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New Movies 11/7 -- Van Damme, Paul Rudd, animated classics, TRAILERS

1. Role Models -- Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott are energy drink salesmen sentenced to community service; they must mentor young delinquents.

I think the trailer's funny, and I've like Paul Rudd in the recent Apatow movies. Plus I've heard Sean William Scott is really good in The Promotion. I'll be seeing Role Models for sure.

2. JCVD Anyone going to see Jean Claude Van Damme's half-fantasy, half-reality "biopic"? Kevin Kelly wasn't a big fan, but I really like this teaser trailer.

Kevin put together a Top 5 Hilarious Van Damme moments. Get a load of this one:

3. Soul Men -- Bernie Mac and Isaak Hayes aren't around to see the premier. Bummer. Reminds me of another soul man we lost recently, Rudy Ray More, the bad bad Dolemite. Be careful before you watch Dolemite, because it makes the original Shaft feel like an audience-friendly, commerical blockbuster.Here's the Soul Men trailer

4. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa -- Would anyone recommend Madagascar to a guy in his twenties? It seems more kids-oriented than some other Dreamworks movies, like Shrek.

Is anyone up for creating a Top 5 Dreamworks Movies list (in the Top 5 group)? Myself, I can't tell the stankers from the spankers.

Or what about Dreamworks vs. Pixar? I was at a Halloween party recently where some dudes were getting into a pretty animated argument (ha, pun intended!) over this. For my money, Pixar's Ratatouille is one of the best animated movies I've ever seen.

And of course Spout's giving away loads of Madagascar swag: flash drives, stuffed animals, signed movie posters, and soundtracks. And here's the Madagascar 2 trailer.

TRAILERS for other new movies:

House -- Two couples try to escape a killer who lured them to an old mansion.

Repo! The Genetic Opera -- Futuristic horror/thriller about an epidemic of organ failures. Stars include Paris Hilton and Paul Sorvino; directed by the guy who did Saw II, III, and IV.

The World Unseen -- Set in Apartheid South Africa and centers on a community of fun-loving, rebellious South Asians. The main conflict seems to focus on a lesbian sexual awakening.

Gardens of the Night -- This looks really sad. It's about two eight-year-olds who are kidnapped and forced to become child prostitutes. Stars include John Malkovich and Tom Arnold, who may be usually be annoying, but he was supremely creepy in the prison drama Animal Factory.

Re:New Movies 11/7 -- Van Damme, Paul Rudd, animated classics, TRAILERS

I really enjoyed the first Madagascar for what it was, an amusing tale of depressed and ignorant zoo animals whose desire to return to their native habitats begins a journey of hilarious mishaps. (Hey look I could write synopses for AMG! :0) If I see Madagascar 2, as I'm sure I will when I see my dad next since he's a nut for 3D animation, I will most likely enjoy it as well.

Ratatouille is an excellent film of course as well. :) I can't really compare the two though in terms of their stories. I thought both were well done, but that their stories were ultimately very different. In terms of the quality of the animation though I feel that Ratatouille definitely was "better", but when it comes to animation there are always stylistic choices that are made to create a different aesthetic. So I can rarely say that one was "better" than the other because I often see the visual differences as a choice in stylization.

I look forward to seeing JCVD not because I think it's going to be a great film, but because I grew up watching VanDamme kick ass. For me it's as the Japanese say "natsukashi".