Best Pairing Ever

I wasn't planning to write about Date Night for reasons of obvious bias, but after going to the premiere last night I realized I'd be doing my readers a disservice not to tell them it's the first great comedy of 2010 and the funniest movie to be released since The Hangover. And I'm totally not just saying that cause I got to see Tina Fey. Though I did.

The idea of putting Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a movie together seems brilliant on paper, but turns out it's even more brilliant in reality. Not only are they both individually hilarious, but they have amazing comedic chemistry. Their interactions make every scene ten times funnier. It would be a huge shame if this was their only chance to work together, but seems like a safe bet it won't be.

While the two of them are certainly the biggest draw, everything else about the movie works just as well. The supporting cast is absolutely ridiculous, with people like Kristin Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, and Leighton Meester filling in some of the smaller roles (and for any Curb Your Enthusiasm fans out there, J.B. Smoove plays a bit part and is just as great here). The script keeps the jokes going strong and consistent, and contains two big sequences I won't spoil here that kept me laughing from start to finish.

With Baby Mama better in concept and casting than execution, Tina Fey's biggest success in film is still for writing Mean Girls. This will be the movie that launches her as a movie star. So if you enjoy laughing, go see Date Night this weekend. It's a far better use of your money than the super lame looking Clash of the Titans, and you don't have to pay the extra $4 for added-after-the-fact 3-D.

Also, 300th post!!!

Spring Movie Preview

It may not feel like spring with all the snow the East Coast has been hit with the past month, but that's what we're going to call the season from February through April. So if you've already seen Avatar twice and just can't drag yourself to go see The Blind Side, here's ten upcoming movies that may prove worth leaving your apartment to see.

Shutter Island (February 19th)

Yes, this came out yesterday, but since I couldn't put it on my fall preview it's going on now. With reviews calling this Scorsese's The Shining and Dennis Lehane as the source material, I'm excited enough that I've already got my tickets for today.

Cop Out (February 26th)

Admittedly, the trailers don't look that great. It seems like a lame buddy cop comedy is released every spring and I end up checking it out on DVD or not at all. But I've never not seen a Kevin Smith movie (that includes Jersey Girl), and Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan are a fun pairing, so I may give this a shot.

A Prophet (February 26th)

This French film is one of only two Best Foreign Film nominees at the Oscars that anyone's ever heard of (and who really wants to sit through The White Ribbon). An intense gangster/prison movie, I'm not entirely sure what it's about but the trailer's pretty compelling.

Alice in Wonderland (March 5th)

One of the first big event movies of 2010, and the one that will get Avatar kicked off all the 3-D screens. Tim Burton could just mess this up the way he did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I'm betting his oddball vision will be just what Lewis Carroll's classic has always needed.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (March 19th)

You may not have heard of the bestselling YA series this movie is based on, but you should work on fixing that. I tore through the first 3 books in 3 days, and laughed out loud constantly from start to finish. If the movie's even half as funny (and I've heard it's well more than that), we're looking at a movie that could nail the horrors of middle school and make it funny.

Greenberg (March 26th)

Whatever you thought about Margot at the Wedding, there's no denying The Squid and the Whale as one of the greatest movies of the 2000s, so I'm eagerly anticipating Noah Baumbach's next one, in which Ben Stiller seems to play an older version of Jesse Eisenberg's typical character.

Hot Tub Time Machine (March 26th)

Really funny or really, really stupid? Too soon to tell. But with John Cusack, Rob Corddry, and Darryl from The Office in the cast, there's hope for the former.

Clash of the Titans (April 2nd)

Another 3-D experiment that may just give Greek gods the Transformers treatment (not that I can even decipher the trailer). But I'm a sucker for Greek mythology and Liam Neeson, so I may get dragged into it if it's not too awful.

Date Night (April 9th)

Fox and Shawn Levy give America the comic pairing we've dreamed of in Steve Carell and Tina Fey as regular family folk whose night out gets them caught up in all sorts of action shenanigans. The rest of the cast is equally awesome and the trailer looks pretty damn funny.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (April 23rd)

The first Wall Street is a classic that nails the world of 1980s finance. Now's the perfect time for a reboot. The fun trailer's a good sign, and adding Carey Mulligan and Josh Brolin to the cast helps me forgive the inclusion of Shia LaBeouf.

So what are you most excited to see before Iron Man 2 kicks off summer movie season? What future classics did I shamefully leave off (anyone excited for Green Zone? Anyone?)? And which ones are only on here so I could reach the magic number 10 (I'm looking at you, Clash of the Titans)? Let me know in the comments.