Judd Apatow continues to get personal with “This Is 40″—maybe even too personal. When you think about it, it’s kind of awkward that he directs Paul Rudd as husband to his real-life wife (Leslie Mann) and father to his real-life children (Maude and Iris Apatow) and it’s really awkward because the film is about family […]

The zombie genre has gone the way of vampires lately, except that it managed to dodge the romance bits — until now. Yes, it’s even possible for the undead to fall in love, though considerably more difficult. “Warm Bodies” introduces the zombie romantic comedy (yes, zom-rom-com), and despite all the ways that in name alone […]

To Hollywood, the MIdwest is that amorphous blob in the middle of country that allows for the satire of corn-fed American values. Whenever a place such as Iowa serves as a film’s setting, as it does in “Butter,” you can be sure that small-town life is about to get put through the ringer.

Nothing about the premise of “Pitch Perfect” suggests it should be a funny movie, or anything more than a diversion for “Glee” fans who’ve burnt out on the hit show after three-plus seasons. A cappella groups might be a change of pace for Hollywood, but college humor isn’t, with most college comedies going straight to […]

When you let a child play with the same toys over and over again, you’re going to end up with some stale make-believe. Tim Burton has pulled his Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter dolls out of his play chest again and decided this time they’re engaged in a supernatural love story taking place in […]

In the marketing for “Seven Psychopaths,” CBS Films wants you to count the film’s seven stars, but the one real psychopath (and I mean that in most positive and endearing way possible) that matters is writer and director Martin McDonagh, whose sophomore film and follow-up to “In Bruges” is a cockeyed stroke of genius.

There are romantic comedies and then there’s real life. “The Five-Year Engagement,”  believes it can be both. This latest collaboration between Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) stars Segel and Emily Blunt as Tom and Violet, a pair of totally-in-love inseparables whose plans to tie the knot keep getting pushed back to accommodate […]

Fast cars and comedy have never really gone hand in hand. Movies such as the “Fast and Furious” franchise have always been about the cars, with the jokes mostly sticking to characters digging at each other and one-liners. “Hit and Run,” on the other hand, is all about the humor — with a side of […]

The political campaign system in America has done a good enough job making a joke of itself that “The Campaign” as an idea for a comedy either seems redundant — or perfect. With contemporary comedy staple Will Ferrell going toe-to-toe for the first time with fast-rising star Zach Galifianakis, there is no cap on the […]

For the most part, hockey movies have been treated the same every other sports comedy or drama — with an underdog story and plenty of in-game footage. Enter “Goon,” a comedy that depicts the sport for all the guts and little of the glory. Not since “Slap Shot” has a hockey flick been this violent […]

First there was Gollum, then Caesar the ape and now … Ted? If you thought motion-capture animation was beyond the range of foul-mouthed R-rated comedy, here’s your evidence to the contrary. “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane has taken his love of characters who shouldn’t behave like humans behaving like humans to the next level —and […]

After vampires, movie studios these days love the apocalypse (or at least an alien invasion that could bring it about), so it was a matter of time before we started to get different riffs on Armageddon. “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” brings doomsday into romantic comedy territory and the resulting story […]

Good day, democratic imbeciles. You first knew him as a Kazakh news reporter, then as an Austrian fashionista. Now, dedicated character comedian Sacha Baron Cohen plays a North African fascist in “The Dictator”. The journey of Admiral General Aladeen is unlike his predecessors in that it’s not done in a mockumentary style. So, how does […]

The two most lovable stoners in movie history return in “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” which somehow continues the series’ impressive balancing act of clever humor, crude jokes, stoner gags and heart.

Timely and familiar: these are the two qualities “Tower Heist” has going for it. Heist films have a reputation for good fun, and when said heist is pulled off by average or incompetent folks like these, all the better, as the characters become even easier to like. Add that they’re stealing from a millionaire who […]