Based on a series of popular books by Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid tells the story of Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), a young boy just entering the 6th Grade and self-described "wimpy kid". Greg is small for his age and desperately concerned with his popularity and physical safety as he ventures into the dog-eat-dog world of middle school. Of course, his school isn't as frightening of a place as he envisions in his mind. It's pretty much your standard middle class suburban school with a modicum of diversity. But to an undersized 10-year old it's a prison of positively Shawshankian proportions. His best friend is the portly Rowley (Robert Capron). He is even more socially awkward than Greg and a continuing embarrassment for them both. Rowley's immaturity is a constant source of consternation for Greg. He still listens to "kid's music" and invites Greg over to "play" instead of the more age-appropriate "hang out". While these might seem like trivial breaches, they can major be faux pas while attempting to navigate the byzantine social protocols of junior high.

Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame tackles a more earthly romance in the new film Remember Me.  He of the permanent bed-head plays Tyler Hawkins, a tormented, trust fund living, literature-loving, rebel without a comb.  When Tyler and his best friend/roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington) get roughed up outside a bar by a gruff police officer (Chris Cooper), they decide to exact their revenge by having Tyler seduce the officer’s daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin), who just happens to be fellow NYU student.  But their plan goes awry when she turns out to be the sort of quirky-cute girl that orders dessert for an appetizer.  Sigh. 

Director Paul Greengrass gives the Iraq War the “Bourne” treatment in the new film Green Zone.  Reteamed with his Bourne star, Matt Damon plays U.S. Army chief warrant officer Roy Miller.  Tasked with finding weapons of mass destruction, he’s becoming increasingly frustrated with repeatedly coming up empty.  When his superiors begin to bristle at his pointed questions regarding the woefully inaccurate intel they’ve been providing, Miller goes off the reservation and begins to search for WMD using his own sources.  Miller almost instantly, with the help of anti-Ba’athist local Freddy (Khalid Abdalla), stumbles on to a top secret strategy meeting of the upper echelon of Saddaam Hussein’s Republican Guard.  Armed with this information he is quickly forced to choose sides between the Bush administration, represented by Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), and the CIA, represented by Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson). 

Most movies are bad.  There.  I’ve said it.  There are so many movable parts, so many variables to the movie making process that, in all honesty, it’s amazing good movies ever get made at all.  Beyond the obvious things like acting and writing there are so many other things that can go horribly wrong.  Woody Allen, after a disastrous test screening, had his directorial debut of the now classic comedy Take the Money and Run saved by the editing of Ralph Rosenblum and new score courtesy of Marvin Hamlisch.  For all of the complaints about test-screenings, they’ve probably saved (or at least improved) more movies than they ever hurt.  While making a great (or even good) movie is hard, making a truly horrible movie is just as difficult.  Make no mistake; making a bad movie isn’t hard.  It happens all the time.  I’m talking about a truly, legendary, “so bad it’s good” movie.  I’m talking Plan 9 from Outer Space bad.  Manos the Hands of Fate bad.  Santa Claus Conquers the Martians bad.  While there are countless films that could be considered “great,” films that achieve the status ‘enjoyably atrocious’ are few and far between.  It takes just the right amount of bad acting and bad writing combined with a heaping helping of hubris and a complete lack of self-awareness on the part of the “auteur.”  It is, with those criteria in mind, that I submit to you…The Room.