Yes yes… it is July. In just a couple of weeks, the highly anticipated Dark Knight comes and gives us a big moviegasm. So I am going to go ahead and give July 2008 the title of “Month of the Bat.” I know what some of you fear… “What if it stinks, Jon?” “Sucks to your ass-mar” is what I respond with. I believe that this movie is going to be the comic book movie of comic book movies. Such a bold statement, I know… but just you wait. On to a few things to keep you going through the weekend…

• Since this is BatMonth, let’s start with some Batman news. As you can see, a new Dark Knight poster with the Joker’s marks on it has been released. Pretty cool. Let’s just say that the viral marketing of this movie has gone above and beyond any other movie. It’s insane.
• A new extended trailer for the new movie has been released through Domino’s. Very cool. Check it out if you watch trailers. I know a few who refuse to watch/hear/read anything about the new Batman movie.

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The Aero:

• Thur 3 at 7.30: Mr Hulot’s Holiday (1952) / The Big Day (1948)

The first of Jacques Tati’s feature films as director lacks the sense of obsessive control that escalates through his next pictures - Holiday, Mon Oncle (1958) and Playtime (1967) - but the gags are nonetheless highly organised, and it is perfectly charming from start to finish. In The Big Day (Jour de fête) he plays François the postman, bumbling through his round in the northern French countryside while the small local town prepares for its annual fête. There’s little story, but a series of charming encounters and splendidly silly gags (often involving his bicycle) and gradually running jokes as the day progresses. Alongside the black and white version, Tati filmed with the new Thomsoncolor process and it is this version, splendidly restored to its lovely gentle tones, that’s showing here.

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Well, technically Hancock cheated. You could buy tickets and see the film July 1st. This will be Will Smith’s FIFTH 4th of July opening weekend (week) In 1997 Men in Black opened to $51.1 million, in 1999, Wild Wild West opened to $27.7, Men in Black II opened to $52.1 and finally Independence day opened to $50.2. Now with SEVEN days to let the numbers add up, we’ll see what kind of ridiculous total he can rack up. If you’re in the mood to see a good film, we got plenty of those for you. The Wackness made huge waves at the LA Film Festival and looks like it’s sure to get you laughing. Kabluey is supposed to be one of the best dark comedies of the year. I’ll let you be the judge. Then we have Diminished Capacity (aka Little Miss Sun Sunshine with a different cast and a mission to exchange an amazing basketball card) which looks like it should be enjoyable. Hell, I’m a sucker for great casts, bonding, and some laughs.

So here it is. Your list for films opening this week with times and ticket, cast and crew information, reviews, and trailers. Enjoy!

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Blue flags are coming down all over town; Broxton in Westwood is reopening; and local movie theatres are returning to their regular programming. With the glitzy closing gala (the well-received Hellboy II, reuniting much of the cast from the first movie, again under the direction of gothic fantasist Guillermo del Toro) and the distribution of various awards - amongst others, Target best narrative feature to Prince of Broadway, audience award to The Wackness, best international feature to Man On Wire, Spirit of Independence award to Don Cheadle - the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival is over.

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In the summer of 1994, Rudolph Giuliani’s crackdown and cleanup of New York City was in full force, Hip Hop had reached amazing highs, and Luke Shapiro was not only dealing pot, but dealing with the harsh realities of life as an 18-year-old.  This is The Wackness, a coming of age story about a boy spending his last summer before college, selling dope to all of NYC, including his shrink as payment for therapy sessions and pining after his step-daughter, all the while facing family problems which he can’t control. Take it from me, The Wackness is anything and everything but wack. If there’s one movie you see this summer, forgo all others for this edgy, sweet, sometimes heartbreaking and hilarious tale with amazing performances and a killer soundtrack that you’ll be bopping your head to for weeks.

Featuring a well-rounded cast including Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Ben Kinglsey, Mary Kate Olsen and Method Man, The Wackness makes you wish you could relive 1994 all over again.

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Method Man - also known as The Panty Raider, Ghost Rider, The Long John Silver, Johnny Blaze among other things, and last but not least, Clifford Smith is not only an accomplished hip hop artist, record producer and actor, he’s also got quite a charming personality on him.

In “The Wackness,” which ironically contains many of the hits he wrote, produced and performed, with the The Wu-Tang Clang, Method Man plays Percy, a Rastafarian drug lord who supplies Josh Peck’s character, Luke Shapiro, with weed to sell on the streets of New York.

Recently, Method Man sat down with Los Angeles CityZine at the press junket for “The Wackness” to discuss his role in the film, his thoughts on current artists, new projects, including a comic book and how it was like working with Sir Ben Kingsley.

How do you think this move reflected that era in New York and is it pretty accurate?

Yeah i think so, as far as Josh’s point of you, I didn’t know they had it that hard, I thought the white kids was rollin’. It was pretty spot on, the whole Giuliani thing, even down to blowing the Nintendo cartridge.

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Nothing signifies the start of summer more than Will Smith starring in an action movie in which he attempts to save mankind. Though Hancock is slightly different from your typical Will Smith action film (think Independence Day, Men in Black, I am Legend) with twists and turns you wouldn’t expect in a superhero action film, in the end, it’s just your typical summer distraction.

Directed by Peter Berg (The Kingdom), Hancock is the story of a superhero who does more damage than good. Living in Los Angeles, Hancock is despised by the public because of the path of destruction he leaves behind in his bid to fight criminals who terrorize the city. In his alcohol-filled daze, Hancock hates most people and the resident’s feelings towards him are pretty mutual.

Hancock is on his usual path of mayhem, when one day he says the life of wholesome public relations executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) by stopping a train from cutting his car (which is stuck on the train tracks) in two. Forever grateful for saving his life, Ray offers his PR services for free to help turn around Hancock’s infamous public image. What follows after is Ray encouraging Hancock to trust him to help turn his life around, a slick (and a bit homoerotic) superhero suit, and Charlize Theron as Ray’s wife Mary, whose attitude you just can’t seem to figure out.

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Hello little darlings… and big darlings. Darlings of all sizes are welcome here! Enough of darlings… let’s get to what’s going on.

• Let’s start with some Office news. Steve Carell has signed on for three more years of the American version of the show. Also, Amy Ryan (the blonde that replaced Toby in the last episode) is said to be on for about five episodes next season. In spinoff news, it has been revealed that Aziz Ansari (Human Giant, Flight of the Conchords) has joined the new cast. The new show will begind airing after the Super Bowl.
• Hey, want to see the new kick ass James Bond trailer? Click HERE now… before they take it down!
• New Punisher War Zone posters can be seen here. Not sure how I feel about the movie. I did enjoy Thomas Jane as The Punisher… we’ll see.

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When Ben Kingsley walks into a room, no introduction is needed. His grace and presence cancel out the Sir in front of his name. Kingsley is one of the best of the best. He is in the top of his league. With Ghandi, Sexy Beast, Bugsy and The House of Sand and Fog under his belt, Kingsley has not only made it, he’s surpassed all.

In Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness, Kingsley plays Dr. Squires, a therapist badly in need of therapy himself who befriends a teenager to soon find out that they’re more alike than they both previously thought. Recently, Kingsley took time out to speak to LA.CityZine for his latest release The Wackness.

When you first heard about this project, did you have any advanced knowledge of this, what attracted you to the script, what made you want to do it?

What attracted me to the script was its perfect symmetry, it is a great comedy but it also has a heart, and of the heart it is this perfect symmetry of once upon a time there was a boy who had no parents, once upon a time there was a father who had no children. I love the way, if you start your story like that, the universe, in the story, finds a way of bringing these people together.

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This week in industry news: Scientologists, robots and egotistical actors! Welcome to Hollywood, what’s your dream?

• The Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith (remember when he was married to his high school sweetheart and then dumped her for Jada?) are funding a private school that is scheduled to open in Calabasas in the fall. The school is sparking controversy because, even though the Smiths insist they are not Scientologists, a number of the school’s faculty are and the school will be employing teaching methods first written about by Scientologist founder L. Ron Hubbard. I think we’re missing the point here: these kids are going to have to be in Calabasas! That cannot possibly be a good learning environment.
• Pixar’s WALL-E debuted at number one with $62.5 million and Wanted opened at number 2 with $51.1 million, over $100 million between the two of them. As far as summer activities go, that’s like, 10 trips to Disneyland, so, not bad.

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1. WALL-E (New) | Weekend Gross $62,500,000 | Total Gross $62,500,000
2. Wanted (New) | Weekend Gross $51,117,500 | Total Gross $51,117,500
3. Get Smart | Weekend Gross $20,000,000 | Total Gross $77,266,000
4. Kung Fu Panda | Weekend Gross $11,746,000 | Total Gross $179,330,000
5. The Incredible Hulk| Weekend Gross $9,226,495 | Total Gross $115,508,460
6. The Love Guru | Weekend Gross $5,440,000 | Total Gross $25,322,000
7. Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Weekend Gross $5,030,000 | Total Gross $299,936,000
8. The Happening | Weekend Gross $3,850,000 | Total Gross $59,062,906
9. Sex and the City | Weekend Gross $3,770,000 | Total Gross $140,132,000
10. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan | Weekend Gross $3,200,000 | Total Gross $91,215,000

Ever since Toy Story in 1995, each new Pixar movie has opened to more and more anticipation and this year’s Wall-E is no exception. Though clever and touching dialogue from unassuming characters thrust into extraordinary situations like Toy Story’s Woody and Ratatouille’s Remy is one of the hallmarks of these films, Wall-E uses a similar scenario but boldly contains very little dialogue.

Wall-E is a robot whose role is that of a glorified trash compactor, tooling around an abandoned and post-apocalyptic earth collecting knick-knacks, compacting trash and watching Hello, Dolly! His existence is simple but futile on the massive planet that has been overrun with garbage. One day, a ship lands near Wall-E’s home and releases another robot - slick, white and focused on one directive: find life on earth. Wall-E is instantly smitten with the new companion, not-so-subtly named Eve, and his pursuit of her eventually finds the pair of them back on the ship, surrounded by humans who have been cruising aimlessly around space, waiting for a time when it is safe to return to earth.

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