The escape is found to be hard for some, but quite easy for the grown men. In the days before Xbox, texting and technological babysitters these boys knew how to have fun outdoors. They find it a defeating task in trying to pass on this joy to their own children who have been living the luxurious life. Lenny’s wife (Salma Hayek) is a fashion designer, which comes with many perks. Many of those being that her children never do anything on there own due to the live in nanny. Both boys are extremely dependent on video games that once in the outdoors they are at a lost of what to do.

Eric has his own family problems with a wife (Maria Bello) who is still nursing their three-year-old son. Kurt is a stay at home fathers whose wife (Maya Rudolph) is constantly undermining him and makes him feel insignificant. Marcus is still on the prowl, searching for his next one nightstand and enjoys drinking himself to sleep. Finally Rob has found love with a woman three times his age and his friends are bewildered by his love interest and his beautiful daughters who seem to look nothing like him.

Grown Ups offered a strong cast that has some solid comical moments. However it was no different then watching a former SNL skit. There was great chemistry but many of the jokes just were duds and wound up sinking the dialogue very quickly. It was a pleasant change to see a film with comedy where it surrounds how so many of the young adults are dependant on the vast technology that they forget or don’t know how to skip a rock. If any good comes from this film perhaps it will be the lesson that children need time outdoors to be kids. Overall Grown Ups sinks rather quickly and just can’t regain the entertainment an audience would like to see. Sandler lost his touch a long time ago and that does not seem to be changing anytime soon.

We have a select number of passes for the screening on Thursday, May 20 at 9:00 PM at the AMC Mainstreet. Winners will be chosen on May 11. An email notification will be sent to the winners. Your name will be added to a list and a screening rep will check you in as  you enter the theatre; no passes needed. Be sure to get there early. These screenings are overbooked to fill every seat. Only ONE entry per email address. Only eligible for Kansas/Missouri metro area residents. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

MACGRUBER

Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger.  Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor and 7 presidential medals of bravery.  And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet.  In 2010, Will Forte brings Saturday Night Live’s clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen in the action comedy MacGruber.
 
In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands.  But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job.
 
Assembling an elite team of experts—Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig)—MacGruber will navigate an army of assassins to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice.  His methods may be unorthodox.  His crime scenes may get messy.  But if you want the world saved right, you call in MacGruber.

Monsters vs. Aliens: When Susan Murphy is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is instantly labeled a “Monster” named Ginormica. The military jumps into action, and she is captured and held in a secret government compound filled with other “monsters” like herself.

This ragtag group consists of the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, P.H.D.; the macho half-Ape-half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement time is cut short however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to save the world from imminent destruction.

Away We Go: Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover “home” on their own terms for the first time. The movie features the music of Alexi Murdoch.

The Brother’s Bloom: Welcome to the world of The Brothers Bloom, where deception is an art and nothing is as it seems. The brothers have perfected the art of swindling fortunes through years of fraternal teamwork. Now they’ve decided to take on one last spectacular job—luring a beautiful and eccentric heiress into an elaborate plot that takes them around the world.

For as long as they can remember, the Brothers Bloom have had only each other to depend on. From their childhood in a long series of gloomy foster homes to their highflying lives as international con artists, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) have shared everything. Stephen brilliantly concocts intricate stories that the brothers live out, but he’s still searching for the perfect con, the one where “everyone gets what they want.” Meanwhile, Bloom yearns for “an unwritten life”—a real adventure, one not dreamed up by his old brother.

Eager to retire, Bloom agrees to take part in one last grand scam. He insinuates himself into the life of Penelope (Rachel Wiesz), a bored, single New Jersey heiress. When a genuine romance begins to blossom between them, he is reluctant to exploit her naiveté, but Penelope has already taken the bait: She impulsively joins Bloom, Stephen and their “associate,” a sexy Japanese explosives expert named Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), on an ocean liner to Greece. Penelope is convinced she’s happened upon the adventure of a lifetime and offers to bankroll a million dollar deal. As the quartet makes their way from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg, Penelope quickly becomes addicted to the illicit thrills. But as Stephen’s elaborate web of deceit pulls tighter, Bloom begins to wonder if his brother has devised the most dangerous con of his life.

Management: MANAGEMENT is a romantic comedy that chronicles a chance meeting between Mike Cranshaw (Steve Zahn) and Sue Claussen (Jennifer Aniston). When Sue checks into the roadside motel owned by Mike’s parents in Arizona, what starts with a bottle of wine “compliments of MANAGEMENT” soon evolves into a multi-layered, cross-country journey of two people looking for a sense of purpose. Mike, an aimless dreamer, bets it all on a trip to Sue’s workplace in Maryland – only to find that she has no place for him in her carefully ordered life. Buttoned down and obsessed with making a difference in the world, Sue goes back to her yogurt mogul ex-boyfriend Jango (Woody Harrelson), who promises her a chance to head his charity operations. But, having found something worth fighting for, Mike pits his hopes against Sue’s practicality, and the two embark on a twisted, bumpy, freeing journey to discover that their place in the world just might be together.

Shrink: What happens when the people we count on to hold us together… are barely holding it together themselves? Jonas Pate’s Shrink is a striking, fast-paced exposé of the “other” Hollywood, featuring folks living outside their comfort zone and the people who put them there. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a psychiatrist with an A-list clientele, including a once-famous actress (Saffron Burrows), an insecure young writer (Mark Webber), and a comically obsessive-compulsive superagent (Dallas Roberts).

Henry is not in a good place, however. He has been asked to take his first pro bono case, a troubled teenage girl from a neighborhood far from the Hollywood hills. Considering his present state of mind, is he ready for the real-life troubles of a young woman who loves the world of movies he has become so jaded by?

At its core, Shrink is a study of control and our endless need for it, even when it grows increasingly impossible to obtain. Writer Thomas Moffett uses classic archetypes in this modern Hollywood tale, but never pushes them over the edge of credibility. Performed by a well-matched cast at the top of their form, the result is both satisfying and exhilarating. Watching Shrink makes us feel like voyeurs looking through a window into the lives of people who look great, feel worse, and end up behaving badly.

First stop on the journey is Phoenix. Albeit warmer climate than the chilly Colorado they have just fled, they find the reunion with Verona’s former boss/“friend”, Lily (Allison Janney) is enough to have them running out of town. After a quick visit with Verona’s sister they head to Madison, where Burt reunites with his “cousin” LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal) which turns out to be an eye opening experience on parenting. LN has a new age style of parenting, one that promotes a family bed, even finding strollers obtrusive. After a heated ending to the reunion Burt and Verona are affirmative that Madison can keep the lunatics and they will keep on searching.

On their last stop they visit college friends, rooming with them and their adoptive children. Out of all the destinations they find this to be the favorite. Even with the comforts of Canada, they still have not found the true comforts of home. Promising to love each other and be the bets parents they can be, Verona and Burt exchange vows. As the destinations come to an end they finally realize their past has leaded them to where their true home lies.

Sam Mendes brings us a light hearted comedy that will appeal to all audiences. Offering us likeable characters and assuring they were cast properly. An insightful film that is honest about the concerns many first time parents have. The pace at time seemed to stumble, but not long after the audience was drawn back in. Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski proved their ability to take on a lead role and had incredible chemistry. “Away We Go” is a poignant tale of true love. The long journey Verona and Burt take is thought provoking, leaving viewers pleased that they tagged along for the ride.