon con artist, RJ (Willis), arrives in a woods outside a human city in the Midwest, excited about the wonders that living near humans can bring hungry animals. What he finds, however, is an Amish-like community that is deathly afraid of humans, after their leader, Vern the tortoise (Shandling), has an encounter with human boys that terrifies him. Encouraged by RJ, however, the animals slowly venture over the hedge that separates them from the brand new suburban development that appeared over the winter while they were sleeping, and what RJ shows them is a whole new world where humans leave tin cans full of fish and other food in big canisters, ripe for the taking. As they get closer and closer to humans, however, their comfortable lives in the woods appears to be threatened… Written by austin4577@aol.com

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In the hilarious comedy Daddy Day Care, two fathers (Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin) lose their jobs in product development at a large food company and are forced to take their sons out of the exclusive Chapman Academy and become stay-at-home fathers. With no job possibilities on the horizon, the two dads open their own day care facility, “Daddy Day Care“, and employ some fairly unconventional and sidesplitting methods of caring for children. As “Daddy Day Care” starts to catch on, it launches them into a highly comedic rivalry with Chapman Academy’s tough-as-nails director (Anjelica Huston) …who has driven all previous competitors out of business. Written by Sony Pictures Publicity

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Dreamer Max, ridiculed by his classmates, conjures up his perfect dreamworld…the Planet Drool. But his dream is more powerful than even he suspects, and his favourite dream super-heroes, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, materialise on Earth. They need help from Max. All is not well in Max’s dreamworld. An alien intelligence is interfering and darkness threatens his beloved Planet Drool. Is it true, as Sharkboy and Lavagirl say, that only Max, the powerful dreamer, can stop it? Max takes off on a wild and dangerous journey to the fantastic Planet Drool with Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Can they discover the source of the danger? Will they be able to stop it in time? Written by Yaalaast

The film is the story of an undercover agent who, after failing to protect an important government scientist, learns the man’s family is in danger. In an effort to redeem himself, he agrees to take care of the man’s children only to discover that child care is his toughest mission yet. Written by Risin’ Outlaw

On a scale of “Country Bears” to “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Haunted Mansion” looks as fabulous as “Pirates” but falls closer to “Country Bears” in overall effort. The production design looks great but there’s not much to the plot or even to the acting for that matter. Suffice it to say, when the three hitchhiking ghosts appear, you’ll be more than ready to join them in getting the heck out of Dodge.

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