Yola, America. That's a new hybrid black/Spanish greeting I just made up, I think it's going to be a big crossover hit. Start sending in your royalty payments now, kids. Anyway, we're here for one thing and one thing only this week: getting paid. I am, anyhow. Why are you here? Movie reviews? I'll see what I can do.

In Theaters Now:

Batman Vegans
I want to meet the guy who dreamt up the idea for this movie, and kick him right in the dick. You've got a perfect opportunity to make a fun movie about the caped crusader (that's Batman, right? I know Superman had a cape, too, but did he crusade? Not sure about that one. He didn't seem like the crusading type to me. Though to be frank, it does surprise me a little bit that Batman went over to the Middle East and kicked ass for Christ. I always thought he was a Buddhist or a Mormon or something), kicking rubberized ass and using swank gadgets to do it, but instead you put him on a mission to educate people about the injustice inherent in consuming animal products. God, which one of our favorite superheros aren't they going to ruin? First, the Hulk spends his whole movie speaking out against steroid use, and then Daredevil wants handicapped access ramps put in everywhere. And now this. Somebody just kick me in the dick and get it over with.

The Honeymoonies
Every once in a while, a movie comes out that's so crazy it works, in spite of violating every law of what is natural and good. By rights, any screwball comedy about Unification church heads Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han Moon should be cause for rioting and political revolt, but this time it really works. Sun Myung dead-ringer Cedric the Entertainer fills the cult leader's shoes admirably and perfectly captures the essence of what it is to be a deified by millions yet still be chased around by your wife with a frying pan whenever you do something stupid. Gabrielle Union, who you might remember from not a goddamned thing, is also brilliant as Hak Ja Han, Moon's street-smart wife from the Korean ghetto who doesn't take any bullshit and is equally sweet and quick with her fists. Some Moonies have complained that the film doesn't do a good enough job of showing how Sun Myung is God, but fuck 'em.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
I'm sure the fanatical fanboys out there will disagree, but I don't care how much whiteface you put on Will Smith, he still doesn't look like Brad Pitt to me. Jada Pinkett Smith does a better job channeling Angelina Jolie, though Rick Baker's work on her animatronic puffy lips didn't always suspend my disbelief. The heretic in me wonders if they couldn't have just cast the real Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in these roles, but then I guess they would have had to change the title, and Mr. and Mrs. Probably Are Dating just doesn't have the same ring to it. For what it's worth, this hyperviolent remake of War of the Roses does have an enjoyable disregard for the concepts of love and human decency, and it is refreshing to finally see Will Smith in a movie that doesn't stink like robots.

And that's that, America. You came, you saw, I reviewed. But not in that order. If it was in that order, then I'm doing something wrong and will probably be getting a visit from the TimeCops. And I hate those guys.

June 6, 2005
In the interest of complete honesty, I'll tell you there are hardly any DVDs of first-release movies coming out in the near future. Blame the big distraction that is the summer blockbuster season. But the good news is, there's always TV. I thought... (6/6/05)

May 30, 2005
G'day, America, we're phoning in this week's edition of Entertainment Police from an Aussie state of mind, and by that I mean I'm stuck in an airport in Austria. Word to the wise: don't accept an invitation to the Greater Chinese Film Festival,... (5/30/05)

May 23, 2005
I have tried to tune out the entertainment "news," such as it is, this week. I may have gotten my wires crossed on this one, but is it true some theaters in Kentucky are boycotting films because of Darth Vader's involvement in the Vietnam War?... (5/23/05)

May 16, 2005
Great Googly Moogly, America. I'm not kidding, this is the best Googly Moogly I've ever had, my compliments to the chef. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't get good Chinese food from a place that also recycles athletic equipment. One stop... (5/16/05)